Ray's Portable Manual Mill Mods & Additions

[RAYAR]

Installed a log loading winch set-up this past afternoon. Can be used from either side. Still need to weld a short section of tubing to the top center of the slide tube for the cable hook for winching. Also still have to construct the loading ramps.






 



 




 



 

[RAYAR]

Made two trays, the larger, heavier guage one goes under the carriage, which is over the axle, when in the travel position to hold the lube and fuel containers.

[RAYAR]

Remarked and painted the log backstops.



 

[Crusarius]

That looks nice. have you used the winch yet? I would think your going to want some triangulation to support that tall post. Sure looks like its going to want to bend with a large log.

[DMcCoy]

Nice looking build, very clean.  What did you use for wheels(source?)

[RAYAR]

Nice looking build, very clean.  What did you use for wheels(source?)

I bought it last July, already built several years ago. I've since made several improvements on it. The band wheels are spoked cast 18-3/4" V-belt pulley type. (I hope this is what you are asking about)

[RAYAR]

That looks nice. have you used the winch yet? I would think your going to want some triangulation to support that tall post. Sure looks like its going to want to bend with a large log.

Not used yet, just installed yesterday. The post is not really that tall and it's quite rugged, actually. It's sporting a 2500 lb winch with 50 ft of 3/16" cable.

[Vautour]

Nice work and set up RAY.....i see you got a overhead door spring installed for raising the head assembly.... did you put the biggest spring available for the jackshaft??... im planning on doing this also so any information would be appreciated..TKS 

[RAYAR]

Nice work and set up RAY.....i see you got a overhead door spring installed for raising the head assembly.... did you put the biggest spring available for the jackshaft??... im planning on doing this also so any information would be appreciated..TKS

Hi Vautour, I did not build this mill, but suppose to have been built by someone in this area likely around 2005-2006. My mill is not large compared to your mill. Your mill would need a good sized set-up. Just thinking... maybe two jackshafts linked in tandem together by chain and sprocket would be something to think about, but would still need large springs. ???
 
I'm thinking if I had a larger diameter spring, it would reduce the lightness at the bottom and lighten the weight when cranked up as there wouldn't be as much change in tension as the smaller spring is getting.

Manually operated, one thing about this set-up is it gets harder to turn the height adjustment wheel as you get nearer to the top, as the spring tension is being reduced. If I adjust it anymore, the saw head will start to float as it reaches the bottom of its' travel. It's not like an overhead door that slides horizontally overhead where the vertical weight of the door is being reduced as the spring is being unwound as it goes up. The extension spring type would have the same issues. Chains, sprockets and counter weights would keep the weight equal in its' travel, but you'd have to add a fair bit of weight, so not the way to go for a portable mill.

Ray

[RAYAR]

Used my winch set-up this afternoon (Sunday). Worked every bit as good as I expected, even winching logs from a distance, then rolling them up onto the mill.

Anchor point for winch cable when rolling logs up onto mill bed (short square tube in center)





Ready to head out with new winch set-up

[DMcCoy]

Um yes there are several to choose from... :-[
I was wondering about the wheels the saw head travels on.

[RAYAR]

I was wondering about the wheels the saw head travels on.

Doing a little research, they are U-groove track rolllers. Mine are measuring 3" diameter by 1" thick with a 3/8" wide groove. They are rolling on the edge of 1/4" angle. There is a spacer between the bearing and the carriage frame.





 

[RAYAR]

A better view of how my winching set-up works.

This pic shows the travel position, horizontal slide tube centered with pins, cable hooked under a log bunk and snugged up. This keeps the system from rattling and moving while traveling.






This pic shows the horizontal tube slid in against the slide tube in working position.






This pic shows the anchor for the cable hook when rolling the log up the ramps.



 


This pic shows the 4 ft tube slid out to clear the saw head.






When using winch on operator side, the winch can be lifted out and set aside and the tube is left slid in to easily get by it. (operator side opposite side in this pic)







In this pic, it shows where I welded an old bolt under the edge of the tube to keep the winch tube from sliding through making it a drop in set-up  and to keep it open so sawdust doesn't accumulate in it. Hole for a pin not needed in this case.






I don't think I need to worry about 2500 lb humans :D



 

[bwstout]

i have a similar set up but use 3x3x 1/4 wall and have a 3000# atv winch on it have loaded and then turned  some 30" x 12' SYP and RO so for have not destroyed anything or bent yet but time will tell ;D

[RAYAR]

i have a similar set up but use 3x3x 1/4 wall and have a 3000# atv winch on it have loaded and then turned  some 30" x 12' SYP and RO so for have not destroyed anything or bent yet but time will tell ;D

I used 2" X 2" X 3/16" and the vertical piece the winch is on is made up of two pieces I spliced together, about 29" long. The slide tube is 2-1/2" X 2-1/2" X 3/16"  and 34" long. I also reinforced the ends with additional 3/16" pieces. It's what I had available. The mills' frame is 30" wide.

I set up on the side of a dirt road and done a few single line pulls from the edge of the woods to the mill before doing the roll winching thing up the ramps (just a couple old birch sticks). The heaviest one was a Poplar about 14" on small end. It was cut last summer for a power line clearing and was still in full length. They were just cut down and dozed aside. I cut a 9 ft section out of it after having to cut a few sections off the butt until I got to solid wood. (ants) The winch is a two speed and used in high range of 4:1 ratio. It winched that over with no effort at all. That log was still quite wet when I milled it.

Very impressed with the performance of my winch set-up so far. Worked every bit as good as I expected and then some.

Ray

[bwstout]

yes sir should not have any problems with your set up and you have a nice looking mill

[RAYAR]

Stopped in at my former work place this evening and started to put together two more cam dawgs like the one shown that I built last year. It works quite well and I don't feel I need to modify it so I'm copying it. Forgot to take another pic of what I accomplished this evening. The only thing left to weld is the loop handles and I'm ready to drill the holes. Also have a little shaping left to do with a disc grinder on a few pieces, mainly rounding some corners. The beak on them is armour plate, so would not want to run a band blade into it. Also need to pick up the hardware to put them together with.

[Magicman]

I would consider enclosing those mast rollers and adding a rail wiper fore & aft.

[RAYAR]

Hi MM, I don't seem to have a good pic of the area where the sawdust exits but in the lower right corner of this pic you can see the carriage roller has a cover and directly behind it there is a plate that extends over the rail to help with keeping sawdust from gathering on the rail. There is some sawdust getting compressed on the rail and rollers and  do have plans on installing rail and roller wipers.

Another place I need to add a deflector/wiper is on that yellow guard in this pic. Too much sawdust gets by here and can cake onto the band support bearings and drive wheel belt. I have already added a back stop guard to this yellow deflector as seen in second pic.




 


Went searching and found a little better pic of this area.



 

[Magicman]

There is some sawdust getting compressed on the rail and rollers and do have plans on installing rail and roller wipers

That was my concern. 

[RAYAR]

A better pic of the carriage wheel cover and rail sawdust deflector



 

[RAYAR]

Finished building the log cam dawgs, ready for paint. Still need to make the holders and cross frame supports for these.



 

[RAYAR]

Getting the dawg pieces painted.

On these dawg pieces, I originally drilled the holes towards the opposite side. Last night, I plug welded them and relocated them to where they are now, drilled and fitted to each individual dawg assembly. I didn't have the original one when I marked and drilled them.



 


The cams with the dawgs in the background.



 



The original dawg and the new ones painted and drying. The slides, the smaller pieces, I still need to find the right size tube to weld to the side for it to slide on the bar between the frame rails. Still need to get and mount the cross bars for these two new dawgs.



 

[RAYAR]

All painted and assembled, even touched up my original one.

Some glare that seems to be giving a colour shift. The bright red is the proper colour. Even gave my pulp hook a few shots of yellow so it stands out better if it gets laid down somewhere.



 

[RAYAR]

Finished up some more parts last night, painted them this afternoon.


The two small pieces of tubing are for one end of the threaded rod slide bars. Still need to fabricate the 'U' shaped pieces to hold the other end so it's removable.



 


One additional backstop I'm adding for short logs and the log dawg slides now have the slide tube welded onto them.



 

[farmfromkansas]

Did you make that screw jack so you can slide it back and forth to center under your log?  Would be great to have a jack instead of a piece of 2x4.  And can't wait to see how you install your log dogs.

[RAYAR]

Did you make that screw jack so you can slide it back and forth to center under your log?  Would be great to have a jack instead of a piece of 2x4.  And can't wait to see how you install your log dogs.

The screw jacks (2) are fixed in place. They are closer to the back stops. These were already installed on my mill when I bought it last summer. I plan on installing rollers on top of those scissor jacks, but will have to lower their mounts. They have a piece of 1/4" flat bar welded across the top, should really have been a piece of angle, but so far, they've been OK.

Was going to try to explain how the log dawgs are installed. I think I'll wait and get a better pic of the installation of the current one. The two new ones will be similar. Just made the 'J' or 'U' brackets tonight. Now have all the parts for installation.

Also have a forth back stop ready to install also. This will allow me to mill logs as short as about 27" with no special set-up required.
My mill is currently set up in town. It's not close enough to the shop to reach it with the welder, will have to mobilize it to move it closer. Still have a few logs to mill first.

[RAYAR]

I have a new engine set aside for my mill. Will pick it up in the next day or two. It's a Pro Point (Ducar) 420cc 15HP with electric start and has a cast iron cylinder sleeve (My current one is a 2006 Lifan 389cc 13HP manual start). Both are the Honda style engines. The little extra power and electric start will be a nice convenience. According to the manual, the alternator output is only 1 amp. Would be nice if the alternator would have a little more output. Will eventually add a few LED lights for when finishing sawing at dusk.

[RAYAR]

I scored an older but low usage Echo PB1000 leaf blower a few days ago. Will make mill clean up a breeze or a blast. 8)

[Crusarius]

rayar, you know for $700 you can get a 22hp predator from harbor freight. With electric start. If you are going to take the time to change an engine you might as well just go big. You will not regret it. That is what I have on my mill and I am very pleased with it.

[RAYAR]

rayar, you know for $700 you can get a 22hp predator from harbor freight. With electric start. If you are going to take the time to change an engine you might as well just go big. You will not regret it. That is what I have on my mill and I am very pleased with it.

That Pro Point 420cc 15HP (with cast iron cyl sleeve = 2X+ engine life) is currently on sale for $350 at PAL in Canada and I have a gift card from my retirement that will more than cover it. The 2006 13HP I currently have actually is not too bad, so the 15HP will just notch it up a bit. That $700 US will likely be in the $900+ CAD. range. If I wanted to wait a while, not sure how long, I could get one about the same size or a little more HP, I think 18HP, for around $300, but I have that gift card for PAL. I believe the Harbour Freight Predator engines would be similar to PALs Powerfist brand engines, a lesser engine life than the Pro Point brand I'm currently getting. The Pro Point is also suppose to have better cooling capacity.

Ray

[RAYAR]

Picked up my new engine yesterday evening. Not sure just how soon I'll change it over. Both engines should have the same mounting configuration, have to check that out to see if I need to change anything there. Have to fabricate a battery tray/box. Also doing some research on the alternator, apparently there is an 18 amp one available (external??).

[RAYAR]

Finally finished milling the few logs that were left at the shop. Had some Jack Pine and some Maple. Now I need to mobilize the mill to move it nearer to the welder. Have two dawging stations and one back stop to add on hopefully Friday or Saturday. Making my mill better equipped a bit at a time.

The old and new engines appear to have identical mounting and crank shaft measurements, so should be a simple swap. Also need to make a simple drawing with measurements for the battery box fabrication and mounting.

Still have research to do about an external alternator as the built-in 1-amp just doesn't seem to be much. Will likely use a larger than 18AH minimum battery required as I will install a few 10W LED flood lights to assist in end of day milling and mill clean up.

[bwstout]

I had the same issue with the 1 amp also but I have a lot more that draws form the battires, I have power feed and power for blade adjustment. I added a double pulley and a 100 amp single wire alternator, but that may be more than you want or need.

[RAYAR]

I had the same issue with the 1 amp also but I have a lot more that draws form the battires, I have power feed and power for blade adjustment. I added a double pulley and a 100 amp single wire alternator, but that may be more than you want or need.

I was doing some research earlier and came up with some permanent magnet alternators in 12V with outputs in the 12 to 20 amp range. They are belt driven and actually quite small.

[RAYAR]

Installed the two additional dawging stations and one additional log back stop this evening.

mounts (rear)



 




 


rear dawg






front dawging station and back stop installed

[RAYAR]

 
These Kasco WoodmaxX 7 degree blades look great.

My new blades just came in yesterday, August 13th. Originally ordered these blades on June 4th (they seem to have lost my order). Picked them up last evening. Looked at the shipping papers and the label on the box and they got the wrong size. I ordered 12'-7" (173 teeth = 151-3/8") They sent me 12'-8" (174 teeth = 152-1/2") @7/8" pitch. My mills' ideal size is set for 12'-7".

 Will have to call Kasco and find out what's going on.

Tried one on for fit, it will work, but should add a shim, at least 3/8" thickness for a better set-up. I have a Cooks hinged tension set-up, not a slide, and the 12'-8" is near its' limit, and on its' up swing creating more deflection at the blade guide. It's very noticeable around a 2" bearing, 1" radius.

This will be a few hours work in changing things over and setting things back up.

174 teeth is an ideal size as it keeps its' groups of three teeth instead of missing one at the splice.

[Crusarius]

Can you put the shim under the hinge so you can still use the old blades?

[RAYAR]

Can you put the shim under the hinge so you can still use the old blades?

Can shim either side, but looking it over again, think I will do the hinge side with two pieces of flat bar.

[RAYAR]

These Kasco WoodmaxX 7 degree blades look great.

My new blades just came in yesterday, August 13th. Originally ordered these blades on June 4th (they seem to have lost my order). Picked them up last evening. Looked at the shipping papers and the label on the box and they got the wrong size. I ordered 12'-7" (173 teeth = 151-3/8") They sent me 12'-8" (174 teeth = 152-1/2") @7/8" pitch. My mills' ideal size is set for 12'-7".

Will have to call Kasco and find out what's going on.

Called Kasco to speak with Eric, but he's on vacation this week. Will have to call him next week.

[thecfarm]

I see your log stops go straight up and down,as mine do. I put marks on the stops.,4 inches is really 3½. So if I set the head at 4 inches,I know I have a ½ to spare. Really comes in handy to saw the flitches. I made marks at 4-6-8-10 inches. No more guessing and wondering if I will hit a stop.

[RAYAR]

I see your log stops go straight up and down,as mine do. I put marks on the stops.,4 inches is really 3½. So if I set the head at 4 inches,I know I have a ½ to spare. Really comes in handy to saw the flitches. I made marks at 4-6-8-10 inches. No more guessing and wondering if I will hit a stop.

Mine are marked what they are above the bunks. I also have a blade guard that will contact the back stops if I'm less than 1/4" above them. Marking the back stops was a great idea. If I have to set one higher than the others, as long as I'm more than 1/4" above it, I'm clear.

[thecfarm]

Good idea on the blade guard.

[RAYAR]

Good idea on the blade guard.

Blade guard

[RAYAR]

These Kasco WoodmaxX 7 degree blades look great.

My new blades just came in yesterday, August 13th. Originally ordered these blades on June 4th (they seem to have lost my order). Picked them up last evening. Looked at the shipping papers and the label on the box and they got the wrong size. I ordered 12'-7" (173 teeth = 151-3/8") They sent me 12'-8" (174 teeth = 152-1/2") @7/8" pitch. My mills' ideal size is set for 12'-7".

Will have to call Kasco and find out what's going on.

Tried one on for fit, it will work, but should add a shim, at least 3/8" thickness for a better set-up. I have a Cooks hinged tension set-up, not a slide, and the 12'-8" is near its' limit, and on its' up swing creating more deflection at the blade guide. It's very noticeable around a 2" bearing, 1" radius.

This will be a few hours work in changing things over and setting things back up.

174 teeth is an ideal size as it keeps its' groups of three teeth instead of missing one at the splice.

Called Kasco Canada today and spoke with Eric. Apparently 12'-7" is not a size they deal with or make up, but 12'-6" or 12'-8" is. Hmmmm....
Today I added shims to the hinged tensioner made up of 1/4" flat bar and 10 guage metal since I couldn't find some 3/8" flat bar. It would be about 13/32", maybe 25/64", just shy of half the 7/8" pitch. Took me a few hours as it was a tight spot to get my hand in for one of the bolts with-out taking the band wheel off. Turned out I had to run to the hardware store near by to get a few 1/4" longer bolts. Things are looking good and my mill is now set up for the ideal 12'-8" long bands. I also checked the band bearing guide alignment and was surprised by how much it had gotten out. It is now re-aligned. Tracking is also looking good, didn't have to re-adjust it.

Now to make up a wood box for my blades. Not sure when I'm going to get out next and do some more milling.

At least I'm done with the Sussex Flea Market for this year, that was a hectic week-end. Picked up a slide hammer type nail puller for mill equipment. Took it apart and wire brushed it by hand and painted it, then put it back together again.


Original


 


Shims added


 


Nail puller


 

[RAYAR]

Had the mill out this afternoon (Sunday), a bit over an hours drive from home. Liking the new back stop and dawging stations I added. Milled some poplar using the new Kasco 7 degree blades. I kinda like those.

Throttle cable was a little stiff and gave me some issues so I ended up unhooking it from the engine and worked some tranny fluid into it, then re-installed it. Worked great after that.

Also brought the old Husky 61, now that's a saw that gets 'er done.

[mitchstockdale]

Ray..thats a nice flea market find. How did the mill run with those new blades?  notice any differences in the cut/

[RAYAR]

Ray..thats a nice flea market find. How did the mill run with those new blades?  notice any differences in the cut/

I'm liking the new 7 degree blades from Kasco. Cut very nicely too. It was all Poplar I milled so far with it. I did notice a slight diagonal ripple effect on the surfaces, but I only used one blade so far. I noticed the drive belt flopping quite a bit while cutting so I kept adjusting the tension on the idler until it settled down. I think the ripple effect pretty much dis-appeared after that. I had to repair the idler pulley cable before I towed the mill out, it was frayed and ready to let go.

[RAYAR]

Been a while since I added to this thread. That 1/8" cable for the idler pulley tensioning is becoming a PITA!  It runs about a 90 degree bend around a smallish pulley, maybe 1-1/4" diameter. That's where I'm having the most issues with it. It frays and breaks and is ready to let go again. I'm going to do away with the pulley and possibly also the cable, will gear up something different.

Been milling mainly spruce logs lately making 2"X 10" floor joists for the most part, also 2" X 8" and 2" X 6". This is mainly for an off-grid project. Just about to the end of the softwood logs unless someone drops more off. Have a bunch of Maple waiting to get milled next.


Small pulley to the left of band wheel spindle

[Crusarius]

whats wrong with switching to a larger jacketed cable? That really doesn't look that extreme. The only reason I can see the cable fraying is rubbing on the sides of the pulley is that the correct size pulley? 

It is fraying at the pulley? right?

[RAYAR]

whats wrong with switching to a larger jacketed cable? That really doesn't look that extreme. The only reason I can see the cable fraying is rubbing on the sides of the pulley is that the correct size pulley?

It is fraying at the pulley? right?

The cable is not rubbing on the pulley housing. I believe it's a rope pulley actually, it's what was there when I bought this mill. The cable has also frayed at the ends. I'd say the vibrations from the drive belt and idler pulley on a tight radius on the cable fatigues it and starts breaking strands. I could install a larger pulley, but was thinking of re-engineering the system, likely without the cable.

[Ed_K]

 Any chance in finding a larger number of strands as in 6-19 to a 8-19 same size only the wire size is smaller but stronger?

[Hilltop366]

Could you change the cable and pulley for rods and a pivot point, I believe it is called a "bell crank linkage" used to change direction of pull.

Perhaps a turnbuckle added to one of the rods to make it adjustable. 

[RAYAR]

Could you change the cable and pulley for rods and a pivot point, I believe it is called a "bell crank linkage" used to change direction of pull.

Perhaps a turnbuckle added to one of the rods to make it adjustable.

That's what I sort of had in mind.

Since I had a few more pieces of cable from my lawn tractors steering cable set-up, I ended up picking up a larger similar pulley and re-assembled it with that for now, and see how this holds up. It was a quick fix for now. I do plan on re-engineering this at some time since the current set-up does take up a little bit of throat depth.

[kelLOGg]

Your mill shows similarities to my Cooks MP32. Nice work
I am considering adding a 2nd winch to my log arch and would like to know the brand of your winch. Does it ever freewheel? I won't use it to dead lift but to balance one end of a log. Been using a come-along but it is too bulky and gets in my way.

[RAYAR]

Your mill shows similarities to my Cooks MP32. Nice work
I am considering adding a 2nd winch to my log arch and would like to know the brand of your winch. Does it ever freewheel? I won't use it to dead lift but to balance one end of a log. Been using a come-along but it is too bulky and gets in my way.

Yes, my mill has similarities to the Cooks MP32, but in a little smaller unit. It also has similarities to Enercraft & Baker 18 mills and a few others I can't recall at the moment.

My winch is a 2500 lb 2-speed (4X-8X) and has a lever to engage a ratchet or set it to free wheel. I purchased it from Princess Auto, similar to Harbour Freight.



 

[Gere Flewelling]

 

 

kelLOGg- I added a second winch to my mill to help control the longer logs when rolling onto the mill.  I connected it to an additional toe board devise I had built.  It works pretty well but hangs down too far below the main frame.  It tends to catch on the ground when towing over uneven surfaces.  I plan to raise it up to the bottom of the rails at some point.  I started out with steel cable but switched to rope as the cable was too difficult to keep spooled evenly on the winch.  The rope works better, but I also noticed the main winch cable rolling the log and this second winch rope tend not to play together well.  I usually only put a lot of tension on the rope winch to pull the end of the log up to keep it parallel on the loading ramps and then let the main winch do the actual rolling.  Not a perfect system, but keeps me from fighting with a big log that is not wanting to load evenly with a cant hook.  The best part is that I can pull a pin and slide it out of the mill and not have to walk around it if not needed.  I would suggest you find a winch that has the most cable/rope storage capability that you can.  It takes a lot of length to reach around a log and back to the mount.

[RAYAR]

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything new here. I've recently made and installed a sawdust guard to keep sawdust from landing on the track and getting compressed onto the track and the "U" groove of the carriage wheels on the sawdust exit side. I also filed out elongated holes in the carriage wheel cover and filed a "U" groove in the bottom edge of the cover and adjusted it to just barely skim the track ahead of the wheel. So far that's working great and solved that problem.

Track cover extends to back side of carriage wheel cover






Carriage wheel cover adjusted to skim track
 


 

[RAYAR]

I have also recently made and installed a carriage push bar that extends out more from the carriage. Should have done this long before now. Really liking it. Just needs to be painted now.

Carriage push bar



 

[RAYAR]

Worked on my band sharpener yesterday evening. Put a grinding wheel on it and also tweaked the cam wheel follower bracket a bit for the pin to better follow more squarely on the cam. Also smoothed the surface finish on the cam wheel with my Dremel. It had a bit of a rough ground finish on it and was wearing into the brass pin that rides on it. This is also a home/shop built unit that came with my mill. Have never used it yet. It has auto feed and auto shut off. The lever for the auto shut off micro switch is missing, so need to find one or replace the switch. Also need to get a good magnet to stick on the band to activate the micro switch to auto shut down when finished. I can still use it without the auto shut down for now and get it set up. Will post pics when I get it set up as it does take up some space. The stand comes apart into two sections for storage.

[RAYAR]

Still no pics, but I worked on the band sharpener last evening. I replaced the brass 1/2" pin with a 1/2" bolt and drilled and tapped a 1/4" NF hole through the head for a fine height adjustment. I also radiused the head of the 1/4" NF bolt that rides on the cam as it rocks back and forth as it raises and lowers the grinding wheel. I also tapped the rod that advances the band with a 1/4" NF thread and also installed a lock nut on it. I wanted to have some sort of control in making fine adjustments to the grinding of my bands. After all, this should be a precision operation in order to adjust the amount of grind taken. You only want to grind a few thousands of an inch per pass.

Hopefully will set it up and try it out soon.

Found a pic I took this spring. You can see the brass pin that I replaced and the band advance that I tapped. Will get pics of it when I set it up.

[Vautour]

Nice piece of equipment you got there Ray,.. if ever you want to get rid of it i'm only an hour away :D 

[RAYAR]

Dug out the back part of the stand of the band sharpener. It has a single tooth setter built on the back of it. It's built rugged enough, but part of the anvil workings of it were not built to with-stand the pressure needed to set the teeth. The anvil part is a 5/16" bolt with a much too thin washer tacked on to it and a pair of vise grips welded to the frame of it to apply pressure to the washer to move the anvil. The washer was definitely a very weak point and just bent easily, no way you could set teeth with this set-up. The anvil was not built to be easily serviced besides. Ground the tack welds off of the washer to remove the the anvil and will be replacing it with an improved service-able set-up. Also need to build an indexer for this setter. Hmmmm...., gotta think this one through. I'm thinking it may be easier to build my hand-crank setter that does both sides in one pass in less than a minute. ;)

[RAYAR]

This evening, I set up the band grinder and eventually ground two bands. Spent a lot of time in setting and adjusting things. I had two 10 degree bands from the first batch I bought and ran those through. The first one I ran it at 10 degrees, then the second one, I ran it at 9 degrees. I will likely end up getting them to 7 degrees, like the Kasco 7's I'm using and liking. I still have some adjustments and fine tuning to do as the grinding was just catching the front and back of the tooth and not getting down to the gullet. Have some cam and cam follower work to do, but will do that to fit my Kasco 7's and that will eventually be the profile it will be set up for.

Another problem I ran into was the clearance under the band advancer to set a band into place and remove. Will have to do something about that. Will also be looking at making fine adjustments easier to do.

The other 10 degree bands were here at home. Will have to bring them to the shop and run them through. I believe I still have three of those I haven't used yet.

The Kasco 7's are all at the shop, except for the one on the mill, which is at the off-grid build site. I still have 6 of these unused.


Grinding



 



 



 


Micro switch lever is missing for auto shut-off capability.
Rear of stand has a tooth setter that I'm in the process of re-building.



 

[Crusarius]

Loks nice, how did you make the cam? what material is it?

[RAYAR]

Loks nice, how did you make the cam? what material is it?

It came with my mill, which I've had for three years now. Just getting around to getting the sharpener into service. The cam is solid steel, about 3/4" thick. Looks like I have to re-profile the cam, it's not getting down into the gullet, just the front and back top portion of the tooth.

[Crusarius]

if you can I would save that one and make a new one. probably not necessary to have a 3/4" think cam. bet 1/4" will be sufficient.

[RAYAR]

if you can I would save that one and make a new one. probably not necessary to have a 3/4" think cam. bet 1/4" will be sufficient.

I believe that cam is welded onto the shaft it's mounted on.  It does have to be wide enough because the follower travels across it as the grinder raises and lowers in it's travel. I did not design this, but it was a nice piece of equipment included with my mill. At least I don't have to build one from scratch. ;) I just have to modify it to work sweetly with my bands and make it easy to use.

[RAYAR]

I believe that cam is welded onto the shaft it's mounted on.

I looked at the cam tonight and it appears to be pressed onto the shaft, kinda looked like a splined shaft. I also scribed a line on the cam (it's painted) to get a better idea of its' profile. Also looking at and thinking of how to modify the band advancer. Also figured out a simple fix for the missing arm on the micro switch for the auto stop function.

Just did some figuring, it should take about 16 minutes to sharpen a band at about 5.5 seconds per tooth (one rpm of cam). May look at speeding this up a little in the future. I wonder how fast the cam on other sharpeners are turning?

[RAYAR]

Another mod done to the sharpener. Raised the band advancer (indexer) mount to gain needed clearance when loading and removing bands in the sharpener. Raised it about 3/4" to 1".

I also noticed that the lever has a ball bearing inserted in the bottom for the cam rod.

The black square on the upper right of the switch box is a piece of 3/4" banding fastened with a screw and bent around over the micro switch. It's to replace the missing micro switch activation lever for the auto shut down. You can see the micro switch button in the last photo.

Before:


 


Raised:


 


Reassembled:


 


Rear view:

[RAYAR]

Where my mill is currently set up. (Off-grid build site)

You can see the winch post setting off to the side in center left of photo.

[RAYAR]

Responded to a marketplace ad on Wednesday evening and ended up on a road trip Thursday pm., a 3 hr. drive away. Another piece of equipment to help with mods. I have a machining back ground from high school. An oldie (1927), but in very good shape. It's tight and accurate. Also came equipped with a good assortment of accessories. 8)

Turns out it was a professors personal lathe from an engineering course at a university and it got put away and was found many many years later in a renovation project.


South Bend 84-A (1927) ... 11" swing, 4 ft bed

Edit: Turned out to actually be a 1928.

[JoshNZ]

The gates are open now  ;D.

Just reading your older posts, did you ever try dressing a bit off the right edge of the stone to allow you to reach deeper into the gullet without dragging it too hard up the back of the next tooth?

[RAYAR]

The gates are open now  ;D.

Just reading your older posts, did you ever try dressing a bit off the right edge of the stone to allow you to reach deeper into the gullet without dragging it too hard up the back of the next tooth?

It's only a 3/16" thick grinding wheel, so not much width to work with, and if I tried to go deeper into the gullet, it would end up grinding the tooth off from the back side. I don't think this grinder set-up was fully dialed in to get a full gullet grind, thus why I'm going to finish the job and make it conform to my 7 degree Kasco Maxx bands. I also noticed that it drops down on the face of the tooth, then pauses there before following through. I want to make it so it is a continuous flow through.

[JoshNZ]

Yeah good idea, don't want it hanging anywhere too long.

Interesting project, I'm playing with an old ltaga, I have modified it to use the same wheels and same motor as you by the looks, both from a chainsaw grinder. I managed to find 8mm wheels which is what, 5/16" or so, you could look into one of them? (Not that thatll help your backgrind problem but may give more options once you lower your cam).

I find the same problem most of the time, I just barely miss a 1/8" spot in the bottom of the gullet. Sometimes not though. My bands have been sharpened by a saw doctor here who uses old sloppy gear they're all over the place I think. I'm looking forward to killing them so I can move exclusively to kasco 4s, don't really care if I miss the gullet hah.

I think I prefer it without water, is one thing I've decided! Good luck with it anyway. Certainly nice to take the pressure of "making each band count" off yourself. I found I've gone from always worrying about being short on blades/putting off that next trip/bill at the saw doctors, to having too many and hardly using them to their full life because I'm looking forward to trying the next one I sharpened using whatever new technique, or noticing whatever etc.

[VB-Milling]

Wow Ray! Sooooooo jealous of that lathe!

I've got a good friend in his 80s and he runs the same lathe. It's an amazing piece of equipment and it sounds like you got a honey of a machine.

[RAYAR]

Wow Ray! Sooooooo jealous of that lathe!

I've got a good friend in his 80s and he runs the same lathe. It's an amazing piece of equipment and it sounds like you got a honey of a machine.

The price and condition and accessories was right, so I snagged it.
I found the manuals online as PDF files, service, maintenance and set-up and also operators manual, so I'm good to go. I was going over some things and familiarizing myself with it before I came home tonight. I unloaded it from my trailer this pm and set it up in it's place to be. Need to install a few lights and set up a tool board for its' accessories.

In its' location, shelf above is now cleaned off.


 

[RAYAR]

Well, about time I add to this thread. Tonight (Wed) I worked on profiling the cam on my auto band blade sharpener. I have it now profiled to my Kasko 7 degree blades. Just need to fine tune it a few thousands of an inch here and there to get the complete full grind. It's very close now and ran a couple blades through it while fine tuning. It was midnight by the time I packed it up.

Used a dremel with a small round head diamond burr to engrave info on outer side of blade next to splice. I figured this is a good way to keep track of blade info and number of sharpenings each band has.

Now to get some dull blades sharpened 8)

[RAYAR]

Last night, I set up the blade grinder again and did a little fine tuning. I then sharpened the rest of my Kasco blades, eight of them. As I was almost done with the 7th blade, sitting and watching it, I thought I noticed an unusual movement, a horizontal movement of the grinder head. That explains why there were some inconsistencies in the grinding, sometimes too heavy, sometimes too light. I temporarily shimmed it to do the last blade, it did better.

Tonight, I ended up shimming it with a more permanent shim. Ended up using a piece of banding strapping that measured 0.022" thickness. Seems quite snug now. Will see how it does next time I use it. Didn't realize or notice that there was that amount of horizontal movement in it.

The fun of fixing and modifying what someone else built. At least I have a piece of equipment to do a job.