DIY Scrap Iron Bandsaw Mill

[Ljohnsaw]

tubing is adjustable at one end for paralleling to the bunks,

RetiredTech, that's the big drawback of what your are building.  Mounting the rollers allows for easy parallelism adjustment of the sliding bar to the bunks.

What I've found is I do have to adjust the blade roller guides every now and then when my ACME screws weren't behaving (slipping on the chain sprockets).  Not realizing that was the issue, I also adjusted the bar rollers (easy) to compensate for the out of whack head.  After fixing the screws, realigning the bar was easy, the guides a little more difficult but doable.

Think about all the adjustments needed and build in a way to use some bolts/screws to fine adjust until you bolt it down tight.

[Crusarius]

using bolts for fine adjust is the best thing in the world. trying to adjust anything using friction and / or hopes and dreams is a test in patience.

[RetiredTech]

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.      

@Vautour
 Thanks for the reply. That gives me an idea for the latch to secure the adjustment. Maybe a spring loaded snub against the top of the square tube released by a bicycle hand break or something similar. My bar is also adjustable on one end to keep it parallel to the bade.

RetiredTech, that's the big drawback of what your are building.  Mounting the rollers allows for easy parallelism adjustment of the sliding bar to the bunks.

What I've found is I do have to adjust the blade roller guides every now and then when my ACME screws weren't behaving (slipping on the chain sprockets).  Not realizing that was the issue, I also adjusted the bar rollers (easy) to compensate for the out of whack head.  After fixing the screws, realigning the bar was easy, the guides a little more difficult but doable.

Think about all the adjustments needed and build in a way to use some bolts/screws to fine adjust until you bolt it down tight.

@ljohnsaw,
 I think I see what you're saying. I don't think I've lost any adjustment. The bar is mounted on the left side so it can pivot in slightly oversize holes. The right side has slotted bolt holes threaded into the beam. I'll have slotted holes in the 2" channel coming down to adjust the guide up and down. At the bottom will be the square tube to hold the guide itself and allow it to adjust in and out.

using bolts for fine adjust is the best thing in the world. trying to adjust anything using friction and / or hopes and dreams is a test in patience.

@Crusarius,
 You may be right. It will be easy to go back and add a threaded rod to the right side to make fine adjustments easier.
 The last photo in this post is a closer photo of the winch I want to add the wheelchair motor to.


@Everyone,
 I don't expect to have any updates for a week or so. I'm having foot surgery tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be back working on the mill in just a few days. You never know. But even if I can't work on it I'll be in the forums reading other topics.

[Ljohnsaw]

Sounds good.  On that winch:  I mounted one of those HF winches to a plate welded to a 2x2 bar.  That would slip into various mounts on my flatbed trailer and I used it to par buck logs onto the deck.  I got tired of cranking it.  With that worm gear, it takes a LOT of turns to pull something!  So, I used my cordless drill and a socket to speed things up.  I wore out the bronze bushings in a day.  Since I only had it a week or so, I took it back for a free replacement.  Consider some sort of upgrade there or at lease a LOT of grease!

[RetiredTech]

@ljohnsaw,
  Well that doesn't sound good.  I was expecting a long life out of that thing. Maybe I should rethink adding the wheelchair motor to it or at least think about a ball bearing for the shaft. It probably won't survive the chain pulling up on it all the time.

[RetiredTech]

  The wheelchair motor came in. I don't know when I'll be able to check it out. I've got at least two more days  of keeping the foot elevated. I hope to be back on my feet soon.
  The motor looks new except the label is missing from the motor itself. I'm hoping I can find a way to beef up the bronze bushing on the winch. 

[RetiredTech]

  I was hoping to be a little more mobile than I am by now. I'm still having issues with the foot, but I have a followup with the surgeon today. Hopefully, I'll get some good news. I think it's getting better every day. I was able to hobble out to the container and collect the pieces for the control panel. I brought them inside and sat in a chair to cut out the holes. Here's a picture of what I have so far. Nothing is wired or even tightly fastened in yet. I'll likely wait til after I start using the mill to decide if I want to add a low fuel warning light or not. I'm thinking a full tank of diesel will probably last longer than a day of sawing anyway. If I just fill up at the start of the day I won't have to worry about it. I don't know what the lifespan of these little diesels are in hours. The old hour meter had 1425 hours on it, so I put a note under the new meter and inside the box just so I can monitor the total run time.

[Magicman]

Looks very neat.  I suppose the temperature gauge is showing "body temp".  :D

[RetiredTech]

Looks very neat.  I suppose the temperature gauge is showing "body temp".  :D

Thanks. I'm hoping that's just because it's never been hooked up. I didn't notice until I started cutting the hole that it's in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. I don't think it will make any difference. I expect it to run around 55° or so. Once I see where the normal temp range is I'll know when something is wrong.

[RetiredTech]

  I finally made it out to the sawmill yesterday. I decided to work on the wiring so I wouldn't have to pull the welder out. I was able to get the engine control box mounted and wired in. It looks like everything is working. The LED's I bought for the oil pressure warning light and Glow Plug indicators are much brighter than I had hoped. I was afraid I might not notice them if they came on during the day, but I believe they're brighter than the small bulbs we used to use. I still have to change out the sending unit for the Temperature gauge. I ran a wire from the fuel tank also in case I decide to add a low fuel indicator or a gauge later on.
  I also had a chance to plug in the wheelchair motor and test it out. It works perfectly. Now I need to decide if my little winch is going to be worth trying to convert or not. Hopefully I'll be able to drag out the welder to finish my blade guides before long. 


 


 



 

[Magicman]

Which side of the bed rails will you saw from?  Can you conveniently see the engine control box from there?

[RetiredTech]

  Yes, it will be just to my left as I'm sawing. I'll be pushing the mill from the winch side, behind the wheel. You can just see the winch handle sticking down from the top right of the picture. I could have moved it further to the right, but it would be in the way of refueling. The sawdust will exit on the other side of the track.
  I finally got the moveable blade guide remounted today. I didn't completely finish it so no photo yet. I think it's going work out much better this time.

[RetiredTech]

  Here's a few pictures of the V2.0 Blade Guides. I think they're going to work fine. I started trying to dial them in this afternoon. I've got them pretty close but I want to try to get a little closer. I'm about a 1/16th of an inch out over a 4' span right now. I don't have a blade alignment tool so I centered my 4 foot level over a straight tooth on each side. I hope that gives an accurate measurement to the mill bed.
 

[RetiredTech]

   I built this small trollie today using the  wheels I had originally bought for the mill. They are complete garbage but should be ok for this. I thought I'd use it to help load a few logs from the end of the track. That way I can use the mill until it's permanent location is ready.

[RetiredTech]

  I haven't had much time to work on the mill lately. I did cut an old bed rail and attach it to the carriage frame so I'd have a place to mount a magnetic scale/ruler. I want to have a sliding adjustable pointer if I can find the pieces. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it would only need to slide a few inches?
  While I was at the mill I heard another tree fall into the gully below. I wonder what it was, and if I could get a section or two to the mill?

[Crusarius]

my adjustable pointer has a 4" or 5" slot. I usually only use about 1" of it. I also have a fixed pointer that is set to bed height so I know exactly where I am off the bed. Works really well for me.

[RetiredTech]

  That's a good idea. Minimum height will always be the same and it would be good to know how far above minimum you are. I should probably mark it on the permanent frame where the scale goes. I can use that.

[Crusarius]

I also have a stop setup so I cannot drop below 4/4 on the final board.

[RetiredTech]

  I need to add those pretty soon. Even though my bed is way too low, the bottom adjuster bolt on the stationary blade guide hits the mill base if I let it all the way down. I know that's going to wreak havoc with my blade adjustment if I don't correct it. I need to raise the bed up about another 2", but I don't have the material on hand to do that right now. I was thinking about cutting some oak or hickory strips to put on top of the current bunks as a stop gap until something else turns up.

[Magicman]

Maybe I missed it, but have you addressed your side supports yet?  I have the manual swing up supports that I removed from my sawmill plus other misc. parts that you are welcome to. 

[RetiredTech]

have you addressed your side supports yet?

Thanks Magic,
 No, I haven't made the backstops or the clamps yet. That and the blade guards are the two biggest tings I have left to do. I bought the pipe for the clamps and may have a couple short pieces of 2" square tube left over to drop the back stops into. I'm a little reluctant to fasten anything directly to the rails. My rails are so thin to start with. I think they are 12 or maybe 14 gauge, but it's what I had. I'll have to be very careful not to beat them up. My plan was to fasten the tubes for the backstops mainly to the bunks then a brace to the rail. Then the pipe for the camp would be able to attach between a brace on the right hand rail and the side of the 2" backstop tube on the other side. I thought that would help keep the pressure off the rail itself. Does that sound right?
 All that said, I never turn down miscellaneous parts and pieces. That's mainly what this mill is built out of.  Swing up backstops would be a big improvement If I can figure out how to get them attached. My wife and I could drive out one day if that's OK. We'd love to meet you folks and get a look at a real mill first hand.

[Magicman]

Oh absolutely and I am off all of this week.  We can throw a log on the mill and saw it plus lunch will be on me.    


 
I also have everything that was removed when I added the auto clutch that I will never have any use for.

The swing up side supports could be atteched to the bed rails which would make it easy to square them to 90°.  ;D

[RetiredTech]

  OK, This isn't really related to mill build, but it's kinda related to it's use. I just received tracking data on my EA Wicked Root Grapple. 8) I ordered on January 16th so it's been a long wait. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the tractor.
  I plan to use it to move logs around when I get the mill going. Till then I need it for clean up and cutting firewood.

[RetiredTech]

  One of my bigger tasks that I still need to tackle on the mill is Side Stops and Clamps. During our visit Yesterday, Magicman graciously gifted another piece of the puzzle for my mill. (I know, It needs all the help it can get.) He had removed these stops and other pieces from his mill during a previous upgrade. These will make a big upgrade to the simple drop in stops I was planning to use. I'll be sure to post a photo once I get them adapted.  

[Magicman]

I wondered where my stuff went to??  8)