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Band Mill Cutting Width

Started by JimFX, April 15, 2013, 10:57:11 PM

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JimFX

I am a bit confused and wondering if someone here can explain the details.
Different mills may say cuts a 32" log but then go on to say the max board cut is less.

For instance, the Cooks MP 32 says it will cut a 32" log but then lists a 24" wide board cut.
To look at the mill in the flyer it looks wider than 24" at the mouth. So is it simply that the visual is deceiving
and the distance between the wheels plus the roller guides etc only leaves 24" for the wood?

The Timber King 1220 and the Cooks MP32 look so similar yet the TK has at least 4 inches over the cooks.
Am I understanding this correct?
Thanks!

hackberry jake

Sounds like you answered your own question. The guides take some space. My boardwalk jr claims a max of 24" but I have removed one guide before and gotten 26" boards.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

JimFX

Thanks Jake,
It just didn't seem right that there would be that much difference .....

bandmiller2

Jim,if you take a 32" dia. log and take several slab cuts your soon down to 24".It takes a big log to give you 24" boards. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

JimFX

Got ya, thanks. It would probably be a good idea to actually go see a mill first hand, ( I never had a mill) it could only improve my newbie questions .....
: )

Chuck White

What you would be doing is actually cutting the "round part" off the log, and boards with bark on them (flitches), and by the time you get it squared down, the log would be considerably smaller that the original log size.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Fla._Deadheader

QuoteFor instance, the Cooks MP 32 says it will cut a 32" log but then lists a 24" wide board cut.

This is exactly why we build an oversized woodmizer copy. I felt they have the best design, AND, the open side allows slipping a wider log on the mill with no problem.

We have sawn a full 37" wide X 3" thick table slabs, on a mill that was still road width legal.

Anyone thinking about buying-building a mill, should first figure out if they will ever consider cutting wide boards, then, proceed to the quest for the best mill.

Too many guys try to buy the least expensive mill, then try to mod the thing to death, which ALWAYS costs more than buying the mill that will suit them best.

In our case, we are fabricators-welders- half a$$ed designers, so, we built as near as possible to woodmizers specs as possible, and did it for MUCH less than buying even a used woodmizer LT40 hydraulic mill.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

cutterboy

Jim, If you put a 32" log on a mill and cut a 2" slab and two one inch flitches, you will have taken 4 inches off the top of the log. Now you flip the log over so that the flat side is down. Now you do the same to the top of the log, saw a 2" slab and two one inch flitches. You have now removed 4" from the top of the log. The distance from the bottom to the top is now 24". Turn the log 90 degrees so the round parts of the log are at the top and bottom and the flat parts are on the sides. Your log is now 24" wide and will fit between the roller guides and now you can saw 24" wide boards.

Cutter
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

Ga Mtn Man

Or you could take that same 32" log and throw it on my TK 2000 and slice it right down to the bed.  Not that you'd want to, but you could.  Just sayin' ;D

The max log size rating of a sawmill has as much to do with the max clearance between the saw head frame and the mill bed (throat depth) as it does with the max space between the guide rollers (throat width).
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

hackberry jake

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on April 16, 2013, 06:50:22 PM

The max log size rating of a sawmill has as much to do with the max clearance between the saw head frame and the mill bed (throat depth) as it does with the max space between the guide rollers (throat width).
Good point. My mill will swallow a 30" round log, but I have 40" in height so if I have a log that is oval and 40" across the long way then I can still saw it. I have split a couple 40" logs in half then stood each half up on the mill and sawn it that way.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

Ga Mtn Man

I might be wrong on the definition of "throat depth".  Someone please correct me if I am.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

dgdrls

Like a very good surveyor told me once "your just fooling yourself with the numbers"
Capacity is certainly a consideration as are many other factors.

As you noted, go and see them first hand,
I believe there are at least two builders who are also FF
supporters that would only be a day trip away from you?

best
DGDrls


JimFX

Quote from: Fla._Deadheader on April 16, 2013, 02:08:02 PM
QuoteFor instance, the Cooks MP 32 says it will cut a 32" log but then lists a 24" wide board cut.

Anyone thinking about buying-building a mill, should first figure out if they will ever consider cutting wide boards, then, proceed to the quest for the best mill.

Too many guys try to buy the least expensive mill, then try to mod the thing to death, which ALWAYS costs more than buying the mill that will suit them best.


This makes perfect sense and I totally agree with the least expensive mill comment. Human nature I suppose.
I am determined to get the mill that will be just what I need as opposed to the cheapest mill. You usually get what you pay for.

JimFX

Cutterboy -  nice explanation thanks ...
Ga Mtn man - I got a good chuckle from your comment - you know, I'm just sayin : )

DGDrls - you nailed it, many things to consider, not just capacity ... so much for me to learn that yall already know.  Now that I have a tiny bit of knowledge I must go see ....
Thanks all

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