Swing blade, plans and help needed

[Lyndaker]

DL Timbertech is selling plans for a high rail swing blade sawmill. I want a low rail system. How difficult would it be to convert a high rail system to a low rail system with a height adjustable saw carriage instead of height adjustable rails?
Next question does anyone have a saw carriage height adjustment plan that would work for a swing blade that they would sell. I assume the saw carriage for the high rail system could be modified for a low rail system by building the height adjustment into the carriage instead of the rail supports?
Thanks for your advice for this newbie to saw milling.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Sounds like you want to build a Peterson WPF?
peterson wpf

[Lyndaker]

I"d love a WPF but its beyond my budget. Hence the inquiry for a mill carriage plan.

[terrifictimbersllc]

A question not a suggestion. This and D&L same design only  swing mills  that hang in a frame as far as I know .

[redbeard]

There's another swing blade mill that operates on a 4 post saw frame on tracks like a band mill called
Brand X
If that's something that would help with your Ideas.
Forum member @sgschwend  has lots of pics and modifications on his former Brand X mill
He sold it a few years back.

[Lyndaker]

I can't seem to find @geschwind. Is this the correct member name?

[redbeard]

@sgschwend 
spell check messed me up

Also search Swing mill builds

[longtime lurker]

Why would you want to go to low rail? I'm curious because I've played with or at least studied just about every swing mill or twin saw design in the market at one stage or other ... and IMHO the low rail designs were the most restrictive.

Bringing big logs in over a low rail is a sooner or later disaster - rail damage is inevitable.
Sawdust on your rails is a headache.... all the swingers and twins are messy and prodigious makers of sawdust and the higher the rail the more it sits out of it.

In terms of cut pattern the mono beams - Turbosaw, Mahoe, Duncan - are the most flexible.
Then the parellelogram frames - Lewisaw, Mighty Mite, Mobile Dimension.
Then the lightweight high rails  - Lucas, Peterson ATS - where you can just shuffle the end frame across sideways.



 

Do not underestimate the value of being able to cut to taper - not just horizontally as shown here but in the vertical axis too which requires independently adjustable end frame heights - and not just around a pipe but getting clear boards around knots, or pulling long boards off logs with bends where you get a narrow gap between sap and heart in the middle on one side. It's one of those incremental advantages where the $ value just keeps adding up.

Sawing heart centered should only be done when chasing boxed heart timbers.... it makes you lose strength in softwoods due to slope of grain issues, and in hardwood the money is in long clear boards and these are best found just under the bark. I'm in the business of sawing for profit not lumber

[sgschwend]

Sorry about not replying to messages.  I have been away for awhile.  The Brand X worked well.  The rumor I heard is that Jay Brand has stopped making mills.  That would be a shame since it had a format that was easily modifiable to automate.  That is what I did to accomplish sawing with a power drive,  and remote control of the swing head, drive, and engine speed.  Sold the mill after four years of use.  I could give hints on how to make those mods but that was a long time ago and my documentation was minimal.  Here is the remote controller, and an image of the 41 foot long sawmill. More images in my gallery; (email address has been updated).


 

[maple flats]

I owned and used a Peterson for 17 years. My set up was a low/low track system. I worked well, but a high/low system would be better. 2 main advantages as I see it, with a high/low you can roll logs in without going over the track and secondly, with low/low the sawdust builds quickly on the track on the sawdust chute side, it required shoveling or removal using my tractor/FEL after a day or 2. I also ended up making a scraper out of nylon 1/4" thick that I attached to the leading wheel housing on the 4 post frame to push the sawdust off the track. Before that, slightly damp sawdust would build up in the groove on that wheel and screw up the cut. I found fresh cut pine the worst for that, but many species did it and made routine scraping necessary to clean the groove.
That being said, it was a very good sawmill design overall.