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Lining up an old circle mill

Started by lyle niemi, July 18, 2012, 08:09:55 AM

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lyle niemi

Its mind bogleing. I have learned that its not as easy as it sounds. There are so many things to watch out for especially when you havnt done it before. I was tempted many times to tear it all down and start from scratch again. On one day I think I would have it dang near perfect then I would try a longer log and things are out of wack, very fustrating!
My advice to anyone setting up an old mill is to  check it out with the longest log you will be cutting with your mill then all the shorter one should cut true after that. I had found another problem I have to deal with, its the bunks, everything is wore out. The Ibeams that the bunks slide on needs replacing and the gears that move the bunks are wore so that means the bunks dont move evenly when setting your cut. I pretty much have to rebuild the carridge.
After playing with this old mill Im sure I will be able to help set up another old millfor some body who is having problems.
This is just my morning thoughts, ::)

dblair

I know what  you mean . mine cuts 8, 12, and 14 great . when it's 16 to 18 ft it's a 1/16 and better off on the last board the others are fine . it's just going to stay like this .

 
old Appomattox Iron Works circle mill.

york

Lyle,looked at pic.how you attach string,to line up track way.you need to have string on batter boards,both ends of mill,not on ends of track way-space string one in.from the guide rail and use one in. spacer to align the guide rail-i used to have string tied to rod on batter board that would slide side to side to fine tune the ends of string...hope ya understand us hillbillies...albert
Albert

captain_crunch

Last board (dog board) generaly taper what I do is turn board end for end and re run it. My last knee on mine 1/4 in back or 1/4 ahead due to wear in setworks so I set it back and made a shim to bring it inline. Where I can move my carrage without blade turning I can measure from each knee to same spot on blade
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

Holmes

  I remember reading an article a few years ago in  Sawmill & Woodlot magazine about lining up an old circle mill. They are a sponsor here, maybe you can search their site and get some very good information.
Think like a farmer.

lyle niemi

Quote from: york on July 18, 2012, 10:31:50 AM
Lyle,looked at pic.how you attach string,to line up track way.you need to have string on batter boards,both ends of mill,not on ends of track way-space string one in.from the guide rail and use one in. spacer to align the guide rail-i used to have string tied to rod on batter board that would slide side to side to fine tune the ends of string...hope ya understand us hillbillies...albert
Hi Albert, I understand ya completely, cause Isa a hillbilly meself.LOL So anyways, I still wasnt happy with the way it was cutting, I knew it was in the tract some wheres! I took your very good advice and set up some batter boards and measured the tract from the string. I found out that the track had some waves in it around the husk, I could not see that the way I was useing the string before. I have just finished putting things back together now and I stopped for a shot of bailys... I mean coffee, ya thats right coffee!! Right after coffee Im going to run a log through and I bet I got the problem fixed with your help!!! We will let you know how it turns out in a couple of hours!!! stay tuned...lol

lyle niemi

Well I think I did all I could do to line up this ol mill, I have got it alot better but not perfect. I think I would have to start replacing iron to get it at 100 percent. I sawed a couple of logs and in 14 ft its about a 32nd out.
The next stage is building the sawmill shed, I priced out some 40 foot trusses and they are about a 100 bucks a piece and I will need 21 of them.

js2743

Maybe if you had a sawmill you could saw your own lumber for a shed. oh wait, never mind :D :D :D :D :D

dgdrls

Quote from: lyle niemi on July 19, 2012, 03:31:42 PM
Well I think I did all I could do to line up this ol mill, I have got it alot better but not perfect. I think I would have to start replacing iron to get it at 100 percent. I sawed a couple of logs and in 14 ft its about a 32nd out.
The next stage is building the sawmill shed, I priced out some 40 foot trusses and they are about a 100 bucks a piece and I will need 21 of them.

1/32" !!!  let the cabinet makers chase that around :D

Well done!!

DGDrls

bandmiller2

Lyle, your in the ballpark now,many consider 1/32" the holy grail.Keep your eyes open you may find a mill like yours with less wear on the headblocks.Meantime a roof before winter is probibly more important. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

PC-Urban-Sawyer

Lyle,

I think there's a reason they call it "rough" lumber. I do good to see 1/32" difference in thickness of a six inch long board...

Keep up the good work. You make me tired just reading about your accomplishments.

Herb

lyle niemi

Quote from: bandmiller2 on July 19, 2012, 08:36:10 PM
Lyle, your in the ballpark now,many consider 1/32" the holy grail.Keep your eyes open you may find a mill like yours with less wear on the headblocks.Meantime a roof before winter is probibly more important. Frank C.
You bet Frank, after I made this post I ordered my trusses and tin.

Thomas Ruga

Lyle: I know what you mean. It took the boys and I about five years of puttering to get things cutting straight. Dblair is that a Lane? We have a Lane #2 that we bought from a mill up in the Adirondaks. Patience is the name of the game. I'm new to the forum but really enjoy the info and comraderie.

Tom in South Jersey

lyle niemi

Quote from: Thomas Ruga on July 19, 2012, 09:24:03 PM
Lyle: I know what you mean. It took the boys and I about five years of puttering to get things cutting straight. Dblair is that a Lane? We have a Lane #2 that we bought from a mill up in the Adirondaks. Patience is the name of the game. I'm new to the forum but really enjoy the info and comraderie.

Tom in South Jersey
Welcome to thr forum Tom. I spent the last three days trying to figure out what was going on with the mill, like you say patience is the key! Cant tell ya how many times I had that carridge off, I could do it with my eyes closed now.
Im sure if I worked on another old mill things would go alot smoother. Theres nothing like learning the hard way..lol

ALWOL

   Sounds like you were able to get a lot accomplished while I was gone!

   Don't forget that if one rail has a dip in it, that will offset the cant or log as it passes.

        Alan
There's a big difference between staying busy and making money.

lyle niemi

Quote from: ALWOL on July 19, 2012, 10:00:16 PM
   Sounds like you were able to get a lot accomplished while I was gone!

   Don't forget that if one rail has a dip in it, that will offset the cant or log as it passes.

        Alan
Hi Alan, I was wondering where ya dissappeared to, I figured the crows got ya..lol I havnt been doing a whole bunch, its been to dang hot! I have to go in the shop alot to cool off.

morgoon

Lyle

Nice work

Gonna have to post the build pics ya know ;)
Homemade bandsaw, made by my mentor and dear friend Unto...who turned 85 this year

And I just made my first longbow...awesome

bandmiller2

As i've said before a fella needs to build two mills one to learn second to keep.Lyle sometimes its a little tension in the log that causes taper cuts and has you chaseing your tail. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

dblair

Tom it's not a Lane but has many look alike Lane parts with the cast name Appomattox Iron Works in Petersburg, Va. ( that's a local town ) it was made in 1935 .
old Appomattox Iron Works circle mill.

bandmiller2

It was common practice years ago for small local foundries to grind the name of castings and use them for patterns,probibly why so many look alike. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

dblair

I don't think they cared about another persons patent rights or figured they would never get caught . Maybe there weren't any patents on the parts .
old Appomattox Iron Works circle mill.

lyle niemi

Quote from: lyle niemi on July 19, 2012, 03:31:42 PM
Well I think I did all I could do to line up this ol mill, I have got it alot better but not perfect. I think I would have to start replacing iron to get it at 100 percent. I sawed a couple of logs and in 14 ft its about a 32nd out.
The next stage is building the sawmill shed, I priced out some 40 foot trusses and they are about a 100 bucks a piece and I will need 21 of them.
Well I thought I had it dang near perfect! Just after I made my last post I tried a few more logs. Things were still out of wac! Im sure some of you think Im nuts by now!
So anyways I noticed the one wheel on the carridge wasnt lined up with the others, I got that corrected and tried a log, now things were really out of wac!  lol I spent the last two days messin with the track....Ah wait for it!!!! I think I got it now...lol

Im sure my biggest problem with this whole deal was not being fussy enough with the track, like alan said any humps or bumps will effect the cut. Eventualy I am going to replace the old wooden track frame with my favourite material....IRON!

Now that I know the mill is cutting straight????????? I can relax a bit and concentrate on a few other things that I got to get done
Thanx for your patience....Lyle

Ron Wenrich

Humps and bumps won't cause a problem, as long as they hump and bump in the same spot.  When you get one side humping when the other side is bumping, then you have problems.  Start from the husk and work your way out.  Although your track may be in line, you might have a little bit of lead put in the track that won't show up at the saw, until you get to a long log.  You measure your lead from a lot shorter distance than your entire carriage.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

lyle niemi

I know for sure I got things cutting right now. I put another 20 foot log in the carridge and I was within 1/8th from one end to another, it was in the last 18 inches of the log where the saw went off.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

bandmiller2

Lyle,you know a fella with a mill why don't you make your own trusses and save some of those hard earned agridollars.Hows the endplay on your carriage wheels.?What you could try is put an accurate level on the carriage and push it slowly past the husk looking for deviation and bubble blips.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

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