Newbie building his own sawmill

[chas0218]

Good Morning everyone, first time poster but have been lurking for a few months looking at home built and professional built sawmills. I have been reading about blades, do's and don'ts of building process of sawing you name I think I have probably read it. Now all that reading won't give me the first hand experience but gives me a good idea of what I can expect. The main reason I want to build my own sawmill is mostly based on price point and having a lot of the materials needed for the build. Not to mention the joy I get from building something of my own. Onto the issues/ideas at hand.

Tracks:
I have an old boat rail system that uses 2" channel for the tracks. My plan is to use 20' of it for the track and reinforce it with 2 1/2" angle on the bottom.

Carriage:
The majority of the carriage will be built out of 2" square tube from plans I found earlier on here. I'm using (2) 1"-4 acme screws for the height adjustment with a sprocket on the end of each to accept a chain. The chain and sprocket will link the left and right height adjustment together. The blade will be supported using the tire method I am a little concerned being that the tires and rims will be heavier but the added rotational mass should help with the larger engine and keep a more constant operating speed.

Power plant:
The engine will be an older Onan twin horizontal shaft 23hp.

Blade length:
144" or 158" Probably the larger blade being I'm using tires a touch over 21"

Driving the blade:
I'm still up in the air how I am going to rotate the blade. I was thinking about going direct to the motor with a clutch and use the height of the motor to put tension on the blade and use "mini" carriages on the wheels to adjust where the blade is riding on the wheels. Otherwise I will use one of my wheels as a drive wheel and v-belt pulleys it just adds a little more money to the project.

I would like to spend less than $500 on the whole thing but it isn't a deal breaker if I spend more. The saw mill will be supported by cinder blocks on a stone pad stationary but later will be on a concrete pad with an overhang off my garage.

Any and all help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated,
Chas

[Joe Hillmann]

What do you mean by "mini carriages" to adjust where the blade rides?

[Den-Den]

Good Morning everyone, first time poster but have been lurking for a few months looking at home built and professional built sawmills. I have been reading about blades, do's and don'ts of building process of sawing you name I think I have probably read it. Now all that reading won't give me the first hand experience but gives me a good idea of what I can expect. The main reason I want to build my own sawmill is mostly based on price point and having a lot of the materials needed for the build. Not to mention the joy I get from building something of my own. Onto the issues/ideas at hand.

Tracks:
I have an old boat rail system that uses 2" channel for the tracks. My plan is to use 20' of it for the track and reinforce it with 2 1/2" angle on the bottom.

Carriage:
The majority of the carriage will be built out of 2" square tube from plans I found earlier on here. I'm using (2) 1"-4 acme screws for the height adjustment with a sprocket on the end of each to accept a chain. The chain and sprocket will link the left and right height adjustment together. The blade will be supported using the tire method I am a little concerned being that the tires and rims will be heavier but the added rotational mass should help with the larger engine and keep a more constant operating speed.

Power plant:
The engine will be an older Onan twin horizontal shaft 23hp.

Blade length:
144" or 158" Probably the larger blade being I'm using tires a touch over 21"

Driving the blade:
I'm still up in the air how I am going to rotate the blade. I was thinking about going direct to the motor with a clutch and use the height of the motor to put tension on the blade and use "mini" carriages on the wheels to adjust where the blade is riding on the wheels. Otherwise I will use one of my wheels as a drive wheel and v-belt pulleys it just adds a little more money to the project.

I would like to spend less than $500 on the whole thing but it isn't a deal breaker if I spend more. The saw mill will be supported by cinder blocks on a stone pad stationary but later will be on a concrete pad with an overhang off my garage.

Any and all help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated,
Chas

I love home made machines so very much encourage your efforts.
Tracks - I think you will need more than 2-1/2" angle to support the rails; could be wooden beams, metal bracing or ??  Once it is on a concrete slab, this will  be less of an issue.
Tires - they can work fine if shape is right and if they are stiff enough.  I am happy with the tires on my mill (205R14 - about 24" OD)
Drive - Blade speed is very important; direct drive will move your blade much too fast.
$500 is a very low budget but is doable if you don't have to buy much.

[Kbeitz]

My homemade mill cost me $1280.00 and i had most of the stuff...

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,82853.0.html

[chas0218]

What do you mean by "mini carriages" to adjust where the blade rides?

I'm planning on mounting them to a plate with slots where 4 bolts go through and allow perpendicular adjustment from the wheel.

[chas0218]

I love home made machines so very much encourage your efforts.
Tracks - I think you will need more than 2-1/2" angle to support the rails; could be wooden beams, metal bracing or ??  Once it is on a concrete slab, this will  be less of an issue.
Tires - they can work fine if shape is right and if they are stiff enough.  I am happy with the tires on my mill (205R14 - about 24" OD)
Drive - Blade speed is very important; direct drive will move your blade much too fast.
$500 is a very low budget but is doable if you don't have to buy much.

I figured the 2 1/2" would be enough. I can buy 20' of 3" channel instead which would definitely be enough I would think. I mean the main track is 2" channel rated for a 2,000lbs. boat so I thought with the 2 1/2" would have been enough. In the $500 I wasn't going to include the tracks which is going to be $200 alone. I forgo the direct drive and go with a pulley system. The tires I have are wider 4 ply car tires so I'm not sure if they will work I'll double check the diameter and width. The 2" channel is where I will end up investing the majority of the money is my guess and saw blades.

[Joe Hillmann]

What do you mean by "mini carriages" to adjust where the blade rides?

I'm planning on mounting them to a plate with slots where 4 bolts go through and allow perpendicular adjustment from the wheel.

If I am understanding you that will only give you adjustment in half the directions you need.  You need adjustment in every direction.  Up/down, front/back, and in/out you also need tilt on up/down and tilt on in/out.

[DMcCoy]

You need the ability to adjust your blade to be parallel to your bunks(tilt).  You need the ability to push your blade about 1/8" down from the wheel(up/down).  In/out adjust so your blade isn't riding against what ever it is you use for supporting the back of the blade during cuts incl tilt to run parallel to the blade.  Plus one of them should slide for narrower logs or cuts.  This is not an easy accomplishment in a tight space.  Access to a metal lathe will make it easier.  Some folks just buy these parts.  My 2 cents.