Power Feed Thoughts

[BT9212]

About the mill, it's a 26ft long 55" wide push style mill with manual chain/sprocket raise/lower. Gas engine with electric start. The mill is exposed to the elements year round but does get a tarp cover over the head/motor.



I know this has been discussed on dozens of post on the forum but I wanted some thoughts on my game plan that I have come up with from looking at the other post. I have decided to go with a wheel chair motor off eBay for my power head and a scooter motor for my feed based off everyone's previous post. I figured i'd go with #40 chain as well as some basic limit switches. I am trying to decide if a Setworks 350 is worth the investment or not and also trying to figure out if I want/need a controller or a few basic reversing switch's but that's not as set and forget as I would look. I also am curious on everyone's thoughts on a tensioning system for the the chain. Spring loaded or just a simple all thread though a welded nut. I have seen a few people say to go the hydraulic route but I haven't seen many post regarding home built mill set ups with it. I am open to that but don't have the slightest idea on where to start aside from some hoses and a direction valve and pump. I'm not sure how I would go about attaching anything to the sprockets to control the feed or how it would work if I went with a Setworks to allow the setwork to auto move the head height. Any input or correction is welcome, I'm open to any ideas on this.

[BT9212]

I have ordered a few parts to start throwing this together. I still need to decide on the Setworks controller and a chain tensioner I like. I'm also still trying to gauge what size sprocket I want or if I should use a gear box to reduce it that way.

[jpassardi]

Don't think you're supposed to post for sale links on the forum but the PWM controller and limit switches are the ones I put on mine. They work well. The sprocket is about 4.5" in diameter and about the right reduction for the jazzy scooter motor which has gear reduction built in.
I had to replace the rocker switches with toggles as the switches were junk.
For power up/down I used the same PWM running a dump truck tarp gear motor.
I use the original lt15 magnetic scales, they work well and I can cut quickly, not sure a setworks is justified at least not for me.
Good luck.

[BT9212]

Don't think you're supposed to post for sale links on the forum but the PWM controller and limit switches are the ones I put on mine. They work well. The sprocket is about 4.5" in diameter and about the right reduction for the jazzy scooter motor which has gear reduction built in.
I had to replace the rocker switches with toggles as the switches were junk.
For power up/down I used the same PWM running a dump truck tarp gear motor.
I use the original lt15 magnetic scales, they work well and I can cut quickly, not sure a setworks is justified at least not for me.
Good luck.

Appreciate the tips on the gear reduction, i'll have to look into the switches. Do you by chance remember what you did for chain tension? I saw a lot of just basic all thread cut down with some spring behind the nut.

[jpassardi]

I don't think a spring is necessary, though I'm using the original rope drive my mill was built with. I put a pulley on the gear motor which drives off the rope.
Not sure how durable the gearmotor is that you have linked, I went with a used ebay scooter motor as they have a healthy duty cycle but you may be fine.
For the box an underground grey pvc electric box worked well.

[scsmith42]

One thing that I'd advise is to have a way to rapidly reduce the speed.  I find that when I'm cutting logs such as knotty pine or oak there are times that I need to slow down the feed rate.  This is especially common when milling near the end of a log with a large butt flare.

[jpassardi]

I definitely agree with you, I often vary feed rate through the cut. The PWM controller he linked allows quick variable speed adjustment.

[BT9212]

I don't think a spring is necessary, though I'm using the original rope drive my mill was built with. I put a pulley on the gear motor which drives off the rope.
Not sure how durable the gearmotor is that you have linked, I went with a used ebay scooter motor as they have a healthy duty cycle but you may be fine.
For the box an underground grey pvc electric box worked well.

Good to know, thanks. I also found a good deal on a wheelchair motor so I got that off of ebay and on its way. I'll be swapping that out I think vs the amazon motor.

[BT9212]

Small update, I have everything running on the mill. I will have to change my up/down motor since the 50 RPM motor is averaging 1" per 40 seconds. I have some wire management and painting to do but i'm happy with how it turned out. I have limit switches but have not figured out how I want to mount them to the mill. I think with everything thus far I am only $350 into the project. The new motor will most likely
coast a chunk I scored on the traverse motor pictured and got it for $20. I appreciate the ideas and feedback I got and will update with more pics when finished.

TO DO LIST
1) figure out a better throttle system, the current lawn mower style broke on the first day

2) figure out best limit switch mounting brackets.


I also have a small video but I have to go back and reread how to upload.

[BT9212]

[jpassardi]

Looking good.
As I noted previously, a dump truck tarp gear motor works well for up/down for me.

[BT9212]

Looking good.
As I noted previously, a dump truck tarp gear motor works well for up/down for me.

That's what I ended up going with last night.