Bandsaw mill build

TreeStandHunter · April 13, 2019, 07:38:05 AM

Ya I ground out each spot where I was going to be welding. I felt a little off after doing a little welding on my syrup evaporator that was an old fuel oil drum so that is a lesson I will only learn once. I think I am going to pick up some 7018 today.

Crusarius · April 13, 2019, 01:44:27 PM

looking good. You will not be upset about the extra width.

bwstout · April 15, 2019, 10:04:11 AM

Yes wider is better I have a 31" read oak my mill will only cut 29 going to have to bib it down a bit.

TreeStandHunter · September 21, 2019, 05:24:14 PM

Hey I'm getting back to working on it with the kids sports slowing down and me having a little extra time. Went a different route with the frame I was able to salvage some 8x8x3/16 wall galvanized tubing from work so I am now using those as my log bunks rather than the 1/8 tubing. I've also decided to go stationary for the time being and if I decide to go mobile down the road it won't be a challenge throwing an axle under it. Looks a lot more stout without those old I-beams on it. They already had 1/4" thick angle welded to them so my logs will rest on those.

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 05:11:39 PM

Been working on the trailer a little here and there. Got talked into going mobile by my father in law

Seems my mind changes every time I do some work. The choice to go with the heavy tubing was definitely the right one....this things not gonna flex by any logs I am comfortable flipping by hand that's for sure. I got the axle cut down to size I ordered the mounting hardware that shows up tomorrow.

I have a question, a person near me has a bunch of the surplus center 18.75" pulleys for sale but they are 1 3/16" bore. Surplus center pulleys are almost $63 each now and she is willing to sell me 2 for $40. Is 1 3/16 a large enough axle size? If I mount the wheels as close to the bearing to support the load will that work? I was planning on ordering them from surplus center and getting the H bushing versions with a 1 1/2" bore but if I can use those it will save me a decent amount of $$$

Hopefully I have the axle on by the weekend then I can work on my backstops and log stops and cutting off the extra steel from these beams.

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 05:17:34 PM

Here are the pulleys

Crusarius · October 01, 2019, 06:01:51 PM

as long as you support that shaft on both sides of the wheel you will probably be ok. also keep them as close as you can to the bearings.

Good idea on making it portable. its so much easier to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 06:05:41 PM

Crusarious so I would have to have 3 pillow block bearings on each axle is that what you're saying?

JoshNZ · October 01, 2019, 06:22:59 PM

There's plenty of meat in the boss to bore them out for larger axles if you wanted. Guessing you don't have easy access to a lathe?

I suppose you would need 3 pillows for the drive wheel, one for each side of the band wheel and one beside the driven pulley. Unless you could keep that pulley quite close to the band wheel then you'd get away with 2?

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 06:30:18 PM

Zero access to a lathe :D

JoshNZ · October 01, 2019, 06:53:46 PM

That's a shame they are handy things for building a mill haha.

If it makes you feel any better I paid $400 for my band pulleys here in NZ haha :'(

I think you'll get away with it yep. I guess you have to weigh up the price of extra pillow and bearing too. That's a really good deal on the pulleys anyway.

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 07:02:20 PM

Ya I have been following your build religiously and couldn't believe what you have to pay over in NZ. I am going with flange type bearings so I am thinking I can use 2 bearings per wheel I will just mount it within 1.5" of the bearing. The pain with my build is I am using all salvaged material so aside from taking forever it's not gonna look anything like what you have produced haha

JoshNZ · October 01, 2019, 07:20:45 PM

Our dollar is weaker so it's not as bad as you might think. Minimum wage is $17.70/hr this year and on the rise. But we are an island really so everything has been shipped/taxed/handled etc =/.

I should have used salvaged materials, you're doing it the right way! A project like this doesn't have to cost much haha I was just impatient and wanted to keep busy.

Crusarius · October 01, 2019, 07:28:46 PM

your using flange bearings? any reason why? I prefer pillowblock bearings. You could probably get away with only 4 total bearings. The band wheel is what is going to need the most support due to the forces on it. the drive belt you will never be able to get it tight enough to damage the shaft. So the drive pulley can be in single shear (outside the bearing supported on one side)

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 07:49:40 PM

I was going to use flange bearing because I thought they would be best lmao. I definitely can use pillow blocks, would they be easier to adjust for tracking? Here is an incredible drawing of what I am planning to do with the materials I have, photo drawn to exact scale :D

You can get the idea from this pic, it will be flipped upside down in practice, one of the pieces will slide along for blade tension.

JoshNZ · October 01, 2019, 07:52:34 PM

I'd have thought pillow blocks will be easier. Shim them for height and slide in their slots for tracking. You'll have to do boxes on both beams (front and back of wheel) for the flanged bearings to mount I'm sure it'll be more work

Crusarius · October 01, 2019, 07:58:13 PM

I agree with josh. you can adjust the flanges but not nearly as well or as much. The pillowblock bearings are very much easier. Here is what I have for adjustment. they work great and are very easy to adjust.

TreeStandHunter · October 01, 2019, 07:59:47 PM

Now that I am thinking about it you guys are right. I can just mount them to the bottom of the beam and get ride of the 2 off cut pieces. I have never built anything with either type of bearing but I can see how the pillow blocks would adjust easier than the flange style

Crusarius · October 02, 2019, 07:44:48 AM

Definitely easy to adjust. especially with the screw. I do highly recommend getting a dummy blade. I managed to get some 1.25" banding from the shipping dock at work. Made the best dummy blades. No biting

TreeStandHunter · October 02, 2019, 09:44:36 PM

Got the axle on today. Gonna flip her over tomorrow hopefully. We'll see how that goes, I'll probably set it on some old metal saw horses I have and mount the tires then drop it to the ground. Thank god for skidsteers.

TreeStandHunter · October 03, 2019, 01:59:17 PM

Got her flipped over and on the wheels. The log bunks sit pretty high I may try and figure out a different setup to lower it by a few inches. Gonna make up some removable fenders for it and get the log dogs and clamps made up in the next week or so

Crusarius · October 03, 2019, 02:10:50 PM

That 6" on top of the axle is completely unnecessary.

TreeStandHunter · October 03, 2019, 02:26:11 PM

It's 8" 8)

The 8" tubing above that is bent like crazy from when it was wrapped out with the excavator from its old use. My plan was to move the angle iron that the carriage rolls on onto the tubing that the axle is mounted to so that it can actually be straight. The angle that's on now curves to the right almost 2 full inches.

TreeStandHunter · October 03, 2019, 02:27:48 PM

Also the tubing above where the axle is mounted is not 1 full length price it is welded in the middle so I figured that 8" tubing would support the weak spot in the middle