Yet another newbee with the need of a lot of help.

[Magicman]

Arnold, there is a Woodworking forum board below.  We would love to see pictures of your craftsmanship.   

[pineywoods]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking maybe 2"x3"x1/4" rectangular tubing for the back stops.
Question, not knowing anything about band mills, I'm not sure what a "2 plane" clamp is.  :P

A 2 plane clamp has hydraulic movement both in and out as well as up and down. The range of motion is enough to allow the head of the clamp to drop down underneath a cant or stack of boards and lift it off the bunks, then move in or out. Or lift under the outer edge of a stack of flitches and stand them upright against the backstops. Also capable of some un-desireable functions like lifting a log over the top of the backstops or rolling a log off the loader side of the mill.  ;D A tremendous back saver for us old pharts whose back is getting on up in years.

[Tim Lea]

Welcome to the Forum. Nice mill keep up the good work, and keep the pics coming.

[arnold113]

Hi everyone. Back in my easy chair again after another hard day of working my fingers to the bone on my band mill. Ain't life great. :D :D :D I spent about half the day at the metal salvage yard. I found and removed a 4 hp 24vdc motor with hydraulic pump attached. It was on an industrial pallet jack. I haven't found the exact gal/min flow rate yet but its enough to drive two large low rpm hydraulic motors. I think I'll be adding it to my list of repurposed items on my mill.
Another question. On the pineywoods log turner, how far does it extend below the bunkers? My mill is portable so I have to watch ground clearance. I can go 24" and be even with the axle.
Thanks again for yall's help. Arnold
PS I'll have to look in to joining the woodworking forum. Thanks magicman for the invite.

[thecfarm]

Nothing to join,you are in the Forum,that is just part of it. There are a few boards that after so many posts will open up for ya. But the wood working one is available for you. Don't forget the pictures. More hint,hint.  :D
Just above the sponsor on the left,you will see The Forestry Forum >> Forum. Click onto The Forestry Forum and you will see a bunch of other boards too.
And being so close,hover your mouse over the Extra link,just one line above, The Forestry Forum and there will be a bunch of great stuff too.

[Banjo picker]

Hello there Arnold , and welcome .  I do have a question.  Why do you not like the roll up stops/log squarer ?    I got three on my mill...I hit one lever and raise 3 stops.... Piney is right-- how ever you go with it a good clamp will put some pressure on them...enjoy your build... Banjo

[arnold113]

Banjo picker, I'm a little bit confused. Why do you think I don't like log stops/squaring arms? I'm in the process of building three log stops on my mill right now.  Originally I had tried to incorporate three functions (cant clamps, log clamps, and log stops) into one device that rotated up into three different positions but it didn't work out so I removed the rotating log stops and now I'm building the log stops so they extend up when called for. Next I'm going to build pineywoods log turner. 
Sorry for the confusion I caused.
On that note, pineywoods, you had said your log turner wouldn't rotate a log 90° in one operation. I believe you said you didn't have enough room to make the log turner big enough to rotate a log the full 90° in one operation. If that is right, could your turner be modified, if a person had the room, to make it turn the full 90°? Also you said you used two 2" lift cylinders instead of one larger one for the same reason. If I have understood you right, would one 3" or maybe 4" cylinder work?
Thanks, Arnold     

[Banjo picker]

I'm going to change the log stop/squaring arms from swing up type to vertical up/dn type

I kind of got it from that. You didn't say earlier that you were trying to do 3 things with one device. ;)  I see why you were having trouble, although I cant wrap my mind around what you built.  I can see why having them come up vertically would be nice at times, there are pros and cons on most things and this will be one of them.  Here is a pic of a couple of my log stops.

 

That shows the extra stop for cutting small stuff.  They are just under a foot.  The gizmo in the midde is what we are calling a two plane clamp.  I have two of them.  Keep posting and go see Piney when you get the chance, wish I lived a little closer to him where I could see his set up.  When I built my winch he gave me a lot of good info--others as well did so to.  Banjo

[pineywoods]

Arnold, the 90 deg turn is a sometimes thing. It depends to some extent on the diameter of the log and also on operator expertise. If you jam the claw teeth in the side of the log, you only have about 12 inches of upward travel available to roll the log. My technique is to position the claw up under the log and lift withe lift cylinders and pull outward with the clamp cylinder, sort of a rolling motion using 2 hands on the controls. In any case I find that lowering the claw downward to get a second bite is not much of a problem. In the rare case where I have particularly stubborn log, I keep  a tapered chunk of 4X4 handy to scotch the log while I lower the claw to get another bite. Story on the 2 lift cylinders.  The original build only had a single 2 inch lift cylinder. I quickly found that was not enough. You would think that a 2 inch with 2500 lb pressure would do the job, but the lift geometry is such that the lift cylinder is working at about a 2 to 1 dis-advantage. Looked into a single 4 inch, but discovered a pair of 2's was as cheap or cheaper than a single 4. On a woodmizer LT40, the mechanism mounts between one of the bunks and the old woodmizer manual clamp and uses 4 existing holes through the frame rail.(No cutting or welding on the mill frame) . It's a kinda tight fit. Your situation would likely be different, so modify away. Suggestion tho. Use wood 1X2 to build a wooden mockup to test fits before you cut steel. You will find that every dimension is a compromise in one or more ways and changing anything will usually screw up something else. The plans posted on the forum are all dimensions taken off build number 3 after working out most of the bugs. My mill is the prototype and there numerous patches, extra holes, ie obvious trial and error development.

[arnold113]

I believe I'll bow to the master and go with the log turner as engineered. I know pineywoods knows what he's doing whereas I know nothing about milling. I hope to learn from all the masters of the trade on FF.
Thanks for all your help and encouragement.
Arnold

[manoverboard]

Welcome, Arnold, no tips from me (i'm new to sawmills) I just wanted to welcome you and praise your work. Awesome hoping it works well fir you,,, Russ

[valley ranch]

Greeting Arnold, Nice looking mill. It looks like you have a single ram to adjust the tension. when you change blades does it stay in adjustment so you tighten the blade or do you have do some adjustment each time?  Just wondering if there is something I can't see. I plan to use pulleys for bandwheels but have wanted to use a single ram. Is the round item for guides?  Thanks Richard

[arnold113]

Richard, I haven't made any sawdust yet with my mill. I've still got to finish the log turner and then do the log loader plus a number of other items. My tension adjustment has to be loosen to change bands, so the tension has to be made after a band change. I'm going to modify the tension adjustment to incorporate a gauge to set tension by. I'm going to insert a hydraulic  chamber that the ram will compress at the same time as it moves the adjustable wheel. The chamber will have a gauge mounted on it for a direct readout of tension.
The linear positioner controls the moveable guide roller. It has to be manually moved now but I'm going to put a dc motor on it. I'll post a couple more pictures so maybe things will be a little more clear. I hope this helps you out. Thanks
Arnold

[valley ranch]

Arnold, I didn't make myself clear, I meant would the bandwheels have to be adjusted or trued each time the blade was changed. [ to keep the blade from coming off] or just install the new blade and set tension.

Richard

You mentioned all you have yet to do, most guys want to cut a slab before putting on the guards.

[Solomon]

Welcome to the best forum there is on the web Arnold.
I'm sorry I have no advise to offer
regarding your log turner or building a mill. By the looks of your pictures, it is I who could learn a lot from you!
I am sure I will be picking your brain looking for ideas.
  You've built a nice machine there Brother.
                  Pete ,   Chesapeake,Virginia

[arnold113]

Richard, Sorry for the misunderstanding. Not having sawed any logs yet I can't say for sure if the bandwheel tracking will have to be tweaked each time a band is replaced. I'm sure there's quiet a few forum members out there that has ran a mill using car tires that would have a better idea of what I can expect.
How about it guys, will the tracking have to be tweaked after each band change?
Arnold

[pineywoods]

Not likely the tracking will change with a blade change. If so, it will most likely be because the tension is affecting tracking and that shouldn't happen. I think you have a handle on that..

[thecfarm]

I have a Thomas mill. When I change a blade I need to so called re track. Only takes a minute. I run just about the same styles of wheels that are on a WM. I count the turns on my rachet to help out too.I just turn the blade slow and I can see which way it wants to track,run off, and I turn the bolt just a little. Took me longer to type how to do it,than it does to do it.  ;D