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Preserving/painting old circular mill

Started by Vikingwood, June 14, 2017, 11:55:23 AM

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Vikingwood

I recently took on the project of getting an old RR Howell circular mill running. Had been out of operation for ~8 years as the prior owner had some medical issues.

Any recommendations on preserving and painting the iron on the carraige and husk? Goal is to end up with an operational and slick looking sawmill. Will post pics soon.

sealark37

It will help your efforts if you will provide the rest of your profile info.  You don't give much in the way of details on your mill, such as, is it to remain in place? Or, do you have to move it to a new location?  Has it been under a roof, or is it exposed to the elements?  Is it mounted on the original wooden frame, or has it been mounted on steel?  Is the power unit usable, and is it diesel, gas, or electric?  Do you intend to restore the unit and mill, or do you intend to simply place it in running condition?  Pictures will get you a lot more help on particular problems.  To start, concentrate on the major assemblies one at a time.  The husk, the carriage, the track, the dust chain,the head saw, and the power unit.  It is basically, inspect, disassemble as necessary,  repair/rebuild, re-assemble, align, have the head saw checked for condition, then saw.  You will get lots of help here if you provide details and describe the challenges you encounter.  There are several good publications available at reasonable cost.     Good Luck, and Regards, Clark

bandmiller2

Welcome VW, old cast iron mills are almost eternal. I have found a 4" cup wire wheel on a small angle grinder all that's needed to prep the cast for rustoleum primer and color coat. If theirs are wooden parts and their in sound shape something like Thompsons water seal is good. If some/all of the wood needs replacing save the old pieces for patterns. If the husk and carriage is steel treat it same as the cast. Take your time and clean and paint one piece at a time so you don't get overwhelmed by the project. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

ddcuning

When I did mine I sand blasted then painted but mine was all steel. Sandblasting will chew the wooden parts to bits so not recommended unless you take all of the cast and steel parts off before blasting. We have a local guy here you can take parts to and he has them blasted in a day and it isn't that expensive. Saves a lot of time behind a wire wheel on a drill, that is for sure.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

Vikingwood

Thanks for all your help!
Sorry for the delay in response
Life stuff over the past year temporarily delayed sawmill progress
My brother and I have stripped and re-painted all the old iron (see below)
We rebuilt the husk with new hardwood.
We hope to get the sawmill up and running this summer

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Carriage almost painted

Another question for you guys.....I plan on running it with the PTO from my dad's Allis D14 tractor. I figure it will give me about 35 horsepower. Think that is enough? 


sealark37

The horsepower requirement depends on several variables.  Thirty-five HP is on the low side, but may be adequate if you go easy on the feed rate.  Give it a try.   Oh, nice job on the cleaning and paint.     Regards, Clark

dgdrls

Taking up on Sealark37 comments.  will probably be low however,  how big and what pattern saw/ tooth count saw do you have for the mill?

Also lots of good info here

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/circsaw.pdf

good luck,  hope to see some sawdust photos soon,

D

bandmiller2

VW, be mindful of  tractor PTO rotation unless you have a left hand mill. Engine horse power does not tell the whole story, torque comes into play. A 35 hp  high speed Japanese diesel is a different critter than an old long stroke 35 hp tractor. You will probably do OK milling pine of moderate size. Try it but keep your eyes open for a larger power plant. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

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