Well now I did it. The sawmill build has begun.

[Crusarius]

 smiley_bouncing_pinky smiley_bouncing_pinky smiley_bouncing_pinky smiley_bouncing_pinky

[Ox]

Oh dear... ^
                 
I think your idea of a separate thread is a good one. 

[Crusarius]

Ox, I just want you to know I blame you for what I did today!

More stories and pictures to follow.

[Darrel]

What? More stories and pictures to follow?  What way did they go?  I'm right behind them!!!  :D  :D :D  :D

[Crusarius]

Well not much of a story besides I thought they went one way.



What is wrong with this picture?

[grouch]

Well not much of a story besides I thought they went one way.



What is wrong with this picture?

That's easy. The galvanized steel garbage can lid is on the floor instead of on the can.
'Coons and cats will get in your can, y'know.

[Kbeitz]

Your going to have fun putting a band blade on that..

[Crusarius]

That can lid is on my rag bucket. its not on the floor. It does a great job of preventing fire.

KB its ok I fixed it

[Ox]

At least your backwards moment was only two bolts and not nice welds...

Be careful with the main sawframe - it's what got me.

[Crusarius]

no, the rails were welded together backwards. I had to cut the tacks on the connecting pieces and flip it around.

But good news is they were only tacks. This is why I never full weld till everything has been test fit.

[Ox]

What I saw was the guide roller on backwards...but now that you mention it...knock it off, Ox.  You're getting all "lysdexic".  ;)  That last thing was coined by somebody else here, I can't remember who, but I can't take credit for it.  Cracked me up!

[Crusarius]

Try this one

[pineywoods]

Nice fabrication, but I see some problems. Installing a blade gonna be problematic. No adjustment for tracking. Real problem with the guide roller. I see up-down adjustment, but none for in-out or tilt. Tilt adjustment is critical, both left/right and vertical...Tracking is critical, but the  relationship between the blade and the guide rollers is the most critical part of a bandmill. Get it right and have a smooth working mill, wrong and endless frustration and angst...

[Crusarius]

Pineywoods, there is enough loose holes that I should have full adjustment in all directions. After I get the tensioner installed and am able to tighten everything up we will see how bad it is going to be. When all else fails I will Machine new parts with slotted holes instead of oversized holes and add threaded adjusters where necessary.

The picture was just showing the fact that I put the frame together backwards and had to cut it apart and reweld it properly.

[Crusarius]

anybody have any suggestions for tach / hour meter for my mill? Walmart has one on their site for $25. looks like a nice unit but no reviews.

[grouch]

Pineywoods, there is enough loose holes that I should have full adjustment in all directions. After I get the tensioner installed and am able to tighten everything up we will see how bad it is going to be. When all else fails I will Machine new parts with slotted holes instead of oversized holes and add threaded adjusters where necessary.

The picture was just showing the fact that I put the frame together backwards and had to cut it apart and reweld it properly.

Loose or slotted holes won't be sufficient for what (I think) pineywoods is talking about. You need to be able to make tiny, precise adjustments to the axles of those wheels to get the band tracking correctly. Woodland Mills used to have an excellent manual for their HM126 model downloadable as a PDF. If it's still available, I suggest you grab it and look closely at the section on adjusting the band wheels. There are 2 vertical and 2 horizontal adjusting bolts for each wheel's axle.

[Magicman]

I am a sawmill user and not a sawmill builder, but I would take much more than a casual view of pineywood's observations.  I would be interested in trying to replicate the basic design of an established sawmill manufacturer such as the sponsors listed on the left.  They have discarded and/or improved upon many different ideas to reach their current designs.  For example, the bandwheels need the ability for 4 way adjustment (especially the outboard) and the blade guides need the ability for 8 way adjustment.  Yes, 8.  There is up/down & in/out, that's 4.  And then there is horizontal (2) and vertical (2) tilt.

One half, one fourth, and even less bolt turn adjustments are very common and critical when fine tuning the bandwheels and blade guides.

[Crusarius]

hmmm guess I misunderstood what he was saying. I do have those adjustment pieces ready to go. They just did not make it on in those pictures. I was going to wait till I was ready to tension everything to put them on then.

[pineywoods]

Just for the record, I am not a sawmill builder, but I have rescued/re-built a couple of bent, broken, abused woodmizers. I am a mill user also, not as much as Magicman, but have passed the 100,000 bd ft mark. No kidding, a change of just a couple degrees of tilt on the guide rollers can make the difference between smooth boards and wavy lumber. The gotcha is all of those adjustments inter act. Changing one may affect another. Take the time to get it set up right and be done with it.

[Crusarius]

Will definitely pay close attention to your advice. I already have a bunch of the adjusters made up just not on the mill. I still have quite a bit of work to do to have it ready to try to tension a blade.

last night I tried moving it and one of the supports I had it resting on let go and I dropped the frame. Broke the tacks on the adjustable side so I need to fix that tonight. I am not sure if I am ready to full weld yet or not. Think I need to get some nice beefy tacks on it then tension a blade and see how it feels.

[Ox]

I'm a sawmill builder (if that's what I can call myself after one dud and one decent mill).  I built the same exact mill you're building, Crusarius.  For the record it's a Linn Lumber mill, and I believe it's the larger one, the 1900 which is what I built.  The adjustments built into the design allow for every single adjustment needed for a perfect running mill.  There are adjustment blocks with threaded adjustments to push the bandwheels around while under tension.  The guides are more archaic but are adjusted around with bolts being just snug and tapping with a hammer.  The up/down adjust for the guides are threaded adjustment bolts again.  I assure you everything is there and it is all absolutely sufficient for complete, accurate and perfect adjustment to make flat, accurate lumber.  If I can do it nearly anyone can because I'm certainly nothing special at all.  In fact I thought I was somewhat clever up here on my mountain all alone until I joined this forum and saw just how ordinary I truly am.  I'm thankful for that slap back into reality.  There are some truly clever dudes out there!

It's all in the manuals and booklets I'm assuming you got, Crusarius.  Just follow the steps diligently and you won't fail.

[Crusarius]

Thanks Ox. I have been impressed with some of the little features that for me was an after thought but it was built into the kit.

You are correct it is a Linn Lumber model 1900 36" capacity.

So far I only have 2 complaints. The biggest one being that none of the cuts on the parts I received are square. the other one being the instructions that came with it are, hmm, lets just say not the greatest. It probably doesn't help that I have been doing design work and engineering since 1993. I would have never let those drawings be seen by anyone else if my name was on them.

[Ox]

Yep, they're definitely put up by somebody without the background for such.  I'm thinking you have more fab experience than me, or at least can do better work.  I'm making straight and accurate lumber with mine.  You'll be more than fine.  ;)

The guy that sells them now? - you can call him any time for any questions.  He was polite and knowledgeable.  I think his name is Chris King and he should have given you his number with the kit.  If not, let me know and I might be able to round it up for you.

You've already found out but always make sure to put a 90° of some kind of guide on ALL of those parts before tacking.  If I had to do it again and just needed to stay with the Linn I would have bought it built already.  The headaches of building it just aren't worth it to me anymore.

Before I die I'll own a hydraulic mill.  I just need another 20 years or so...

[Crusarius]

I would say all the cust were off at least 5 degrees. it was obvious just looking in the box.

[Crusarius]

Does anyone have a set of rollers going to the bottom side of the track? or do you all rely on gravity to hold it down?

Just trying to find some track rollers and not sure what to get, where to look, or how many I want.