DIY Scrap Iron Bandsaw Mill

[Magicman]

Pecan is beautiful wood.  Back during my woodworking days in the 80's I built an entire bedroom suite which included a sleigh style bed, dresser and nightstand from Pecan with no issues.  I also built probably 50 different styles of wall and mantel clocks again with no issues.  That was long before my sawmilling days and before I found out that Pecan was a problem.  :  Thankfully the lumber was from a huge butt log that was riddled with black ambrosia beetle holes and my customers went crazy over whatever I built.  When I used all of that lumber my Pecan sales went to practically zero and I had to start using Cherry and Walnut.

[RetiredTech]

Magic,
  I ran across this post while trying to figure out what the ambrosia beetle post was all about. I guess that helps explain the fist post. lol
"And Pecan limb wood is a double devil.    "
 

[Magicman]

Ambrosia beetles enter the log when it is fresh felled and as the log/lumber dries they leave a small pyramid of sawdust as they exit and their pin head size holes are usually surrounded with a blackish stain.  Some furniture manufacturers, especially with Pecan, will dot/mark the wood with a black magic marker to mimic ambrosia beetle holes. 

[RetiredTech]

  No new photos, but I did work on the mill a little today. I was able to get two of the blade guard mounts mostly done. I wish I hadn't grabbed that old bed rail to use. I've burned up two drill bits trying to put a couple holes in it and have two more to go. I may weld a softer tab to it and drill that instead. At least the guard can be bolted to the mill now and doesn't have to sit on sticks anymore. Should make the rest of the measurements easier. Still have to make at  least one more mount point. Then I can get back to working on the guard itself. I'm lucky if I get a day every week or two to work on the mill. This heat wave isn't helping either.

[RetiredTech]

  Finally got the frame of the blade guards finished and mounted. It's not perfect but it should do the job. Still need to build the doors and cut the discharge shoot. I think I'm going to try and work on getting the mill a little more functional before I make the doors. I need to start using it some.


 

[SawyerTed]

I've just caught up reading the last four or five pages in this thread.

The ingenuity of these shop built mills is impressive!  The various creative solutions really approach being artistry.  

The sawdust conversation reminded me of the following solution.  

My wife, a creative problem solver herself, came up with this sawdust solution when my customer didn't want much sawdust in his yard. 

 

[Crusarius]

I had a 5 gallon bucket I would hang off of the chute. It worked but had to be emptied every pass. I think it was yellowhammer that gave me the idea? maybe WVsawmiller?

[RetiredTech]

  I'll probably be doing the same thing until I can get the mill moved to it's permanent location. I plan to saw the lumber to build the sawmill shed/container cover. But first I have a build a carport or garage for the wife. So what sawing that gets done will have to be in the narrow space I'm building the mill in. It won't be very convenient but I think I can make it work for a while.

[JRWoodchuck]

I would suggest milling your sawmill shed first that way you get some practice milling before the garage. 

[RetiredTech]

I would agree, except that the garage has been postponed for more years than I care to admit. My wife has almost given up on it. Even if I have to buy some of the lumber it will have to come first. The last job I hired out was a nightmare. I swore I wouldn't do that again as long I could possibly do it myself. So she's been waiting on my round-to-its for a long time.

[beenthere]

Understand, but it's your funeral...  8)

[RetiredTech]

 That's kinda what I'm trying to avoid. :D

[RetiredTech]

 Here's a little update on the mill progress. Sorry no new pictures. The first thing I saw when I walked up was the rubber top hold down bracket on the battery had broken. Well that didn't last very long. I cut a piece of the 1/2" metal shelving channel and drilled to fit the threaded hold downs. The opening of the channel was just the right size to fit over the square ridge in the top of the broken rubber bracket. That allowed me to continue to use the broken rubber mount between the battery and new metal channel to keep the metal channel from rubbing on the plastic battery case.
 When I had the blade on the mill last time I noticed that it didn't ride in the same spot of both tires. I made the mistake of not allowing any adjustment for toe-in on the drive axle. It wasn't a lot of difference, but it bugged me knowing it could be better with just a little investment in time. So I removed all but one of the bolts on the drive axle and enlarged the bolt holes with a 1/16th" larger drill bit. After breaking two bits I was able to pivot the back of the axle towards the mill just a little and reinstall the bolts. It was enough to bring the blade into proper alignment on the center of both tires. That also fixed a slight alignment problem with my movable blade guide. Now it tracks perfectly with the blade.
 I made a sawdust exit shoot cut a hole in the blade guard and installed it with pop rivets in case I don't like this setup I can change it easily. It should send the saw dust straight down so I can hang a bucket under it to catch the dust like a few others I've seen on forum. I'll probably need to use that until the mill is moved to it's permanent location. After it's moved I think I can let it blow straight out.
 I made another log clamp and manual log stop like the others so I can better secure the logs. Getting closer!
 Future upgrades will be to install the swing-up side stops and be able to set them from the operator side of the mill. I can probably use the wheelchair motor I had bought for the HF hand winch to drive the head up and down the track so I won't have to push it anymore. I think mills are like houses, you never really finish them. There's always just one more thing you want to do. Right now I need a usable mill. I need to cut a series of rafters for an old Shasta camper I'm working on.
 

[Magicman]

It's good to see you making some progress Wes.  8)

[RetiredTech]

Thanks MM. 
I bought a Badlands 2500 winch to replace the worm drive hand winch. I finished installing it, except for routing the wiring, but I'm not really satisfied with it. The hand winch was way too slow. This one is too fast. I've already removed all the excess cable and just have the last row and a few turns left if I raise it all the way up. I think I'm going to buy a couple more pulleys and rework the cabling so that it will put less stress on the winch and only move 1/2 as fast.

[Magicman]

Yup, one thing leads to another opportunity.  8)

[fluidpowerpro]

I've got a Badlands 3500 lb on my mill and was way too fast also. I put a pwm drive on it so now I can adjust the speed. They are cheap and easy to install. I bought mine on eBay.

[RetiredTech]

I put a pwm drive on it

That would be easier. I hadn't thought about that, I may end up using it. I need to relocate my winch  to the top left of my mill. Right now I have it mounted where the old hand winch was just for simplicity sake. It's not the ideal place for it. Right now my cabling has to go around 4 pulleys that do not have bearings. It puts to much load on the winch and the right side of the mill. If it's still too fast after I get it re-cabled I  can add the speed controller to slow it even further.

[Crusarius]

double the line up. it will cut your speed. 

wrap the cable all aroud and then reconnect the end to the winch. that will double the pulling power and half the speed.

[RetiredTech]

double the line up

That's my plan for now. I need to move the winch to the top of the other side so it will be a straight lift instead of having to go around two pulleys before it gets to the first beam. Right now the two sides are connected on the top beam. When I double line the winch I don't think I'll have enough room on top to get a full lift of the head. I'm probably not explaining that very well. I'll try to get a closeup picture of it today. My side beams are much longer so if the cables are connected on the sides I should be able to get a full lift, bu I'll need to change my pulley system configuration. I'd like to find some larger pulleys with bearings maybe 2 1/2" to 3" in diameter.

[fluidpowerpro]

Yes, big pulley with bearings. If they are too small your cables don't last very long. If you can find some with ball bearings, use those. 

[Crusarius]

garage door spring pulleys work well.

[RetiredTech]

The garage door spring pulleys I've seen are two piece stamped steel and riveted together will that hold up to the load?

I just found some cast iron ones with ball bearings. They're on order now.

[Crusarius]

yes, those garage door pulleys you described hold up to a pretty hefty load just opening and closing a garage door. They are stronger than you think and really cheap.

[RetiredTech]

@fluidpowerpro What size pwm did you buy for the Badlands 3500 winch? 60A?


 I ordered 4 cast iron garage door pulleys with ball bearings. I measured the ones I have on the mill now. They're 1 1/2" diameter. I pulled them from some snatch blocks made for come-alongs.