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Building sawmills

Joined
Jan 27, 2020
Hi I've just registard here. I have been building band saws and wood machinery
I now want to build a saw Mill and need advice constructing the ride and fall machanism.and the type of wheels and rail . I figure to cut lumber up to 2foot dia
I would appreciate an knowlage
Thanks
 
Go to YouTube and search for Matt Cremona. He has series of videos on how he built a large band saw mill. Lots of videos of him using it, also.

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Hi I've just registard here. I have been building band saws and wood machinery
I now want to build a saw Mill and need advice constructing the ride and fall machanism.and the type of wheels and rail . I figure to cut lumber up to 2foot dia
I would appreciate an knowlage
Thanks

.
the technical knowledge and experience is considerable. some web site offer tools and some help. usually better to buy a turnkey setup. somebody designs, builds, tests equipment proving its working and turns the key over and gets paid for it.
TKT Engineering
 
Nothing like a Frick carriage shoving a log thru a sharp
6' dia. blade with a screaming deetroit behind it....Yeah !

Governor picks it up just as the blade touches the log, no slowing down.
 
Nothing like a Frick carriage shoving a log thru a sharp
6' dia. blade with a screaming deetroit behind it....Yeah !

Governor picks it up just as the blade touches the log, no slowing down.

Boy, have you got that right! I had a Sinker-Davis mill with a cast iron husk that wouldn't quit. Even thought the power was gas it still sounded great.
 
You don't say what level of funk, er, cost and speed of construction you'd like.

I'm fond of the DIY car tire units, myself, though I'd never build one, having a friend with Woodmizer....
 
I'm fond of the DIY car tire units,

I'm not.
As a machine designer, I have had qty (2) friends come to me with grandiose ideas, because they bought
"the book", actually a small hand pamphlet describing how one person cobbled together the one with car wheels. Very lacking on actual "plans" or those pesky leetle "details"

The car wheels don't/won't strain the blade enough.

And the supporting structure ? This is also way too light to properly strain the blade.
 
I'm not....The car wheels don't/won't strain the blade enough.... the supporting structure .... is also way too light to properly strain the blade.

To each his own.

There's more than one way to build a support structure. Using automotive/truck spindles to hold the wheels/tires, steering mechanisms for tracking adjustments and tire inflation to set blade strain is pretty damn cheap, available and ingenious, IMO. And could be very appropriate if the "pesky leetle details" were attended to.

There's a variety of 'em on YT.
 
To each his own.

There's more than one way to build a support structure. Using automotive/truck spindles to hold the wheels/tires, steering mechanisms for tracking adjustments and tire inflation to set blade strain is pretty damn cheap, available and ingenious, IMO. And could be very appropriate if the "pesky leetle details" were attended to.

There's a variety of 'em on YT.

Yes, there is, but they don't tell you about fighting constant problems with tracking, wandering cuts, etc.
Having to baby each and every cut, instead of getting on with the job at hand, that is cutting lumber.

Doo you know what Lennox advises for proper strain ?

You'll never hit anywhere near that number with rubber tires.
 
doug is right, the amount of tension recommended for band saw blades, around 25K psi, is far more than most realize. I have a tension gauge, and to properly tension a 1/2" blade on my 20" Powermatic 81 and 87 saws I have to bottom out the springs, and then crank WAY further!
 
I knew that number at one time. :D

I've had discussions with Lenox applications folks about it when learning more about their blade tensioning gauge. The number varies, according to them, depending on the many variables in any application. Best, in their opinion, was an empirical approach: high enough to yield an acceptable cut, low enough to avoid fatigue problems in the gullet.
 
Can't help with bandsaw mills but thought my sash saw would interest some. Sash saws are essentially a window sash with saw blades installed vertically. The sash moves up and down with a pitman arm driven by a circular motion. Most of the old time sash saw mills were driven by a water wheel. These saws depending on the power generated can cut many boards at the same time. My grandfather said their mill had 7 saw blades
On a single sash. I used a 10 HP Briggs and Stratton motor to saw with 3 blades which was 2 boards at a time. The sash itself was built heavy duty and joined with draw pegs thru double tenons. No glue, just the pegs. The blades were cut from 1" band saw blades, I annealed top and bottom holes with a 16d nail in a drill press chuck. When the nail spot on the blade turned red I stopped. After annealing I could drill a 1/4" thru hole with an ordinary machine drill. Threaded eyebolts thru the sash held the blades and tensioned them.
I used the sash saw for 20+ years and sawed mostly red oak , white oak and some cherry.
Sold the saw when I got too old to wrestle the logs, about 8 years ago.
The logs moved on wooden rollers pulled by an electric winch. Flat board screwed into the ends kept the log from turning. The boards rode on the frame which also held the rollers.
mike
 
Yes, there is, but they don't tell you about fighting constant problems with tracking, wandering cuts, etc.
Having to baby each and every cut, instead of getting on with the job at hand, that is cutting lumber.

Doo you know what Lennox advises for proper strain ?

You'll never hit anywhere near that number with rubber tires.

I was shocked the first time I used a proper tensioned blade, the difference in cut quality and speed is unnerving to the unenlightened. You can not run urethane covered wheels (forget inflated tires) at the recommended tension levels.
There is a lumber company in Alabama having nice wheels made for saw mills; http://cookssaw.com/parts/band-wheels/ sadly they have crown and are not dead flat- but maybe they too will move on to the 2000-ese soon?
 
Yes, there is, but they don't tell you about fighting constant problems with tracking, wandering cuts, etc.
Having to baby each and every cut, instead of getting on with the job at hand, that is cutting lumber.

Doo you know what Lennox advises for proper strain ?

You'll never hit anywhere near that number with rubber tires.

The basic design of a mid-size "thin kerf" bandmill is relatively straight forward. It's the last ten per cent of the process;
getting the blade to run true, accurately and consistently that will make you tear your hair out. Years ago we did some
work for a company here in B.C. that made small bandmills. We were working for them early in the game when they were
developing their product line and I know that, once the basic machine was built, it took them a lot of time to sort out the
nuances of getting consistent, accurate cuts. There's more to it than might first be apparent.

Steve Cross is a "good ol' boy" from deep down in Georgia. He has a very crude looking homebuilt mill that, despite
appearances, cuts really well. In one of his videos he does talk a bit about how long it took to get the saw set up properly
and this was from someone who had years of experience running other mills. In any case, his videos are very interesting
to watch and I love to listen to him talk with his deep south accent...

YouTube
 








 
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