band sawmill project

Leggman · April 25, 2015, 11:32:20 PM

A couple of months ago I started looking at bandsaw mills and got the bug to build one. I wanted to get on a forum and post some pictures of what I have built so far and get some input. I used steel tubing that I had left over from other projects and got most of my information from videos I saw on youtube.
The drive belt tension is applied by moving the motor left or right with the lever on the back.
Acme screws raise the unit up or down and will probably be motorized in the future.
A blade guard is in the works but not completed yet.
I am still shopping for a blade supplier. It will require a 174 inch blade.
I have the steel angle for the base but have not fabricated it yet.
Please look at the pictures in my gallery and let me know what you think.

beenthere · April 26, 2015, 12:13:59 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
Pls put your pics in your posts... it's protocol.. ;D

justallan1 · April 26, 2015, 12:16:00 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
You've definitely found a great group of folks here willing to help you out.

gww · April 26, 2015, 12:16:39 AM

Thats what I was going to ask for, picts in post.

I am new enough not to know how to get to your gallory. welcome.
gww

thecfarm · April 26, 2015, 06:20:04 AM

Leggman,welcome to the forum. The below should do it for the pictures too.

I like to go to whatever post or start a new topic first to include a picture.Go to your gallery,it will open in a new window.Click onto your album,then click onto whatever picture you want,it will get bigger,than scroll down a little to find,Insert Image In Post,click onto that,click Yes and that is it. Some have to copy/paste the link to work.I like to hit the enter key at least once or twice to move the picture down away from what I am typing. The enter key really helps to leave some white space if posting more than one picture or posting a comment. Use the preview button to see how it looks and modify it if needed.

gww,to view a members gallery,with no camera icon,click on their user name,that will bring to thier profile page,than click on to VISIT MY GALLERY.

fishpharmer · April 26, 2015, 07:25:09 AM

Leggman, welcome to FF! Getting the pics in the gallery is the hardest part. I looked there and your mill looks good and strong. I'll help everyone out and post one of your pics for you...

Leggman's homemade mill

Magicman · April 26, 2015, 07:47:39 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Leggman, and nice work on the sawmill build.

Congrats on uploading the pictures to your gallery which should only contain pictures that are posted.

gww · April 26, 2015, 03:52:46 PM

Thecfarm
Thanks for the advice.

leggman
Very nice and hope to see more. Question, where did you get the bearing for your blade guide?
gww

Leggman · April 26, 2015, 08:57:17 PM

I bought the bearings on amazon. They are 3/8" ID and I think 7/8 OD. I turned the guides on my metal lathe from
1-1/4" round stock.

Leggman · April 26, 2015, 09:21:12 PM

I have decided to go portable because I had a old project trailer just sitting in my yard begging to be used again.
The base for the sawmill will be 5" x 3" angle with 3" x 3" angle joining the two sides together. The v groove wheels will run on 1inch angle inverted in the inside of the 3"

gww · April 26, 2015, 09:30:20 PM

leggman
Thanks for answering my question. I don't have a lathe. My brother-in -law does but is in another state for another year till he retires and I have never used one so back to the drawing board for me. Good luck on the build.
gww

Leggman · April 29, 2015, 12:48:49 PM

worked on the blade guard some today. I am going to have to notch the back to clear the top channel.

gww · April 29, 2015, 01:07:28 PM

To me your work looks really nice.
gww

Leggman · May 02, 2015, 07:54:59 PM

Worked some more on the blade guard today. Almost done.

gww · May 02, 2015, 09:09:26 PM

Seems to be coming along nicely.
Cheers
gww

tmarch · May 02, 2015, 10:28:57 PM

Looking GREAT.

Leggman · May 05, 2015, 12:38:15 PM

Got a lot done today. Finished the blade guard and started on the base frame. After much debate I have decided that the trailer I was going to use was too short so I cut it in half and am going to stretch it four feet. That way I can keep the base at 20 feet and still be able to pull it good. Back to the steel yard.

gww · May 05, 2015, 09:29:13 PM

Thanks for the pictures.
gww

Leggman · May 07, 2015, 12:33:44 AM

Okay, i am getting to the point in my build where I need to design the supports and dogs to hold the logs while I saw.
Any ideas will be appreciated.

Kbeitz · May 07, 2015, 06:31:48 AM

Quote from: Leggman on May 07, 2015, 12:33:44 AM
Okay, i am getting to the point in my build where I need to design the supports and dogs to hold the logs while I saw.
Any ideas will be appreciated.

As you probably know I'm also now building a mill.... And I'm watchen yours...
I'm at the same stage now. Building the dogs. Instead of drilling all the 1-1/2 holes like Woodmizer does I'm using part of a rack and pinion. I'm just using the rack. My dog stays on the rack and I just pick it up and move it towards the log. No lifting any pins out of hole and move to a new hole. It stays connected to the rack at all times. My next step is to make the cams or screws the cam into the log. I'm not sure witch way to go here yet.

Joe Hillmann · May 07, 2015, 08:05:46 AM

That is some nice metal work you are doing on the mill. Once you start using it you may find it has a lot of play side to side and it may require turning it into a 4 post head instead of 2. At least that is what happened when I built mine.

gww · May 07, 2015, 09:01:09 AM

Leggman
On your doggs, I watched a you tube vidio and then just put my take on it. I know you have seen my mill and there is not much that should be copied. I did however take the easiest rout on every part of it and my doggs are no exception. In using my dogs I have to have a hammer but the vidio used jacking screws. What I have is four pipe going between my rails that the log sit on. I got lucky and the four pipe were welded lower then the log rails so that I can get to them at all times. I then used a bit bigger piece of pipe to slide on the pipe on the rail and it can be jamed with no slipage. Rather then try to explain it I will just post the vidio that I stole the ideal from. It is at about the 5 min mark in the vidio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwrqcG3faVQ

The one thing I did differrent was, I just put points going both direction at the top of the dogs rather then a jacking screw. I just slide it up against the log and then hit the bottom near the pipe on the track with a hammer to put it in a jam and then hit the top to drive the spike in the wood a bit, then hit the bottom till I am satisfied of the hold. To take the dog lose I just hit the bottom on the dog till it becomes unjammed. I can dog the log from both sides and if I have a knott sticking out I just dog it in the middle of the cutting deck to cut the log down. As long as you keep a hammer aroung it is really quick.

Anyway take it for what it is worth and it is one of the few things I am happy with on my mill although I have learned that you don't need to drive it in like you would a nail cause it holds really well and if you use it like I do to help you position the log by only dogging one end so you can slide the other end of the log, It putts lots of stress on your dog and I have had to beef mine up to be able to use it that way. I need to use it that way cause I am doing it by myself and am not strong enough to move the bigger logs easily.

Good luck
gww

Leggman · May 07, 2015, 12:38:14 PM

Can you please post some pics of the dogs. Thanks

Leggman · May 07, 2015, 12:42:07 PM

Finished up welding the stretch in the trailer today and moved the axle forward a couple of feet

Leggman · May 07, 2015, 12:53:08 PM

Quote from: Joe Hillmann on May 07, 2015, 08:05:46 AM
That is some nice metal work you are doing on the mill. Once you start using it you may find it has a lot of play side to side and it may require turning it into a 4 post head instead of 2. At least that is what happened when I built mine.

Thanks Joe. I should be cutting in a week or so. First cut will be a youtube video