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Chainsaw, Band or Circle Mill? Buy Build or Swap?

Started by Dangerous_Dan, December 22, 2004, 06:12:41 PM

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Dangerous_Dan

I built a small chainsaw mill from scratch using a Stihl 066. It works nice but it's slow going and I would like to make boards faster and quieter. Here are some pix of the homemade unit.







If I'm going to use the chainsaw mill It needs a better source of power than the 066, something 4 stroke with a governer, or an electric motor. I have both a single phase 7.5 HP electric motor and a 12 HP vertical 4 stroke engine. Either of these could be mounted to the saw carrage and geared up using belts and a jackshaft to 12-15,000 rpm spinning a sawchain sprocket. I ran the Logosol with electric power head at the S&W show and it was very quiet and smooth. It cut pretty fast. My set up would have less power and be slower.
 
Next idea is to make a small bandsaw head using some 16 inch pulleys I've got collecting dust and attach it to my chainsaw mill set up instead of the 066. Power it with the 7.5 HP electric motor.
 
Or should I just scrap the whole chainsaw mill unit and take this old conveyor trailer I've got and mount some guide rails on it. Build a bandsaw head using some nice 30 inch pulleys and a lot of hydraulic components that are just cluttering up my shop. I could make the whole thing hydraulicly operated and power it with the PTO on a Unimog truck. Big project, but I think I could do it, may take till summer to complete something like this. Could be worth the time, I don't know.
 
Hanging on my wall is a 40 inch or so sawmill blade that I'm currently using for decoration. It has insert teeth and came from a garage sale where the old guy died and his family cut up his sawmill with a sawz-all and carted it to the scrapyard. I almost cried! All that remained was the hit or miss engine that powered it, the blade and the log holders from the carrage.  I sold the engine and log holders on ebay but saved the blade. I worked on a farm in PA that had an old circle mill and it was a bit scary so I'm not sure if building a circle mill around this old blade would be wise. I don't know who made it or if replacement teeth are available.
 


I have also been thinking of selling equiptment that is sitting parked with no current jobs lined up and buy a sawmill that is ready or near ready to operate. One of the machines not needed now is a Komatsu PC200LC3.
 

A local contractor has agreed to buy it for $20k but hasn't coughed up the money yet and keeps telling me "tomorrow". I also have a Komatsu PC150LC that needs a final drive and some TLC that I could let go for $8k
 
and a Bobcat 76 Mini Excavator for $8k as well.
 
 Why am I telling you all this?? Maybe one of you wants to do some stumping or digging and would be interested in swapping a sawmill for an excavator, + or - some $ depending on the deal. Maybe he will show up tomorrow with the money and I will be looking to buy a mill or start building one, I'll have to wait and see. First come, first served.
 
I have a pile of saw logs that is getting bigger than I can saw with the chainsaw mill in it's current state.
 
I'm not sure what would be best.
DD
First you make it work, then you trick it out!

ex-racer

That's the same saw I'm using on my home-built. Mine is old too but it works fine.
It's called a Style 3, and you can still get bits (teeth) and shanks for it.
You may have to have it "hammered" by a good saw doctor.

Good luck whichever way you go,
Ed

http://www.electric-ed.com/My%20Sawmill/images/100_0077x.jpg
admin edit: Photo was changed to a link because of excessive width. Please keep photos under our 350 pixel width limit!

UNCLEBUCK

Wow you got some neat equipment Dangerous Dan ! I like circle mills just because thats what is on the farm and will stay with it forever , I mean the same mill will always be here for good for sentimentle reasons so I am stuck using it which is a good thing . I have only been sawing heavy with it for less than 2 years and I have had so many potential customers want me to saw logs on their property so If you looking to make money maybe have a old woodmizer for jobs and then a old circle mill for big jobs or maybe a new woodmizer for all the jobs  ;D. It would be a tough decision to make . I like all your stuff !  Merry Christmas   :) :)
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

UNCLEBUCK

I forgot to compliment you on your chainsaw mill creation . That is quite impressive and sturdy !  You and ex-racer should get together and invent a whole new kind of portable sawmill . wow ! :D
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

D._Frederick

DD,

What type of mill to use depends on how much you plan to saw, how much you want to spend, how hard you want to work, and how big the logs are that you plan to saw. After you make up your mind on the above, then we can help you deside on the type of mill to get.

Dangerous_Dan

I have 10 acres half is woods. Two of my neighbors have 60 acres each, both about half woods. One of them has a  large unused barn that could store a lot of wood. Several of my buddies need to get rid of trees on a regular basis as well. Either from land clearing or removals from peoples homes. Free of charge, delivered.  I have or can come up with more logs than I can imagine being able to cut. The biggest tree I got this month is a 44 inch maple. Normally I cut it up to heat my shop, it's a waste of nice wood. One of the neighbors needs wood for building chicken houses and other outbuildings. Plus wants locust posts, several hundred. I'm fixing up my barn with some paneling I cut with the chainsaw mill but I need more, much more. And I'm looking for a rural property in eastern Pa to build a log cabin or timber frame house. I'll need wood for that. I think the chainsaw mill is too slow to do everything I'm looking to do, in the time frame I need to do it. As for how much am I willing to spend, I don't really know. I'll trade any one of those excavators straight up for a mill of comperable value.
First you make it work, then you trick it out!

leweee

DD... Is that a Mercedes Uni-mog in that 2nd pic ? I got to get me one of those. Hydro usetta use them for work crews on transmission line Right of ways.....trimmen brush &mowing weeds. 4x4 &pto.....handy. Sounds like you could use a mill in your neighbourhood. So many to choose  from. Swingers for biggens, bands for smaller ones, circulars for max production.... BTW a thumb on an excavator makes a great log handler.  ;D
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

Fla._Deadheader

 Believe I would really check out a Swinger. They is "all purpose", and easy to set up. Cosmo is makin great lookin boards on the first day. Bet you could rig a feed motor and not have to chase the saw, also. That's what I was gonna do.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Captain

Harold, will you still be doing swingblade public service announcements from Costa Rica?? (I hope??)

Captain :D

Fla._Deadheader

 If it don't raise too many folks cutting into my sawing, I just might put in for the Central America Dist.  ;D ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

raycon

Dan are local papers down here usally have one or two circle mills for sale. Some without power some with.The advertised price usually is in the range of $1000 -  $10,000. I can post the ads if you or anyone else is interested.
I've been looking at a new Woodmizer(LT40HD)  after having bad luck trying to find a used one for under $18k with  2000 hours or less. Appears they hold there resale value well and I'm cheap. Point being if you bought one and maintained it you'd probably get a decent chunk back when you sold it.

I'll be milling in Sparta NJ over the New Years for a friends barn and trebuchet project. Theres a lot of mills in that area.  I'd be interested in a swinger I just can't wrap my head around how it can milll large boxed heart timbers quicker  than I currently do on a bandmill.  I can see keeping my woodmizer and adding a swinger....side tracked again.  




Lot of stuff..

Dangerous_Dan

Thanks for the kind words UNCLEBUCK. ;)
Leweee- Yes that is a Unimog model 406 and I recommend you get one ASAP! I like Unimogs alot. I bought my first for work around my farm. Picked up another for parts, then another, then another. The big problem with Mogs is the cab rusts out and the hydraulics for the brakes and clutch crap out. Some nice things about a Mog, remote hydraulic connectons for 2 circuits, 3 PTO's front, rear and mid, 20 speeds forward, 8 reverse, 2 wd 4wd or 4wd with diffs locked, and yes I've gotten it stuck.


My first Mog on the left and a parts mog from ebay on the right.

The parts Mog from above restored with a replacement cab.

Cab before restoration.

Stripped down to bare metal. No rust found!

After painting.

Unimog #1 blowing snow.

Front view of Unimog #1 with blower.
I currently have 2 running, driving and registered. Working on a third. Then I can start on number 4!
Unimog is good if you don't mind going slow! ;)
Let's get back to sawmills for just a minute.
I'm looking for advice on building a sawmill.
If I go with the 16 inch pulleys, are they big enough or will it crack the band cus they are too small.
What is the size of the standard wood-mizer blade? Width as well as length. Do all models use the same size blade?
What is an easy design that allows for aligning the idler band wheel?
How much faster is a circle mill over a band mill?
Maybe I need to use that circle blade on the wall?


First you make it work, then you trick it out!

leweee

Thanks Dan....Those Mogs sure work great for a little beast. Thanks for a trip down memory lane with all those pics .   see if you can find some sawyers in your area, check out their operations & ask Questions first hand ....you'll be glad you did. ;D



ps Uni-mog & Slow are right up my alley ;)
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

D._Frederick

DD,

If you plan on doing more than a few boards for hobby work, 16 inch band wheels will break you up buying blades. If I was making/buying a mill, the band wheels would be over 24 inches diameter. Most band mills use 1 /14 inch blades. They can be welded to any length. A circle mill with a 6-71 for power is about 5 times faster than a narrow blade band mill.

Happy Newyear,

rebocardo

Since you do urban lumber one thing you have to consider is the cost of consumables and the pain$ of replacing them.

One reason I went with a chain saw mill is hitting a lag or a 16D nail is less painful with a $20 chain I can resharpen. Most metal in a tree a chain saw can rip through and only require minor sharpening later.

Plus, urban lumber is usually loaded with dirt and mud by the time you get it. Sometimes I just cut all the bark and mud off with one of my lesser rough chains and once I am sure I am past all the nasty stuff like 16D nails, I switch to a much smoother chain on the cants.

I read a lot about people welding bands, setting teeth and their hooks, and then nuking a blade on a nail on a yard tree. For me, it seemed like a big hassle, especially since I am not worried about kerf waste and I am not producing lumber I am going to kiln dry and plane to dimension.



doublecutusa

My wife goes into a fervant prayer mode whenever I pick up a screwdriver, (and I ain't talkin' vodka and o.j.) :D  However, with your mechanical ability you oughta make anything sing.  There are some good mills all around out here.  I've got a couple of my favorites and I also consult for one of the companies.  So, I would recommend checking out the sponsors and all the swing mills.  There are good possibilities.  Ask lots of questions of the manufacturers and see which best fills your needs.  Good luck! :)

duke401

  go ahead an say it [lindsey]  the d+l is the best saw for the money :D :D
 duke

duke401


duke401

   dd
 i might have a saw i would work with you on that rebuilt mog.send me a measage
duke

doublecutusa

There are rules and we must follow ;D No fooling though, there are some good-uns out there.

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