Question on homemade bandsaw head lift

5quarter · September 28, 2014, 12:41:18 AM

Swatson...Glad to see you back. congrats on the birth of your son. 8) 8)

Swatson · October 21, 2014, 10:51:33 PM

Making good progress. I need to break out the camera before dark but that is when the work stops. I need to put in some more braces here and there but I am a visual guy so I like to see what I have and what fits where before I plan to far ahead. It turned out to be way heavier than I planned it to be but better err on the heavy side than the bendy side.

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I should have the basic design complete this week some time. I need to find a suitable pulley for a tension belt clutch as the ones I have are universal and too deep to let a belt slip when slack. Used a modified electric winch to lift the beast and doubled the pulleys to halve the lift effort.

beenthere · October 21, 2014, 11:36:03 PM

What size cable do you use to lift it?

Swatson · October 22, 2014, 10:50:27 PM

Quote from: beenthere on October 21, 2014, 11:36:03 PM
What size cable do you use to lift it?

The cable is about 3/8ths diameter. It came on the 2500 lb winch and was actually a good quality cable for its size. It was not as stiff as some 3/8 cable I have in the shop. I put a scale under the head assembly and it weighs in at a hefty 975 pounds so far. Using the cable at four points to lift puts the strain on each cable well within the rated load of the cable. I welded some stops onto the upright beams so that in case of catastrophic failure the thing wont slam into the bed and hopefully the worst that would happen is a busted band.

blade69001 · October 23, 2014, 04:56:14 PM

I have no idea how to tag this post so I can finish reading it later so I am posting to bookmark it.

beenthere · October 23, 2014, 05:23:02 PM

You just tagged it by replying to it.
Then at anytime, you can go to your personal page and click on your Posts to pick out the one you replied to. Voila!

CaseyK · October 23, 2014, 06:00:27 PM

Great pics Swatson,
What size and type main motor did you go with?

Ga Mtn Man · October 23, 2014, 07:30:37 PM

Quote from: blade69001 on October 23, 2014, 04:56:14 PM
I have no idea how to tag this post so I can finish reading it later so I am posting to bookmark it.

...or you could just click "ADD BOOKMARK" at the bottom of the thread.

thecfarm · October 23, 2014, 07:35:14 PM

BOOKMARK it! I have about 50 that are bookmarked. Than go to the Menu Bar,starts out with Home,Help,Search.Hover the mouse over Profile and a drop down menu will appear with Bookmark,click onto to Bookmark and that's where it will be. Much easier to find there than go through all my past threads.

hackberry jake · October 23, 2014, 08:10:45 PM

Swatson, you aren't too far away from me. Maybe I could come over and check out your build one day.

blade69001 · October 23, 2014, 08:12:21 PM

Well lookie there a button that say "Add bookmark" sometimes I really am blond.
Sean P.

Swatson · October 23, 2014, 08:24:07 PM

Quote from: CaseyK on October 23, 2014, 06:00:27 PM
Great pics Swatson,
What size and type main motor did you go with?

Casey, the motor is an Isuzu 3 cylinder diesel that came out of a tow behind generator. It is rated at 18 hp and since its a diesel it will be heavy on the torque side which is good for this. I picked it up for 700 dollars off of Craigslist and after pricing some little gas V-twins I decided this was a steal. The purr of a diesel sure does make this mill sound mean.

Swatson · October 23, 2014, 08:30:07 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on October 23, 2014, 08:10:45 PM
Swatson, you aren't too far away from me. Maybe I could come over and check out your build one day.

Sure thing! Another week or so and I should be there. These days getting shorter are really cutting into my build time.

CaseyK · October 25, 2014, 03:22:06 PM

Swatson, what size tires do you have on your mill? What is your max log diameter & what size blade did you use?

CaseyK · October 25, 2014, 03:28:52 PM

For a good video showing an S wrap do a google search on:
A close up look at my home made portable twin blade ...
Video for homebuilt twin blade sawmill► 6:24► 6:24
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooi0iFTlrK8
Jun 10, 2014 - Uploaded by Buddhanz1
He has 2 s wraps on each side but it looks like it would be overkill for a bandmill.

Swatson · October 25, 2014, 09:56:43 PM

Quote from: CaseyK on October 25, 2014, 03:22:06 PM
Swatson, what size tires do you have on your mill? What is your max log diameter & what size blade did you use?

I use some trailer tires, they have 14 inch rims and with the tires it gives the wheels a 21 inch diameter. I bought some weld on stub axles for the wheels, One side uses the original hub and bearings (idle side) and the drive side I used the hub and just put some weld on hubs that they use for sprockets or pulleys to match my shaft size.

Here is a picture. The hubs for weld on pulleys take a little bit of grinding to get a good fit but this is what I did on my old mill and it worked fine for more than a year. I upped my shaft size from 1" to 1.5" this time so I had to rework the old hub with some new weld ons.

Welding steel to cast iron is pretty tough and not completely reliable but I did weld it after heating the cast iron hub up real hot and I got a decent weld and using the locks on the weld on hubs will keep the works together even if my weld breaks. I recommend using 5 lug hubs instead of the 4 lug hubs.

As far as blade size I am using 1.5 in wide lennox blades that I used on my old bandmill. I wish I could tell you more details but I have long since forgotten the specs. I will say that they were recommended for lower powered mills (I was using a 5 horse electric at the time). I am going to order some more soon and will get some that have a bit more offset since I have more power available now. As far as length goes I can run anything from 12.5 feet to 16 feet (I built my tension arm long and rigid) so I have plenty of options.

As far as guides go I have some Cook's rollers that I used on my old mill and they are going onto the new one. I will try to remember to post some pictures in the next couple days. I have the works complete I just need to work out my drive belt system and I will be making sawdust really soon.

Swatson · October 25, 2014, 10:11:58 PM

Sorry Casey I forgot about log size and Im going to say 34"-36" would be the max but I dont come across those sizes. I did cut a 28 inch walnut on my old one and it had the same track spacing.

CaseyK · October 26, 2014, 09:05:06 AM

For your belt drive system are you going to go with a clutch system (centrifical or electric) or with a belt tensionersystem. I am building a twin blade saw with a 4cyl 30ish HP motor and looks like i am going to go with some type of belt tensioner system to engage and disengage the power. Im off the coast of brasil for another 2-1/2 weeks but lookinh forward to hopefully completing my sawmill the first week back home. Also if you are going to use a belt tensioner are you going to apply tension from the outside or inside of the belt?

Swatson · October 26, 2014, 09:12:09 AM

I am going to use a belt tensioner for now. I am going to work on it today so ill have to get back to you on which way I went. I dont have it completely worked out in my head yet.

Swatson · October 27, 2014, 09:51:53 PM

Anyone have any idea for a belt tensioner that is of the lockover kind? Where you pull the lever and spring tension keeps the belt engaged. Ive searched through probably 40 post on here and havent found what im looking for yet. Ive found a couple ratchet type but the self locking type is what im looking for. My system will have the idler inside the belt travel and pull down on the slack side of the belt.

Swatson · November 03, 2014, 10:39:42 PM

I am getting so close I can taste it! All I need now is to fabricate some guards and get my log holding setup complete.

I made a critical error when wiring the motor controls and put them all on the opposite side of all adjustments, so I have to move those else Ill run my self ragged. I painted all adjustments and linkages red, only because I ran out of black paint...but it is what it is...only for rust control.

The time change is gonna really slow me down. It gets dark just as I pull into the drive but Ill squeeze some time in somewhere. I acquired a non functioning stainless steel commercial fryer from a local restaurant when it shut down for free. Looks like the side panels from it are just about the perfect size for making guards over the tires.

I used a top link to adjust the blade tilt angle. It is overkill for the job but it has been hanging in the shop for nearly ten years now. I didn't know they made top links with 5/8ths holes but obviously they do and I needed 3/4. I was tired of seeing it do nothing. Now it does next to nothing but hold the blade angle...

fishpharmer · November 03, 2014, 10:52:36 PM

Swatson good use of toplink bar. I look forward to seeing the fryer guards too. Well done.

Won't be long till your done. Anyway you can rig up some lights to work on the mill? I now remember running into the same problem of no daylight after work.

Keep up the good work.

slider32 · November 04, 2014, 07:56:34 AM

Can you give a few more details how you did the idler/clutch system. I can see the lever, does it just flip down and put enough tension on the belt to drive the bandwheels? Do I see some threaded rod in there to make adjustments on it?

Thanks.

DMcCoy · November 04, 2014, 08:14:02 PM

Swatson - I used a 'cam over' or 'toggle over'.

The arm that moves the idler is in the slack position in this picture. When I flip the lever @180 it goes past top dead center and then rests in that position by resting on the metal that hold the closest bearing. Belt tension is adjustable in increments by moving the bolt on the right end of the arm into different holes. The idler pulley came off a lawn mower and is fastened onto 1 sq tubing and that bracket rides on 3/4 sq tubing.

Swatson · November 05, 2014, 07:20:56 AM

That is essentially what I used. Once the lever passes below the center line of the rod connecting the tensioner it locks into place. The tension from the belt holds it in place. My brother actually came up with the design. His kids had some K'nex building blocks and I knew the basic concept so he tinkered with a way for it to work in the orientation I needed it. The all thread link in the picture on mine is just to adjust the tension as the belt stretches.