homemade bandsaw mill, help

[Ox]

 8) smiley_clapping smiley_blue_bounce smiley_bouncing_pinky  Glad it's working and glad you're happy.  This is what the forum is all about!

hey gww - you've now got two good working, homemade mills on your thread! 

[gww]

Hey Ox

hey gww - you've now got two good working, homemade mills on your thread!

I would never say my saw mill is good working just that it is working good for me.

Remember when I said that nobody could borrow my mill cause I put so many bugs in it that nobody but me would know how to use it .

At least josh's mill didn't take 30 pages to work :D.

Sounds like josh would not mind using his experiance to try and help others. 

Cheers
gww

[Ox]

That's just it and it's awesome.  We're getting more and more homebuilders on here and it only strengthens the help we can give somebody.  One more just came on board.  We'll likely not hear much from him the next few days - he'll be busy milling!  :laugh:

You helped him a great deal.  Makes you feel good to be able to do that, don't it?

[gww]

Ox

You helped him a great deal.

Did I? Every single thing he did to his mill was advice that you guys gave me to fix mine.  Who really did the helping?

I see some of the other mills.  I try to learn from those builders, not teach them cause most everyone is above my pay grade.

Hope you and your family are doing well up on Ox's mountain.
Cheers
gww

[mazdathumps]

As for who helped the most??... There's really no way to measure the ideas and knowledge of each of you who helped... I'm just grateful for the help and openness in helping... I also have to give credit to Cooks saw mfg. on YouTube... They freely give info if you ever have the time to thumb through those videos...

When I cut a 1/4" slab of pine today, I knew I had succeeded...  8)

GWW, i'm up for trying to sharpen my blades... I already sharpen my drill bits at home, even the cheap ones... I know what you mean about a freshly sharpened blade - just like with drill bits...

I have some pictures, but I want some better ones in the daylight, so tomorrow i'll snap a few and post them...

Once again, Thank You everyone who helped!

[Joe Hillmann]

Take lots of close up pictures of your guides and there adjustments.

[mazdathumps]

I'm hoping to get lots of pictures and a video or 2 for youtube. The guides adjust in x,y,and z directions (side to side angle, top to bottom angle, front to back, and up and down onto/off the blade)... I can also fine tune adjust my entire frame if my blade guides are set but not parallel to the bunk. I'll get pictures of both adjustments.

[gww]

Josh
Make sure you post the vidio or a link to it here.  I would love to watch.
Cheers
gww

[mazdathumps]

Yes sir, I plan to... I'm anxious to cut tomorrow and take some videos...

[Kbeitz]

I started out using a dremel to sharpen my blades. I think it worked
really good for a cheap way to do it. I ordered 3/8" dremel bit off e-bay.
If you buy 50-100 a a time you can get them real cheap. I now have a
home made sharpener made from a chop saw. It's faster. I also made a
home made blade setter. The list of builds just keeps on going. I'm happy
you got your saw up and running the way you want it. I bet it will change
your life.

[mazdathumps]

Thanks. I might give it a few weeks, but will probably end up with a jig for sharpening. I don't stop making things. I get bored easily, so I keep the wheels turning. Haha

[mazdathumps]

I was excited to cut some wood today and decided to cut out the part of the red oak log that had the metal in it... Well, apparently, it was in another place in the tree too... My last sharp blade is no longer sharp  :'( ... I ordered some and am going to try and sharpen one of mine to see if I can use it until my new blades make it... So close to milling up lots of wood, then this... haha oh well, life goes on...

Good news is I got a video first thing this morning of a walk around on my mill... It's like 12 and a half minutes long and my internet is pretty slow, so this upload might take a while, but I'll post the link once it's up...

[gww]

Sounds good
gww

[mazdathumps]

Here's the walk around video... I will probably upload the high Def video later...

https://youtu.be/xbRF-0qxaBY

[Joe Hillmann]

Here's the walk around video... I will probably upload the high Def video later...

https://youtu.be/xbRF-0qxaBY

With that cable lift system you really should have some hooks on your carriage that go under your rails so the only way the carriage can come off is to run it off the ends of the rails.  I would also then put a bump stop at each end of your rails so you can't accidentally run it off. 

On my mill the cable that holds the head up broke in the middle of the cut.  That caused all the weight of the head to go onto the blade at the front and the entire carriage tipped backwards,  With the engine and blade still spinning.  When it tipped over it smashed up the engine and sent shrapnel flying everywhere.  It was quite dangerous. 

[gww]

Josh
Couple of things.

I catch fluff for never putting gaurds on my mill.  I Know you did have gaurds before.  I think on your belt tensioner that you need to put a 90 degree piece on it and bring it to the back of the mill and away from the wheel, blade and pully.  Maby put a peice for it to slip under so it hold the tension on you belt also.

One other suggestion for your log stops (the two inch pipe that move up and down and keep your log on the bed)  My suggestion is to cut some board to 2x2 and try them rather then using the metal like you have now.  It will not be as strong but might be strong enough.  I started with metal also but then switched to wood.  I have forgot to lower them enough and when that happens, my blade just cuts them shorter but I don't ruin a blade this way.
Just a thought.

I do the jam nut type thing on pipe also and I just put points on the end of my log dogs.  Your screws would probly work just as well.  I keep a hammer on my mill at all times and what I have found is that it is really quick to just put the end (where my point is) against the log and just hit it with the hammer at the bottom near where it slides and it will jam tight and when you want to losen, you just hit it on the bottom the other way and it comes lose.

I really liked your vidio and do not mention the stuff above in a critical manner but more in the hopes that the advice will speed up your cutting and make it more pleasurable.

You will think of a hundred more ways to speed up as you cut more.

I can't wait to see a vid of you cutting.

You should be very proud of being able to do things like making your own good lumber.  You impress me at how fast you did all this and made all the changes you did.
Thanks for the vidio.
Cheers
gww

Ps to joes point, I don't have hold down hooks on my carage but I one thousand percent agree that you need traval stops at both ends of your track.

[Joe Hillmann]

A lot of innovative ideas on there.  You should put a blade guard on it.  By looking at your blade it looks like you really should have a lube system on it.  With the cooks set up it is really easy.  On the steel plate on the side of the blade guide I made another plate and pinched a thick piece of felt from a boot liner between the two plates so that it rubs on the blade and also pinched the lube line in between the plates as well.

[Joe Hillmann]

One more thing.  I would think about putting a guard around your belt so you can't accidentally put your hand in there when you are pushing on the mill. 

I think the mill is great I just am trying to point out a few things that I learned the hard way,  my criticisms are not intended to be mean.

[gww]

I am not a safe guy but do agree on the stuff that turns back where you are most of the time that little plates to cover anything turning is probly good.  I knew a giant of a guy that got strangled to death on a piece of farm equipment because his shirt got rapped around a shaft. 

I used lube in the very beginning but almost never use it now.  Most of what I cut is hard woods and so I don't know if that makes a differrence or not.  I do keep a squirt bottle of soapy water hanging on the handles where I push my mill at and might sometimes shoot a stream down on the blade but mostly just cut dry.

It is nice to have some of that stuff and what I started with was a gass tank off of a riding mower but for all I know it has frozen and busted cause I quit trying to use it after the first few blades.

I may not have given it a fair chance to see if it really helped because I got by so good with out it.  It might help a lot and I just don't know it.
Cheers
gww

Ps Am I seeing it wrong or is there and extra piece of angle iron on the end of your track painted red as a stop?  I did read on the forum of a guy that got a bunch of stitches cause he didn't have a stop and pulled his cairage off the mill backwards onto hisself and a friend.

[gww]

Three other things that I use around my mill that really help me alot is a long board that I can use leverage of jamming the end in the ground and the side against the log to slide the log around.

Some wedges of differrent sizes that I can put on my log bunks under the logs to keep the log from turning while I push around on it or am turning it to get to 90 degree angle for my second cut.  This also helps me put the logs with a knot sticking out somewhere other then right against my log stops when I need more room on one side or the other and lets me turn the log with out bending the weaker log stops that I use.

Lastly, I keep a two foot level so it is easy to get the second cut a true 90 degrees.

I bet when you posted your vidio, you were not expecting a bombardiment of suggestions were you?
Cheers
gww

[mazdathumps]

I'm grateful for all the suggestions... I plan to read back through them and discuss them later tonight while at work. Lol

[mazdathumps]

Alright guys, first of all THANK YOU for the comments... I take nothing negatively, it's constructive as far as I'm concerned...

To address the #1 concern, the Carriage Stops... They are there, maybe the video and pictures are hard to see them... Below is a picture of them... They work well and as heavy as my carriage is, it doesn't attempt to move past them... That being said, the carriage weighs A LOT, so even shaking it back and forth I can't even get one single wheel off the rail (and that's trying to make it come off)... So, as for the j-hooks, I don't feel they are necessary with the weigh i'm pushing around...


As for the belt tensioner... It was the last thing I designed and built and was kind of half finished just to see if it would work and it works great, so I'm sure there will be some future visits with that... For now, I zip tie it down before I start the engine, so I don't have to reach in there while everything is going...

GWW, I love the idea of using wood log stops... That will probably happen soon... I also, have a rubber mallet on my saw to set the log dogs into the wood... The screw is just to get a little extra pressure when needed... I have a tank bar (I think they call it) for moving the log around and 2 can't hooks and my tractor if it gets to be too much by hand... The tank bar is a solid cast steel bar about 6 feet long and weighs about 15 pounds... I can debark, move, hold, bust, whatever I need to with it... I do like the idea of wedges and had plans to make some wood shingles in the future using wedges to cut the angles... As for wedging the wood into place, I have the tank bar and tractor to hold things still long enough for the log dogs to be implemented... As for how much work gets done in a short period of time - yeah, I'm a little obsessive with projects... I go go go until it's done usually - don't eat, don't sleep until I hit a good productive stopping point, then I can't sleep well until it's done, so I tend to get stuff knocked out pretty quickly...  :

OK... That answers all but one concern of Joe's... The lube system... My question (out of ignorance) is what is the purpose of the lube and what change does it make in the cut?

Below are some pictures of some measurements I took today...

I removed the extra chunk of wood that was under each log bunk... Originally they were there because my cables were too short to let the blade down that far, so I raised the bunk... Now I can bottom out my frame which leads me to think I will add bolts about a half inch under my lowest cut and about 1/2 short of my highest cut... Kind of like a limit to how far the frame will travel...


Here are my measurements as of today...






Hope I didn't forget anybody's constructive concerns...  ;D

As for the dull blades, I found a local guy in town that I used to buy wood from that sharpens them for $8... I gave him one for now to see how he does with it and I have 5 new ones ordered... If his sharpened ones cuts well, then I will give him the other 3 I have to sharpen...

[gww]

Josh
I agree with the putting a stop at about the one inch mark.  I cut my one bys at between 1/8 to 1/16 less then an inch.  I don't suggest you do that.  I did it cause I wanted to use unfinnished boards for building and be close to mixing with bought boards if needed.  What I have found it that using a thickness planer that I can not always get both side compleetly planed on my boards.  I can on about 60 percent of them but if they have any bow at all, my cut thickness does not give enough board to clean all of them up.  I still like it cause I am not building furnature but you may want it at least an inch to an inch and an eight.

So I would set my stop where my last board was at the thickness that I want to cut normal.  Then when you get to a sacrafice board, there will be no thinking of which one to sacrafice.

You still could put plating over your shafts that come back to where you are working so lose cloth can't touch it by accident.

I do the same on my belt tension. My blade turns when I start the mill and I kill it after every cut.  I will never change but you will have to if you ever do decide to use your electric start.  I do not find it hard to just do it like you do it and believe I will never change.  The big wheel they put on the motor for easy pull has made it easy enough that it does not bother me.

Is the only reason that your mill will not raise higher due to the adjusment turnbows that you have hooked to you cables.  It does not look like your motor is hitting anything just that you are running out of cable.  If this is the case, I would get rid of the adjustment and have the higher lift.  You have a really good cut depth from the blade up and you may get a big log some day that you want to quarter saw and when possible you will want to cut a giant slab about down to the pith and turn it up on its side.  I think that 17 inches could be better if it can be done with out too much extra.  So if it is just a cable restriction, I would get rid of the adjustment for the extra inches.  If it is the motor hitting, I would use it like it is. 

I really like your presentation with all the explination additions writen on the pictures.  Very nice.

I can't wait to see you cutting. 

The above are just what my brain comes up with, It doesn't mean I am right in any way.  I really like what you have done.
Cheers
gww

Ps You have a tank bar, we used to call them dinomite bars,  I think if you just got a long peice of wood maby a little thicker then hand railing on stairsteps, you are going to be much happier using it due to the light weight.  Everything adds up and I used a full two by four and found that did not fit the hand and was too heavy.  Not bossing you around, just throwing ideals.  You will also find anytime you can move the log around with out getting on the tractor, you will be miles ahead.  The tractor sure helps with the giant logs though.

[Joe Hillmann]

The reason for the lube is to keep the pitch and sawdust build up off your blade.  If it builds up enough it will start to heat your blade a bit and will cause the blade to want to wander.  But with a tire mill it is possible to flood the blade with too much lube and cause the blade to come of the wheels.  That is why wiping it on in my opinion is a better way to do it than to drip or spray it on.  It also allows you to use a lot less.  I use diesel for lube on my mill.

[mazdathumps]

Joe, does the diesel make a mess on the wood or the mill?

GWW, the air cleaner cover hits the top of the frame.  I have plenty of cable, I bought 50 feet of it. Around here logs don't get very big. The biggest pine I'll get my hands on is about 20 inch diameter or less. Anything bigger and someone will buy them besides me. I get free logs. Red Oak is about the biggest local tree that wouldn't fit into this mill. We don't have very large trees like what's up north. Also, most of my local woods have scrub oak, live oak, and water oak. Really not good for much because they split on you unless you slow dry them.