The objective of this project was to develop a new feed speed control system for band saws. This system regulates the feed speed based on the cutting depth measured ahead of the saw. In comparison to other feed speed control systems presently used in sawmill operations, the new system allows maximum feed speeds without overfeeding the saw and also avoids underfeeding. The equipment developed basically involves two laser light generators which place laser lines along the saw cut on the saw entry and saw exit side, two cameras which locate the position of the laser or saw lines, and a microprocessor which processes the information from the cameras, determines the feed speed based on the known relationship between sawing variables and gives the signal to the carriage drive. Considerable experimenting was required to accurately measure the distance between the laser lines on the saw log due to colour variations of the long surface and more so due to the irregular geometry of many saw logs. Also a high working speed of the system had to be achieved to correspond to the high feed speeds used in sawmill operations. The new feed speed control system was tested with Forintek's 5-ft band mill. It was found that the actual feed speed set by the feed speed control, and the calculated feed speed were in close agreement showing that the system is able to effectively control the feed speed based on the cutting depth. Additional work is needed and will be carried out to further refine the system before commercialization can be undertaken.