homemade bandsaw mill, help

[Kbeitz]

The bearings in your pillow block can be turned to face what ever way you want. 

[Ljohnsaw]

Ok, I honestly am not educated on bearings and how to properly install, etc...

I was just joking - My OCD was looking at the Zerks - they are more accessible facing out so you can get the grease gun on them.

[mazdathumps]

I didn't take you wrong. Lol I was still curious that maybe there was something to your comment tho. Lol

[mazdathumps]

allright guys, here I am again... I finished my build - no pics or videos yet... I cut some wood today - no pics of videos yet... I am very satisfied with the cuts.  It was worth all the work... I am cutting straight, straight, straight all day... I cut some 12" pine boards at about 2 inches per second and some 3.75" cuts at about 4-5 inches per second and straight still... I changed up the laundry detergent blade lube for straight diesel... My belt tension system is functional but easily the weakest part on the mill, so I have a centrifugal clutch on order to replace the whole belt tension system... I'm done trying to get it to work right...

Anyways, that's the update...

On to another factor, the last cut of the day today, before entering the wood, my blade rode off the front of the wheel and has continued to run off since... Is it the diesel doing that? or is it an alignment issue between the two wheels? or is it something i'm not thinking of maybe?  I'm lost right now... Nothing was changed or adjusted and I only have 0.3 hours on the blade (most of one log)

[Kbeitz]

I would think even slippery wheels would still track right if adjusted right.

[Ljohnsaw]

I'm running on donut spare tires.  Twice when I dumped too much generic Lysol/water mix and the blade just jumped right off destroying one blade that was just run up to top rpm.  I am just running water when I think it needs it (to keep the dust down a little).  Most of my logs are pine and very wet.  I'm not convinced that running diesel on rubber (including V-belts) is a good idea.  It gets really slick.

IMHO, the ONLY reason to run diesel is if you are having sap build up on your bands or wheels.  There are some that just keep some diesel in a pump sprayer to hit the blade with a light coat when running to clean them up.

[mazdathumps]

hmm... Not sure about the diesel use either... It is pretty slick and oh my goodness, MESSY... I thought I had read some about some people using diesel... Maybe i'll try something else... I was just getting pretty bad pitch on my blade from the pine...

[gww]

Josh
Some people run diesel.  I have seen some that just have it drip on a rag or piece of felt that barily drags on the blade.  

My saw will run off my tire.  I use that fact to tension my blade.  So I will put the tension as tight as I can with the motor at an idle and when the blade starts to creep forward, I will stop and give the motor some gas while watching the where the blade is on the tire.  If it creeps forward when I increase the rpm, I will back off half a turn to a full turn on the tension adjustment.  I then have the blade as tight as my mill will handle.  The cause of the blade going forward on my mill is based to the beefyness of my mill.  It is flexing too much but to go to so far with the tension.

  I have a feeling with your mill (even with your bigger shafts) that you may still have a bit of flex.  Even though you did not change anything, it would be an easy thing to check for by lowering your tension just a bit and seeing if it tracks like it did before you started having problims.  One of your bolts holding your bearings may have had that much movement under presure.  There is a lot of pressure on the mill when you have the blade fully tensioned.

Not saying this is it but it is easy to check.

I cut my first log in a while today.  It has been on the ground going on 3 years.  It was hard as a rock entering but cut like butter in the middle.  The boards look good but that tells me that even though I can't see it, the wood is doudy and soft due to rot.  I got about 8 or nine ten and a half inch one bys.  I am going to dry them but have a feeling that they have been compermised strenght wise.

I never use any kind of fluid on any cutting but also have only cut about 5 pine logs in my life.  Pine is easier then oak or hickory.  I do keep a squirt bottle hanging where I push on the mill and have aimed at the blade and give it a squirt but have not used my wash system since my first few logs when I first built the mill.  Some do use diesel though and some use dishsoap and water.  I like dry enough that it was not worth it to me to have more then a squirt bottle (which I am not sure has not froze or if it even works now.

Good luck and strait cutting is good.  Congradulations.
gww

[mazdathumps]

Thanks, GWW... I do use the felt system directly touching the blade... It's flawless in my book...

Boy, I can bare down on that tension now, so maybe I am too tight... I didn't think I could get too tight, but maybe I am... It's just weird that it worked for every other cut until that one... At least it didn't come off mid-cut - that's no fun...

Overall, I'm far happier with this third build... It's a whole different day at the mill now...  I enjoy cutting with this thing...

Good to share and hear about your cuts...

[Georgia088]

I am in the middle of my build as well (changed from tires to surplus pulleys like you). I've cut about an hour since changing over and I'm loving it so far. I need to update my thread.
One thing I found was I wanted to tighten to an extreme. I put so much tension that my pillow blocks were moving in the slots I had for adjustments. I even welded bolts to hold the front ones in place (keep them from moving inward) and the back ones moved (away from each other)
This caused the blade to come off the front. Then I got a digital caliper and connected to the blade to see how much "stretch" I had. The forum offered advice from a thread of about .005 in 6" on the blade. I was running double that easily. I loosened my tension and have cut straight boards for about an hours worth and no problem tracking the blade. Take this info for what it's worth (an hours worth of success).
Good luck!
P.s.
Can you explain your felt system to lube the blade? I just have a tank that drips on the blade.

[mazdathumps]

Good advice man... Thanks

The felt thing (on mine) is just a small piece of landscape fabric, the fabric type - not plastic type... I folded it over several times to make a piece about 1-1/2" wide by about 6 plys or so, about 2-1/2" tall... I fabbed up a simple plate to hold it to my exsisting blade guide.  I pinched the fabric between the blade guide and the fabbed metal piece... I drop it down to where it lays on the blade by about 1/8th"... It doesn't affect the teeth and brushes the entire width of the blade.  On the top I have a plastic barb pushed down into the fabric and a small hose clamp around that... They other end of the barb is also a bard connected to the clear hose providing lube... It soaks the fabric and gravity does the rest...

I have an adjustable valve coming off my lube storage that allows me to adjust the flow rate...


This is the picture from my previously built sawmill, but it's pretty much the same now...

[gww]

Josh
Nice picture.

Georgia
Hey man, thats great.  An hour will turn into enough hours that you will be tired of it.  I really like your set up.  You probly would have been breaking more blades then needed had you not backed off the tension.  Less is more as long as it cuts like you report.  Did you use the clutch and how is your speed?
Cheers
gww

[Georgia088]

The clutch has worked fine. It seems to grab a 1/2" v groove belt just as it did the larger golf cart belt. It rides down lower in the clutch (giving me a smaller diameter drive pulley not sure exact diameter guessing 3-4"). We used a 12" driven pulley. I don't have a way to measure speed other than the calculator on the forum but I did play with the throttle some in my cut (no idea how many rpms). I really didn't notice much difference in my cut. Maybe I slowed my feed speed down?
I will hopefully finally get a chance to tinker with it this weekend. I'll try to take a video and post it.

Mazda
If your pillow blocks did move as mine did, it shouldn't be to hard to tell. I figured it out bc with my old setup I couldn't align my wheels (blade would track), tension the blade tight (blade would come off bc of flex in tires), loosen the blade some and the flex would go away and it would track. 
New setup: once I tighten it down and the pillowblocks moved or slid (not flex), it wouldn't track even once I let tension off the blade. This was because it wasn't "going back in to place" it had permanently moved the placement of the pillow blocks. 
Hope this makes sense. 

[gww]

Georgia
Sounds good and sounds like speed is probly close enough.  When I had mine running way to fast, I couldn't keeps the bearings from going bad and my blades did not stay sharp as long.  Yours sounds like it would be close to right and I bet the caculator says that also.

Your advice to josh

This was because it wasn't "going back in to place" it had permanently moved the placement of the pillow blocks.

This is what I was thinking also.

I would love to see a vidio if you do one.
Cheers
gww

[mazdathumps]

Ok guys, I started at the bearings and worked my way outward... All is co-planer and plumb and this and that (after tensioning blade)... So, I still had that blade drift off that one wheel (the drive wheel)... I eventually started eliminating things starting the with blade guides... I pulled them back out of the way and tensioned the blade back on the wheels... The blade runs dead center of the wheels and doesn't drift in any direction... This tells me that my blade guides are doing something funky to the blade... And i've set them up like "Cooks" describes to do... At this point, I don't have a clue, but rest-assured, I will find out and solve that issue... I have my daughter this weekend, so probably not doing much with the mill, but wanted to swing in and let ya'll know of my progress, or discovery, whichever makes more since... Thanks for the replies and suggestions as always, they help...

[starmac]

Just a thought, have you trued another blade, is it possible that yours got a little damaged when it came off?

[Georgia088]

Not sure how you are measuring tension on blade but if you are tensioning then putting 1/4" of down pressure. You are adding 1/2" more tension to blade. This was pretty substantial when I measured mine with caliper. I "stretched blade" .005 in 6". then put down pressure on blade. This changed reading from .005 to about .008. This is where I have been cutting (maybe an hours worth with no problem). I think this is probably on the tight side but idk. 

I would put a straight edge across wheels without blade guides on. And then with blade guides putting 1/4" of down pressure and compare the tilt of your wheels. Again, take this for what it's worth. I'm a dumb pe coach that hasn't figured my own mill out yet. 

[Ljohnsaw]

When aligning the blade guide wheels, I remember something I read.  The "leading" edge of the guide wheel flange, the side that sees the blade first, should be slightly further back then the trailing edge.  To say it another way, IF the flange were to touch the back of the blade, the down wind side should touch before the upwind side.  That is to keep the blade from wanting to ride up onto and over the flange.  I'm only talking about 1/32" to 1/16" difference, so very slight.

IF, however, you have too drastic a difference, the guide would try to push the blade forward.

Another thought, the blade is supposed to be absolutely parallel to the log bunks, both across (by adjusting the amount of down pressure on each side) and front to back (by adjusting the tilt of the individual rollers).

[gww]

Josh
I do not have more to add then starmac, georgia or ljohnsaw. It all seems like good advice to me.
Good luck and hope it goes well and that you tell us about it.
gww

[starmac]

My old mizer does not have a gauge, and I never thought about measureing it like you have, but what I do know is when I first started I was not putting enough pressure on it, I tightened it to where you would think is way to tight, but it sure cuts good like that, so I run it tight. I have broke a couple of blades, but I don't know if that has had anything to do with it, or if I just ran them too long or what.

[gww]

I have broke a couple of blades, but I don't know if that has had anything to do with it, or if I just ran them too long or what.

If you are happy with what you are getting, that is the best evidence.

I do a lot of reading and also have run into quite a bit of issues with my mill being built out of junk.  So I was fourced to do quite a bit of reading.  Cooks web site has some tutorials about blades and guides and speed to motor and just a lot of things to read.  Now they are trying to sell stuff too.
So some of my tips is based on what they have wrote as well as other places.  I have broke about ten blades and never get the kind of board foot out of blades that some with hydrolic wood mizers get on here.  So I go to cooks and read that smaller diamater pullys or wheels flex the blade more or if the blade rides its back against the roller it will break from the back, if it is dull and too tight it will break in the gullet and all these other little tips that do not mean anything if everything is going great.  However, when you are having problims, it gives you avenues to try and fine tune.
Cheers
gww

[mazdathumps]

Starmac, I didn't think to run the new blade, but I did visually inspect the one that came off... I may still try the new blade once I get the guides set up again and see if there's a difference between the two... Good advice

Georgia, I measure tension by pushing on the top or bottom of the blade until I feel it's tight enough to cut without flexing... No scientific method... I visited a Woodmizer mill and felt his tension and that's how I judge mine... With my pneumatic wheels, you could definitely tighten too tight and nothing you did would keep the blade on, so I get what you mean there...

ljohnsaw, I do remember the cooks instructions saying to leave about a business card thickness gap on the input side of the guide wheel (in my case, the left side of each guide going counterclockwise)... I did have them setup this way when all this happened... I'll have to pull up those directions again and start from scratch setting them guides up again... And as for the blade being parallel from front to back and left to right, we are there... I think i'm going to start by setting my guides up from a "new" position, that way I know it's done right...

I appreciate all the advice and I'm sure as I'm working on these guides, something will hit me that I might have forgotten or didn't check (including ya'lls advice)... haha I should have some time this week to tackle it again... I'm also starting a 20 x 20 shop and found out my permits are a packet, as if I was building a house... Stupid, but it is what it is... I told them I was just going to write homemade on the materials list, and she's like, "that's fine, we understand"... I was like, what the heck do I need to do all this paperwork for then... Anyways, we keep the wheels rolling around my house, so I will post as soon as I have newer results on the sawmill... Thanks again guys

[mazdathumps]

 8)

Hey guys, just checking in... What a busy year

Anyways... Long story short, I had a guy come out and look at my sawmill (who was thinking of building his own) and offered me a bit of money for mine, as is... He is a tinkerer like myself and wanted to use my mill and improve it as it is instead of building his... Well, I had a number in my mind that would determine whether i would keep it or not if the day ever came where someone wanted to buy it... He hit that number on the first offer, so I took it and he loaded it up... The sawmill is sold... 

Am I sad about it?  eghhh... Yes and no... Yes, because it was enjoyable to tinker on and perfect... No, because I really don't enjoy cutting the wood and loading/unloading myself... Also, another deciding factor in selling it was that I now have at least 2 other good friends who bought mills since I started building mine who have offered to cut a few slabs here and there for me at no cost to me... So, I will be taking them up on that offer if I ever need some slabs... 

I, however, will be glad to offer any advise to anyone who wishes to pick my brain about my build or do's/don'ts on their build... I guess it's never out of your blood... Also, I could not have gotten anywhere close to a finished, working, mill without all of ya'lls help along the way... Thank you all, each of you!

Now, to address the issues I was last having on my mill... THe blade kept slinging off and I could not find the reason (after cutting a whole tree with no issues)... Well, on the day of the sale, I found my problem... A set screw had come loose on my swivel plate assembly and caused my two plates to loosen about a sixtenth of an inch... That was enough to cause a misalignment between the two band wheels and help that blade walk off the front... The buyer also noticed this when I did and agreed that that was the issue... 

The sawmill is in good hands and I'm sure i'll make that hour trip to see it once he gets done tinkering on it... Heck, i might even bring him a log or two to cut for me...  :D

Anyways, hope everyone has been good... 

[Hilltop366]

The same sort of thing happened to me with a CSM I had made.

So the question is.... what are you going to make now?

[mazdathumps]

I am partially done building a bobber motorcycle... Once that's done, I plan to do some welding and wood working to sell...

That's not really exciting, but that's the plan so far... Also, considered getting into some CNC type stuff and powder coating