Backyard Bandmill Build

[fishingmike]

I am about to embark on an adventure. I plan on building my own bandmill soon. I have to start somewhere so.......here it goes. I have a pile of bands that were given to me by a friend. He got them at an estate sale. They are 14.5'. I was going to order some 19" bandwheels. I am drawing up some plans and was wondering what the distance between the wheels would be with the 14.5' bands. What would my "throat" width be. I came up with some numbers but I want to hear from you guys too. In case I am way off :D I should mention that this build is not beyond my capabilities. I built a slabbing mill a few years back with much success so I figured its time to upgrade to a more efficient machine for making lumber. Input and criticism are appreciated! smiley_bigears

[Ljohnsaw]

Probably the most important is what is the width of the bands?  That will determine the diameter of you wheels!  The wider the band, the larger the wheels should be to lengthen the life of the bands.  The 19" wheels will consume 59.66" of band (~5') (19" x 3.14).  Take the 5' from the 14.5' and you have 9.5 feet left for the top and bottom.  So you will have (at most) 4' 9" between the wheels - not a bad slab size.  However, if your bands are wider than 1.25", your wheels should be larger and your throat will decrease proportionally.

[fishingmike]

Well I was thinking right along those lines. the bands are 1.25 wide. When I did the math I came up 57.6 inches of available throat. So I guess I'm on the right track. Time to make some drawings and come up with a materials list 8)

[justallan1]

It looks like the number that you are coming up with would be where the band is leaving the wheels. As you get a thicker slab you will be losing a bunch of space, I figured just under 48 inches at the narrowest spot on the wheels, but that would be sawing a 9.5 inch beam. I'm not sure of the size of available guides and rollers, but I would think they would fit between the 4' of throat space and where the band meets the wheels.

Allan

[Ljohnsaw]

It looks like the number that you are coming up with would be where the band is leaving the wheels. As you get a thicker slab you will be losing a bunch of space, I figured just under 48 inches at the narrowest spot on the wheels, but that would be sawing a 9.5 inch beam. I'm not sure of the size of available guides and rollers, but I would think they would fit between the 4' of throat space and where the band meets the wheels.

Allan

Actually, even less than 48".  From the 4' 9" between the tangential points, you would loose a total of another 19" leaving a max width between the wheels (giving a full 19" height to the top blade) of 38".  Still a good size.

[NCDiesel]

The only thought I had was you are using the free bands from your friend as design criteria.   You probably should use your needs/desires as design criteria, sell the bands here or on eBay, and then use that money buy the bands that fit your "dream machine" that is based on your needs and desires.  If you are lucky, you'll find the free bands end up fitting your "dream machine", but I would not use them as design input.

Just my two cents and good luck!  If you can build a slabbing mill, I'll bet you can build this.

[scrout]

If I were doing it over again, I would pick a very common size band, like 158" for availability.

[york]

Mike,lay your 19 in. band wheels,on the floor,stretch the 14ft. 5in. Band around the Band wheels,then measure the centers..

[fishingmike]

So here is a little more info for you guys. My budget for this project is quite small considering that my wife is due any day to have our daughter 8) and she wont be going back to work. With two kids we decided daycare is to expensive. With that said this will be a basic mill.....for now. I would like the ability to cut a 36" dia. log. With the 14.5' bands and 19" wheels I should have 38.15" of throat. I already have an engine. A 19hp briggs. I will begin this project sometime around mid November. The carriage will be 1.5 square tube. I have most of the odds and ends hardware already lying around. The biggest expense here will be the steel for the carriage and frame. The goal is to keep this thing simple and basic. Any thoughts you all have on to do or not do will help me greatly in deciding all the details. Oh and I will post pics as I go for those of you who (like me) "skim through the book and get the story from the pictures" :D

[thecfarm]

How do propose to turn a 36 inch log??? Better make that frame some rugged. I've turned a few 2 footers and they come down kinda hard on the frame work.

[scor440]

Give these a look.