motorcycle wheels for mill (bicycle wheel project)

[junkyard warrior]

hey guys just joined after searching the forums for anything about motorcycle wheels and didnt really find anything

i was wondering if anyone has seen this vid.....homemade sawmill using motorcycle wheels, rear swing arms and front fenders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Gdp5255kw

i have to say its my fav homemade and it has inspired me to use some 20" alloy mag bicycle wheels

just wanted to know what you guys thought if this mill...he has another vid of him changing the blade

[Ianab]

See no reason what it can't work. Trailer wheels and tyres are an accepted type of band wheel. Decent alloy motorcycle wheels should work the same .

Only suggestion I have is better guards. If a band breaks, and eventually it will, it may not break in a nice controlled way, and you end up with random chunks of sharp metal flying around @70+ mph... Not a big deal to rig up some sheet metal or plywood covers to contain the bits when things go bad.

Ian

[bandmiller2]

Listen to the fella from down under. When you do build your guard use plywood for the front removable doors it will save many bands and be safer too as it will stop the band faster and with little damage. You need considerable tension on the bands be sure the chosen wheels are up to the task. Those donut spares that were popular a wile back make decent wheels many were crowned as well. Keep us posted on your build. Frank C.

[justallan1]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Junkyard Warrior.
I agree with the idea of it needing some better guards. I'd always be to wary of a flying sawband to concentrate on what I need to be.

Allan

[junkyard warrior]

thx for the replies and the welcome

i also agree on a better guard....even tho i really like the look of the fenders i like not getting injured more lol

[Magicman]

Hello junkyard warrior, and Welcome to the Forestry Forum. 

[junkyard warrior]

ok ive seen a few bandsaws online that used bicycle wheels but i really didnt like any of them....plus they were vertical

then i saw this vid on youtube



 

that gave me the idea that if i could find some alloy mags that it might work.....low and behold after like 20 mins on CL i found a bmx bike with these



 

and i have an old extention ladder......well i have half of one, i cut the other half down so it was easier to use.......plus i have a newer one the same size .....anyway its really sturdy and like 19" wide and 14' long......not huge but big enuff for what i wanna do



 

so far i cut the rear triangles off of 2 of the same bikes......maybe not exact same but the frames were the same.......just different stickers

this is pretty much how it will go....i might spread the wheels apart a bit more but thats pretty close and i might leave it......weld in a tube across the top and maybe another in the center just to add extra strength and weld the bottoms together....im thinking also a solid plate across the bottom where the 2 cranks used to be.....stronger the better



 

so im totally new to bandsaws but im farly handy and mechanical so im not worried about the build but i really have no idea what blade to get

im not sure what kind of trees ill be cutting so i dont have much info to offer at the moment.....im gunna find out as soon as i can

the bad news is i only have a 1/2 hp washing machine motor....i know its not really powerful enuff for anything but its all i have and should be enuff to get things working and adjusted and i can cut some small stuff to make sure its all lined up......then at a later date hopefully i can find something cheap.....i want it to be 110v....120v whatever.....not sure what hp that offers but i know i dont want 3 phase lol

i can just plug it in where im at now but when i really need to use it i might have to use a small generator

[junkyard warrior]

almost forgot....when is best to cut.....green logs or dry logs

im guessing dry so the boards dont twist while they dry.....but i dont know

[beenthere]

I believe it best to cut green...
Really can't dry wood in the log.  But if the log surface dries, you will get some serious radial splits.

[junkyard warrior]

thx beenthere....yea makes sense

my experience with logs was cutting firewood and splitting it......im excited to actually mill some

and ive been readin about electric mototrs and it seems i DO want a 3 phase motor........as long as i can have a 120v

atleast thats what i understand....i thought it meant something different.......i dont know much about motors yet

[york]

JW,what about the wheel bearing`s are they up to the task?

[ozarkgem]

What size bands are you planning on running? How are you going to tighten them? They require quite a bit of tension. I would guess 5hp minimum on your motor. Keep posting. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

[Nomad]

     Sounds like an interesting project.  Don't forget; you'll need to incorporate a way to adjust band tracking too.

[EZ]

I often thought wheels off a old wheel chair would be the cats meow for windmill wheels.

[bandmiller2]

It takes some serious strength in the wheels and good heavy duty bearings to survive duty on a bandmill. You can try the bicycle parts but I fear you will find them wanting. I hope you can prove me wrong. Use the lightest band you can find. Folks that build their own really need to build two mills, one to learn and the second to use with everything you forgot on the first. Good luck. Frank C.

[barbender]

It takes some serious strength in the wheels and good heavy duty bearings to survive duty on a bandmill. You can try the bicycle parts but I fear you will find them wanting. I hope you can prove me wrong. Use the lightest band you can find. Folks that build their own really need to build two mills, one to learn and the second to use with everything you forgot on the first. Good luck. Frank C.

X2 With a light band it may work. I've never seen a failed bearing in a bicycle wheel, and they can be abused. I remember one hefty guy when I was a kid, he took a borrowed bicycle over a jump and crumpled the frame So I know his bearings saw some extreme service :D Those bike frames have built in adjustment for tracking and tension, I thought you fellows knew that ;D

[junkyard warrior]

omg i timed out and lost my post....grrrr.... hope i remember everything....#@$!


anyway....ok lets see....the frames im using are freestyle bmx bikes .....kinda made for a beating

the bearings arent like spoked wheels where as soon as you loosen the axle they fall out......these have sealed bearings that can be replaced/upgraded if needed....the wheels are solid cast aluminum......not plastic

the axles are really strong......the rear one had a slight bend in it and it took me 10 mins of hammering the thing on a chunk of railroad rail........... holding with a vice grip to get one of the nuts off ........and it doesnt have a scratch on it

following the vid of the motorcycle saw he uses air pressure in the tires for tensioning the band.....i know it works cuz i saw it......he only posted 2 vids , one of him changing the blade and one of him cutting a log and even tho he didnt say much on his comments i have enuff to run with the idea......i asked if he could post a walk around vid to get a better look at everything

im gunna remove the tires and use angle iron to align the rims when i weld up the frame and set the wheels all the way into the slot of the dropout so they cant move any closer to each other.......they should stay aligned

i cant find them at the moment but i have tension adjusters for the non drive wheel ....maybe both wheels just incase the dropout slots arent perfect.....just need to make sure the dropouts are aligned horizontally so if i need to adjust the wheels the blade doesnt raise up or down


 

i didnt see anything like that on his and he only says his wheels are perfectly aligned

im gunna use a freewheel adapter and hopefully mount a pully to that for the drive wheel


 

if i can it should work out ok....just need to figure out what size

and as for the band.....yea i have no idea i was hoping you guys could help with that lol......even tho the design is very similar everything on a bicycle is a bit smaller than a motorcycle so thinner sounds right.....by lightest im guessing you mean thinnest metal?.......the bands seem fairly cheap for the shorter length ones maybe i can get different ones and see how they work....start with a light one

oh and this is my 1st build ......as in the learning build lol....if this works out good i might to decide to build a larger motorcycle one lol......but hopefully it works out awesome and i dont have to

so far im only into this $40 for the 2 bikes........unfortunatly only 1 of them had mags

so i need a band ($15-$25?).......and some rollerblade wheels for the cage, i can get them at a thrift store.......oh and the pulleys, i need to look at that washing machine.........that freewheel adapter is $15

and it looks like 120v will only give me a 2hp electric motor.......so the cost of that too

thx again for the comments

[junkyard warrior]

forgot to mention i can use the rear brakes on the frames so ill have dual brakes on it....thinkin about usin the handlebars to push it and use one of the brake levers and mount a kill switch on the other side or in the middle somewhere

im gunna try to use the 360 brake cable detangler to get both brakes on one brake lever...if not i can get a dual cable brake lever........that way i can hit the kill switch with one hand and stop it with the other while still holding the bars



 


 

this way i can turn it on and off while holding the handlebars standing behind everything

with the freewheel even if i turn off the motor the wheels or wheel will keep spining if the blade breaks

[mikeb1079]

Folks that build their own really need to build two mills, one to learn and the second to use with everything you forgot on the first.

man this is true.

good luck with the build, you'll get er

[barbender]

I don't know what the lightest band that are actually made for sawmills are. 1", maybe even 3/4" width by .035 thickness, maybe even thinner. The lightest ones are made for resaws, probably. Even a 2 hp electric motor would cut with one of those small bands. It will just be slow, and you will be limited to small diameter logs. I have resawn 4" boards on my 14" shop bandsaw. I think that only has a 1/2 hp motor, and with a 1/2" blade, it was up to that task. I think you can make this work, you just won't be going into production sawing. ;)

[junkyard warrior]

i found the other vid with a motorcycle sawmill

but this guy used the motor to power it

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

[ozarkgem]

I am not sure why you think you can only get 2 hp off of 110 V. If you have 110 you have 220v. you can go up to a 10hp single phase on 220v. not cheap though. I think my bandwheel shafts are 1 1/2 in in dia so I am just not sure about the axles on the bike holding up. Might work with narrower bands. Keep it up. Nothing else you can turn it into a vertical band saw.

[Magicman]

That serves his purpose very nicely.   8)

[schmism]

never occurred to me to buy an 80's yamaha motorcycle off of CL for like $500 and use it as the basis's for a homemade mill.

got a clutch, chain drive and stock sprocket already on the rear hub.   Although you might have to increase the size of that rear sprocket so that you dont overspeed the blade.  That last vid seemed like the blade speed was really high.

20" alloy mag bicycle wheels

when you say that you mean motorcycle wheels right?  not pedal bicycle rims?    The pedal version will hot have a large enough bearing to support what your trying to do.  (run them as band wheels)

[junkyard warrior]

well i looked on woodmizers website and looks like the silver tip brand has a 1" .035 .......smallest i could find for a sawmill, atleast from them......if i get 9 degree profile that might help, says low rpm cutting....didnt look for a reg bandsaw

ill have to get a custom length ......closest size was like $17.....ill have to call and order it so ill talk to the salesperson and see what he or she thinks....they might have some suggestions

and wow i didnt realize the shafts were that big.......i looked up the motorcycle and they are 15mm or 5/8 (its actually 16mm is 5/8 but 3/5" looks weird)).....the bicycle is only 9mm or 3/8.......might be cutting it close....no pun intended lol

and yes i realize the house has 220 but i dont have access to a plug or a breaker to put another one in....the box is full.....anyway im trying to keep power consumption to a min........but then you get into ......less power more time to cut vs more power less time to cut.....the motor can always be a variable once its working

but seeing everything else is smaller scale esp the bearings and axles....... i dont think adding a massive motor is a good idea....plus those things are huge and im trying to keep it somewhat light wieght as possible and not make it too top heavy

heres a vid of the first home made sawmill i ever saw.....he didnt make a cage to raise and lower the blade....he has to adjust the log.....it runs on a 2hp motor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Krv3gE-c4&list=UU1p7jFXjL7Q0qMii08oAeAQ

crazy?.....maybe but it works......so if i have to go slow thats fine as long as im cutting boards........i do like the way he moves the carriage ....thats in part 2

later he made a pretty cool round blade saw that has a huge cage......he has some vids on that too