Bandsaw mill build

[sandspider]

Have a look at Kris Harbour on YouTube, he built a bandsaw from scratch:

 

 

[Malus]

On 19/08/2021 at 08:12, bilke_user said:

Looks good.
How is the carriage going to be held onto the rails?  

 

I'm hoping gravity is going to do most of the work. I do plan on running a length of small angle down each side of the rails, sticking out sideways. A tab of some sort attached to the carriage will hook over the angle to stop the carriage from tipping over. 

 

What do you think? Have you got any ideas? 

[Malus]

On 19/08/2021 at 13:22, Watercourse management said:

A lot of black steel comes on a big reel then goes though a de coiler,I put some little scrapers in front of the track wheels as sawdust was building up on the track and getting compacted causing the carriage to run lumpy..

Ah really? That would explain a lot! How do people usually straighten stock out? It's not like you can run it over a planer.

 

Righto, I'll do the same then. I noticed quite a few people run the carriage wheels inside the box section, I guess to stop sawdust landing on them? Are you scrapers made out of steel? 

[Malus]

On 19/08/2021 at 16:18, sandspider said:

Have a look at Kris Harbour on YouTube, he built a bandsaw from scratch:

 

 

Thanks for the link. I've seen his sawmill videos, looks brilliant!

[Malus]

I spent Thursday afternoon prepping stock to make the head sliding mechanism. I got some 5mm plate and 60mm angle from the scrap yard a while ago. I've got a cheapo plasma cutter which does the job for cutting plate to size but I'd say only 3 out of 10 cuts are "clean". Tends to cut a bevel for some reason. 

 

I've decided to make the sawhead removable so I can take it off to fix any cockups. I think it would have been a lot quicker to just weld it all together, been a bit of a fiddle working out where's best to drill holes for bolts. The sliding mechanism is made of two bits of angle welded with a plate in between. This then gets bolted to a backing plate with the carriage frame sandwiched in-between. 

 

Can anyone tell me how much slop is ok in the sawhead? One side has a little bit of play and the other is spot on. I don't know how much it will be affected by paint. 

 

I tacked together the sawhead frame that will hold the bearings for the bandwheels and made a cradle that will house the tensioning screw. 

[bilke_user]

3 hours ago, Malus said:

I'm hoping gravity is going to do most of the work. I do plan on running a length of small angle down each side of the rails, sticking out sideways. A tab of some sort attached to the carriage will hook over the angle to stop the carriage from tipping over. 

 

What do you think? Have you got any ideas? 

Yes, a tab bolted on to run under a rail on the frame would be the way to go.  Gravity will do 99% of the work, but there will always be the 1% of times that can cause a major f**k up.  
On the scraper for the rail, best to use a hard nylon, held in position by a bit of steel bolted on in front of the wheels.  Do cover the wheels, sawdust will get under the cover, but nothing in comparison to how much will get in the way of the wheels without the cover.

Could you make one  wheel on either side of the carriage adjustable, just so you can make adjustment to any sloppiness ?

Pic from Woodmizer showing detail of the track wiper and holder on their LT15 model

Edited August 21, 2021 by bilke_user
adding pic

[Watercourse management]

4 hours ago, Malus said:

Ah really? That would explain a lot! How do people usually straighten stock out? It's not like you can run it over a planer.

 

Righto, I'll do the same then. I noticed quite a few people run the carriage wheels inside the box section, I guess to stop sawdust landing on them? Are you scrapers made out of steel? 

I did use steel for mine as I haven’t got any nylon flat and they were a afterthought, I slotted the holes and run them loose on the rails otherwise they bind a little bit.

[Watercourse management]

[Malus]

3 hours ago, bilke_user said:

Yes, a tab bolted on to run under a rail on the frame would be the way to go.  Gravity will do 99% of the work, but there will always be the 1% of times that can cause a major f**k up.  
On the scraper for the rail, best to use a hard nylon, held in position by a bit of steel bolted on in front of the wheels.  Do cover the wheels, sawdust will get under the cover, but nothing in comparison to how much will get in the way of the wheels without the cover.

Could you make one  wheel on either side of the carriage adjustable, just so you can make adjustment to any sloppiness ?

Pic from Woodmizer showing detail of the track wiper and holder on their LT15 model

Brilliant, thanks for that diagram. I'll have to make a cover of some sort then and will find some plastic for the scrapers. 

 

Hmm I think a 1% chance of a big bandsaw falling on me is enough to bother making something to catch it..

 

With the play I was referring to the interface where the sawhead slides vertically up and down the carriage, the carriage wheels are all solid with no play.

[Malus]

1 hour ago, Watercourse management said:

I did use steel for mine as I haven’t got any nylon flat and they were a afterthought, I slotted the holes and run them loose on the rails otherwise they bind a little bit.

Thanks for pics, they speak a thousand words. In hindsight it would have been better to have vertical rails like yours but I couldn't find any suitable wheels.

 

What are those bars hanging down from the sawhead? Are they some sort of board return?