HM126 crank upgrade suggestions

[mitchstockdale]

Hey fellas,

It seems the bearings blew out on my crank handle and has made it difficult to raise the head of the mill.  I have been searching for solutions on some of the sawmill build threads but havent tracked down a good fix yet.  Has anyone run in to this problem with their HM126.  Thinking of rigging up a chain sprocket setup to increase the speed of movement.  Electric had crossed my mind but that seems to add a layer of complexity that I would prefer to stay away from.  Any suggestions.

Thanks

[Crusarius]

Electric motor is very simple. do you already have a battery on board? You can get a momentary DPDT switch and just flip the wires so you do not need any fancy switching solenoids.

When I did my build I said I would just leave it manual then during the 5 or 6 times of going up and down all the way I immediately changed my tune

Electric motor was worth every bit it took to get it setup. I am actually redoing it as we speak. I was not happy with the raise speed.

[Wudman]

I use a cordless electric drill to move the head on my homebuilt mill.  I welded a 3/4 bolt to one of the sprockets and use the drill to raise and lower large adjustments.  It's pretty simple and works well for me.





The steering wheel to the left is used for small adjustments.  I stick the cordless drill on the riser to the right side to raise and lower longer distances.  The head is controlled by 5 thread per inch Acme rod.  It works well for me.  Consider turning your axle in a similar manner.

Wudman

[Southside]

Nice cover there Wudman!!  I like it!!  What's in the greenhouse?

[Wudman]

Tobacco when it's time.  Makes for decent lumber drying at other times.

Wudman

[sawmilljoe]

I have replaced mine with a atv winch. Only had to move two pulleys and make new cables. I have a speed controller to fine tune the adjustments. Was looking for pictures but have none will take some tomorrow and post.

[fishfighter]

Try to pull the cranking system apart, clean and throw some grease in it. I had that problem and it was dry.

I had also added power wheel chair motors to mine. One for lifting the head and one to track the head.









Can't find the pictures of the head lift. Will get you some later. I used the controller from the wheel chair. I used two 12V lawn tractor batteries to power it due to the system has to have 24V. 

 

[fishfighter]

Here you go OP.

















On each motor/gear box, there is a leaver that let you to put that motor in neutral. I used the wheel chair hubs and welded gears on them. Same for the hand crank. I can fine tune with the hand crank.

If you do a search for power wheel chair mods, there is a ton of info on this web site. ;D

Gear box leaver.



 

[mitchstockdale]

Here you go OP.

That is pretty cool actually...I like that you can put the up/down motor in neutral so you still use the crank..I could see doing something like that.   The trick is finding a motor like that here in Canada that wont cost a small fortune to land on my doorstep

[fishfighter]

Check places that sell power wheel chairs. There are some that are 12V. I bought a chair off Craigslist for $100. Heck, I needed a new seat for my backhoe and the seat that came with the power chair fit great. :D

I don't have to disengage to fine tune the head drive. Only time I do is to use the tracking drive. The single controller runs both motors.

[Hilltop366]

Make a small donation to my local Red Cross and I will give you a old wheel chair that I set aside to use in a future sawmill build, if I ever get around to building a mill I will probably go manual or hydraulic to avoid electrical issues. I think I live too close to the ocean to leave that electric stuff outside.

Everything is there including charger, the batteries are likely no good but the chair was functional when I put it in my shed. You just have to figure a way to come and get it in Yarmouth NS.

What part of NB are you in?