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Poulson bandsaw project

Started by cwk266, April 01, 2018, 07:37:23 AM

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cwk266

wondering if anyone can point me to some information resources for a Poulson bandsawmill.Other than the brand name "Poulson"which I have googled and got zero results for Poulson bandsawmill I dont have much to go on.It is powered by a 4 cylinder Wisconsin,hydraulic drive,hydraulic up down on the saw head,hydraulic dogs and log turner and 32"cut capacity.I have no idea how much of the mill is actually stock ..Its a project mill that will need moocho tlc to become a well functioning tool.A manual would be super or any other source of information would be appreciated.I will try to post some pics once I get it dragged home and maybe someone will be able to help me identify what it is

shenandoahsawmill

I have a Povlsen model 36 bandmill that was made in British Columbia by Eric Povlsen mid 1980s. It was labeled "E Povlsen mod 36" on one of the bandwheel guards. Spelling close to yours but might be worth a look to see if it is the same. Pics in my gallery. Gary

cwk266

Thanks I looked at your gallery and it looks very much like that.

shenandoahsawmill

I have a lot of info on the mill and might be able to help you out. I did a write-up of work I did to mine on the forum. It is titled "Povlsen mill back from the dead". I am running mine on a regular basis and have really enjoyed it. Where are you located? I am in Berryville, Va. You can pm me and I can give you my contact info. Gary

Kbeitz

Gotta be rare... Nothing on google...
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

shenandoahsawmill

 I know of only two others in the states. I visited one owner in Pa. a few months back to compare notes. They have a modified mill to cut up to 48" wide and they are using  5" wide single cut bands with stellite teeth.  Mine will cut up to 42" wide with a 5" wide double cut band. Mine came with a built in double circular saw blade edger but I don't use it. There is one for sale in BC. On sawmill exch. Thankfully all parts are available off the shelf at local machinery parts suppliers.

starmac

The saw mill here is a circle saw operation, but they have a band saw that also has a 2 blade circle saw edger. I have just seen it from a distance, and they currently do not have the edger on it anymore. From talking to them, it used the big bands, but they quit using them and use narrow bands when they use it at all, which I have never seen it in use. The reason they gave me was the expense of the big bands, and they said everytime someone got trained up enough to sharpen them, they wound up quitting, so they just went to narrow bands and toss them, when they get dull. They did tell me that the only thing they do with it is to trim over size logs down enough to fit the circle mill.

I will try and find out what brand this thing is, once the snow goes away.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

cwk266

Thanks for the input it will be a couple of weeks before I get it home and can get pics posted to identify it

cwk266


cwk266

Thanks Gary for helping to identify my mill.What are the odds that there are only 2 of these that you know about and I stumble across #3 and it happens to be you that reads my request for help.I think I should have bought a lottery ticket on that day seeing as I was so lucky with the odds being so slim .The tank on the top is just for weight to counter balance the motor on the other side.Do your hydraulics run off of the saw motor?The dogs and turner on mine were run off of a separate electric power pack which i did not get.Would I be better off to plumb them into the saw hydraulics or should I try to find a hydraulic pack to run those functions separately?The theory behind the separate hydraulic pack was that the saw did not need to run for those functions to work.I dont know diddly about hydraulics.The manual that you have does it go into the hydraulics and where or how can I get my hands on one I am going to need all the help I can find   

shenandoahsawmill

Rick; I will give all of the credit to this fantastic forum as far as letting us all share information. It is definitely a very old Povlsen mill. It might be one of the first ones ever made. You should try to contact Eric Povlsen and send him pics. He lives in BC near you. Sorry, I don't have his contact info but you might be able to find it on line somewhere. My mill has hydraulics that are powered by the main Isuzu diesel engine. The hydraulic pump is coupled to the engine via a v belt. The pump feeds a valve body with a bank of 12 hand actuated valves. The valves ride with the head and operator right at the operators seat. There are 10 hydraulic lines going from the valves to different parts of the mill that lie in a track. This setup allows me to sit at the controls for the engine (Key/Clutch/throttle) and all of the controls for mill hydraulics (Head feed & speed, up/down, log clamps turners etc). The hydraulic lines and track were shot on my mill so I replaced all of them. If I were to do it again I would set things up to run the mill from the end of the mill for line of sight for clamps as these are blocked from view in my ride along drivers seat. I think your best bet is to go with the remote hydraulic power as your mill was set up originally as you could spend a couple thousand dollars to change it over to power it with the Wisconsin engine. 

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