homemade bandsaw mill, help

Ox · March 15, 2017, 05:05:56 PM

Yep.

mazdathumps · March 15, 2017, 09:39:36 PM

Haha. Yeah, it's not so bad if you're used to it, but I'm not a cold weather person. If I liked cold, I'd move to Alaska and be a bush person and search for gold, but I can't do the cold.

I started on the blade lube system today but technology is not working well tonight at work so the pictures won't load. Anyways, I'll upload them asap. I have good feelings about it.

Kbeitz · March 15, 2017, 09:45:20 PM

I hate the cold... I moved to Ga. for 5 years.
I could not wait to come back to Pa so I could hate it some more.

mazdathumps · March 15, 2017, 10:25:19 PM

GA is dreadful with or without cold... North of Atlanta and FL/GA line is the only nice parts. Lol

Kbeitz · March 16, 2017, 05:39:48 AM

I was in Jesup and that was not to far from the line.
I enjoyed the Okefenokee Swamp and that was all.

mazdathumps · March 16, 2017, 05:52:13 AM

I know where Jesup is. I live a few miles from the Suwannee River. I love it here except the cold days. Haha

Ox · March 16, 2017, 11:52:11 AM

I gotta know what you consider cold. :laugh:

mazdathumps · March 16, 2017, 12:27:15 PM

For me, anything under 50 is cold. I am not a happy camper in cold weather. I can run hard all summer in the 90's with no problem, but I am a grumpy old man in anything under 50. I stay inside usually. Luckily, we have many more hot days than cold. Haha

Kbeitz · March 16, 2017, 12:35:48 PM

Boy what I give for a 50.

Ox · March 16, 2017, 01:05:45 PM

Crazy. You and me are opposites. When it's 90 it's unbearable here. Very humid all the time in the summer, lots of trees around. I can't take the heat and humidity. 50 is great working weather. In fact, 65 or so, partly cloudy with a slight breeze is perfect for me. T shirt weather for anything but just sitting around. Just sitting in the shade 75 is better. I can simply sit in the shade when it's 90 and humid but I still have the sweat rolling into my eyes.

I hate the snow but can't take the heat either. I'm screwed.

mazdathumps · March 16, 2017, 01:20:13 PM

Haha. I think 70 or so is good for working with a long sleeve shirt. 80 and 90's are good for siting in shade. Haha. Funny how get used to where we live. 35 years in Florida for me.

Ox · March 16, 2017, 01:33:01 PM

Going on 41 years in upstate north Appalachia for me. I'm definitely warm blooded. The heat just makes me sweat so much it's hard to stay hydrated then I get to feeling sickly. I oughta just sit in the durn house and forget about everything. But I won't cause that's what quitters and dregs on society do. >:(

gww · March 16, 2017, 01:34:17 PM

Me and lazy boy have made a deal. When it is 90 or above,we visit each other in the air conditioning.
Cheers
gww

mazdathumps · March 16, 2017, 01:41:25 PM

Here's a sneak peak at the blade lube system I'm working on...

The galv plate is the one I made to fit with the other to wedge the cloth between for the lube...

This is the tank mounted on the frame out of the way... I built an aluminum tray to hold the lube container to prevent corrosion maybe (from scraps around my shed)...

I plan to get the lube system finished up today... I'll get some more pictures

On a side note, since I'm a sissy in this cold weather, I've been working on my 3D Cad drawings of my band saw mill... So far, i've got the frame built and i've started exploding that into single pieces to cut and drill before welding it all together... I've had some people ask for drawings/plans, so I figure I would share in a usable and understandable way... I've always been a fan of sharing knowledge and, again, thankful to each of you helping me on getting this thing fixed and running much much better...

More to go, but this is what i've got so far... I spent about a year at work doing some additional work with my engineering dept. so I gained some experience with Cad drawings... I'm still no where near those guys, but I did learn some tricks and tips...

gww · March 16, 2017, 01:53:52 PM

Josh
All my sheds and stuff that I have built have been loosly based on free plans that I found on the internet. If I could have found a free mill plan, I sure would have been looking at it. Believe me, I looked hard and the only thing close was a 3d vidio.
Cheers
gww

Ps Maby you can put sorta a parts list type things that shows where you got some of the things like the wheels the head sit on and things like that.

mazdathumps · March 16, 2017, 02:32:43 PM

I plan to create a parts list with every bolt, washer, nut, etc... as for where I bought everything - that may be a little trickier being that I hunted the internet until I found the cheapest prices on things. Im not sure where I bought many misc items. I can go back and research, but I may come up short on a few.

Also, for liability reasons, I'm not showing the entire build. It will be like 80% complete, but you have to finish it. Kind of like buying full-auto kits for guns, they sell them at 80% machined parts, you finish the rest at home.

mazdathumps · March 20, 2017, 10:08:08 PM

Been a while guys... I've been pretty busy over here in central Florida... Had the daughters spring break and it seems like everyone wanted something last week... Whew, this week maybe I can calm down a little...

I got my blade lube system built and it keeps the blade clean like glass... I think it's a success... Some pictures below

Now that the blade pitch issues is resolved, I am still not cutting straight... I am apparently missing something major and have no clue what it is... Blade tension is still a gray area for me and I plan to visit a few local mills and feel the tension on their blades to see in relation where I am... Blade tension is the only un-solid variable I can think of... Power is there, belt tension is there, clean and/or new blade is there, guides are level to deck... >:( just not sure what in the world is causing the roller-coaster ride with the blade... It's not as extreme as before, but it's there and enough to need to fix it... Also, which I imagine is a by-product of the unknown issue, is my blade drops about a quarter inch on the exit of my log... With that said, it also rises on entry about a quarter inch (at a slope over about 12 inches)... On wide boards, I have a very very slight crown in the middle of the cut...

Here's a picture of the exit...

I steer towards blade tension, but I'm hoping it's something that doesn't put heavy strain on my axles or consist of upsizing them altogether (or building a front support like GWW advises)...

Otherwise, hope everyone is doing well...

Ljohnsaw · March 20, 2017, 10:16:09 PM

Josh,
What is the profile of your tires? Do they have a decent crown to them or are the teeth of the blade touching rubber? That is the reason I used doughnut spare tires - they are profiled like a bicycle tire - very rounded. If they are touching, then that would knock the set out of one side of your blade. I would expect that to make your blade dive (with the set remaining on the bottom of the blade) but who knows? IF the teeth are touching the rubber, you can take a 4½ grinder and cut away some tread at the front of the blade. Let the wheel spin (idle side) while you cut - the powered side you can have it running as you cut. Obviously, no saw blade while you are doing this! ;)

Kbeitz · March 20, 2017, 10:22:32 PM

You can buy a tension tool off E-bay to check your blade tension.

mazdathumps · March 20, 2017, 10:22:41 PM

I'm using an alloy blade. Would the rubber on the tire really pull the set off the blade?

mazdathumps · March 20, 2017, 11:04:44 PM

Quote from: Kbeitz on March 20, 2017, 10:22:32 PM
You can buy a tension tool off E-bay to check your blade tension.

Yeah, I see... $$

haha

Kbeitz · March 21, 2017, 01:58:28 AM

I was told that you can clamp on a dial caliper and get the same results.

thecfarm · March 21, 2017, 06:27:44 AM

I have a Thomas,at the time,no gauge for the tension,I just tighten and press down on the blade and can give a good guess when it is right. But they use belted wheels too,like a WM.

gww · March 21, 2017, 09:59:43 AM

Josh
How much have you cut with that blade? They can be dulled pretty easy and won't do too much anyway (in my mind). The log and stress can cause issues. Does it act the same when you slow down your cut speed? My vote though is the flex issue is giving you problims. I am thinking that bigger shafts or front support will help.

I hate to run you down a rabbit hole though. I think you should try to cut one time at about 3/4 of the motors rpm and slow the blade down that way, just to see what might happen. I doubt you blade is moving too fast but I have read on the cooks site that too fast can cause the following of wood grain at knots in the log.

From cooks web site

QuoteI must remind you, sawing straight is not a guessing game either. It is a scientific process that can be repeated IF you follow the scientific rules. It is easy to saw straight, even through those hard knots. Just remember the 5 rules: #1 Blade must be sharp, #2 blade must be set to clear the blade, #3 the blade must be flat (MUST BE), #4 guides must hold the blade straight away, never up, never down, just straight away, #5 when the first four are correct and the blade is rising or diving the vertical alignment of the band wheels must be adjusted. Following these will always work, no matter who built the sawmill. Then when you put a Super Sharp™ blade into action you will be producing profits. Just imagine what all you can do with the extra money!

I find #5 of the above interesting.

Another interesting thing on the cooks site is that if you took the guides off and measured your blade to your log deck, it is better if the wheels tilt the blade 1/16th of an inch forward and no matter what no more then 1/8th inch forward and this will allow the best adjustment of your guide allowing the blade to contact the guides best when you compleetly level the blade during adjustment.

I mention the cook thing because that is something you could adjust with just a shim at your bearings that hold your shaft. I cannot tell you what the out come would be but cook says that band wheel adjustment is the key. See if you catch it here though this is of course a sales pitch.
http://www.cookssaw.com/index.php/increase-portable-sawmill-profits-a-production/are-you-ready-to-saw-production

In the end in my mind the biggest improvement could be had with working on the flex issue but the other cheap things to do might get you close enough to not have to mess with it.

When you ran into trouble, did you try a new blade just to see the differrence?

I hope something in all this is some kind of help.
Good luck
gww

Ox · March 21, 2017, 12:09:05 PM

Three things will cause this, probably more, but this is a short dirty list: blade tension, mill alignment, sharpness/set of the blade.
The blade should enter and exit the log without moving at all. The most I've ever had it move was maybe 1/16" but it was due to log stress when exiting the log.
When things are new, expect a little settling/breaking in. You may need to do another alignment.
I'm also quite sure you can't get enough tension to get better results. The only way to fix this is to get bigger/stronger shafts installed and be absolutely sure your mill isn't flexing when tensioned. I know, money always affects decisions and I understand that. Believe me, I understand.