# Planning a band saw mill build...have some questions.



## kentuckydiesel (Jan 6, 2012)

I finally got my wife interested in a saw mill...to the point that she now WANTS me to build one. It all looks very simple and as I run a steel fabrication shop, it shouldn't be at all difficult. That said, I do have a few specific questions:

I see many people use tires to drive/carry their saw blades rather than a large metal wheel with a rubber strip running the circumference as our industrial band saws have...is this just because tires are available, or is there some benefit to tires?

Also, I found (I think in a cooks saw article) a list which said a saw blade can be run at 3500fps with 8hp, 4000fps with 12hp, 4500fps with 16-18hp, 5000fps with 25hp, and a max of 5500fps at 30+ hp. 
First, would you guys say that the above is accurate? Second, do you guys think I will really care to max out the blade speed, or will it not make much difference as I will probably only be using this saw mill for our own personal stuff.

We have all sorts of hardwood which we want to cut, but also plan to play with some eastern red cedar (juniper).

Thanks, 
Phillip


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## qbilder (Jan 6, 2012)

The plus that I see with tires would maybe be less blade stress. That's about all. I don't really see any negative side of using tires, either. Both ways seem to do the job. As for blade speed, i'm not sure how or why it relates to hp. From a logical, mechanical point of view, there should be an optimum speed for blades regardless of power. Maybe what you read referred to the engines ability to effectively spin the wheels while retaining some bottom end strength. Otherwise, i'd say if 4500rpm is the optimum speed for blade x then it should be ran at 4500rpm whether you have an 8hp or 20hp motor. 

I don't think you can really screw up too bad. So long as your end result is a properly tensioned blade that runs true and is true parallel to the track, then it'll effectively mill logs into lumber. No doubt you'll find ways to tune & maximize performance, but it all starts with having the blade running true. The baddest machine on the planet will cut poorly if the blade run is out of adjustment, and the most simplistic machine will shave a frog's hair if it's tuned properly. So good luck with the project & post lotsa pics!!! You're gonna have a blast when you start milling logs


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## mitch95100 (Jan 6, 2012)

kentuckydiesel said:


> I finally got my wife interested in a saw mill...to the point that she now WANTS me to build one. It all looks very simple and as I run a steel fabrication shop, it shouldn't be at all difficult. That said, I do have a few specific questions:
> 
> I see many people use tires to drive/carry their saw blades rather than a large metal wheel with a rubber strip running the circumference as our industrial band saws have...is this just because tires are available, or is there some benefit to tires?
> 
> ...



She dosent want you to build anything she wants you to quit nagging her about it... Just kidding bud
And for hard woods id make the blade speed as fast as possible. Hook it up to your truck


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## Tim L (Jan 7, 2012)

qbilder said:


> The plus that I see with tires would maybe be less blade stress. That's about all. I don't really see any negative side of using tires, either. Both ways seem to do the job. As for blade speed, i'm not sure how or why it relates to hp. From a logical, mechanical point of view, there should be an optimum speed for blades regardless of power. Maybe what you read referred to the engines ability to effectively spin the wheels while retaining some bottom end strength. Otherwise, i'd say if 4500rpm is the optimum speed for blade x then it should be ran at 4500rpm whether you have an 8hp or 20hp motor.
> 
> I don't think you can really screw up too bad. So long as your end result is a properly tensioned blade that runs true and is true parallel to the track, then it'll effectively mill logs into lumber. No doubt you'll find ways to tune & maximize performance, but it all starts with having the blade running true. The baddest machine on the planet will cut poorly if the blade run is out of adjustment, and the most simplistic machine will shave a frog's hair if it's tuned properly. So good luck with the project & post lotsa pics!!! You're gonna have a blast when you start milling logs


I agree, I have tires on my Turner with no problem.Whats cool about mine is my trailer rims/tires are the same as the mill so if you have a flat you can temporarily borrow one for the other. Good luck and please show us pics of the progress.


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## bluesportster02 (Jan 7, 2012)

subscribing. i have been thinking abought making one too. keep us informed on the build and lots of pics good luck


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## tomsteve (Jan 7, 2012)

i've been planning ( and a lot of himmin and hawin) about building a mill for quite some time. i've done a lot of reading on construction and found the only major difference between tires and steel wheels is price. a pair of steel wheels is very expensive compared to a pair of tires.


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## kentuckydiesel (Jan 7, 2012)

The hp to fpm relation comes down to how much power you need to keep a blade at a set rpm while in the wood. 

Do you guys have a "track" cut in the tires for the blade to ride in?

Thanks,
Phillip


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## Tim L (Jan 7, 2012)

No track just standard tires the hubs are adjustable so you can loosen the blade for removal. You simply snug the hub up in the slot putting the blade in the middle. It will find its center from spinning.A friend of mine built a mill using mine for the blueprint. I shared with him and I will share with you ,tire pressures tightness procedures etc. When you get to that point give me a shout and I will help all I can.My manual covers all those things.


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## chaikwa (Jan 7, 2012)

The thing that discouraged me from running tires was they were not less expensive than a 19" pulley with a B series belt on it and it seems like the tire/rim combo adds a lot of un-needed weight. 

I don't wanna sound like an advertisement for Linn, but I can say I am MORE than pleased with the plans I bought from them when I built my mill. He's been building mills for a long time and knows what works and has all the bugs worked out so I didn't have to! THe plan was only %50 I think and I also bought the $35 DVD that SHOWS how things go together. The DVD price was refunded to me when I bought some parts from him too, so I really only have the price of the plans.


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## qbilder (Jan 8, 2012)

chaikwa said:


> The thing that discouraged me from running tires was they were not less expensive than a 19" pulley with a B series belt on it and it seems like the tire/rim combo adds a lot of un-needed weight.
> 
> I don't wanna sound like an advertisement for Linn, but I can say I am MORE than pleased with the plans I bought from them when I built my mill. He's been building mills for a long time and knows what works and has all the bugs worked out so I didn't have to! THe plan was only %50 I think and I also bought the $35 DVD that SHOWS how things go together. The DVD price was refunded to me when I bought some parts from him too, so I really only have the price of the plans.




Linn is an awesome and very simple design. Bullet-proof. Everything you need to maintain it once built can be bought at the local hardware or implement store.


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## gene1605 (Jan 9, 2012)

*Tires are great*

Any tire that is round and true and over 16 in. will work well, keep the preasure as low as possible, any blade will cut well at low speeds, bur faster is better. 8 hp. is about as small as of a engine that you can cut with, a 3 1/2 in. clutch pulley will work with up to 13 hp. with a BX
belt but must be kept tight. A 3 1/2 in. pulley turning 3600 rpm will give you about 3250 feet per min. band speed without any gearing changes, increasing the governer helps. With tires and low band speeds you can lower the band guides up to 3/4 in. Run the band with just enough tension to cut well. when useing pulleys for carrage wheels, the longer the carrage the easier it will push when cutting. with lower band speed a blade must be very sharp to cut straight, faster speeds is more forgiveing. A small engine does not have enough power to overcome the friction of high band speeds.
This is some guidelines that work, I know that they are not exact.
Haveing a nice welding shop with a few good tools and with simple plans a mill will go together with little problem.
Gene


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