Bandsaw mill build

[topchippyles]

5 hours ago, Watercourse management said:

I’ll get some photos up in a couple of days as I’ve some ash to slab, I made mine to take a 42” diameter log 5 meters long and trailed so mobile. As I was making it from scratch and I have a large supply of large logs I went large

 

As Andy said earlier accuracy is very important for keeping the band going in the right direction also in reducing vibration in the band. I would also try and steer clear of using pillow block bearings for the band.

if you get stuck let me know I’d be happy to help Simon 

Just out of interest what was the cost of building the mill from start to completion.

[Malus]

18 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

I have a B751. Logosol have their manual on-line, its quite detailed and covers all the adjustments so you'd be able to see them in some kind of detail.

 

Im not sure if I have a picture of the water/lube system? I'll have a look. Its quite basic though and not like some of the other mills that now has an auto lube function, but it would be simple to add I think. 

Thanks for that nudge Andy, it didn't take much looking to find the manuals on their site. Loads of useful information in there, I obviously wasn't looking hard enough before! 

[Malus]

10 hours ago, Watercourse management said:

I’ll get some photos up in a couple of days as I’ve some ash to slab, I made mine to take a 42” diameter log 5 meters long and trailed so mobile. As I was making it from scratch and I have a large supply of large logs I went large

 

As Andy said earlier accuracy is very important for keeping the band going in the right direction also in reducing vibration in the band. I would also try and steer clear of using pillow block bearings for the band.

if you get stuck let me know I’d be happy to help Simon 

Ace, thanks Simon. That looks proper! I'd love to be able to slab logs that big one day. I guess a tractor would have to come first. What are you using for band wheels? 

What's the issue with pillow blocks? That is the route I'm going down, at least I've got all the parts ready to be assembled. Tbh I would have preferred band wheels with a central hub/bearing but I couldn't find any in my budget, or know anyone with a lathe to bore out the centre.

[Malus]

I didn't get loads done today but I made progress none the less. I welded up the corners of the chassis after a bit of squaring up with ratchet straps. It was only out 5mm but I thought probably worth sorting out. 

 

I took the coupler off a donor caravan chassis and prepped the A frame pieces. The irony is I was meant to be building a shepherds hut on the caravan chassis, but didn't want to mill a load of cladding with the chainsaw and was too cheap to buy it. So I've ended up building the bandsaw mill.  

 

The A frame will be bolted on with 10 M12 bolts so I can get it out of the way if I ever decide to site the saw in one location.  

 

I'm a bit unsure about whether to use the caravan axle or not. I've been looking at trailer running gear kits that come with everything needed including axle, wheels, coupler, brakes for about £750. I can't really afford it at the moment but I don't want to skimp and regret it later. 

 

Does anyone have any advice regarding axle width, how much do your wheels stick out and do they get in the way? 

[Watercourse management]

6 hours ago, topchippyles said:

Just out of interest what was the cost of building the mill from start to completion.

I had a fair bit of stuff lying about for the build, so for materials minus the engine and axle a ball park figure of two grand. When the accounts are done I will get a more accurate total.

[Watercourse management]

1 hour ago, Malus said:

Ace, thanks Simon. That looks proper! I'd love to be able to slab logs that big one day. I guess a tractor would have to come first. What are you using for band wheels? 

What's the issue with pillow blocks? That is the route I'm going down, at least I've got all the parts ready to be assembled. Tbh I would have preferred band wheels with a central hub/bearing but I couldn't find any in my budget, or know anyone with a lathe to bore out the centre.

For the band wheels I use 20” diameter spa taper lock pulleys running a b type belt,this combo runs an inch and a quarter band nicely. 

 

The reason I would steer clear of pillow blocks is when you toe out your band wheels to track your band you are exerting forces on them in the wrong axis which will cause them to fail and cause you band tracking issues.

 

 I went with a 38 mm en16 shaft running taper bearings to take the load which I machined myself as I have a lathe and mill.

[Watercourse management]

Use what you have available, you can always swap it out later.

[Malus]

39 minutes ago, Watercourse management said:

For the band wheels I use 20” diameter spa taper lock pulleys running a b type belt,this combo runs an inch and a quarter band nicely. 

 

The reason I would steer clear of pillow blocks is when you toe out your band wheels to track your band you are exerting forces on them in the wrong axis which will cause them to fail and cause you band tracking issues.

 

 I went with a 38 mm en16 shaft running taper bearings to take the load which I machined myself as I have a lathe and mill.

Ah right I see what you mean. Pillow blocks are often meant to be self aligning but I guess there's only so much tolerance. Hopefully they will last ok, time will tell. Sounds like your bearings will last a good time, I bet the lathe and mill have paid for themselves over. 

 

I wish I'd posted here a few months ago! I've been slowly gathering parts over the last six months. I ended up buying spb450 pulleys but I haven't bought any belts yet as I'm unsure of length. I was hoping the belt will be proud enough to run the band on. Spa pulleys seem easier to get hold of and cheaper, but I was advised against running an spb belt in spa pulley. How has it held up for you?

 

I've got a 35mm shaft, I guess en3b. Nothing fancy but I'm pretty confident it will hold up ok. 

[Watercourse management]

I couldn’t live without the lathe and mill now, never can have to many toys in the workshop.

the belt rides proud and loose and after a fair bit of cutting their not even marked.

[Malus]

On 04/08/2021 at 08:02, Watercourse management said:

 

I had to go and pick up some more steel yesterday for the log bunks. I had been head scratching for a while about whether or not it is a good idea to weld them in place and in the end decided it's probably better to bolt them on. This way I can adjust them for height if need be, after you've all been saying how important it is for everything to be accurate. Also if any get damaged they will be easier to replace. 

 

A friend came over to help for the afternoon which was a massive help. We cut 130x6mm flat bar into lengths and drilled 4 13mm holes in each. The slightly oversize holes for M12 bolts will hopefully allow for a bit of wiggle to adjust bunk height. If need be I'll elongate the holes into slots. 

 

The log bunks are made out of 120x60x3mm box section. I'm sure this will be strong enough for rolling logs onto the mill and turning cants, but might suffer a bit if a log ever gets dropped on a bit rough from a tractor. I cut the bunks to length and then knocked off the corners to create clearance for the carriage wheels to go by. I cut 10 braces for the bunks out of 50x50x3 box.

 

While I was cutting Ben marked out all the hole locations on the mill chassis and started drilling them out. 

 

I've also started welding together the drawbar and drawbar mounts, but taking my time with it to try to avoid too much distortion. I made up some backer/spreader plates for where the drawbar will bolt to the chassis. I'm not sure if it's really necessary but thought it was worthwhile because the box section is fairly thin at 3mm.

 

Sam