Bandsaw mill build

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Biggkidd

Biggkidd

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Would any of you be interested in this?

I have been talking, planning and collecting parts for over a decade to build a bandsaw mill. The time is finally here. But I don't want to waste my time and effort in documenting the build if no one is interested. I will be using a lot of repurposed metal and NEW parts both for this build. My goal is to make the mill as automated as I can with a seriously limited budget.

Here's what I have to work with so far. (NIB) = new in box (NOS) = New old stock
2) old campers for their frames
3) 20 foot sticks of 2 inch angle iron for the saw head rails
1/2 sheet of 1/4" steel (NOS) been sitting out in the weather for some years though
2.5" box tube 11g (NOS) also been sitting out
18.75" pulleys to use for band wheels (NIB)
Shafting material for pulleys (NIB)
22hp engine from Harbor Freight (NIB)
centrifugal clutch (NIB)
pillow block bearings (NIB)
Blade guides (NIB)
30 blades (NIB)
a few various DC motors and winches to use for lift and or motion
3) PWM's ordered and on the way for motor speed control
8) stabilizer jacks ordered and on the way
2) long dual wheel trailer fenders to make the band blade surround
4) 2 ton bottle jacks for log leveling
1"x36" all thread for the band blade tension and adjustment

The camper frame rails are 5 feet 8 inches wide so that's how wide my track / rails will be. I bought enough angle iron to make the mill bed 30 feet long. Which will allow a cut length of up to about 26 feet. The band blades I bought will only allow a cut width of about 26-30 inches. The mill will be setup to adjust out wider and use longer band blades for up to about a 50 inch wide cut. We seldom see trees that large in our area which is why I am setting it up to use the shorter cheaper blades on a regular basis. Yet leaving the option to go wider if needed. It isn't costing anymore to set it up like this.

Plus years accumulation of junk to use for pieces parts! lol
 
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This would be an interesting build, I think the biggest problem people had with DIY mills is not making the track base solid enough, along with not making the track base adjustable.
 
I'm hoping the base will be solid enough between the 5 inch channel and 4 stabilizer jacks on each side. Most of our trees are under 24 inches so the basic setup should be okay.
 
Biggkidd said:
Would any of you be interested in this?

I have been talking, planning and collecting parts for over a decade to build a bandsaw mill. The time is finally here. But I don't want to waste my time and effort in documenting the build if no one is interested. I will be using a lot of repurposed metal and NEW parts both for this build. My goal is to make the mill as automated as I can with a seriously limited budget.

Here's what I have to work with so far. (NIB) = new in box (NOS) = New old stock
2) old campers for their frames
3) 20 foot sticks of 2 inch angle iron for the saw head rails
1/2 sheet of 1/4" steel (NOS) been sitting out in the weather for some years though
2.5" box tube 11g (NOS) also been sitting out
18.75" pulleys to use for band wheels (NIB)
Shafting material for pulleys (NIB)
22hp engine from Harbor Freight (NIB)
centrifugal clutch (NIB)
pillow block bearings (NIB)
Blade guides (NIB)
30 blades (NIB)
a few various DC motors and winches to use for lift and or motion
3) PWM's ordered and on the way for motor speed control
8) stabilizer jacks ordered and on the way
2) long dual wheel trailer fenders to make the band blade surround
4) 2 ton bottle jacks for log leveling
1"x36" all thread for the band blade tension and adjustment

The camper frame rails are 5 feet 8 inches wide so that's how wide my track / rails will be. I bought enough angle iron to make the mill bed 30 feet long. Which will allow a cut length of up to about 26 feet. The band blades I bought will only allow a cut width of about 26-30 inches. The mill will be setup to adjust out wider and use longer band blades for up to about a 50 inch wide cut. We seldom see trees that large in our area which is why I am setting it up to use the shorter cheaper blades on a regular basis. Yet leaving the option to go wider if needed. It isn't costing anymore to set it up like this.

Plus years accumulation of junk to use for pieces parts! lol
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I would be interested!

I have hopes of building/acquiring a saw mill to harvest lumber from The Ridge. I subscribe to 3 youtube channels that run sawmills.

This playlist is from one of 5hose we he he built his own mill.





I did notice any mention of coolant. Did i miss that?

I like this guy because he teaches a lot of the theory of being a sawyer.

It Doesn't Get Any Better, Sawing The Perfect Board On A Sawmill

I Hope This Works, More Black Gold On The Sawmill

Yes I would like to learn from your experience!

Ben
 
I forgot to mention another option I have for powering this mill. My son in law recently brought me a newer Yanmar 3cyl liquid cooled diesel in the 22-23hp range. I have almost completely ruled this out in favor of the new HF Honda clone 22 hp gas engine. I have several reasons for this. First the clone engine is air cooled. Second it's a lot lighter and smaller. Third I really dislike the sound and smell of diesels and I own 3 of them. lol Fourth the 2cyl gas clone engine is new.

The only points in favor of the 3cyl diesel are torque and longevity. Since this sawmill is really just for our private use I believe the gas engine will out live me. While cutting everything we need to cut.
 
I operated a bandsaw mill for two years as my job.

Main things that very important to keep working right was the tracking adjustment for the wheels, and keeping the blades sharp. Even a slightly dull blade would start to 'porpoise' in the wood and make wavy boards.
 
I would like to see it also. As far as your blades, we have bandsaws at the shop. There is a blade call the Xfit (crossfit). It is $1 cheaper than the "standard" good blades, better steel and last 5 times longer. I can get you the number to where we get them if interested.
Home mills intrigue me - also love the smell!
 
Following this thread closely. I've wanted a mill for years. Just don't see it becoming reality for me anymore.

My dad has a bunch of Tulip Poplars that are 30-36" diameter. I'd love to get them on a mill that could handle them. Tehy'd be the trick for a cabin, timber frame, or barn. Just gotta keep them off the ground.
 
I've got adjustable guides and plans for full tracking adjustments on both wheels so hopefully that won't be an issue.

I'd love to know where to get better blades cheaper! ! ! I always like a deal.

If I get feeling frogy or can talk one of the younger folk in to it maybe we will do some youtube .
 
Biggkidd said:
I've got adjustable guides and plans for full tracking adjustments on both wheels so hopefully that won't be an issue.

I'd love to know where to get better blades cheaper! ! ! I always like a deal.

If I get feeling frogy or can talk one of the younger folk in to it maybe we will do some youtube .
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I'll get it Monday (it's at work in my desk.) If I forget, holler at me & remind me. It's also really nice not to be changing blades constantly.
 
Wasn't feeling up to doing much today so I spent some time watching sawmill build videos along with assembly videos for some of the bought mills. I think key word think I have figured out how to make the saw head adjustable from it's standard cut of about 26 inches to it's maximum cut of about 66 inches. I am 99% certain the method I have devised will work. Which is a load off my mind. That was the one part I was worried about pulling off. I still have a fight figuring out exactly how to make the guide wheel adjust that far but I have an idea there too. We probably won't be able to close the guide way down for narrow cuts when the saw is set up in wide mode is the only draw back I see so far. If I have things figured correctly then it will only take about 15 minutes to go from standard cut to wide cut. We can also get longer bands to use more of the standard cut configuration I won't know the exact numbers on that until we get the build that far along. I'd guess we will be able to cut up to around 44 inches without swapping the idle wheel around just changing to longer blades.
 
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A link to a build, this guy does amazing work with minimal equipment, and doesn`t say much.
I really agree on the aircooled gas engine, for this application.
 
Tirediron said:
A link to a build, this guy does amazing work with minimal equipment, and doesn`t say much.
I really agree on the aircooled gas engine, for this application.
Click to expand...


That guy is talented and has access to several tools I don't and the knowledge to use them. I've never done any machine work other than redneck style with drill presses grinders and such. So he was able to make a lot of stuff I had to buy.
 
Got a bunch of stuff ready to start on the camper demolition yesterday while it was 74*. Today it's been raining all day and 62* now here's the kicker. Tomorrow is now supposed to be in the low 30's with 3 to 6 inches of snow. My son is law is here all week to help me build this and the weather is throwing a major wrench in the works.
 
Go figure for once they got it close. Rain switched off to ice about 7:30 -8 am this morning. Never seen this much wind in the winter. We were hoping for weather like last week to get this built this week. Instead the weather has been foul since last week. Depending on the melt factor we might be able to get something done Wednesday or Thursday if we're lucky.
 
nature sometimes just doesn't co operate with the plans of men, maybe the delay will help you find a why didn;t I think of that plan, pre build
 
Since we can't be out working on this project I've been learning as much as I can through other people's video's and builds. When I saw these and knowing how many holes we are going to need to drill I ordered a set this morning. They appear to work really well.
 
No progress on the mill build again today. I did get the first pack of stabilizer jacks in the mail and they look like they will work well. I'm thinking, I know trouble right... But anyway what I'm thinking is these jacks have a ratchet type adjustment. I also have a couple screw type tongue jacks I can use along with the one powered screw type unit already on the tongue of one camper. The mill is going to have 30 feet of track. My question is how many jacks or stabilizers do I need on each side? Also if I'd be better off putting a screw type at each rear corner with the one on the tongue to sort of set the level then drop the stabilizer jacks to make everything nice and tight along the length.

In my experience more is better than less when it comes to foundations which is essentially what the jacks and stabilizers are.

Opinions or ideas please!
 
My method is to build with what I have and be prepared to modify/ improve as I go along, if you take the time to make stuff so that it can be adjusted as you go things will be easier when modification time comes.
Do you plan on making the carriage power feed? if so I have a simple setup that uses 40 pitch roller chain and an orbit motor, probably not a concern in the beginning but nice if you are milling a lot.
 
Biggkidd said:
No progress on the mill build again today. I did get the first pack of stabilizer jacks in the mail and they look like they will work well. I'm thinking, I know trouble right... But anyway what I'm thinking is these jacks have a ratchet type adjustment. I also have a couple screw type tongue jacks I can use along with the one powered screw type unit already on the tongue of one camper. The mill is going to have 30 feet of track. My question is how many jacks or stabilizers do I need on each side? Also if I'd be better off putting a screw type at each rear corner with the one on the tongue to sort of set the level then drop the stabilizer jacks to make everything nice and tight along the length.

In my experience more is better than less when it comes to foundations which is essentially what the jacks and stabilizers are.

Opinions or ideas please!
Click to expand...
That can get complicated...

You are building it to mill monster size logs... a lot of weight.

What are the levelers rated at?

What is the worst case density of your target wood?

The metal base will flex under heavy loads then recover as the mass is reduced... what kind of tolerance are you looking for board to board?

You go as @Tirediron suggests and take a guess and add more if testing shows there is too much flexibility in the bed.

Ben
 
@Tirediron I am absolutly building with what I have or have been able to collect up over the years specifically for this project or can scrounge. These 8 stabilizer jacks are only rated at 1,000 lbs each. The entire mill might end up weighing 1,000-1,500 lbs with the gas engine and possibly a bit more if we decide to go with the diesel. Adjustability is a given in my life! lol Actually the width of the bed and it trying to flex toward the center when loading / sawing huge logs concerns me a little. But if that becomes an issue we can add center supports to the ground from the center of the bed cross bunks. But in all honesty there are no logs on my property that will push the limits. The main reason for the wide size is it is what I have ready made to work with. My reason for the 30 foot length is I wanted to be able to mill beams 24 feet long.

As to powering the saw head we are planning to power it as much as we can with what we have or can scrounge. We have a few small winches and a couple motors off some of those powered mobility scooters. I still have my eye out for a couple HD linear actuators. I'd rather go with electric power options over hydraulic. I have plenty of small engines we can use if we end up needing more electric power by running an alternator or generator off a small pony motor.

While we are building this for our private use. Mainly to build some buildings and projects here. I also like leaving my options open and picking up cash work is a possibility. We do live in timber country here in Va. Plus there are lots of huge old yard trees in all the towns around that people are always looking to get gone.
 
Are the trailer frames tubing or channel? tubing tends to be more flex resistant, and due to no physical edge among other things crack resistant. Things to think about, saw dust removal, some sort of a solvent tank that can drip on the inner surface of the blade, in case of conifer pitch build up. the afore mentioned travel system can be run as part of the saw carriage, so the controls / power source can travel with the saw head, I will see if I can find an image and link it. found something similar http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/bah/power_feed_vs_manual_mill_03.jpg except a huge improvement is to mount the chain on the side of the frame and support it with spaced out angleiron, thus self cleaning,
 
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