PLEASE look at my mill and tell me how to make it better!

379hammerdown · March 16, 2006, 07:33:55 PM

Hello, Here a copule pictures of a sawmill that I have built. I've been using it for a while and it works well with one exception... The log dogs are not designed very well.

The dogs are made out of 1" tube with slightly larger for the sleeves. There is a bolt welded to the sleves and a bolt that runs through that and clamps the sliding tube into place.

The problem that I am having is that they are not BEEFEY enough to hold large slabs secure enough for me to cut square boards. I dont have problems cutting wide boards.... like say... 8" and wider... but 6" wide or 4" wide boards almost impossible to cut square. The way that has been working best for me to cut lumber is to cut a cant to the width of the boards that I want. Like... a 4" cant or 6" cant... slide it off onto the ground, cut another, and another until the log is gone... then I would spread the log dogs a half inch or so wider than the width of the cant, raise the vertical pieces and lock into place, then lift and slip the cant vertical into the slots. Then I would secure them as tight as I could hoping to be able to hold the piece of wood steady while I cut the desired thickness boards that I want out of the cant.

CONFUSED YET??? The pictures may help you understand me! I know Im not the best explainer! Hopefully this makes sense!

Other ways that I have tried which prooved not good is for me to cut slabs the thicness that I want... then when I'm done with the log... I stack 4 or 5 slabs vertical between the dogs and try to cut the width boards that I want from them... which wastes a ton of wood because they are not all the same height or taper... its just a mess.

One thing that I have not mentioned in the cutting technique that I am currently using is that I make a cut, turn the log, make another cut, then.... that way... when I cut the cants to the desired with of the boards that I want... the cant has a flat spot on the bottom of it that I have sitting on the log bunks... which stabelizes it somewhat... but not enough. I also place a piece of channel iron on top of the log bunks when I set the cant onto it, so it doesnt try to slip into the "v" groove when vertical.

MY FINGERS ARE A SMOKIN!!!! Okay... almost done...

I'm looking for some design help from some of you that are odviously much more experienced than I am in making this work better for me... cutting the 4" and 6" wide boards that are what I REALLY need to be cutting the most of!

GEEZ.... here is one more thing, fingers are on fire now! I canot stack two cants vertical in the log dogs to provide a more stability for the vertical because when I am cutting them... the gap tends to fill with dust and the cant to the left gets all out of wack. Ever seen a 2x4 that looks like a trapazoid???? I"ll show ya one!!!!

I KNOW that there is no helping my grammar or explination skills... but I certainly CAN impliment better designes than what I have! Please help me!

Thanks, Keith

Furby · March 16, 2006, 08:44:14 PM

Well I personally think your problem is that you basicly have a pair of stops and no actual clamp.
Ever see a Norwood mill?
They use a stop on one side and an actual clamp on the other.
In this case they have a threaded screw that tightens the log or cant up against the back stops.

mike_van · March 16, 2006, 08:48:54 PM

Keith, i'll take a few pics Saturday of what I made for my bandmill and get back here with them.

379hammerdown · March 16, 2006, 09:02:11 PM

Thanks for your reply Furby, I see what you are saying & it gives me some thoughts!

Mike_van, I'd surely appreciate it! Look forward to it, thanks.

jpgreen · March 16, 2006, 11:01:53 PM

Welcome to the FF, HD.

Neat looking mill. Is that a 3120?..

highpockets · March 17, 2006, 05:13:20 AM

You guys see pictures. I don't. I know it is something I'm doing wrong. I have trouble attaching a smily face.

:D

jpgreen · March 17, 2006, 11:47:17 AM

You aren't getting into that Evan again are you Dick.. :D

Jeff · March 17, 2006, 02:17:50 PM

One of the admins removed the photos and left a note, that should be clearly visable. The Forestry Forum does not allow links to outside photos. Photos MUST be placed in your forum gallery. Directions are available using the help link on the menu bar found just under the forum logo.

echo echo echo echo

highpockets · March 17, 2006, 05:44:30 PM

JP, muscadine wine

beenthere · March 17, 2006, 10:17:11 PM

Great pics. THanks for posting them, and with good quality too. You learned faster than I did.

Making some good looking lumber there, too along wit a great family.

Are you going to roof the barn back there? I suspect it's hard not to try to be an extra hand to so many people who need it, and for the many who don't know how to do many things for themselves. Has to be tough.

Coon · March 17, 2006, 10:43:37 PM

Hey there 379hammerdown. I see in one of your pics you have a auxillary oiler hooked up and on another pic you don't have it on. Is there any reasoning for this?? I would be running the extra oiler all the time no matter what size of logs you are sawing whether they be big or small. The extra oiler will save you money and downtime in the long run if you just use it.

As said before look at the clamping systems on a few different manual mills and just use them for your own designin. Woodmizer has a rather good system on their manual mills.

Keep up the good work and happy sawing. ;D ;D Don't be afraid to ask questions any time. Just remember we love Gritz....... oh sorry, I mean pics. :D :D

Brad.

jpgreen · March 18, 2006, 03:37:38 AM

Dick Highpocket's my friend but he never comes by.. :'(

:'(

thecfarm · March 18, 2006, 07:30:09 AM

I have a manual mill and don't have a problem with my dogs.My last cut has to be an inch.You need to look at another manual mill to get a good idea.

mike_van · March 18, 2006, 11:25:17 AM

Keith, 2 photos here, if it looks like you can use the ideas, email me & i'll send larger ones to you. I use 2 log beds, 6 ft. apart. On the right side these is a perm. stop 1 1/2" tall. My last board is 2" unless I shim it with some plywood shims I made. I have one clamp/dog - It's 6" tall, it runs in a roller chain track, powered by a gearmotor, it will suck the biggest log up against the stop & hold it there. The tall stop is 6" too, it slips over the 1 1/2" one. Once I get a right angle on the log, clamp & stop come off. To edge boards, I stack as many as I want against the 6" stop, bring the clamp tight, and cut. I haven't sawn into either steel yet. I work alone mostly, no distractions. The gearmotor set up is the second edition, the first was 2 Jorgensen type clamps, they went through a tube. They worked, but were slow. The 2 beds 6' apart work o.k. up to 12' logs, longer ones tend to sag, if you aren't careful, you'll cut boards lite on the ends, heavy in the middle.

sandman2234 · March 18, 2006, 11:55:40 AM

Quote from: jpgreen on March 18, 2006, 03:37:38 AM
Dick Highpocket's my friend but he never comes by.. :'( :'(

Jp,
Don't feel lonesome, he never gets down this way either. However, he does put on quite a feedbag, if you make the trip to see him. Better than that, he has a wonderful family, and some great friends.
Can't wait to get over there again.
David from jax

PawNature · March 18, 2006, 01:25:41 PM

I had the same type mill. Here are a couple of photos of the dog system that it had. Basic was a cam with upright dogs. I no longer have the mill or I could send you a close up of the dog sys.

379hammerdown · March 18, 2006, 09:34:14 PM

Thank you for all your replies! I've got some really good ideas... REALLY good ideas thanks to yall!

Hey Coon, The date stamp on the camera was incorrect, the year should have read 06 instead of 04

I run the aux oiler perminatly on the saw bar now, major benifit! Thanks for asking that question, I didnt notice the date was wrong until I wonderd why you asked that lol!

beenthere, I helped the neighbor with what I could... he is a bit older than I so he hopped up on the roof while I was on the ground handing the boards and sheetmetal up to him. Really a great guy with a nice wife that is really into horses. I know absolutly NOTHING about horses, but since the Hurricane, we have become friends with them and she lets my two girls come over and ride the horses, feed & shovel poop! Hey, we told our kids... if they want to ride the horses... they gotta help with the not so fun stuff too!

Thanks for all your replies... this sure is a friendly board, and I feel very welcome here.

Shamus · March 18, 2006, 10:11:36 PM

Hey there hammerdown,
welcome to the forum, have a seat and stay a while. You won't find better hospitalality than right here. I have a Procut mill also, but be warned: the most dangerous thing about these mills is the inescapable urge to buy yerself something bigger and badder! I still use mine from time to time for squaring cants, but I'll agree that the 'dog' design is pretty weak, especially for edging flitches. I would use a couple of clamps to supplement the 'dogs' when edging. I also went with the channel iron to cover the v notch.
I ended up putting small wheels on the tips of two of the dogs, which really helped when turning the log to cut the next face. Also, it sure is a lot more comfy to operate when you build a set of handles with a throttle control. Gets you away from the fumes and sawdust, gives a better operating position (less stooping) and helps to reduce the bone rattlingness.