Crusarius’ sawmill build - started with Linn Lumber basic kit

[Crusarius]

I need to mail you a longer log, you are going to run short of firewood.

starmac, your probably right. makes splitting more fun though

[Crusarius]

I definitely need longer control cables so I can move that to the side and not have to stretch over the blade. 

Yea, about the shop... good news is after sitting for a week the sawdust has dried out enough I may be able to sweep it now.

Hopefully I can get the backstops finished then get a permanent fuel tank mount and see about tweaking the blade the little bit I need to then try a full size log. I still have 2' of snow so going out and getting a log is not very easy.

[Darrel]

I think your mill is almost ready for some PAINT!

[Crusarius]

It will be ready for paint when the weather cooperates. I decided I am going to spray it and will be doing it outside.

[Resonator]

Good to see it works! Would be good idea to fab a full guard over the flywheels and blade - safer that way. 

[Crusarius]

yup. definitely planning more guarding. Not crazy about what I have but at least I am protected on my side with the 1 guard.

[Crusarius]

Since I have not had much time to dedicate to the mill I have been working on small trivial stuff that needs to get done.
Fuel tank holder. I found a nice 5 gallon briggs and Stratton gas can that I am going to use for my fuel tank. I felt this was the best way to go so I can just swap out tanks and not have to try to fill it on the mill.
 
Here is my home made brake bending the angle iron for the tank rack.


Not sure I am totally happy with the finished piece but here it is for now.

[Crusarius]

Carriage retainer hooks. I was concerned about the carriage wanting to lift off the rails if I got into something ugly so I decided to make some hooks to prevent it from moving.

[Crusarius]

Battery tray. I had this window mesh left from and old police car. It has been taking up space and I was sick of tripping over it. So it became my battery tray.


First I cut it to size.


Then I placed it in the same homemade press brake and formed all the sides. This took a little work since the shelf is wider than the arms on the press. Little creativity and I was able to get it all done.




After everything was formed I welded it to the frame.




I still need to add a battery hold down but that will be pretty easy.

[Crusarius]

My adjustable guide was not parallel to the bed. I recently found out the way you are supposed to fix that is to put a jack on it and bend it. I was not to fond of that idea. Mostly because I think it would be pretty much impossible to get it perfect through the full range of motion.
 
So I added this support bar with height adjuster. I have been wanting to add some type of support to help stiffen the arm at full extension and this worked very well for dual purpose.

[Crusarius]

Throttle lever. The original setup had the engine controls on the engine. That made it so I had to constantly stretch across the mill on front of the moving blade. I decided to relocate everything to the operator side of the carriage. I forgot to take pictures of the entire setup but it still needs some major cleanup so that will come later.
 
Here is the new throttle lever.

[SawyerTed]

I need to mail you a longer log, you are going to run short of firewood.

First, I've followed your thread.  Good work!  I wish I had the fabrication skills to do something like building a saw mill.
Second, starmac wouldn't it be quicker to fax a couple of logs?   :D :D :D

[Magicman]

  

You may consider painting the fuel tank holder and even the battery tray with something sorta "cushioney" like this.

[Crusarius]

thanx MM that is a great idea.

[Brink5821]

 

 Crusarius,
   I have read your build thread a few times, and appreciate the time to document your build.  I'm in the process of a build myself, with several aspects mimicking yours.  My question is, after some time to use your mill are you happy with the backstop design?  I know you went through several design changes before you settled on your final design.  I'm in the process now of fabricating the backstop and thought I would ask what your after thoughts were. 

Brink

[Crusarius]

I have been neglecting my build thread for a while. I been meaning to update this but haven't really had time. I do not have pictures of what I finally decided on for backstops. here is kind of a cheezy description.

I took a piece of 1" round stock and lathed a 1/2" nipple on the end of it then drilled and tapped the other end for a 3/8x16 bolt. Then I drilled a 1/2" hole in the main rail. and two 3/8" holes in the bottom of the bunks. using a piece of 2x3x1/4 angle I machined 2 slotted holes in the 3" flat of the angle and one slot in the 2" leg. this gave me the ability to adjust left right and up and down. Then I connected all 4 together with 1" square tube and use a trailer jack on the end of the bed to raise and lower all 4 of them at the same time.

When I get home tonight I will see about getting some pictures and getting this thread updated. I did not realize how far behind I was till I was just rereading the last few pages.

[Crusarius]

btw your build looks nice. how do your guards open?

[Brink5821]

 

 Looking forward to seeing your pics.  I'm wrestling with how robust the hinge for the backstop should be.  

My guards are 1/8 sheet metal on a 1 1/2"x1/4" thick support.  The support welds to a 1 1/2" square tube that slides in the tube that supports the pillow bearing with a bolt to keep it in place.  The face of the guard is 1/16" sheet metal that is hinged on top with a hasp on bottom.  This gives me easy access if I need to change blades, and can be further disassembled if messing with something like tracking.  I also thought the 1/16" face might allow me to layer with plywood one day if I'm inclined.   

[Crusarius]

That looks nice. you have anything holding that lid open when your changing blades? a sudden gust of wind will give you one nasty headache, if your lucky it will just be a headache.

Now I have to apologize. I totally forgot about taking pictures until I climbed into bed last night. I will do my best to get them tonight.

[Darrel]

Get'em posted tonight and it will still count for Throwback Thursday. 

;D

[Crusarius]

Well not the best images but hopefully it will work to show you what I ended up with.

This is the full backstop. the bar at the base connects all 4 together so they can be raised and lowered from the working end of the bed. I used a trailer jack to raise and lower them. Works very well.


 




 

This is a closeup of the bottom of the bunk where the backstop is mounted. the bolt holes are all slotted the ones on the bunk are slotted front to back to allow twisting the stop and the one on the round piece is slotted up and down to set the angle.


 


Ignore the poor picture this is the front backstop. You can see the trailer jack in the background with the push rod connected to the backstop. The bar along the bottom (1x1x.120) is the connecting rod between all 4 backstops.



Not the most elegant but so far they are working. Since I need to tear it all down and paint it I have not taken the time to try to square the backstops and make them perfect. It will not be easy trying to square them all the way through the rotation but I am sure I have enough adjustment to get it when I feel like taking the time to do it.

[Ljohnsaw]

I would worry that this won't be strong enough. 

My log stops are 2x2x¼ that slide vertically in a 2½x2½x¼ x 12" tube welded to the moveable log bunks.  I have not bent the 2x2 yet but I have rolled logs into them pretty hard - hard enough to make the mill tip a little.  Also, when you flip your cant, you will want to roll it into the log stops so it doesn't roll off the mill.  That will be a lot of force on them.  Yes, it is a pain to raise and lower my individual log stops but I've settled to only use 2 on a log.

 

Another concern (others might chime in) is where knots or bumps on the log might interfere with raising and lower them if they move in an arc.

[Crusarius]

and a video for good measure

MVI 8428 - YouTube

22" log 116" long black walnut used 9 degree woodmizer double hard blade on it.

[thecfarm]

Brink5821,welcome to the forum.
Good for you,looks like a mill. ;D
What's the plan for the lumber?

[Crusarius]

ljohnson, are you worried about the backstops not being strong enough or the 1" square. So far both are holding up very well. The backstop is mounted at the bottom of the bunks and up tight against the rail. that gives me almost 6" of support above the rotating mount. 

as for the interference, you are absolutely correct. I have to pay attention to that when I clamp. I typically put the stops all the way up set the log then lower the stops to where I want them. lowering seems to work ok pushing through knots.

So far my biggest issue I have is when I load a log on the bed that has sweep to it and I clamp it tight the end of the log likes to get to close to my carriage and not allow me to get through. This has come to bite me a few times. I need to put a full length stop to prevent that from happening.

Cfarm, yes its a mill :D right now plans for lumber are all over the board (no pun intended) contemplating selling some of the walnut to pay for some bills that keep showing up. But every time I think about it I can never figure out what I should charge and my wife wants all of them.