Not dead, just busy, very busy engineering and reengineering and rereengineering

arnold113 · April 12, 2015, 02:00:07 AM

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:embarassed:The last year I've spent many many hrs working on my mill. I've finally got it almost finished. At least for manual operation. I'm having lots of problems getting the speed and position controls working right. Well, today I just couldn't wait any longer. I just had to make some saw dust. I loaded up an oak log I had laying around waiting to be cut up for fire wood. I thought I would quarter it up so I wouldn't have to split it. I should have split it!!! Not knowing nuch of anything about sawing, I was very nervous. I had a little problem with the engine surging and while I was working on that things began to go bad. What with the surging and the fact that I had forgotten to tighten the lug nut on the wheels, the band came off the back side of the tires. Of course the band had to climb the guide rollers to do that. Goodbye tooth set on one side. I finally got everything fixed and thought I would try again. I haven't got any bands ordered yet, just had one band I had to design around so I had to use the band I had just ruined. Now things got really bad. I made it about 3 foot before the band dove. Really dove. A few minutes into my new sawing life and I had my first broken band. No more sawing until I can order some bands.
I'll see if I can remember how to load some pictures I made today.

This message was supposed to be first but I did something wrong. Oh well, You get the picture. More pictures in my gallery if you're interested.
Arnold113

fishfighter · April 12, 2015, 05:52:16 AM

Nice looking mill. In the rush of things, we all screw up. ;D

thecfarm · April 12, 2015, 06:07:01 AM

Looks like you have been busy.

vfauto · April 12, 2015, 06:58:33 AM

Nice job! I am looking at add log stops to my mill and was wondering if you would be willing to share pictures and design info on the ones you built? You cam PM me if you would rather not share here.

Thanks in advance
Frank

drobertson · April 12, 2015, 07:45:36 AM

Looks like a lot of work you have done, the only way to work out the bugs is get in with them, time, patience, endurance, I was wondering what those bed rails are made?

Joe Hillmann · April 12, 2015, 09:19:32 AM

That is one heck of a sawmill. In the very last photo there is a hydraulic cylinder at the end of the bed. What is that for? Also if you have time I (I am sure others as well) would like to see lots of photos along with descriptions of what it is and how it works. As far as breaking a blade, there will be lots of little mistakes before you get it all figured out.

Also what are you using for the engine and what is the black pile of parts hanging off it just above the pulleys?

Hilltop366 · April 12, 2015, 10:01:15 AM

Lots going on there, keep picking away at it to get the bugs worked out one at a time!

Thanks for sharing.

sawguy21 · April 12, 2015, 12:23:17 PM

Nice work, it looks very professional. The engine appears to be a Wisconsin THD.

pineywoods · April 12, 2015, 01:16:46 PM

Nice going Arnold.. That thing is built like a tank. I see quite a few pieces that I recognize..Now comes the tweaking..

Ljohnsaw · April 12, 2015, 01:19:43 PM

Quote from: Joe Hillmann on April 12, 2015, 09:19:32 AM
That is one heck of a sawmill. In the very last photo there is a hydraulic cylinder at the end of the bed. What is that for? Also if you have time I (I am sure others as well) would like to see lots of photos along with descriptions of what it is and how it works. As far as breaking a blade, there will be lots of little mistakes before you get it all figured out.

Also what are you using for the engine and what is the black pile of parts hanging off it just above the pulleys?

Looks like a roller toe board - nice!

Magicman · April 12, 2015, 02:37:27 PM

Well, at least it all looks good.

arnold113 · April 12, 2015, 03:14:44 PM

Thanks for all the comments. I'll try to answer your questions one at a time: vfauto- I'll be glad to share with everyone. That's what this forum is all about. I'll have to remove the guards and take a picture or two and then explain from there how I built my log stops. I'll get that done real soon and post.
drobertson- My rails are 2 1/2" x 1/4" angle upside down supported every two feet on the 3" pipe that the trailor/frame is built with. The angle is bolted down on the two ends only. Free to float in between.
Joe Hillmann- The hyd cylinder is one of two rolling toe boards. I have quite a few pictures in my gallery but without descriptions. I hesitated in posting too many pictures at a time on the forum cause I didn't want people to think I was trying to take up too much of the forum's space. I'll try to add descriptions in my gallery as soon as I can and I'll post more pictures with descriptions on the forum if everyone can put up with me. The engine is a 2 cylinder 18 hp Wisconsin THD. That pile of parts is a linear positioner with 2 limit switches that controls engine speed. It speeds up the engine at the same time that another linear positioner slides the engine away from the intermediate shafts and pulleys. The engine's linear positioner has two limit switches to stop movement. The spring loaded idler on the engine v belts is what provides the tension on the belts. That way I don't have to rely on the linear positioner stopping at the right spot every time to give the right tension. The idler has a stop on it so it'll only raise up so far.
If anyone else has questions please ask and I'll try to answer them. The way I have done things probably isn't the best way but it's my way.

Brucer · April 13, 2015, 12:42:56 AM

Very nice. Meticulous workmanship.

I'm going to take a guess at your log stop design -- rack and pinion, only instead of a rack you used lengths of chain, and instead of a pinion you used a sprocket on a shaft that runs down the mill, with a couple of idler sprockets above and below the drive sprocket.

arnold113 · April 13, 2015, 09:24:58 AM

Real close, Brucer. The (rack) is 80 pitch roller chain but its welded to the log stops. The shaft turns a sprocket(pinion) which drives the stops up and dn.
A more detailed explanation will follow soon.

Sorry folks, I spent a few hrs adding comments to my gallery only to have them all wiped out when I tried to apply them. Just not in the mood to go thru all that again right now.

Dad2FourWI · April 13, 2015, 10:32:52 AM

Look like a lot of hard work and thinking went into that!!!

Beautiful job!!! ;D

Take your time and you will be making dust soon!

-Dad2FourWI

gww · April 13, 2015, 10:57:34 AM

I would be more then willing to trade my cobbled together mill for yours :D. I really hate taking picture but love when you do. I love other peoples pictures and explinations. I also agree with how intimidating your first few cuts are, I know I was intimidated with mine. I look at the weak thing I put together and reconize the amazing amount of work you have in your mill. I hope you end up with everything you expect out of it. I am here to get advice, not to give it but I have been helped with the bugs in mine at this forum.
cheers
gww

CaseyK · April 13, 2015, 11:13:52 AM

Looks great Arnold
Keep the pics and coming

CaseyK · April 13, 2015, 03:56:56 PM

Finally got a chance to take a closer look in your gallery & im impressed.
Are the up and down motor and the feedworks motors 24v wheelchair motors with brakes?
What type of speed controller did you use to control the motors speed?
Are you using one of the 12channel wireless remotes to control the relays in the control box?

Thanks

arnold113 · April 13, 2015, 11:59:23 PM

CaseyK, Yes the motors are 24 volt wheelchair motors but I removed the brakes. I needed to mount encoders on the motors for feedback to the controller. The controller accepts commands from a PC or microcomputer and then tells the motor drive what position to go to and at what speed. It also keeps track of where the motor is by way of the encoder feedback. The controller is called a Kangaroo and the PWM motor drive is called a Sabertooth. The drive and controller takes care of two motors. They were engineered for robots (as in robot wars). They are sold by Dimension Engineering.
I assembled a remote control using the two 12 channel remote transmitters so I now have a 24 channel RF remote. When I finish up the microcomputer program and get the motor controller tuned I will be able to run the bandsaw from the remote.
I uploaded a few more pictures today so I'll post them.

This is my diesel drip band lube. It is applied via a felt wick.

I also have a water lube/coolant system using the same felt wick.

You can see the two tubes coming down from above. I just hook up which one I want to use. The felt wick wets both sides of the band.

This is a shot from under the band carriage. You can see the linear positioner for the engine v belts tensioner.

I was concerned that my carriage might tip over so I made some brackets that hook under the rails.

vfauto, The next three pictures and a drawing will show how my log stops work.

5quarter · April 14, 2015, 12:47:36 AM

Arnold...That's some mind blowing engineering!

shortlogger · April 14, 2015, 06:55:22 AM

looks good, I wish I was that ingenuitive .

bandmiller2 · April 14, 2015, 09:03:57 AM

Very impressive build Arnie, what your having are minor toothing pains and will pass. If you can build what you did you can figure it out I'am sure. I would drill the top of your backstops and mount a sealed ball bearing in each so its just proud, to aid larger cants turning. Frank C.

CaseyK · April 15, 2015, 07:27:50 AM

Enjoyed the pics Arnold
I also went with 2 of the rf remotes, one for total manual function and the other interfacing to the plc.
I looked a the saber tooth and the robotic controllers but I decided to go with Allen Bradley CLX and minarik dc drives so I could have torque limiting and accel decal ramps.
One cheap addition you might consider is adding a DC shunt amp meter with display, I got mine off of ebay for 10-15 dollars and it helped me find a mechanical binding problem.
I also noticed that you said you were wanting to do a DIY set works in the future. I am also looking at doing one on my mill. At first I thought it would be simple but as I started programming and looking at all the options such as:

plain cut or quarter sawn cut
target board width and thickness
min and max board width and thickness
with or without a single or multiple cants in the center of the log

As you can see it gets complicated quickly but I think it will be really cool to initiate a log scan and the mill be able to determine 3-4 different cut solutions for the log and let you select which one you want based off of either:

board feet production
highest number of target board size
least number of saw passes
least number cut axis moves (x,y)

The possible solutions will be displayed on a 17" touch screen and once the solution is selected all of the set works steps will be downloaded into the plc and in theory the operator will only have to:

push go to start position (cut axis moves to first x/y position)
push start cut ( mill will make a single pass down the log)
push return (mill will return to the front of mill and cut axis will move to next x/y location)
repeat

My build is listed in the forumn as "Automated Twin blade sawmill build"
If you have any questions just shoot. Caseyk

hackberry jake · April 15, 2015, 05:42:01 PM

Wholly cow! If you are ever up for a visitor, let me know. It looks like we're neighbors. I'd like to see that thing!

arnold113 · April 15, 2015, 11:29:16 PM

Casey, I've got two dual voltage/current displays I'm in the process of installing now. I've got the shunts ordered, should be here soon. Also got another dual display ordered for the battery voltage/charging current.
I've got a microcomputer programed and waiting to make some automated sawdust. It's just a small Basic Stamp so the program is very limited but I've got another computer that's big enough (memory ) to have a truly automated saw. I've got a program written for it but not as extensive as you've envisioned. I've got to make some changes in the program to get it to work on the ARM processor as soon as I can find the time.
hackberry jake, I've still got a few things to do to the mill and then I've got to order some bands but as soon I get all that done I'll be ready to make a big pile of sawdust. I've got about 150 pine logs (8' - 16') that I've got to get sawed up. Anyway, if you would like to come on down on saw day you would be very welcome. That goes for anyone else close enough to make it. I'll POST the saw day as soon as I know it. YALL COME!!!