belsaw sawmill progress

[b dukes]

Finally making some progress. Here is what I have got done so far. I took a wirebrush on a grinder and went over the complete mill frame and then a new coat of paint. Then added four feet to each side of the mill frame. All I like now is to cut a few pieces of steel for the extensions for braces.





On the drive for the carriage, I totally rebuilt it , I changed the bearings out to a flange type. I had to cut down the cable drum a half inch ( width ) for clearance for the bolt heads of the bearings.  Added bearings for the controll lever that moves the carriage instead of having the holes just drilled in the frame with locking collars. Replaced the belts, idlers and changed the flat bar the idlers mount to from the 3/16 bars that were on it to 1/2 flat stock. Also changed the arbor bearings while i had it apart.



I havent finished the carriage yet. I made all new rollers and now I am waiting on the bearings I ordered for the rear rollers to get here. I figured bearings would be better that the holes drilled to size for the pin that holds it in. I move the mill yesterday to where it will be setup and put it on blocks. I put it together to get the measurements for the footers I will set it on. Hopefully I will be able to get all of this done over the next few weeks since I have some time off.

[b dukes]

I was having such a hard time getting the pics added i thought I would do this in two parts.  Some of what took so long is that i needed a saw shed to put the saw under. i had a old house on the place that had fell over. No damage had been done to the roof, It was 18X25 . We took the dozer and cleaned up around it, the took the tractor with a forklift mast on it and lifted it up and put blocks under it. ,cleaned all the old flooring out so we could back the trailer under it. then we it set down on the trailer and pulled it out of the way. then took the dozer and cleaned up the lot. Then started over in reverse. We took the tractor and raised it up a half block and a time. Moving from side to side. It took longer that I thought it would. But in the end I had a 18x25 for about 144 dollars. After the first rain my girls found all kind of things in the fresh dirt where the house use to be, a handfull of marbles, a nickel from 1943 and two pennys from 1931 and 39. All kinds of broken glass and pieces of plates which was like finding gold to them. I was told the house was built in the early 20's

[Peder McElroy]

Nice job on the Belsaw. I also have a Belsaw m-24 and my feed system is the same as yours (it works great). Nice pics.

[freddycougar]

nice work.. but a lot.. nobody with a sand blaster there?

[b dukes]

I tried a sandblaster that I had but the wirebrush was way faster with the same results, I did use it in some areas that I couldnt get the grinder into. Here are some before pics.

[Dave_]

You're going to have a real eye catcher there 8)  Looking great

[beenthere]

b dukes

I like your progress on the mill.

ps
Do us a favor and modify your post with some "returns" after each img line, so the pics stack (now they spread across additional screen)
Thanks

Maybe it is a screwed up setting on just my computer. ??

[KyTreeFarmer]

b dukes, great pics of your project. I have seen lots of houses moved but never just the roof. Belsaw is looking great, keep us posted.
KTF

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Duke you are going to have one bloody tidy little mill there when you are done she looks like new  Mate  ;) ;D ;D 8) 8) What's your plans just to mill for yourself or do abit of milling  ??? as the way you are going about your rebuild you looking like your gonna become a Pro Mate  ;) :D ;D ;D 8)

Have you wire wheeled the saw down yet and if so how did it come up as it only looks like it has surface rust and i reckon there would be very little pitting als what are you doing for sawdust removal are you going to use a chain or blower ??? as that sawdust is gonna pile up quick once you get er fired up   ;) :D ;D 8)

and I take it you are gonna run it off the old massy what size is it ? as i reckon it would have plenty to run the belsaw/timberking  Its a pity they don,t build them anymore they where and would be a good mill for your dollar still I remember when we looked at the new M16 back in about 95 I still think it would have been better to get one of those instead of a bandmill it was going to be cheaper too i think it was going to cost about $10k back then for the M16 with 48" saw with everything needed run it  an 802  Edger kit    ;)  ;D

Im looking forward to seeing you get it running and how you set er up Mate  ;) ;D ;D 8) 8)

Regards Chris

[b dukes]

No I havent cleaned the blade yet. And it is just surface rust, you can see a change in the blade just by wiping you hand across it. That is a question I havent ask yet. Would a wirebrush damage the blade in any way?  As for the sawdust removal I havent made up my mind yet. I have two blowers I picked up at a place I do work for. They were electric, the man I got them from said the motors were bad, and it cost less for them to buy the complete unit , but I thought I would pull the motor off and put it on two pillow block bearing and drive it off of the arbor. Any suggestion which would be better, chain or blower.  I plan to just saw for myself , and friends. The tractor I have is a 285 Massy it is rated 81 HP at the pto.  I made an adapter to hook the pto to the arbor with a slip clutch,  but when I can locate some pulleys I would like to change it over to a belt drive instead of direct.  I will post some pics of the blowers I picked up tomorrow.

[Dave_]

b dukes, keep in mind that when you go from direct drive to belt drive, you need to make sure that you have enough belts and the right size to transfer enough HP to the saw. 

[bandmiller2]

Good job Duke.You have enough horse power to run your blower,as they pull HP right off the top and a smaller tractor would be wanting.I've cleaned up several old headsaws and used a Scotchbrite pad on a small grinder.Don't think a wire brush would hurt if you leave the bits and shanks in so as not to round the pocket edges.I was wondering how you were doing we haven't heard from you for a wile.Frank C.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

I would not change from the slip clutch drive line unless you go to a diesel power unit later on where you will have to gear it down through the pulleys  ;) With wire wheeling the saw down it won't do any damage to the saw unless you get real mean with it I have wire wheeled heaps of saws over the years without any dramas  ;) you will have to go to about a 4 or 6 to 1 ratio depending on the blower type and size but you will only loose 5 to 10 hp from the tractor when under load which is nothing  Mate  ;) ;D

Regards Chris

[ATLGA]

That project is fantastic. Once its finished you need to have a photo log put together!

[bandmiller2]

Restoring an old circular mill is the most work but the most rewarding, my hats off to anyone that goes that route.Nothing I hate more than seeing an old mill laying fallow with the building falling down around it.Frank C.

[b dukes]

Yeah I have really enjoyed working on this mill so far., when you look at it now compared to what it looked like when I bought it, you can really see how much work you have done. But there is still alot left yet. I am going today to pick up some more parts.  And if you remember Frank I still have that Corley mill.  That will be a real challenge. It was an all wood mill. So I will have to completely redo it. The only thing in my favor is the husk is still all together.  But Just one project at a time. What do you think, should I go back wood or steel when I start. Here is some pics of the blowers I have and the edger I picked up with that Corley mill.



I know nothing about blowers so will these work? or are they big enough I cant find any CFM  rating on them. One is a powermatic and the other is a delta




Anybody have any info on this edger?  Belsaw?

[argyle1]

it sure looks good Dukes----beautiful job

[Dave_]

Go with wood on the Corley.  I'm a big fan of keeping things original.  If you are setting up a commercial operation, that, of course, would be different.  But if you are restoring an old wood set up...keep it wood

[b dukes]

I was thinking about the same thing. The wood has the original look and looks great ( nostalgic), from the ones I have seen the wooden one just stand out so much more that the steel. I have enough steel on hand if i wanted to use it and thats a big plus. But I like the idea of wood. The biggest expense I had on the belsaw was the steel that I bought to lengthen the frame. A 20' piece of 10" channel  X 3/16 was $305.  I looked around at scrap yards for it but nobody had that size, just an odd size I guess.

[bandmiller2]

Duke,theirs nothing wrong with wood,but if a woodie I'd be sure to have a roof over it.As Dave says if your going commercial use steel,for your own use wood is fine.Get your Belsaw up and running then you can cut some of that fine southern hard pine for the Corley.Do you know what those blowers were used for,they look like air movers, mill blowers are built heavy as they take a licken from chunks and bark.Keep us in the loop. Frank C.

[b dukes]

They came from a company that makes furniture, they were off some of there trims saws, like a big chop saw. They had a large dust bag setup on them  about 55 gal. , I took them off where I could fit it all on my truck.

[bandmiller2]

You should be OK with those blowers Duke,as they were designed for sawdust [if the last guy knew what he was doing], Will be an interesting project to setup the old Corley,I'm betting it will be your favorite. Frank C.

[Carpenter]

     Bdukes, That bellsaw is looking nice!  I was just wondering the other day how you're project was going.  Glad to see you're making progress on it!   

[Joe Lallande]

Great job- keep up the good work! Do a search for Joe's pictures or Oliver diesel and you will see my blower hook up. These big blades make a lot of sawdust.

[b dukes]

Here is what we got done over the weekend, just a few more bolts to bolt the extensions on and a few braces. getting closer,  I hope to be sawing soon,  8) 8) : 8)