What metal to use for log stops?

[Kwill]

I need to make some log stops for the log yo rest against. I'm wondering what size metal I should use for the slide and stop. 1/4  inch 1 1/2 maybe?

[ladylake]

 I'd use 1  1/2 by 2 ", might be overkill but they take a lot of abuse.  Steve

[jason.weir]

how about some aluminum - might save a blade here or there...

[Kbeitz]

My stops are 1/2 x 4" solid...

[Kwill]

Kbeitz 4 inch square. Wow 

[Kbeitz]

Kbeitz 4 inch square. Wow

Naa... 1/2 x 4" flat....

[Kwill]

Ok yeah those look good

[Kwill]

Do they need to have side to side adjustment. I was going to make them fixed

[Kbeitz]

I made them so they swing. Then I put a bumper on the mill to push them down if they get to close to my spinning band blade.

[starmac]

What do you mean by fixed?

It would probably be easier to make them swing with no power, but I think I would prefer the verticle ones like on the LT50 and some others mills if powered.

[Kwill]

By fixed I mean stay in one spot and just have up and down movement 

[jwh f-100]

Kbeitz 4 inch square. Wow

Naa... 1/2 x 4" flat....

kB, as your log/cant gets smaller do you just swing your stops down? I like the idea of not needing to go to the other side of the mill to adjust.. I also like that they won't hit the ground like a  vertical sliding stop..

[Kbeitz]

My log dogs have clutches built into them so they wont swing unless I push them, I adjust them depending on the size of the log for making my first three cuts then i don't use them any more to finish the log. They are easy to reach form the front of the mill. I don't need to walk behind the mill.They are one part on my build that I would not change if I had to do it again.

[starmac]

Ok I am going to learn something here, what holds your log solid after the first three cuts?

[Kbeitz]

My mill will not cut anything lower than 1-1/2" high. So I have 1" back stops at every cross member. After my log is squared off it just sits against the backstops for the first couple stops. When the log looses enough weight I then use my clamps to push the cant against the 1" backstops.

[Resonator]

My first mill, (Woodland Mills HM126), had removable 2"x 2" steel tubes for backstops. These sat in a stake pocket with a T shaped threaded rod to adjust the height. This was good system as I could substitute 2x2 wood for the backstops, if I wanted to try and saw them off. 

[Magicman]

Kwill, they need some adjustment capability so that they will be 90° to your sawmill bed.  That way you can saw square lumber instead of trapezoidal.  

[Kwill]

My first mill, (Woodland Mills HM126), had removable 2"x 2" steel tubes for backstops. These sat in a stake pocket with a T shaped threaded rod to adjust the height. This was good system as I could substitute 2x2 wood for the backstops, if I wanted to try and saw them off.

This is kinda the idea I had.

[Ljohnsaw]

Here is my back stops.  You can see the T handle to lock them in place.  They are 2x2x¼" tube sliding in a 2½x2½x¼" upright on the log bunk.  I have 4 moveable log bunks with backstop/clamping ability and 2 more moveable log bunks that are just bunks.


Here is the old (crummy) log clamps and the new ones I copied from another member here.  They work great!

[starmac]

MM beat me to it, what ever you use will have to be adjusted.

The woodmizers like mine has solid 1/2 (at least) X 2 in flat backstops, and they take a beating, no way around it, maybe not as much so on a manual mill. It would be tough to use square tubing where it would not have some give to it and make it hard to make a square board. A 1/16 amount of slack or give can make a big difference in lumber quality.

[pineywoods]

Use something relatively soft. If you don't see why, sooner or later you will. ;D

[Kwill]

So the flat would be better than using square tubing because of the slack? 

[starmac]

In my opinion, maybe better isn't right, but easier to home build flat ones that rolled instead of sliding up and down, either will need an adjustment built in.