DIY Scrap Iron Bandsaw Mill

[Ljohnsaw]

I'd do like someone posted elsewhere.  Do 4' of steel roofing on the bottom half.  Still have the nice look of the wood above but never have to worry about rot!  Even 2' would work.

[RetiredTech]

  I didn't think about that, but that ought to work for the ground splatter. The rain will definitely hit it though and I've read a lot about how easily Sweetgum rots. There's less than a foot of overhang on the ends. Should I be worried about that? 

[RetiredTech]

  I was able to put in a few minutes on the mill today. My tires were pretty bad out of balance. Actually it was more than just the tires. When I was welding the axles together I noticed the hubs themselves were out of balance enough to settle to the same position if you turned them either direction slightly. Add to that the wheels, tires, and my homemade pulley mount on the drive hub and it was pretty bad. I had left the band on it and tensioned when I was working on the blade guides last and was dreading having to readjust everything. I remembered reading where someone else with a trailer tire mill would let the air out of the tires at the end of the day to relieve the tension on the blade. So I thought I would see if I could remove the band if I let the air out. To my surprise after the air was out of the first tire the band was slack enough to easily slide off the tire. I removed the drive belt and gravity balanced the wheels with some stickon weights right on mill. It made a huge difference. The mill doesn't shake anymore.

[Magicman]

In addition to balance, they also need to be round.

Sweetgum can get wet but it has to be able to completely dry out between wettings.  I like the roofing wainscot idea to prevent splash up.

[RetiredTech]

  I didn't take any pictures of that process and forgot to mention it. One of tires was out of round, the other was alright. I used a carbide carving wheel on the 4 1/2" grinder to lightly grind the highspot down with the motor spinning tire at idle. The process was a little nerve racking but it worked. You can't hold the grinder in one spot, you need to slowly move the grinder following the profile of the tire so you don't end up with a flat spot on the tire.
I'm not sure if the real problem was the tire or the cheap trailer hubs I used. You wouldn't think a cast part could be that bad. I don't think they properly centered the castings when they were machined. If I were starting over I would make sure I had a true set to start with. I still believe the tire type mill is the best fit for my situation and I can change them if I have too. I think since the whole assembly was trued and balanced together they should be alright.
  This is the the grinding wheel I used. I just used the outside edge so as not to remove too much material. It throws tiny chunks of rubber all over.

[Magicman]

Several builders that I have read about used spare "donut" wheels & tires.

[Crusarius]

I think most of the builds I have read that used tires ended up switching to band wheels shortly after getting it running.

[RetiredTech]

  While I'm waiting for some parts to come in I decided to move the battery between the uprights and on top of the fuel tank. That allowed me to shorten the positive cable and now it doesn't have to run around the engine. I mounted my regulator under the radiator in hopes that it will catch a little air flow. I also stripped out all the old tractor wiring that was no longer needed. All I need is oil, temperature, glow plug, starter, fuel pump and regulator. I left the wiring for the fuel gauge also, but the sending unit is toast. I may wire it to light an led when the level is getting low. I tidied everything up until my control box comes in.






Wiring removed.

[RetiredTech]

Hi guys,
  I should have a wheelchair motor coming in soon to drive my worm gear winch. I found some sprockets to fit the motor shaft and and the input shaft of the winch. My question is chain size. The sprockets and  chain I found are for #25 chain. Since this is really a hand crank winch and not made for speed I'm thinking that will be fine. I have seen other posts recommending #40 chain. Do you think #25 chain will hold up for this application? This is just a hobby type mill. I doubt I'll ever do any commercial sawing. I would say I'm too old for that, but I see older guys on here working circles around me. 

  I already have the v-groove bearings for the sliding blade guide. They are too small to grip the  on the corners of the 1 1/2" stock I have. They will catch on the 1" inch stock I have but it doesn't look like it's got much meat between there. I'm going to work it up with what I have on hand and see what happens.

[Crusarius]

For the wheel issue you can just weld a piece of flat stock on the edges. It will not be easy but it is doable with patience.

Are you using the #25 for lifting? or is it just spinning a threaded rod. I am all about small and light but if I was lifting a sawhead up and going to be under it there is no way I would go less than #40. But if you are just spinning a threaded rod try the #25 and if it works go with it.

[Ljohnsaw]

They will catch on the 1" inch stock I have but it doesn't look like it's got much meat between there.

Yes, very little meat but holds and works great.  You can see a little better how I made it in these pictures.  A little custom spacer to push the wheel out so the 1" bar clears the mount.  Behind the spacer you can see half the head of the pivot bolt.  On the far wheel, you can see the whole head.  On the back side of the plate at the top is the threaded mount for the adjuster screw with a lock nut on the top.  Out the bottom is a out of focus screw pushing on the bar end that the wheel axle bolt is attached to.  You can kind of make out the bottom threaded adjuster mount.


   Here is the back side.

   This plate has to be mounted rock solid.

[RetiredTech]

Are you using the #25 for lifting?

The winch will lift the saw head. The chain would just turn the shaft where the crank handle is now.

[RetiredTech]

This plate has to be mounted rock solid.

 I managed to get the plate and adjusters put together today. I'll get a picture tomorrow. Mine is a little different. I mounted the lower outside bearing solid since I didn't see the need for it to be adjustable. The other three bearings are adjustable. I have my adjustment arms on the same side of the plate as the bearing, it creates the space needed for the bar to clear the plate. The bearing is fastened with a long bolt that threads through the 3/8" adjuster arm then through the slot in the plate so it can be secured from the back with another lock nut. It really does slide well and the square tube is tight. Hopefully I can find a way to mount it to the mill tomorrow.

[Crusarius]

So it will be lifting and holding the head. I would be a little nervous about that. Sawheads suddenly dropping are quite terrifying. I can tell you how I know but lets just keep it at that

If I were you, I would try to upgrade the chain to a #40.

[RetiredTech]

  No, it doesn't hold the head at all, just turns the winch handle. When you stop turning the winch handle it stays put. That's why I used a worm drive winch. I don't have to lock it off or anything. Whenever you stop turning the input shaft it stays put. I want to use the wheelchair motor for a several reasons. 1st is with the mill up off the ground I can't reach the crank without standing on something. 2nd, although it's not really hard to turn the crank it's slow and you have to turn it many many times to move from deck height to the height of a log. 3rd, my right shoulder complains a lot with all that cranking. I agree that #25 would be too small if it had to lift or support the weight of the head, but the winch takes all the weight. The chain just replaces me and that's not too much these days.

[RetiredTech]

  I went out to work on the mill today and noticed my new wheels were getting dents in the grooves. I thought I had cleaned all the weld splatter off the track, boy was I wrong. To make sure I get it clean this time I took the wooden handle off my metal rasp layed it flat against each side of the angle and worked it back and forth all the way down the tracks. I made sure every high spot was filed down flush. Then I sprayed some Fluid Film on a rag and rubbed down each side of both angles.

Notice the bright spots that were filed down around the splatter pits.









I just thought it rolled easy before. It's amazing how much better that little attention to detail made it roll. It almost rolls itself.

Here's a couple photos of the new adjustable blade guide slider. I'm still trying to work out how to mount it.

[Crusarius]

it really was amazing on my build how much better it rolled just after removing the mill scale.

[RetiredTech]

This plate has to be mounted rock solid.

ljohnsaw,
  That's one of my problems now. Finding a way to mount the plate solid and low enough. I might be a little slow, but I just figured out why you have all four rollers  on adjustable arms. That's how you get your up  and down adjustment too. I'm hoping my roller guides have enough up and down adjustment in them. If not I can make the stationary wheel adjustable and gain some extra movement. I'm still worried about the weight of the guide out on that 1" tube.

Everyone,
  I feel like I'm getting close to the end of this build. I have some sheet metal for blade guards and some supplies for the log clamps. My small weather proof box came in for the control panel and the wheelchair motor for the winch should be here next week. I'll still need to get the sprockets and chain. I don't know which way I'll go for that. I think the #25 chain would be plenty strong enough and run smoother than #40, but Crusarius has concerns that it may not hold up. Maybe a direct couple would be better. I'll decide after the motor comes in. I would like the option to easily go back to the manual crank in case the motor dies and I need to use the mill before the replacement comes in.

[JRWoodchuck]

My head lift is ran with #35 chain I believe and over the 6 years I've had my mill a few links have broken and needed to be replaced. The smoothness doesn't seem to be a factor at least that I've noticed so going a bit bigger I don't think would hurt anything. Get a few extra quick links and a little extra chain it's nice to have around if something does get buggered up...

[Ljohnsaw]

Finding a way to mount the plate solid and low enough.

One word, Triangles! ;) Seriously, though.  Mine is hanging down about 12" from my head frame but has the long angled braces going back up to the back side of the head frame.  Simple and works great.

As far as the blade guard, make the front from wood or at least line the inside with wood.  You WILL hit it when your blade pops off.

[Ljohnsaw]

Here's my last pic from the other day:


 The vertical part is 1/4" x 2.5 or 3" stock just hanging straight down and bolted to the adjustment plate for the guide bar. You can see the ends of some 1x1 used as a shim to push the plate forward so there is room for the adjusters.  Down at the bottom you see a pair of shiney-ish nuts with a gap.That's a bolt rigidly attached to the vertical plate (with the right nut) and bolts to the bent piece of 1x1 angle iron.  The two left nuts allow adjustment to move the first bar into plum as well as stiffening up the whole setup.  Not much there but super rigid.

[RetiredTech]

My head lift is ran with #35 chain

Thanks for the input. That makes me feel a little better about it. When the motor shows up I'll check again to see whats available.

[RetiredTech]

Finding a way to mount the plate solid and low enough.

One word, Triangles! ;) Seriously, though.  Mine is hanging down about 12" from my head frame but has the long angled braces going back up to the back side of the head frame.  Simple and works great.

As far as the blade guard, make the front from wood or at least line the inside with wood.  You WILL hit it when your blade pops off.

I spent a lot of time trying to mount the plate to post below the beams. I actually had it welded in place at one time but I was not satisfied with it. I finally got he idea of putting it in front of the beam like originally had the tube in tube. I think this is going to work much better. Here's where I'm at right now.  
  This is the original tube in tube slider.



 
  It was welded on so I had to cut it off.



  This is how I think I'm going to mount it. It should be very solid being supported on both ends. I could actually shorten the plate about 4 inches and gain a little more range. The blade guide itself should be more stable since it will hang from a shorter section of tubing. I do need to cut about 8" off the 1" tube to clear the drive belt. I just reused the section of tubing I had cut for mounting it to the post not realizing it would be too long. All the grind spots are where I cut it away from the post mount.




  As far as the guards go, I had thought about making the whole blade guard out of wood. It would be easier to build. That will probably be the last thing I get to. I haven't really given them much thought. 

[Ljohnsaw]

Hmm, that is interesting.  Never thought about mounting it like that but that should work.

[Vautour]

RetiredTech That's exactly how i did mine but my bearing are flat on the square tubing (not v-grooved), my 1 1/2 square tubing is adjustable at one end for paralleling to the bunks, also have a eccentric shaft perpendicular to the plate holding the bearings to tightened at the desired location activated by a hand brake lever from a car attached by a 3/4'' tubing to the plate holding the bearings to pull it in and out, yeah i know complicate and was very finicky to build, not sure i recommend using my idea on this one :D.