A circle sawmill journey...

[hardtailjohn]

he solved the noise problem using a barrel buried running the pipe up after it goes into the barrel with baffles .

dblair, I'm still running a 6-71 in a crusher and would love to see some pictures or drawings of this setup!! I'm all for quieting it down a bit!!
SPD748, I'm loving this story! One good source for 671's is the marine world...there were alot of them in boats and they're being upgraded quite alot lately...the 6-71's seem to be pretty inexpensive and readily available.  Keep up the great job and thanks for sharing!!
John

[starrtraveler]

Did I mention the sawmill graveyard that my shop has become?

Now that's something that we all have in common :D  If we all scrapped out our boneyards, we could all meet in a tropical place and sip a Mi Tie together.  But what fun would that be!!

Thanks for the story.  Many of us can totally relate!!!

p.s. good on you for fighting off that itch to buy a band mill 8) ;D

I'm sure it wouldn't take long before you were wondering how Palm trees saw out!  ;D

[SPD748]

John,

It's my understanding that the blower on these engines is a source of some of the noise. "Intake" noise is what i'm told. The marine engines came with an intake silencer however, looking at a picture of one I don't see how an air filter/cleaner could be fitted. If the noise is coming through the air filter/cleaner, would it be possible to run a long intake pipe up away from the engine with an air filter/cleaner at the end? I don't know. I have a length of 5" .083 tube in the shop. If I ever find an engine, I'll try this idea out and see. On that subject, I've been scouring the marine market. So far, the engines that I've come up with have many questions that come along with them. I'm holding out for a runner.

Dave,

That itch you spoke of... it was powerful. I took a trip down to Cooks Saw in AL. I found a very nice product there and great people. The only problem I had with their saw was all the electric over hydraulic controls. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that type of control. I simply prefer the 'feel' of direct hydraulic controls. Of all the mills I visited or demo'd, the Cooks seemed to be built heaviest. I really liked their log turner. That thing is massive! If Cooks offered an AC-36 with direct hydraulic controls, I'd add one to the stable no questions asked.

I called TimberKing who forwarded me to a local owner. I visited his mill. He was kind enough to allow me to saw up a log. It seemed well built and user friendly. Though I didn't think it was build as heavy as the Cooks, I really preferred the control system. I still plan on adding one to my lineup however I want to complete the Frick first.

-lee

[doghunter]

looks good so far where are you in nc i have the same mill with a 3-71 gm if you need any info pm me i'll try to help

[doghunter]

i also have a good source for gm parts near marion,nc

[Corley5]

  I run my three blade edger with an H and a flat belt.  Works good but three blades cutting 2" hardwood is too much  ;) ;D   Talladega Machine usually has several 6-71s listed.  Your second mill looks really nice  8) 8) 8)

[mill_boy]

if i had a place big enough id love to get a circle mill with a 671 or similar.

[SPD748]

I started rebuilding my PTO yesterday. Man this thing was nasty. Anyway, I pulled the clutch assembly off the main shaft. My puller wasn't big enough so I made a bridge from 1 1/2" square steel:


 


 
I piggy-backed my little puller onto the bridge. The two 3/4" bolts screwed into the holes on the clutch face. A few turns of the fine thread screw and bam... clutch popped right off.

Here's a view of he PTO housing minus the clutch:


 
And the clutch its self:


 

I took the PTO to a local shop with a 100 ton press to remove the old pillow block bearing and sheave. They called late yesterday afternoon and said its ready. I'm heading over there in a few minutes to pick it up. Hopefully the tapered roller bearings are good. Wish me luck guys!

-lee

[SPD748]

Oh, here is the belt lace press that I mentioned earlier. I can't find any tags or markings on it. Does anyone know who made it and when?


 


 


 

-lee

[Chico]

the lace press  is used for alligator lacing it's a crimpstyle lacing which is ok but I personally would opt for the rivet style as the alligator tends to tear  out esp on a belt with more than min tension

[Silver_Eagle]

Awesome post with picture's. Pretty cool to watch as you move along. Keep em coming.

[bandmiller2]

Lee,its probibly a "Clipper" lacer,I have one thats ment to be used in a large vice its not as wide as yours.You can still find the long cards of laceing clips at industrial/mill supply houses or almost any old engine show.Large diesel farm tractors make good mill power especially if you can find one with poor tires or a transmission problem, that can be had reasonable.Frank C

[Joe Lallande]

Great story with pictures!  When we moved to Michigans's UP our neighbor had and old DD 6-71 from a saw mill in his back yard.  I put it on Craigs List for him where is sat for over six months.  He sold it for $350.  Check out my gallery picture of the engine.  Good luck with your mill.

[SPD748]

Thanks for the info on the lace press guys! I picked it up for $20 at a tractor show. I think I made out pretty good, even if I never use it.

-lee

[SPD748]

I picked up the PTO from the shop earlier. There is good news and bad news. (as with most things on this journey) The shop was able to separate the PTO parts. Their 100 ton press made quick work of the 'frozen' bearing and sheave. The bad news? Both tapered roller bearings will have to be replaced. A call to my local NAPA determined the bearings and races will cost $235. Oh well, such is life. A dollar here, a dollar there... $235 dollars now! My NAPA guy says they will be here in two days. Until then, here are some pictures of the PTO after a bath in kerosene.

The 3" main shaft:


 

The bell housing:


 


 


I'm going to chuck the main shaft in the lathe and clean all the paint and rust off. The pilot was worn by a seized bearing so I have to weld it up and turn it down to size. After repairing the pilot, I'm going to machine a 'wedge' to separate the roller bearings as they are pressed against a collar. Then it's press the new bearings on and assemble the PTO. As always, updates and pics to come...

-lee

[Silver_Eagle]

SPD748

Might try https://ec.kamandirect.com/us/content/products/bearings/default.asp to get a price on those bearing's. last time I priced NAPA against kaman they where way cheaper.

[hardtailjohn]

John,

It's my understanding that the blower on these engines is a source of some of the noise. "Intake" noise is what i'm told. The marine engines came with an intake silencer however, looking at a picture of one I don't see how an air filter/cleaner could be fitted. If the noise is coming through the air filter/cleaner, would it be possible to run a long intake pipe up away from the engine with an air filter/cleaner at the end? I don't know. I have a length of 5" .083 tube in the shop. If I ever find an engine, I'll try this idea out and see. -lee

Lee,
My intake is about 16' in the air, then runs through 2 big oil bath air cleaners (about 16" in diameter) in "series". The exhaust is routed to about the same "altitude" then turns horizontal through an elbow (pointed away from the one neighbor that always complains about noise...eventhough he lives on the edge of the hiway).
The engine is noisey enough that you can hear the "drone" of it above the racket of the rock crusher and screen.  I have finally gotten the plant down in the pit, about 10' below the level of the berms around it...all for noise abatement.   That's why I'd love to find out more about the muffler system mentioned above. The noise isn't really a problem for me, but I do like to try to keep the neighbors happy if at all possible!
One thing about a 6-71...they just RUN!! Basically a zero problem engine for sure, if you can stand the noise....and they're really not too hard on fuel.
John

[donny hochstetler]

interesting thread for what its worth I just saw that TRI-STATE AUCTION will be selling a nice 671 might want to check it out

[dblair]

from the looks of your lacer it takes no. 2 and 3 clipper lacing . I have used ones like that many times in the years past . they make a good lace job. Grainger has the lacing you need .

[SPD748]

Sorry for the delayed update guys. It's been a busy day here. Today, I machined a few parts for the mill. The first was a riser to mount under the PTO outboard bearing.

First, I cut a block of steel in the saw:


 

Then I squared it up on the bridgeport:


 

Finally I added a few holes:


 

Next I made a cross member for the engine frame. I had to bore the holes to accept the DOM tubing:


 

Then I cut the DOM to length:


 

Finally, I welded the DOM into the crossmember:


 

Stay tuned guys. Hopefully these pics will make sense when I start putting things together. More on that later!

-lee

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

You sure do have some nice toys tools to play work with.

Herb

[hardtailjohn]

Yah that, and you do very nice work!!
John

[Autocar]

Very interesting , looks to me you have a great plan and it's coming togather.

[SPD748]

Thanks guys! I spent my early adult life chasing a tool makers certificate. After finally obtaining it, the manufacturing jobs in my area all moved to mexico. That shiny-new certificate became worth less than the value of the paper it's printed on. I can't complain though. I picked up a skill that no one can take away, not even NAFTA!

I'm working on the PTO main shaft today. I'll post some pictures later this evening.

-lee

[customsawyer]

Great progress. Keep it coming.