Foley M14 Mill Years

[DanielW]

Hi folks,

I took one of my circular sawmills (this one a little Belsaw M14) to use at a heritage machinery show this past weekend. I had lots of folks ask me what year it was, and I had to confess I didn't know because they built M14 pretty much from the late 30's until the early 90's. I have a serial number tag on it, but haven't been able to find a registry. Does anyone know of a Belsaw year/serial number registry, or another way to reference the year of manufacture? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[beenthere]

Your answer of "between late 30's to early 90's" should be answer enough. True, would be good for you to know but likely the one asking isn't all that interested.

Pics posted of your demo setup at the heritage machinery show would be great. We like pics. 

[moodnacreek]

By the seventies they had the new dogs and the carriage was welded. The mandrel was 1 3/4 by then also. It's a shame they never updated the setworks, the worst part of a Bellsaw.

[DanielW]

By the seventies they had the new dogs and the carriage was welded. The mandrel was 1 3/4 by then also. It's a shame they never updated the setworks, the worst part of a Bellsaw.

Agreed. The setworks on the M14 is pretty awful. The one on my M24 is far better, but still not great. I had some parts machined to convert to a double-wide tooth wheel with two-way pawls, but haven't actually got around to it yet. Not sure if I ever will: The Belsaw is just for rough work/fun, and if I ever nee better accuracy or higher production I just switch to a bigger mill.
Mine has a welded carriage, the spindle-shaped counterweight, 1 3/4" mandrel, and the wretched 'high speed' top dogs, so I'm thinking it's a late model.

[Nebraska]

Might be worth a call to Timber King, My B16 was actually  a Belsaw product before the company sold. The records might still  be there.

[moodnacreek]

People who know sawmills consider the Bellsaw a piece of junk. It is a shame they never built a better model [they did once] because the concept of not having a husk can in certain wood be a real advantage for a one man operation. For instance cedar in the northeast to be sawn into narrow boards say 8 or 10 foot long or squares is easy work on the Bellsaw style.  I always wanted to rig up a small Lane setworks on a beefed up Bellsaw, put it on skids and drag it into the cedars. I bet someone out there has beat me to this. Now that I have a wood lot with some cedars I should do this but I have too many irons heating already.

[DanielW]

I've been thinking the same thing: I have a McRae handset carriage and tracks, several 40' I-beams, and a few spare mandrels/saws. For years I've been intending to build a heavier-duty Belsaw-style mill with it - putting smaller wheels on the carriage to drop the headblocks down closer to the collar line. Don't know if I'll ever get around to it though.

I've been admiring this video: They've taken a Belsaw and modified the holy heck out of it. New dogs, setworks, and outfeed. Powered by a Detroit 3-71 (which surprises me as you don't want to put more than 50 HP through the piddly little Belsaw mandrels). I'm not entirely sure why they bothered, especially for a 3-man, stationary setup where the husk wouldn't have really been causing any issues. By the time they did all that work, you'd think they could have found a real carriage and husk.

Foley M-14 Belsaw Sawmill in Quebec (Rebuilt) - Part 2 - YouTube