Newbie diy sawmill build attempt

[Woolyback Nick]

hi all, so im new on here and i thank this forum for the wealth of information available, im from the UK and i am currently in process of gather parts to build my own sawmill.
Currently parts gathered are: 
●2 500mm pulley wheels(sheaves)
●2 taper bushings - 35mm bore
●2 35mm shafts to run wheels and driven pulley
●Pillar block bearings to suit.
●Belts to go over pulley wheels to for the drive tyre
●Launtop LT420 16hp engine with 101mm centrifugal clutch
●Driven pulley wheel to suit the FPM for the engine, (cant remember size that i ordered)

So my questions are, the launtop engine is all the engine i will need however, when i bought the engine i thought it was just a lever type throttle, but when i turn the lever to the hare icon it springs back from the governor. Is this normal ? Will it give me the speed i need to power the blade ?

Next one is, im going to order steel once the steel shop is open from being in quarantine with this COVID19 pandemic. Im thinking of running 100x50x3 or 4"x2"x1/8" box section as my frame work or bed. Would ya'll think this would suffice?

I look forward to keeping you all up to date with my build, just need to sort some kinks out then full steam ahead.
Thanks everyone. 

[btulloh]

I can't help much with the build questions but I just wanted to welcome you to the Forestry Forum. Mill builders will stop by shortly.

You must be down near Isle of Wight or something seein' as how you said "y'all ".  :D

There are quite a few DIY mill people on here. Good luck with your build.

[Hilltop366]

Greetings from Nova Scotia Nick.

Could be the throttle on that engine is made for a go-cart type application, like a car it will return to idle when released.

Not familiar with those but you could check to see if there is a way to tighten the throttle lever to make it stay at the desired position.

Or even better, add a remote throttle cable to it on a push bar and lever so that when you grab the bar and squeeze the throttle lever the engine revs up and engages the clutch for cutting and automatically returns to idle when released.

[Woolyback Nick]

I can't help much with the build questions but I just wanted to welcome you to the Forestry Forum. Mill builders will stop by shortly.

Thank you for the kind welcome, no im on the north east coast of England but we talk funny anyways haha

Greetings from Nova Scotia Nick.

Could be the throttle on that engine is made for a go-cart type application, like a car it will return to idle when released.

Not familiar with those but you could check to see if there is a way to tighten the throttle lever to make it stay at the desired position.

Or even better, add a remote throttle cable to it on a push bar and lever so that when you grab the bar and squeeze the throttle lever the engine revs up and engages the clutch for cutting and automatically returns to idle when released.

Thanks Hilltop366 for that advice, yes you are correct in saying it is a engine that would be used in a go kart application. So all i need to do is in theory apply a throttle and keep it open a little bit. Ive got an RPM meter coming so i can make sure im running the correct rpms. I was thinking of adding a push bar so a hand throttle could be easily fitted. 
Thank you for your input.

[Ljohnsaw]

How big of logs are you planning on milling?  Need to consider the weight of them and how many support legs you will have. That steel will probably work.  I used ¼" (heavy) and probably should have gone with 3/16", though I do mill some big logs (7-8,000 lb ones!).  Are you going to weld up the frame or bolt it?  If welding, be careful not to distort the metal too much.  3/16" might work better in that regard.

:P

[btulloh]

" Thank you for the kind welcome, no im on the north east coast of England but we talk funny anyways haha "

Where I live, "y'all " would be normal. It's considered a southern thing. So you don't talk funny at all.

[Woolyback Nick]

How big of logs are you planning on milling?  Need to consider the weight of them and how many support legs you will have.

Hi Ijohnsaw and thanks for your input. Im going to say no more that 30" just scots pine and soft woods really. With the odd hard wood that i get along the way.
I was thinking support legs every 600 - 800mm which is every 24" - 32" depending on what i have left over. I feel as tho more is better but less is easy. 
I might be able to get 3/16" over here, if not i know they will do 1/4" (6mm) i was planning on welding the frame, im a fitter/turner by trade and have good knowledge of welding and distortion is something id be aware of. 1/4" would be more suited for welding as it will handle the heat a little better. Thank you for your reply.

" Thank you for the kind welcome, no im on the north east coast of England but we talk funny anyways haha "

Where I live, "y'all " would be normal. It's considered a southern thing. So you don't talk funny at all.

Thats good then, i hope i havent insulted you. What ever flows off the tongue is how i go. We have a saying from where im from "where men are men and sheep are scared" 😂😂

[Hilltop366]

Most modern stationary engines run at 3600 rpm, I see this one is rated at 16 hp @ 4000 rpm which sounds kind of odd. I would be more inclined to run it at 3600.

The throttle control is usually run at wide open and it is the governors job to maintain that speed under a varying load, I'm not familiar with the setup this engine has and if it has a governor designed to limit and maintain engine speed like a tractor or a governor designed to limit maximum engine speed only. 

Perhaps some one else will come along and help.

[Woolyback Nick]

Most modern stationary engines run at 3600 rpm, I see this one is rated at 16 hp @ 4000 rpm which sounds kind of odd. I would be more inclined to run it at 3600.

Yea i also thought that a little odd, thought i would just throttle down or adjust linkage to be running at 3600. It wouldve been easier with a straight forward lever throttle then it could be on or off, idle then load. This way my centrifugal clutch will be spinning all the time. Unfortunately there isnt much info on my engine to get the answer im looking for. Thank you for replying.

[JoshNZ]

Have you tried playing with the throttle with it running? It won't make much sense with it not running. The one on my engine is quite a complex contraption but the lever you are adjusting is not throttle directly, but a lever for target rpm I suppose. You can adjust a nut to make it sprung or stick on mine. 

[Woolyback Nick]

Have you tried playing with the throttle with it running? It won't make much sense with it not running. The one on my engine is quite a complex contraption but the lever you are adjusting is not throttle directly, but a lever for target rpm I suppose. You can adjust a nut to make it sprung or stick on mine.

I will add some pictures of it when i get to it tomorrow. The throttle is what you would expect hare and turtle but when i put it to hare it snaps back from the governor. Odd really but ill try figuring it out once ive got a rpm meter. Thanks for helping.

[Woolyback Nick]

Hey ya'll, so today i had a rpm meter turn up in the post. So obviously i was anxious to go and see what was what. Fired the engine up and checked at idle as was around 1700-1800 rpm for idle. As i would expect to be honest. Then i had some issues with running, figured out i turned the fuel from on to off 🤦‍♂️ so got it going again. Warmed up and put the meter on and gave it some throttle, at first it was hesitant to stay up there in the revs without the governor limiting the revs, however after a few bursts of the throttle it evened out and held revs where i wanted it to. The throttle lever doesnt stay where i put it but that's ok because i may take the advice and put a hand mounted throttle somewhere when i have built it so its more convenient to throttle up. Any way, i managed to get to almost 4k rpm without the governor coming in, so i feel im on to a winner. 
My question today is. I feel i have made a boo boo, i order 500mm (19"ish) pulley wheels to do the job, they are A groove and i bought a B groove belt to give it some extra crown for the blade to ride on. Have i made a mistake and just gone with A belt for A groove wheels ? Cheers everyone.

[JoshNZ]

I'd definitely use B belts on the pulley still, even that's pretty narrow for a 1-1/4" blade I think. They should fit and get you some extra clearance between the blade and top of the pulley sheave lip.

See how it looks, if the top of the belt is hanging way out there and flexing then maybe it'll give trouble I don't know. I had B pulleys and B belts on mine and I had to knock the lips down some to give it more clearance

[Woolyback Nick]

I'd definitely use B belts on the pulley still, even that's pretty narrow for a 1-1/4" blade I think. 

Im going to measure that width to see what i have. A good 20mm would be good wouldn't it ? Although a 1-1/4" belt (32mm) would be ok with 25mm or 1" running on the belt ? 
Its a lot of prep before anything actually starts aint it. Wish we werent in lockdown from this COVID19 so i could get steel to start building. Although there is bigger things to worry about.
Thanks for the reply bud.

[Woolyback Nick]

Well let me say first of all that adding a photo is a slightly complicated procedure on a mobile device but i got there in the end. My mobile device didnt show all add ons that would generally show up on a laptop/pc.

So on to other things, i had these little beauties made up for me by a company in Poland. Cost me about £56 inc postage so very good in my opinion. Just have to make up some way of mounting them. Ill just copy something of others that are made. So yea just wanted to share these with you. Hopefully the metal shops will be open soon so i can get on with making the sawmill.
Hope everyone is doing ok.

[JoshNZ]

I think a B belts back is only 17mm wide or so. I'm running those on mine with a 1-1/4" band and it works good, no tracking issues at all, haven't seen stress/fatigue in band. Both sides of the band hang off it a few mm. Not including teeth. An A is maybe 13mm?. Guess it might work but you might see more stress in the band with the force spread across a narrower section in the band, maybe not...

The guide wheels look neat. Turn a shank that fits them and then suspend it in the middle of a piece of box section jammed in the bolt ends that's how it's usually done, also allows for adjustment.

[Hilltop366]

Good stuff, keeping well here.

[Woolyback Nick]

I think a B belts back is only 17mm wide or so. I'm running those on mine with a 1-1/4" band and it works good, no tracking issues at all, haven't seen stress/fatigue in band. Both sides of the band hang off it a few mm. Not including teeth. An A is maybe 13mm?. Guess it might work but you might see more stress in the band with the force spread across a narrower section in the band, maybe not...

The guide wheels look neat. Turn a shank that fits them and then suspend it in the middle of a piece of box section jammed in the bolt ends that's how it's usually done, also allows for adjustment. 

Thats great info on the B belt width knowing it works with no issues. 
Yea i think he made them to accept a 10mm maybe 12mm bolt, can't remember the spec now. That way i will slide the wheels right on and snug up with a nyloc nut. May get something turned so i can fit a grease nipple on there. Like the cooks ones. How is yours doing ? You got any youtube vids of it ?

[JoshNZ]

I do in my build thread there somewhere not sure what the last one I posted was.

You could probably drill and tap bolt ends yourself, for a grease nipple.

[Woolyback Nick]

I do in my build thread there somewhere not sure what the last one I posted was.

You could probably drill and tap bolt ends yourself, for a grease nipple.

Whats your youtube name ? 
Yes i was thinking the exact thing for a grease nipple, drill down central as much as i need then tap the end a wee bit. 

[JoshNZ]

heliboy89 I think. Not sure what you'll find =[] suddenly nervous haha. They might all be unlisted.

This is the last one that's on there.
Mill - YouTube

But I've since replaced the lift motor and its quite a lot quicker.

Yeah the hole doesn't really matter how central it is as long as there's some wall left for the thread to be strong enough. And then drill into that axial hole somewhere behind the first bearing in the side of the bolt. It's likely your company has used sealed for life bearings though? In that case I wouldn't bother. I used some old bearings I found in a drawer and weren't sure if their age that's why I did it. With new sealed bearings I don't think it's neccesary 

[Ljohnsaw]

I drilled my bolts from the head end so I wouldn't weaken it in the threaded area.