Sawmill plans

[JoeSVK]

HI. I´m looking for some sawmill build plans. (DIY) I find two type on ebay. Can you help me? 

[Ljohnsaw]

Plans? Plans?  We don't need no stinkin' plans!
;)
You should be able to find what you need from right here on the Forum! 

What type of mill are you wanting to build?  Bandmill, Chain Saw Mill (CSM) or  Circular?  Capacity?  Gas or Electric?  Manual or Hydraulic?

[bandmiller2]

Joe, I think the very best plans are finding a mill you like, take measurements , and build one. It would not be fair to copy and sell but to build one for your own use is OK. Frank C.

[Kbeitz]

You better have a good source for metal, bearings and all the stuff
needed or your mill will cost you more than what you could buy one
for. I did some factory clean outs and got my stuff to build my mill
real cheap.

[TKehl]

What type of mill are you wanting to build?  Bandmill, Chain Saw Mill (CSM) or  Circular?  Capacity?  Gas or Electric?  Manual or Hydraulic?

If you are not familiar with the terms above, can you tell us what species of trees you want to cut, how big they are (length and diameter), and how many you plan to cut (IE a hobby mill or commercial).  Knowing your location would also help.

Oh, and welcome BTW.

[larrydown60]

I built my mill with the plans by texasben5 on youtube on he has plans on ebay plans were really good and had sources for materials also. I have lots of pics in my photo album If you have any questions feel free to ask

[Remle]

http://www.linnlumber.com/
plans and parts,  check it out, just click on the link above..

[JoeSVK]

Hi Guys. Thank you for your answears. So I'm from Slovakia (EU). I'm curently working in a Factory so have a possibility to buy or to build affordoble components. Well, my intention is to cut some oak wood etc (diameter up to 80cm and lenght up to 5m). Priority is a hobby use but not denying commercial use one day....I attache some pics of plans which I found on ebay and seem nice to me. Which one do you guys think is better? From your experiences, what do you reccommend? The mill plan is very needed because I'm beginner. For sure It should  be a Bandmill.  Thank you

[larrydown60]

I don't see any pics But I used these for my build I got them from ebay they are 25.00 well worth it in my opinion   item number:252704552625 Pictures in my gallery of this build hope it helps

[Ljohnsaw]

http://www.linnlumber.com/
plans and parts,  check it out, just click on the link above..

I like a lot of ideas that LinnLumber has on their mills.  I built my own but I saw a few items I might try. 

The garden sprayer for a drip system - simple and reliable.  I have gravity now and it is a pain if you get bubbles in it.  Using the pump, I could place it down where it is easier to reach/refill. Up on top, I have to climb up on the mill to service it.

The log clamps with the spring to keep them in place.  I like that, simple, quick and very effective (so it appears).  I made some cam clamps that are difficult and the handle gets in the way on large logs.  I might do that with the springs to keep it snug up to the log, take the cam clamps off and replace with a screw clamp.

Looking at their electric lift - I have a chain driven system so I could put a 12v motor on mine pretty easily.

And that hydraulic blade tension!  Wow - I would love to incorporate that on my mill.

With all the DIY mills being built on here, you'd think Linn would want to be a sponsor!

I wish I got my saw mill out last fall before the snow came so I could make these changes.  Here it is under 6 or 7 feet of snow...

 

The top of that truck box is about 9 feet up. :-\

Before the snow:

 

[Ox]

I built a homemade mill using Linn Lumber's plans and parts kit for the head.  The only things I don't like are the fact that the sliding arm for controlling width between guides doesn't go in close enough and the backstops don't all move together like on a Turner Mill.  I made my own frame using their dimensions but using much heavier stuff and made it portable by cutting a trailer house axle down narrower and mounting it.  I take the wheels off for sawing.  It's held up by 6 screw jacks for implements.  This allows for different working heights as well as good leveling ability.  If I had to do it all over again I would have just bought a used mill outright.  I'll never build another one.

[fishpharmer]

JoeSVK welcome to forestryforum!  My first bandmill was built using
The Bill Rake plans as a guide.  They are a little vague and at
One time were floating around as a free pdf. I could not find pdf now. Here is a link to the site...

http://kruppt.tripod.com/mill_1/

[JoeSVK]

sorry.

first ebay item number (red one): 252704552625
second (green one): 400975952977



Pics:

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7755

[Joe Hillmann]

One problem with building off someone else's plan is it can be more expensive than buying a mill if you have to buy/order specific parts and sizes of steel.  When I built mine I made it from whatever scrap/parts I had laying around or could get for cheap or free.  Even then I probably have $600 into before counting blades and repair parts.

[Kbeitz]

Junkyard parts for me... I spent $1280.00 building my mill
and I'm very happy with it. I used no plans.

[Ox]

Oh - and regarding building mills - some folks are much smarter than other folks.  I built my first mill without plans and it was a disaster.  Cut once and that was it.  Second time around I needed plans.  I'm not one of the smart ones!  ;D