Crusarius’ sawmill build - started with Linn Lumber basic kit

[grouch]

I'll vote with ljohnsaw -- wooden guards.

[Crusarius]

That is a very good point. Ox, did you ever have a problem like that on yours?

I was contemplating a nice thin layer of HDPE all the way around the blade to hopefully prevent sawdust and stuff from collecting up in there.

[Jemclimber]

You may also want to drill and tap your wheel covers on either side to accept a piece of HDPE to scrape your rails. Just cut the rail profile into the plastic, and mill a slot so the height can be adjusted.  Sawdust will build up on the rails and get compressed by the wheels otherwise. It's Woodmizer's solution on my LT15 to this issue. 

[Crusarius]

That is exactly what I am planning. but I may end up just using sheet metal. My plan for that was a cover over the wheel that has the track profile cut in it and gravity holding it against the rail but still covering the wheel.

The cover will be hinged at the far side of the wheel pocket and gravity will hold it against the rail. It will be shaped to make a cap.

Hopefully it will keep all the debris out of the wheel pocket and minimize anything getting ground into the track.

[Ox]

The only time teeth touched the steel inside the guards for me was when blades break, but at that point it of course doesn't matter.

I've never had a blade walk off the wheels due to misalignment or other reason.  I'm impressed with how the mill holds its adjustments.  I haven't had to change a thing.

If I had a choice of wood or steel for the blade to fly into when coming off the wheels wood is the winner.  It protects the teeth like the guys have said already.

If you like steel, maybe line the insides of the guards with wood or a hard plastic or something.  Or not.  Plenty of mills out there with steel guards! 

The way I see it, blades flying off shouldn't be happening if you carefully align your mill at the start and keep an eye on where the blade is riding on your guides and wheels.  It will warn you if you need to re-align.  Don't try to back out of a cut with the blade running.  And don't back the head up after a cut without raising it a little to clear the end of the log. 

I'm enjoying following your build thread.  You're doing a good job.

[William1961]

I have a question.

The pieces of tube (2 1/2" square) that slide over the 2" tube for adjusting the tension. I do believe they are called the "yoke "

How long are these tubes. 15". ?

Thanks

[Crusarius]

I will measure when I get home tonight but that sounds pretty close.

[William1961]

I will measure when I get home tonight but that sounds pretty close.

Any luck Crusarius
Thanks.

[scrout]

I set my tracking on my Linn mill on the initial build and have NEVER had to adjust, and that has been years.

Kb I may be misunderstanding you but I do have a bolt on 3 of the 4 pillow blocks that does just what I think you are saying. However, I do not have that fine adjustment on the guides which may or may not be an issue.

I have had 1500 psi on the hydraulic tensioner with the dummy steel band. I set the tracking and the dummy blade has not moved since I set it.

I will get better pictures tonight when I get home. I didn't take to many detailed pictures of the sawframe assembly.

[Crusarius]

I will measure when I get home tonight but that sounds pretty close.

Any luck Crusadius.
Thanks.

Thanx for refreshing my memory. I totally spaced on that. Sorry. I just measured it and it is 15"

[William1961]

Thanks

[William1961]

What type and manufacturer of your bandwheel belts.

[Crusarius]

Shoot I forgot to look at manufacturer but here are the numbers for the wheels and belts.

The band wheel belts are B56 / 5L 590. The band wheel is AK184H.

[William1961]

Hello.
Now I see what the difference in belt heights could be from.
Your sheave is 18.25" in dia.
Mine is 18.75".
This maybe the reason why my belts seem lower as they are more compressed into the pulley groove due to more tension with the larger diameter.
Well my theory.
I have also seen posts where the outside edges have been machined down about 1/8 of an inch to expose more belt.
I may try this depending on who made your belt.
Thanks.

[Crusarius]

Optibelt-VB SC plus made in romania.
B56 5L 590.

[Crusarius]

So how much space do you guys have between the back of the blade and the guard? I think I have just enough to drop a blade in there and make it very hard to get back out. I want to move it forward some. anybody have any thoughts? The gap is roughly 1 1/8" from the back of the wheel.

[grouch]

That looks good to me. As someone pointed out earlier, you're not going to have blades flying off normally.

[Crusarius]

More worried about when I put them on having it slip off the back and get wedged in there.

I am leaning towards making it closer but figured I would get some opinions.

[Ga Mtn Man]

The blade wants to spring outward, so you are not likely to have much trouble with it dropping behind the wheel.  If anything, I'd make the gap larger so a twisted (broken or thrown) blade can't get wedged in there.

[47sawdust]

The blade guide housing on my WM LT30 is 4'' deep. The gap between the wheels and back of housing is 1½ inches.I've never had problems with it being too tight

[Kbeitz]

I only have 1/2" of space between the band wheel and the back of my blade guard.
It has never given my any problems.

[Crusarius]

Thanx everyone. I may make it closer. I was working on the carriage and the bed this weekend after I got the engine mount done.

Pictures will come tomorrow

[Crusarius]

So I kept threatening to post a picture of the carriage roller side view. This show the gap under it. I milled a slot up into the 2x2 rail for clearance but that should do a good job of keeping debris off the rail. between the wheels. I will also be adding scrapers front and rear of the carriage.

[Crusarius]

It is starting to look like something more than parts. I am getting really excited.



I finally found the piece I decided to use for the engine mount / top blade guard. My original plan was a piece of channel. Unfortunately, my steel supplier did not have any 4" channel in the shorts pile. I did not want to buy a 20' stick of it. I did find a nice piece of 4 x 6 angle that I decided to use instead. Best part was it was already the right length.



I did end up using some of the 3" channel I originally had for the engine mount to make the vertical supports for the angle I used instead of the channel.



I added some slotted holes to the engine mount for belt tensioning. I am really wondering if I should have gone to a separate tensioning system. I still need to add something to slide the engine. Right now it's as tight as I could get it by hand. It is also very difficult to keep the engine straight while tensioning.

The horizontal tubes you see will be welded to the cross bar on the carriage.


Here is a closeup of the front of the sawhead. Should have plenty of room around the blade. Even if I add some type of soft blade guard.

[Crusarius]

I am planning on adjusting the gap behind the band wheels. I think it is a little to easy to get a blade stuck in there when changing them.





I had so much steel dust and chips on the floor it was getting to hard to walk. So I ended a little early Sunday so I could do a very needed clean on the shop. I put all my tools away swept the floor then placed the bed rails on the floor in the shop prepping for building the bed. The bed will be 48" wide x 24' long.