More Pics of my sawmill build

[fishfighter]

Over all, what is the biggest log you will be able to saw?

[Kbeitz]

Kbeitz On the drive side I only have 20 thousands spacing in my saw box that goes up and down, on the idle side there is 1/4 clearance on saw box 1/8 on each side of the 3x3 tube that was figured in for flex so the blade won't brake it gives it a little flex Have not run it yet maybe tomorrow then I still have to order some blades more pics tomorrow

I put the bearings on to stop oscillations from the blade. Even a little play
will start them. Just last week I needed to tighten them up a little.

[larrydown60]

Over all, what is the biggest log you will be able to saw?

I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO 36" WIDE AND 20' LONG

[larrydown60]

It runs ,all wired up and motor runs electric clutch works great. Still waiting on the machine shop to finish the winch modification then the lift will work. Here is a few more pics of the work I got finished this week. Now I will Order some blades  any suggestions for what blades to order? I have some big logs of Locust to saw And some pine.  Thanks ahead of time 

  

  

 

[gww]

larry......
Very exciting!
gww

[Ox]

Almost there, how cool!  Will you be able to take a video of it when running?  As far as blades, I've used Cooks Silvachrome and Lennox both 10 degree and both worked good in seasoned black locust.  If I had a choice, I'd choose 7 degree Lennox at this point, if there is such a thing. 

[larrydown60]

Been awhile I just got a pic from machine shop of winch finished and I can pick it up Monday. The only problem is we are expecting a foot of snow tonight,we already have 4-5" inches on the ground and it is not suppose to stop snowing till tomorrow night. I am not sure if it is safe to weld in the snow????? I have built everything everything outside in my back yard with no cover. So I might have to wait for the snow to melt so I can finish it up

 

[Kbeitz]

So....
Why did you have the shaft extended on your winch ?
If you was looking for a 12 volt reversible motor you could have bought a tarp motor.



 

[larrydown60]

Kbeitz I don't know what I am doing I just followed directions on the plans and that's what he called for. I did not know these existed probably cheaper too.  I have 160.00 invested in the winch and machine shop, but I did get a remote with the winch . A gear sits on the shaft to drive the acme threaded rod up and down. Maybe I could use 2 of these to drive my head down and back. I bought a scooter for the motors  and turned out it only had one motor driving both of the back wheels I think it was a jazzy scooter and I don't want to run a 24 system. the head weighs a ton and pushes to hard by hand so I hope these would work to drive the head down and back on the track. What do you think?? 

[JRWoodchuck]

So....
Why did you have the shaft extended on your winch ?
If you was looking for a 12 volt reversible motor you could have bought a tarp motor.



 

Kbeitz,
Can you speed that motor up as well? Do you have a good source for them?
Thanks!

[Kbeitz]

So....
Why did you have the shaft extended on your winch ?
If you was looking for a 12 volt reversible motor you could have bought a tarp motor.



 

Kbeitz,
Can you speed that motor up as well? Do you have a good source for them?
Thanks!

It's a standard 12v dc motor that can be controlled with a DC speed controller.
E-bay has the tarp motors.

[larrydown60]

I finally got my blades ordered and they showed up today. now I have to figure out how to align everything up to make it cut. I kinda got to wait till it gets a little warmer outside. No cover over mill just the cold and wind to deal wit. I will post a video of it cutting wood once it is aligned

[larrydown60]

I am still alive but haven't done anything to the saw mill since Dec to much snow and wind. It has been in the 70's for a couple of days but ground is really soft and the truck is sinking 6" in the lawn. I did upgrade my truck to a 2500 HD so I can haul some logs. I am really getting the urge to get this mill finished a few hrs and it will be ready to saw something finally April will be 2 yrs since I started. If the ground either freezes or dries up it won't be long I have about 30 logs to pick up also. I will update once I can do something.

[breederman]

I understand soft ! I don't live too far from you ,In fact I was in Cortland Thursday. Ive been gone all week came home last night and backed into the driveway and sunk in about 6 inches ! no frost and all that snow going off slow ,it is just saturated .

[gww]

larry
Once that erge takes hold, I think we will be seeing the vidio or pictures pretty soon.  I for one can't wait though I do understand bad wether.
gww

[larrydown60]

I also forgot to mention I also bought a new 20hp Kohler motor to upgrade the the motor, but I will get everything aligned first and do some cuts with the 16hp before I change motors Hopefully it is enough hp to run the mill and I plan on using a 6.5 hp motor to run the hydraulics

[gww]

I was cutting with a nine horse and some mills come from the factory with seven horse and a bunch of home builts have the 13 horse on them.  I would say that the 16 will do real well expesially since the hydrolics have their own motor.  All sounds really cool.
gww

[larrydown60]

Ok ground has dried up a lot got to move the saw mill today and got some welding done winch is all mounted. Tomorrow I will get the chain in stalled and bam My saw head should be operational. Then I just need to get everything aligned up and install a blade and try some cutting. I am worried about trying to align everything up. I am going to spend the night on youtube watching videos on how to do it. Wish me luck.

  

  

  

[Ljohnsaw]

I'd be a little worried about the gearing you are using on the winch.  The winch moves pretty slow, you are gearing it way down and the ACME thread is going to gear it down even further.  Your head is going to move really, really slow!  I think you might find you need to swap the sprockets on top (without the chain on them) to get a respectable head speed.  Or, with the help of an idle sprocket, take the long chain that drives both screws and go around the winch sprocket as well (direct drive).

Looking good, though.  Nice to have the weather on your side!

[larrydown60]

I'd be a little worried about the gearing you are using on the winch.  The winch moves pretty slow, you are gearing it way down and the ACME thread is going to gear it down even further.  Your head is going to move really, really slow!  I think you might find you need to swap the sprockets on top (without the chain on them) to get a respectable head speed.  Or, with the help of an idle sprocket, take the long chain that drives both screws and go around the winch sprocket as well (direct drive).

Looking good, though.  Nice to have the weather on your side!

ljohnsaw  Do you mean switch the big gear to the winch and the small one to the acme threaded rod? I welded the gears on backwards my mistake not paying attention trying to rush things

[Ljohnsaw]

Well, 100% sure, but I'm thinking it will be going pretty slow based on my experience with winches (they move pretty slow to begin with).  Try what you've got.  If it works fast enough for you, great.  If not, try making the long chain engage the winch sprocket before you start cutting the sprockets of the acme rod.

[larrydown60]

ljohnsaw,  You were 100% right that is slower than a wheelchair with a dead battery. It took 5 mins to raise the head 10" I guess it is back to the drawing board for for that idea. I am going to try changing the gears around. Acme threaded rod has 20 tooth gears and above that is a 15 tooth gear that runs to a 54 tooth gear on the winch if anybody has other ideas on gearing please let me know thanks. I did weld the gears on backwards which I will turn them around unless someone has a better idea on the gearing thanks. Supposed to snow tonight so I will have 4-5 days of crappy weather before I can work on it again according to the weatherman thanks ahead of time.

[Ox]

If you know the RPM of the winch and the TPI (threads per inch) of the threaded rod it'll be easier to figure out.  It won't slow your winch down much when running the chain so maybe just run it for 15 seconds, count the rotations and times that by 4 for your rpms.  You might want to shoot for around 1/2" raise/lower per second.  This is how fast I can crank mine by hand and it seems about right for fine control with a winch motor.  I don't know what the mills are from the factory regarding speeds.  Maybe someone else can pitch in on this?

[gww]

I wonder if you couldn't just find a differrent dc motor and use it like it is.  Maby one of the wheel chair motors like K uses on his mill.  I wonder what the rpm is on one of those?   Or find some way to get to the main shaft of the winch and get rid of the gear reduction portion of the winch. 

I may be an idiot and so take the above with a grain of salt.
These are just spur of the moment ideals.
gww 

Ps if you turn the gears around with out having to buy new stuff to do it due to being fixed solid.  It might be right as it is with what you are working with.   

[larrydown60]

gww, that is what I was hoping I could use what I had. I was trying to keep from adding an alternator and an extra battery to run a 24 volt wheelchair motor. I will change gears around and see what happens I will change whatever I need to too make lift faster.
Ox, the acme threaded rod is 7/8-6  Specs on motor Says it will pull 4' of cable a min. thanks for the help.