DIY Scrap Iron Bandsaw Mill

[fluidpowerpro]

It's 60 amps max, 40 amps continuous.

[RetiredTech]

 Here's a picture of the mill as it is right now. Changes from the last photos are the brand new battery , muffler reconfiguration to clear the blade guard, and the electric winch in place of the the old worm drive hand winch.




The next 3 are my current cabling configuration. This will change very soon. Hopefully I'll get  better welds this time, now that I've had a little more practice.

[RetiredTech]

 Even though I've still got work to do I was able to put the first real log on the mill and get some practice using a mill. I was able to get enough usable lumber from this log to build my first drying pallet, have a couple 8' 4x4s to aid in loading logs form the end of the mill and still have some 2x4's to frame a small shooting house for my grandson. I'll be working his shooting house while I'm waiting for my new pulleys to be delivered.

I've used some old chainsaw slabs to make test cuts on the mill and cut up a big limb or two, but this is the first actual "real" log to make it to the mill. 
(I made sure that red bucket was turned where you couldn't read the name on it. But you all know where it came from.)



The pallet is a little over 8' long. I didn't cut any length off the boards. It's 4' wide because that's how long my pallet forks are.



Just need to finish blocking it up and cut some stickers then I'll be ready to dry some 8' lumber. I sprayed the pallet down good with borax to help preserve it.

[RetiredTech]

The mill did pretty good except for the winch being too fast. I noticed the engine does put out a little smoke from time to time, but it should be fine for a long time.  I've racked up 8 hours of run time on it and decided it had earned itself an oil change and a new air filter. Since I didn't know the history of this motor I didn't want put any money in it until I knew what I had. I had to slow down the cut speed on that log until I got it pruned down a little, it would bog the engine if I pushed too fast. All in all I'm pleased with the way it runs and cuts. I think the main build is finished now. From here forward everything else should just be improvements to the basic design.

[Magicman]

Good job and the firewood whack is also nice.  ;D

[Joe Hillmann]

I think this configuration would slow your speed down but would allow the mill to rack side to side as you raise it.  It is how mine is set up.  I find the vibrations from the engine running are enough to keep it even as it goes up.

 

Things in blue are stationary on the mill.  The red circles move with the head of the mill.  Black is the cable.

[rusticretreater]

This is the setup on my Woodland Mills saw. Everyone thinks its pretty slick.  Its fully adjustable and there is no racking.

You appear to have the right concept in your cabling, though the adjustability is difficult.

You should be able to find some hardware that makes a cable to two cable connection to allow each to be pulled and an eyebolt or something on each cable to make it adjustable.  And then to slow it down, you need at least one pulley larger than your other ones either in the main cable or one in each side cable.

I would try to slow down the movement using pulleys and not a speed controller.  The motor in the winch may not take kindly to that kind of speed regulation.  Its designed to run at one speed.

The forum toolbox has a pully calculator tool that you can use to help figure out what you need.  Using the Forum menu, select Extras->Tool Box->Machinery calculators->Pulley calculator.



 

[beenthere]

Your drying pallet will need support under each column of stickers, down to ground in some form or manner. 

Suspect best for 5 columns of stickers for the 8' length. 

Mill looking real good. 

[RetiredTech]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I wanted to draw a diagram of how I intend to re-cable the mill, but I draw worse than I weld! I plan to use the same basic concept as I'm using now except the two cables will be coupled on the drive side of the mill. The cable will leave the winch and drop straight down to the saw head, wrap around a pulley attached to the saw head and travel back up and terminate at the top of the mill. There will be another pulley mounted below the saw head attached to the frame below. Another cable will attach to the bottom of the saw head wrap around the pulley attached to the frame travel up to the top of the mill, go around a pulley on each side of the mill and then travel down to the other side of the saw head. Since the right side is lifted by the left sides movement I only need to double the line on the one side. There will be adjustable connections on both sides to keep things level, although an adjuster on the right side alone should be enough. I'll still need 4 pulleys, but they will be larger and have ball bearings so it should work smoothly and slower. I hope to have the pulleys to work with by this weekend.

[RetiredTech]

Your drying pallet will need support under each column of stickers, down to ground

So, if I place 4' 1x4s under the first row of stickers the pallet isn't strong enough supported on both ends and the center? I guess I could block in some 2 by's between the 4x4s if that's whats needed.

[RetiredTech]

@beenthere   Guess I should have looked it up first. You'd think a pallet would be a no brainer. I found this thread from @doc henderson Pallet dimensions. It also contained a link to Standardizing lumber pallets. I can still fix it. Just need a few runners under the stickers and some more blocking to the ground. Looks like I didn't need the 4x4's at all. The next one will be easier.

[RetiredTech]

The pulleys showed up Friday afternoon. The next two weeks are pretty full. Hopefully I'll get enough time to work on it before then.

[RetiredTech]

Worked on moving the winch a little this week. Unfortunately, while doing some welding I forgot to move the ground from the saw head to the frame when I changed locations. That resulted in spot welding one of the sliders to the post. We've got another busy week coming up next week. I probably won't get much mill time for at least another week. My plan is to use a hydraulic jack to break it loose.

[Crusarius]

quick wack with a hammer will do it.

[RetiredTech]

  The hammer with some winch tension was the first thing I tried. I can't get a good angle for a solid blow on that side. I hope to have some sawmill time today and tomorrow. The rest of the week is already tied up. I'm going to put a jack between the frame foot and the bottom of the head. Between that and a hammer on the upright it should pop a loose. I've made this mistake once before, but it came loose pretty easy last time. 
  I think I made the slider on that side a little too snug to start with. I'ts never moved as smoothly as it should on that side. When the engine is running that little vibration keeps it from sticking. If the engine is off it's a little jumpy moving down but OK going up. I was hoping a little wear would make it better. I've tried greasing it and that just made a mess. I've also tried oil, transmission fluid, WD40, dry lube, and silicone spray. The best thing I found for it so far is car polish. That seemed to work better than anything. Someone suggested I rub the post with a bar of soap. I haven't tried that yet, but I plan on trying it and also some auto wax if that doesn't work.
  Does anyone have a better suggestion for lubing the up rights? I don't think I would have this problem If I had used new square stock. The galvanized telescoping mast I used was not exactly smooth or even flat on the sides to start with.

[fluidpowerpro]

My mill didn't move smoothly on the uprights either and I was constantly trying different lube with no success. I later found that the cause of my issues was the cable pulleys. If they use bronze bushing as the bearing, you have to be religious about keeping them lubricated. The main pulley that took the most load was replaced with one of a larger diameter that used a ball bearing. Once I made that change, problem solved.

[Crusarius]

don't put tension on it when you wack it that is defeating the purpose of the wack. You need it to move when you hit it.

[RetiredTech]

  I got the slider loose, but it drug worse than ever. I ended up cutting a section off the bottom of that slider. That really freed it up. I don't know how I'm going to clean up the sharp edges. since it's all welded together there's no way to disassemble and grind it down. I may just have to live with it until I build mill 2.0 as someone else has done. ;)



  I think it was worth it in the long run. Both sides rise and fall smoothly now. I did go ahead and rub some white dial bar soap on the post. I don't know if it helps or not, but it makes the mill smell good. Here are a few pictures of the new winch in it's new location and the reconfigured cables. The first image is the winch and it's line going straight down to a pulley mounted at the top of the saw head. The cable goes back up and terminates just under the winch. That cuts the lifting speed in half. I haven't tried sawing with it yet, but it still moves pretty fast.




To the right of the pulley you can make out the bolt that secures the other cable that goes down and around the pulley mounted to the frame then back up and over the two pulleys at the top of the mill to lift the other side of the saw head.




  The second cable terminates on an eyelet bolt so I can adjust the level of the beam.




Here's a front view of the mill as it is today. I finally got around to replacing a bad bearing on one of the axles today. I don't have to listen to it crying anymore. I cant wait to try it out again.

[RetiredTech]

  I thought I posted this yesterday. I must have done something wrong. When I checked to see if anyone had answered my question it was gone. I put this 16' elm log on the mill yesterday. I found it already on the ground some months ago. It looks pretty bad, but most of the log as hard as a rock. 
  I want to cut some 2x6's out of it to use as rafters in my camper repair project. They won't be load bearing at all, just have to support the aluminum skin of the roof. They only need to be 7'6"  long. The problem is this I think this tree is full of powder post beetles. It''s got a bunch of tiny holes with a black ring around them. If I cut the lumber and spray it good with borax would the the wood be suitable for construction lumber or should I look for something else?
  I don't think I'll be loading anymore logs this size on the mill until it's in it's permanent location. It was all the tractor wanted to lift and I was worried that I would drop it and take out the shed, diesel tank and camper all at the same time. Plus I'm not setup to handle this much weight right now. Maybe cut the next one in half.
  I didn't finish sawing the log. The opening cut turned out wavy so I know it's time to replace the blade. There must be a lot of stress in this log. I could hear it poping as I cut. When I came out the othe end both ends of the cutoff piece were about an inch above the log.There's no more mill time for this week It will have to wait til Monday for me to get back to it. 
  Let me know what I can do with this wood.

[Crusarius]

that wood = rustic. but have to kill the bugs first. borax won't kill them hot kiln will.

2x6 is to large for in a camper. and I would find something that doesn't have bugs in it.

[RetiredTech]

  I was afraid of that. I don't have access to a kiln at this time. I would like to build one eventually. I guess it will be stacked to the side until a kiln can be built.
 The 2by's in the camper lay flat and taper down to 3/4" starting about a foot from each end. Original ones were 2x3. But I just wanted the extra width to better support the roof and a couple patches when it goes back together. It's a no rush project. I paid $50.00 for the camper to keep it from going to the crusher. It may become a portable workshop.

[RetiredTech]

  I've been learning to use the mill and have had a few problems. I think my band speed may be too fast. The sawdust is very small and the blade leaves a lot of it on the log. I'm going to have to find the calculator I saw a while back and see what it says. It does cut good though.
 The welds on the log clamps broke right at the Tee. I had used the wire feed welder and it didn't penetrate very  well. I went back and re-welded them with the stick welder.
 I had my turn at trashing a saw blade on a side stop. Very irritating. I hit it hard too. Put a good groove in the stop. :(
 Then I had this log decide to jump off the mill while I was moving it into position. Luckily it didn't tear anything up. I had to cut it into small sections and roll them out of the way. No big deal, the log was pretty rotten anyway and crooked. Just wanted to cut it for the practice.





 The last problem I had was with the new pulley I mounted to the lower frame. The groove was catching sawdust and the cable would pack it down tight. I made this little hood for it. The bolt in the center is ground down to help scrape any dust out before it can be packed down and affect the  level of the sawhead.




 It's all good though. I ordered 5 new 10° blades to try out and some parts to build a blade sharpener. I read somewhere the 10° blades work better on mills with less than 25hp. My little kubota falls into that category.

[Magicman]

The problem is this I think this tree is full of powder post beetles. It''s got a bunch of tiny holes with a black ring around them.

Those holes are not PPB's but Ambrosia Beetles.  Spray the lumber to prevent PPB's and don't be concerned about the Ambrosia Beetles.  They are already in the log/lumber and they will exit as the lumber dries leaving a small pyramid of sawdust.

[Crusarius]

With my limited experience milling I have found the 10 degree blades to be the worst ones I use. I get better cut out of all the others. I have 22hp.

[RetiredTech]

Those holes are not PPB's but Ambrosia Beetles

What would be the best thing to spray it with? Do you think it would be usable on the interior of a camper after it's dry? I had in mind making some thin shiplap and staining it for a ceiling. But I don't want to infest the camper either. It's already had a hard enough life.