bandsaw questions.

weisyboy · September 06, 2010, 06:24:14 AM

i am thinking of making up a band saw frame to fit the Lucas. or my lucas fixed site frame that i am making.

i have a few questions.

1. why dont you guys run wider bands. all the resaw band saws in aus run 4" plus wide bands and even on my shop saw i run a 1 1/2" 1tpi band of resawing. it seams most of you run blades about 1 1/4" blades or am i getting it wrong?

2. are car/truck rims/wheels god enough for band saw wheels. that is, balanced well enough, round enough and all round suitable.

3. anything that i need to watch out for?

ladylake · September 06, 2010, 06:30:27 AM

1 1-1/4 bands cut good and are reasonable to run

2 Turner runs them on thier mills and quite a few home built

3 Make a heavy frame, band saws take a lot of abuse with big logs. Steve

bandmiller2 · September 06, 2010, 06:49:37 AM

Weisy,most bandmills run 1 1/2 or1 1/4" bands because their reasonably priced and do the job.Wider bands would require a much heavier frame to tension them,then your treading in commercial waters.Some shop saw like the Makitas use a wide band but they are thin and flexable.Bandmills can be built using tires and rims in fact they work quite well,if I were going to use them I'd use the hard donut type spares the cars come with now.I think you'd be better off with two seperate mills your swinger and a bandmill they augment each outher rather than trying to combine them.Good luck mate Frank C.

weisyboy · September 06, 2010, 07:39:31 AM

think is i need something that is gunna perform on a commercial basis. im not just doing this for a hobby.

we have built many bench saws and the like. but never attempted a band saw.

wouldnt a wider band reduce wander?

ill make is solid alright. its not gunna be portable so weight doesn't matter. i like to make things over the top. it can never be to strong.

Kansas · September 06, 2010, 09:13:07 AM

Up to two inches wide, you can still just sharpen and set them. Over 2 inches, you have to have all sorts of specialized knowledge and equipment for hammering them, etc. At least that was what I was told over the years.

Chuck White · September 06, 2010, 11:05:47 AM

I have a Cook's Cat Claw sharpener and I can sharpen "up to 4 inch" bands with it, but I have no desire to go larger than the current 1¼ inch bands that I've used from day one.

I don't think that band width would make a lot of difference in sawing, provided that you are running the appropriate tension and the band are sharp!

sgschwend · September 06, 2010, 05:06:23 PM

Many mills have 19" diameter wheels, that limits the band to about 1 1/2 inches. A 2" band would likely be a good choice without causing to many changes, larger wheels would be needed and larger tension cylinder.

Portable in the US means the mill must have a total width under 102". Larger wheels become difficult to fit inside the 102" width. There are several mills with 24 and 26" wheels that do fit, however the maximum cut width is likely less that a 19" wheel mill.

I would not use car/truck rims, there are wheels that you can find, both steel rims or compliant material. Mighty Mite uses compliant material bonded to the steel wheel and then they machine a crown in the wheel. I think it Cook's that sells a 26" steel rim (might be a 24").

bandmiller2 · September 06, 2010, 08:30:13 PM

Weisy,do you fellas down under have any of those old make and break one cylinder engines,they have dandy big cast iron spoked flywheels.A good sharp 1 1/2, well set band, will cut well and is economical to buy and sharpen.Two inch is good but not too common and more expensive,sometimes the gain of going large is not worth the cost.Frank C.

fishpharmer · September 06, 2010, 09:44:54 PM

Weiss, this bandmill uses 29" diameter trailer wheel/tires running a 1 1/4" band that is 21.5 feet long.
It was not made for production , yet cuts very well. The throat is 48 inches wide and high. An amateur built it. Nothing wrong with tires. There is an unbelievable amount of variability in how true new off the shelf wheels turn. It took several attempts to find two true running wheels.

To add insult to injury, here is a too long video of the mill in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8NqF0qbljE

There are more in my gallery if your interested, I think I posted these pics before, hope they are relevant to your thread.

Okrafarmer · September 06, 2010, 09:57:27 PM

Quote from: fishpharmer on September 06, 2010, 09:44:54 PM
Weiss, this bandmill uses 29" diameter trailer wheel/tires running a 1 1/4" band that is 21.5 feet long.
It was not made for production , yet cuts very well. The throat is 48 inches wide and high. An amateur built it. Nothing wrong with tires. There is an unbelievable amount of variability in how true new off the shelf wheels turn. It took several attempts to find two true running wheels.

To add insult to injury, here is a too long video of the mill in action.

That your mill, Fish? Looks like you get your workout stepping over those hurdles all day!

The pneumatic tire setup is used on the Turner mill, which my boss has, and evidently it works quite well-- supposedly increases blade life compared to metal drive wheels. The Turner is not full professional strength, but Fish's saw looks more like it.

Will it go any faster than that, Fish, or is it limited to the speed of the operator's leg muscles?

fishpharmer · September 07, 2010, 05:26:48 AM

Okra, yessir that be mine. It is indeed a workout, automation is in order. The other mill is a recent addition.

The Turner's are nice mills. The tires are unconventional bandwheels yet vey effective. I don't think anyone should avoid using them for a mill.

Speed is limited by operators legs. Also, horsepower can be a limiting factor in speed of cut. Here is a link to an early post giving details of mill https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,34917.msg505666.html#msg505666

Carl, hope this helps you. Search homemade mills, there are many on here.

bandmiller2 · September 07, 2010, 06:09:59 AM

Fish,you really have that band running stable, do you have a moveable guide to limit the unsupported band?? What seems to limit your feed speed single drive belt or engine HP.Good build and good capacity but don't stop now its just crying for automated feed. Frank C.

fishpharmer · September 07, 2010, 06:22:02 AM

Thanks BM2, yes the right side (as you look at it in video) is a moveable guide, realize now i should have moved it. I upgraded to double belt pulleys (no slippage) at Tom's recommendation. Speed limited by leg power more than horsepower. Improvements are in order once it finds a permanent home under a shed.

Weissboy, are you looking at powerfeed or manual for your build?

weisyboy · September 07, 2010, 06:43:04 AM

probably powered feed.

is that as fast as they normally cut?

my slabber cuts 4x faster than that.

im not gunna muck around with little motors. nothing worse than an underpowered saw. some of the benches im used have had 200hp running a 25" cut. obviously im not gunna go that far but im not gunna put 8hp on it either.

i was thinking like a 25hp diesel motor.

fishpharmer · September 07, 2010, 07:15:44 AM

Weisboy, my mill would be considered slow for a band mill.

Here is a faster example of a bandmill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmdMo09tJpQ

bandmiller2 · September 08, 2010, 07:58:06 AM

Weisy,what I did that works well building a bandmill.Four post design,use square thick wall tube,run on "V" castor wheels the bigger the better.Run all functions with hydraulics,to feed use a hyd. motor with a drum and wire cable.To raise and lower the bandhead and engine I used a hydraulic cylinder and wire cables reeved to give two to one travel,one inch cyl.travel= two inch band movement.Thats the system used by most arial ladder trucks its very controlable and can lift heavy engines.