Useful sawmill mods

[4x4American]

If it doesn't work too well there I'll remove the stock unit and pull mine ahead a bit.  We'll see how it goes..

[4x4American]

Made some more progress today:


New dragback, just took a piece of 3" channel and drilled/tapped some holes



Added a third roller.  For some reason when I was doing it I got a wild ambition to hug it to the other side thinking better support for wide slabs.  If I had enough pipe laying around I would have just done them all full length.  The long one is two pieces of 1-1/2" pipe that I welded together.  If I were to do it over I'd use 2" pipe or even bigger, but this is what I had.





Top view



Here it is mounted






The front is supported fine, very sturdy, the back I am need to put a couple legs, or maybe one more leg and a jack that will go to the ground.  The 1/4" plate I used moved alot while welding and cutting so it's all sorts of wrinkled.  I got it as straight as I could.  My mig welder run out of gas so I used a new to me stick welder and I think 135amps with 1/8" rod was a little too hot, but sure did penetrate well.  Haven't stick welded in awhile so it was fun practice.  This was the first project I've done with that welder.  Glad I picked up some AC rod for it.  The one thing I'm trying to decide now is do I hack off the piece from the OEM drag back support that's sticking out.  It sticks out and looks like it's going to be in the way.  I think I'm going to keep it for awhile and make sure I like it before I cut off what's sticking out.  Or the other option is to unbolt it and make a new one to suit my current setup so that I can put it back to stock if need be.  Most likely I will do that but I'd have to buy steel to do that, and this whole project was based off of using what I had laying around (except for the 1/4" plate I bought).  I might also put a little fence on the rail side so that boards don't fly off, but undecided on it yet.  Next project when I have some time is to make some dragback fingers.  Hoping to get the plate done tomorrow.  Excited to try it out.

[4x4American]

If any of you have made a dragback table I'd love to see some pictures!  Also any of you who've made dragback fingers I'd like to see your design too if you don't mind sharing!  I know @YellowHammer you made some for your 40, no?

[YellowHammer]

You will love the new dragback table.  I wouldn't saw without mine.  You'll also love the new drag back board holder "shoe" (I never came up with a catchy name for it) and between the two items, will make your board handling a whole new world.  One thing you might add to your board holder shoe is a couple sharp edges, or cleats, on the open sides of the channel.  If you ever buck a log at a slight angle, when it is being dragged back, it will have a tendency to slide off the side of the shoe, depending on which way it is slanted.  If you weld on a small piece of square stock, so they are like a diamond with the apex of one corner facing the edge of the board, they will keep the board from sliding in the shoe.  This way, when you hit he board return, and the board holder hits the end of the board, the little cleats will dig in and keep the edge of the board secure and prevent it from sliding sideways.
I'll take some picture of the dragback fingers tomorrow.  They are very easy to make, main thing is just finding the aluminum and steel bar stock for the fingers. 

[4x4American]

Thanks YH, good idea on the cleats.  The OEM one has that what you speak of, with the square stock welded on in a diamond like fashion, must be for a reason!  I played around with the dragback today, and it was  8) .  I hope that the rollers are protruding enough, about 1/4" is all I could get.  I am thinking of ways to build them up a bit if necessary.  If the table was flat they'd prolly be fine, but it's so bent outta whack from too much heat moving it all over the place.  If I had enough thick flat stock lying around I would have tacked it on all over the place to keep it flat but I really didn't have enough to do that.  Oh well, heat n beat tomorrow!  I'll figure it out.  Do you think that it's necessary to use aluminum for the fingers?  Also, what thickness did you use for the aluminum and for the steel flat stock?

[YellowHammer]

Here's some pics of the drag back fingers and holder.  The metal for the fingers is 1/2" solid bar stock.  It took a little trial and error to get the spacing right, since I saw mostly to standard widths, I used the spacers between the fingers to optimize their position.  Also, setting the left most finger is critical, in order to make sure the boards don't slant toward the left on the return stroke.

My drag back deck is made of wood, the fame is welded steel, and comes in at the end of the stock WM outfeed plate.  A couple (three) tips, make sure there are no places on the table that can hang the board on the powered return stoke, or it will get real ugly real fast.  The saw head isn't going to stop, and the table isn't going to move, so about the only thing left to happen is not good.  Also, I spaced my table boards apart so that sawdust will fall through and not just build up on the table, its a pain when it does.  I put a roller on the end, but submerged the mounts.  Also, if you have anywhere hydraulics, get the hang of raising the powered toe board roller a little on the return stroke, that will help it feed onto the table and make a smooth transition.

Not sure if you edge on the mill, (I do) but you can also return the whole pack of edged board to the outfeed table, no need to pull them from the mill by hand anymore.  Really speed things up.   
     



  




 

[4x4American]

Thanks for the pics!  Did you weld or bolt it to the headrig?  Two half inch bolts be enough?

[slider]

As Yellowhammer stated that left finger or the one next to it is critical .
Mine kept loosing the board to the left on the return until i moved that one finger.It made things much easier for me.

[Ljohnsaw]

Thanks for the pics!  Did you weld or bolt it to the headrig?  Two half inch bolts be enough?

Casual observation.  Based on what YH said about what would happen if a board hangs up:  I'd bolt it on with low grade bolts so they would snap in the event of a crash!

[YellowHammer]

Thanks for the pics!  Did you weld or bolt it to the headrig?  Two half inch bolts be enough?

Casual observation.  Based on what YH said about what would happen if a board hangs up:  I'd bolt it on with low grade bolts so they would snap in the event of a crash!

That is exactly correct.  There is a need for the drag back arm to "release" and raise up in some circumstances.  It's a safety feature and will save some headaches.  If you'll notice, the OEM dragback arm has a joint in it, about halfway along its length.  This is for folding the arm up and out of the way, as well as a providing a way to release the arm if things get haywire.  I didn't want to put a joint in my arm, but rigged a simple solution where it can do the same thing.  In essence, I mounted a piece of angle iron along the main crossmember, with two relatively weak grade 0, 5/16" bolts holding it on the saw.  I keep the bolts loose, about a turn or so, and gravity on the long lever arm keeps everything in place and the arm tight against the head of the bolts.  Since it's installed loose along the vertical axis, this allows the whole arm to rise up several inches, and fall back down if there is ever a need, which does happen occasionally.  Things that happen are returning mid stroke and a dragback finger jams, or lowering the head to the bed and the fingers hit a crossmember and can't fold up, etc.  If the arm can raise up and take the pressure off the saw head, no harm, no foul.  Of course, the arm must be mounted so that there is zero side to side movement, just a little up and down.  Using this mounting method, I've never broken a bolt, bent the arm or otherwise caused any damage.

If I ever need to get the fingers out of the way, I have mounted the cross rod a little forward, (you can see it in the picture) and this allows me to simply flip the fingers up, back over, and gravity will hold them in place, out of the way.

I don't know many boards I've sawn with this rig and these mods, but it's a few (you can see the wear marks on the WM return ramp) and these all compliment each other, greatly increase production and significantly reduce effort:
Board return table
Board return shoe
Dragback fingers
Anywhere hydraulics

[4x4American]

I need to do the anywhere hydraulics mod for sure.  I don't see it being too difficult just need to get down and do it.  I never liked that contact strip idea anyhow.  On my mill there is two small plugs in the frame about where I think the dragback fingers arm would mount.  Did you find that you had to adjust anything after adding the weight of the dragback fingers?

[Larry]

There is a need for the drag back arm to "release" and raise up in some circumstances.  It's a safety feature and will save some headaches.  If you'll notice, the OEM dragback arm has a joint in it, about halfway along its length.  This is for folding the arm up and out of the way, as well as a providing a way to release the arm if things get haywire.

The TK comes without a joint in the arm or any kind of safety release.  Took me all of a day to realize the folly, as one mistake could twist the whole carriage out of alignment. 

I added a hinge for peace of mind.  It was a simple process.

[4x4American]

Pretty much finished tbe table today, I added a jack and another bolt spot.  Played around with it a bit, and it most definitely needs fingers, good grief!!!  But already 100x better.  Not sure why they don't come with a roller table stock, it's way better!  I believe Cook's and Baker mills do have roller outfeed tables stock.  I had a question, I see that there is already drilled and tapped holes in the angle iron piece that supports the engine's hinge/pivot point, what are they for?  Can I use them to bolt the arm for the fingers to?  How is yours bolted, yh?

[YellowHammer]

Heres a picture

[Peter Drouin]

YH you have a nice clean mill, Must be from not cutting Pine. I have Pine pitch all over mine. :D :D :D

[4x4American]

Thanks YH, preciate it.  Did you drill and tap or drill all the way and through bolt?  I looks awful tight in there to fit a drill.  Definitely need to do fingers here soon.  Will start sourcing steel now that I have an idea in my head.

[YellowHammer]

YH you have a nice clean mill, Must be from not cutting Pine. I have Pine pitch all over mine. :D :D :D

Heck no, I don't cut wet, messy gooey logs on my mill, I got to keep it looking good, never know when someone might want to look under the skirt.   :D

Thanks YH, preciate it.  Did you drill and tap or drill all the way and through bolt?  I looks awful tight in there to fit a drill.  Definitely need to do fingers here soon.  Will start sourcing steel now that I have an idea in my head.

Yep, it's tight, but I drilled and tapped the holes, didn't want a nut vibrating off and causing issues.  I drilled the holes into the angle iron, then clamped the angle to the mill, matched drilled and tapped the holes into the mill.  Only after all that was done did I take everything down and weld the long arm to the angle iron and reinstall the assembly to the mill.   

[Kbeitz]

I have been wanting to buy a good edger. I started to build one but other
projects just kept getting in way. Using the log dogs on the mill was just
way to slow. So I came up with this idea. Just two bolts hooks it to my mill,
Tommorow I will test it out and report back on how it works out.



 



 



 



 

[drobertson]

clever, low voltage on the drill motor aye?

[Kbeitz]

clever, low voltage on the drill motor aye?

Yea.... Batterys are getting old....

[4x4American]

Not really a sawmill mod, but figured this might be the place to put it.  I runned over my broom with the sawmill the other day and snapped it off.  I like to keep the broom handy to brush off sawdust or clean dirt from logs.  Well I needed a place to put it.  This is where it ended up. 





Turns out it works great to sweep the sawdust from the boards as it passes over it.  8)

[4x4American]

Oh, and when you're wrenching on your mill, the claw is a handy tool holder lol

[LeeB]

much better than the tool holder I usually use, which is the sawdust pile under the mill. I bet there has to be many a wayward tool living in there.

[fishfighter]

much better than the tool holder I usually use, which is the sawdust pile under the mill. I bet there has to be many a wayward tool living in there.

Get a big speaker magnet and pass it over the saw dust. That saved me once already. :D

[4x4American]

Not really a mod, but something to make life easier.  Whenever I'm greasing the drum switches I always fight with the lubemizer control I set it on top of the accuset and it never seems to stay put.  So yesterday a light bulb come on.  I reckon that the older mizers aren't a prob when they had the lubemizer control on the h-bridge box.