DIY Scrap Iron Bandsaw Mill

[RetiredTech]

  These are photos of my tracking adjusters. I was worried about the strength of the adjusters, but I think it was unfounded. With the trailer tires for the bands wheels you can't really get the same tension the guys running solid band wheels get.
  My smaller tube was way too loose sliding in the larger tube. I split a couple sections off the smaller tube and welded it to the sliders to take up the extra slack. I drilled holes in the main beams and welded 3/8" nuts over them to force the assembly into the corners. The bolts are ground slightly round on the ends and only tightened a little over snug to maintain a little pressure on the sliders. There's another nut at the top outside edge pressing down. Vertical adjustment to keep the wheels plumb is done with shims under the rear of the axles. Once it's set right it shouldn't change. Toe in or out along with the tightening the band is done with the two 3/4" couple nuts then locked in place with the two regular 3/4" nuts. I couldn't find a picture of the original axle. It was just the spindle stub welded into a piece of thin channel material. I used some 3/16 angle to weld around it for extra strength. The Drive axle just has flanges that bolt to the bottom of the large tubes. The only adjustment on the drive end is the shims if needed to get it plumb.




















  



 

[RetiredTech]

  This is the rear of the saw head. The clutch control is the lever on the right It moves the idler wheel up to tighten the drive belt. The throttle is also coupled to the clutch so that when the clutch is engaged the throttle goes to high speed.Since the clutch and throttle don't move the same distance. The spring on the throttle couple keeps the clutch from trying to force the throttle cable to move too far. I'll probably add an adjustable stop to the throttle lever as a safety stop. As the belt wears the clutch will pull further, but the throttle can not. There is an adjustable wedge on the rear tracking leg to lock the clutch down so the user doesn't have to hold it while cutting the log. At the bottom of the fuel tank is the fuel filter. To its left is the fuel pump. 





  Fuel Filter and Fuel Pump




  Clutch lever disengaged.




  Clutch engaged and held fast by the adjustable wedge.




  Clutch and throttle linkages at idle position. The idler pulley is moved by the 3/4" rod going through
the pillow block bearings.




  Clutch engaged, Throttle high.




  I plan to move the battery to the top of the fuel tank to help better balance the beam.

[Crusarius]

That is a pretty sweet setup, I like that. I ended up with a go kart clutch then just put a large throttle lever on the push bar so when I slip I release the throttle and everything stops.

[RetiredTech]

That is a pretty sweet setup, I like that. I ended up with a go kart clutch then just put a large throttle lever on the push bar so when I slip I release the throttle and everything stops.

That's interesting. Back in my early years I worked as a mechanic in a go kart shop.
My engine already had the double pulley mounted to the flywheel so I decided to use it.

[RetiredTech]

  Just my luck, we finally get a few days of sunshine and I get called for jury duty and doctor appointments. :-\
 I found a couple pics of the square tubing from the old light tree that became the actual saw head and carriage.





 The four metal boxes to the left are the old ballasts for the lights. The two toned rectangular box is an old fuel cell I was planning to use as a  my fuel tank, but it was too large.

[RetiredTech]

  Since I wasn't required for the jury duty I spent the some time trying to figure out how to install my blade guides. Of coarse the stationary guide is pretty easy. I think I have a plan for movable one. Here's a picture of the pieces I cobbled together today. I hope to have them installed this week. I'll post another photo when they're installed. I think I should have left a little more room between the tires and the saw frame. It's starting to get cramped and I still have to fit a blade guard in there.
  My voltage regulator came in yesterday, I need to work on the wiring too.

[Ljohnsaw]

I did the sliding tube in tube like you have and found it to be difficult get and keep aligned.  That's why I switch it out in my revision.  Go back and look.  Sorry, posted the link on another thread... I used a 1" square tube on point (like a diamond) set between 4 tiny V-grove rollers.  Rock solid, slides easy and I added a long 12v linear actuator that I picked up for free.  I have a few more that I could test and if they work, I'll ship you one if you pay the shipping.  Here's a picture before I put the linear actuator on in place of a cludgy cable setup.

 

[RetiredTech]

I did the sliding tube in tube like you have and found it to be difficult get and keep aligned.  That's why I switch it out in my revision.  Go back and look.  Sorry, posted the link on another thread... I used a 1" square tube on point (like a diamond) set between 4 tiny V-grove rollers.  Rock solid, slides easy and I added a long 12v linear actuator that I picked up for free.  I have a few more that I could test and if they work, I'll ship you one if you pay the shipping.  Here's a picture before I put the linear actuator on in place of a cludgy cable setup.

Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm probably not going to automate to that extent. I am thinking about motorizing the saw head and carriage after I get it all working. I remember reading through some of your posts. It's a sweet setup. Right now I'd be happy to just get this build finished, cutting, and in it's permanent location. If I have to rebuild the moveable guide I may touch base with you for more information on the parts you used.
  I wish I had bookmarked some of the great articles I've read here when I started so I could easily refer back to them. I've found so much usable information here, and people here are always willing to help.
  I have never actually seen a bandsaw mill in person. Everything I know on the subject, which isn't much, has come from this site, youtube, and others online. There is a guy in our Church that has a hobby mill and does a fair amount of sawing. He's invited me to go see his setup, but we haven't made that connection yet. I'm sure we'll get together eventually. In case he see's this post, Hi Joe.   I tried using a chainsaw mill once. Results were not what I was looking for. It was also a too loud and physical for me to be productive. Guess I'm getting older. 
 

[Crusarius]

I was in the same boat; I had only seen brief glimpses of band sawmills at the farm shows I attend. Then I decided to build one. I didn't even do much research before I dove in.

I have the adjustable side a tube in tube but I added a skate that rides against the sawframe with bearings. when the blade is not tensioned it hangs free when it is tensioned it keeps the guide in the same plane every time.


 



 

the bolt is a quick adjust for height. It ended up working well since I needed to offset the wheels to clear the tensioner.

Whats funny is I hardly ever move that guide. Either all my logs are close enough to the same size or I have found that moving it does not seem to affect the cut quality.

[RetiredTech]

Whats funny is I hardly ever move that guide. Either all my logs are close enough to the same size or I have found that moving it does not seem to affect the cut quality.

That's a unique fix.
I've been wondering about that too. I've seen a couple builds where the blade guides are not adjustable at all. I wondered if it was really that big of a deal. I do understand the why it's adjustable, but how often does it really get used? Would a couple bolt on locations suffice?

[Magicman]

I realize that you are discussing the blade guide arm in/out, but I wanted to dip back to your blade guide pictures in Reply #30 above.

I could not determine from the pictures that you have 8 way adjustments on the guide rollers. 

Up/down, in/out, vertical tilt up/down, and horizontal tilt left/right.  I can see the up/down and in/out.   I think that I see two of the tilts but I was not sure about all 4 tilts?

Another thing to remember is that the blade must be pulled through the log, not pushed.

[RetiredTech]

I realize that you are discussing the blade guide arm in/out, but I wanted to dip back to your blade guide pictures in Reply #30 above.

I could not determine from the pictures that you have 8 way adjustments on the guide rollers.  

Up/down, in/out, vertical tilt up/down, and horizontal tilt left/right.  I can see the up/down and in/out.   I think that I see two of the tilts but I was not sure about all 4 tilts?

Another thing to remember is that the blade must be pulled through the log, not pushed.

Hi Magic,
  I think I have that part covered. My mounts have the in/out and up/down adjustments. I bit the bullet and bought the Cooks blade guides that have the other adjusters built in. That order hurt, this was supposed to be a cheap diy project. And yes, the wife did notice the bill. The blade rotation is correct too. Looking at the business end of the saw head the engine turns CCW and the sawdust exits to the right under the drive wheel.
  I remember at least one post I was reading that was built the other way around and it did cause problems. I didn't want to make that mistake.

[RetiredTech]

ljohnsaw and Crusarius,
  I worked on the guides a little more this morning before the weather turned sour. I'm far enough along to tell what I have so far is going to be a real pain to work with. I'm going to have to rethink this and see if I have something else on hand I can use to make this work better. I think you guys have the right idea, using bearings to hold or help the slider. I may go ahead and tack it in place to confirm just how bad it's going to be to adjust. It's not going to be smooth for sure
  There are so many things I would do differently if I had to start over. I doubt I'll ever get to version 2.0 though. I'm just going to be cutting for use on the farm, not for sale. If I can get this working it's heavy enough and simple enough to last the rest of my lifetime.

[Magicman]

I bit the bullet and bought the Cooks blade guides that have the other adjusters built in.

Wonderful.  Your blade guide choice was a very good investment.  Proper blade guide alignment is paramount.  

[Magicman]

Will you be able to capture some floaters when the river is up?  I sawed for a guy that lassoed floaters, corralled them up, and tied them to trees so that he could recover them when the water went down.  He paneled his entire home with floater lumber. LINK

[RetiredTech]

Will you be able to capture some floaters when the river is up?  I sawed for a guy that lassoed floaters, corralled them up, and tied them to trees so that he could recover them when the water went down.  He paneled his entire home with floater lumber. LINK

No, I don't think so. I'm not much of river rat. I like dry land. We're fairly close to the river as the crow flies. We used to put in on the Buffalo in Fort Adams and fish it over to the Mississippi. I think that's all silted in now. I haven't been there in years.
  We've got a pretty good mixture of native hardwoods and planted pines. The pines were thinned this past summer. There's quite a few they damaged that need to be removed. That will probably be my learning logs. I've got a tall sweetgum and what we call a pig nut (I think others call them bitter pecan) right at my house that need to come down. Storms blew them over last year, but they are hung up and still alive. From what I've read I need to go ahead and get the gum on the ground and let it dry as a log for several months before trying to mill it. The pig nut is leaning against my container. I topped it last year but decided to leave the roots in the ground until the mill is finished. 

[Ljohnsaw]

From what I've read I need to go ahead and get the gum on the ground and let it dry as a log for several months before trying to mill it.

Probably best to drag it over to the river and let it float away! ;) It would be a good testing log because, from what I've read, not great behaving lumber would come from it.  Also, not very rot resistant it it gets wet.

[Magicman]

I dislike sawing any of the trees that you mentioned.  Planted Pine with those ½" growth rings will give you misery with movement as they are sawn.  Sweetgum and Pecan lumber will give you misery as it dries.  You still need to saw it but just be aware that it has a mind of it's own.  

Older growth Pine, Cedar, Oak, Tulip Poplar, Walnut and Cypress are joys to saw. 

I reckon that I am getting ahead of your build and already have you sawing. 

[RetiredTech]

Probably best to drag it over to the river and let it float away! ;) It would be a good testing log because, from what I've read, not great behaving lumber would come from it.  Also, not very rot resistant it it gets wet.

You're probably right. I just hate to waste anything. I have no idea what I would do with it. We don't cut them for firewood because they tend to pop sparks out of the fireplace. They're not good for construction. But they are EVERYWHERE! Let the sun hit a bare spot of ground and up pops a sweetgum tree.

[Crusarius]

Spruce is my biggest nemesis. hardest wood I have sawn. but by hardest I mean most difficult. I can do hickory, that is a dream to me compared to the stupid spruce.

[RetiredTech]

I dislike sawing any of the trees that you mentioned.  Planted Pine with those ½" growth rings will give you misery with movement as they are sawn.  Sweetgum and Pecan lumber will give you misery as it dries.  You still need to saw it but just be aware that it has a mind of it's own.  

Older growth Pine, Cedar, Oak, Tulip Poplar, Walnut and Cypress are joys to saw.  

There was only a hand full pine trees on the place when the pasture was planted in pines. All the old wood in mostly hardwoods. I'm not great at tree identification, but we do have oaks, willows, ash, hackberry, bay, magnolia, and a few others I don't know. Plus of course sweetgum. Sweetgums everywhere. There used to be sassafras on the place. There's a rock hard stump behind my mothers garden that my dad cut over thirty years ago. I wish we had more sassafras.

[RetiredTech]

Spruce is my biggest nemesis. hardest wood I have sawn. but by hardest I mean most difficult. I can do hickory, that is a dream to me compared to the stupid spruce.

Would you like to swap some spruce for some sweetgum? :D

[Magicman]

As strange as it may sound, Swetgum will make board & batten siding, but do not allow any roof runoff splash up.  Saw it and put it up green with the bark side of the lumber toward the inside of the building.  Nail it and the battens down the center of the boards.


 
Sweetgum will also make beam/timbers but again, no earth contact nor splash up.  Saw one pith centered timber from each log.  I have sawed several thousand of them.   That is over 200 Sweetgum logs on the right of the sawmill.


 Sweetgum timbers.


 Sweetgum logs on the left, slabs in the center, and some timbers on the right.

OK, I'll let you get back to building the sawmill. 

[RetiredTech]

OK, I'll let you get back to building the sawmill.  

I wish I could. It's storming here and we're under tornado warnings. But you're probably getting some of this too.
  If I did use the sweetgum for siding what would you suggest sealing it with?

[Magicman]

After it's been up for a year and dried, I would see nothing wrong with spraying it down with Thompson's Waterseal or something similar.