# Anybody made a beam machine?



## ptjeep (Oct 13, 2011)

I was milling some pine cants yesterday and decided to make one log into some 2" slabs for future use. I know i can use my MK III mill to make 2x4's but figured a beam machine would make it a little easier, plus its another toy! Checked baileys and $37 dollars aint bad, much better than $150ish for the mini mill. Did some researching and found that the beam machine has some flaws which i guess is expected for the price. You get what you pay for. So i decided to just build my own beam machine. I've got a few ideas in mind like making it fit my two uni strut rails clamped together instead of a 2x4 since the c-channel on the BM is actually 1/8" wider than a 2x4 and cuases some alignment issues and crooked cuts. I also want to use a 1/2" bolt threw a sleeve as a pivot point for the bar clamp to mount to the c-channel. I dont like how the BM doesnt have a way to hold the saw in one position like on a mini mill so i figured two holes threw the sleeve and bolt at different angles would allow the saw to be in a fixed position at 90 and 45 degrees instead of just swiveling up and down. It will also have a handle to push from. I tried to search and only found one thread were someone built their own BM and it was way more advanced that what i plan to make with what i have laying around the garage. Anybody else made their own or know of something that they would change on theirs if they had the chance? It will probably be a few weeks before i have time to start making one so i figured i would ask while i am still in the development stage, thanks.


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## hamish (Oct 13, 2011)

Re-think your plans and revert back to the mini-mill, but a homemade version, hell its even easier than making your own "beam machine".

12" of 1/2 to 3/4" tubing, cut into 2 x 5" and 1 x2"
3/8-24 x 1/2" bolts x2
3/8 studs x8" x2
3/8 nuts x 2

Any square and true surface to run it upon.


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## ptjeep (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks for the advice but I'm not really sure how the parts you mentioned add up to a mini mill. Care to give a little info or maybe a picture? Thanks

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## mtngun (Oct 14, 2011)

Bailey's mini-mill $79.99


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## 820wards (Oct 14, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Anybody else made their own or know of something that they would change on theirs if they had the chance? It will probably be a few weeks before i have time to start making one so i figured i would ask while i am still in the development stage, thanks.


 

PTJEEP,

Here is the mini-mill I built. I also made a remote throttle which you don't need to make it operate. It only requires a little welding and the rest bolts together. 
jerry-

http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/158004.htm


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## ptjeep (Oct 14, 2011)

mtngun said:


> Bailey's mini-mill $79.99


 I dont know where $150 came from but $80 is still more than i paid for my MK III. I really just want to build one.


820wards said:


> PTJEEP,
> 
> Here is the mini-mill I built. I also made a remote throttle which you don't need to make it operate. It only requires a little welding and the rest bolts together.
> jerry-
> ...


 
820, thanks for the info, that should be to hard to make. Hopefully i can get started in a week or two.


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## mikeb1079 (Oct 14, 2011)

jerry that has to be the baddest (in the good way) mini mill in the universe. :yoyo: i never really saw that thread the first time around.


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## BobL (Oct 14, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Anybody else made their own or know of something that they would change on theirs if they had the chance? It will probably be a few weeks before i have time to start making one so i figured i would ask while i am still in the development stage, thanks.



If Jerry's is not complicated enough for you :msp_smile:, have a look at the "Minimill" thread link in my sig. If nothing else it might give you some ideas.


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## jimdad07 (Oct 15, 2011)

This took just a couple of hours to make and has been working pretty well for me. I think you would like the mini-mill setup better because you can get better cuts with them than the beam machine and they are pretty easy to make yourself. I like Jerry's quite a bit, very well made for ease of use.


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## ptjeep (Oct 15, 2011)

BobL said:


> If Jerry's is not complicated enough for you :msp_smile:, have a look at the "Minimill" thread link in my sig. If nothing else it might give you some ideas.


 
Dang bob, way too complicated for me! But very nice indeed.


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## 820wards (Oct 15, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> I dont know where $150 came from but $80 is still more than i paid for my MK III. I really just want to build one.
> 
> 
> 820, thanks for the info, that should be to hard to make. Hopefully i can get started in a week or two.


 
PTJEEP,

Here is the link that shows how I setup and used the mini-mill. Just remember, you don't need a remote throttle like I built, but it sure is nice to have. Make your auxiliary handle from some old bike handle bars. The horn/radio and GPS are all optional items. 

http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/160682.htm

One note on the guide rail board. I used a 2-6 redwood board because they just don't warp much. If you can get one great, if not use what is local to your area that is pretty stable wood. To get a nice edge to screw the 3/4" angle iron down straight, joint one edge if you can and then rip the opposite side to make the rail board straight on both sides. Now use the jointed edge to set your 1" space for the 3/4" angle guide rails to screw down to. Once the first rail is down adjust your mill rails, outside to outside and screw down the opposite side rails. My rails are 8', you can make yours up to 10' because that is the longest length stock you can buy. If you have them cut 8' pieces, don't let them use their shear cutter, it actually bends the metal at the end and it won't be straight. Have them cut the rails with a band saw. Just a suggestion from experience.

Here is a blue oak log I milled for a bench using the mini-mill and rail board. The beauty of the setup is that it is very portable.

Blue Oak log on hillside. We drug it to an area on the hillside that was fairly level for milling.





We set it up on a couple of rounds we cut and used the mini-mill to make our first cut.





In this picture you can see we have cut both side of the log and used wedges to keep the guide board from moving when we milled. By the way, when I mill each direction on the guide rails, I get a 6" thick slab which was great for making the bench.





Here is the finished bench. I used one of the cap pieces as the back rest for the bench, then put a good coat of linseed oil thinned with a little mineral spirits.





Have fun building/milling. 
jerry-


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## M.R. (Oct 15, 2011)

"I also want to use a 1/2" bolt threw a sleeve as a pivot point for the bar clamp to mount to the c-channel. I dont like how the BM doesnt have a way to hold the saw in one position like on a mini mill so i figured two holes threw the sleeve and bolt at different angles would allow the saw to be in a fixed position at 90 and 45 degrees instead of just swiveling up and down. "


Allow me to toss this out here, on some of these mills I've used & built 
5/8" & 3/4" All Thread Rod with a couple of nuts welded as far apart as the shoe would allow
with FS welded to it, to bolt/mount the bar to, allowing the saw to rotate or swievel...then with a jam nut
one can lock it into a solid mount. On bigger logs allowing the saw to swievel keeping the bar out of 
the ground & not having to raise the log at least until its trimmed down lighter.


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## ptjeep (Oct 15, 2011)

Jerry, i like your setup alot and will probably will probably use some of your ideas.

M.R., i agree about wanting the saw to be able to pivot, sooner or later i think it will come in handy.

I will probably dig through my scrap metal pile next week and see what i have to work with, would be nice if i dont have to buy anything. Thanks for the help guys! I am starting to really enjoy milling and are looking forward to a new toy.


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## 820wards (Oct 17, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Jerry, i like your setup alot and will probably will probably use some of your ideas.
> 
> M.R., i agree about wanting the saw to be able to pivot, sooner or later i think it will come in handy.
> 
> I will probably dig through my scrap metal pile next week and see what i have to work with, would be nice if i dont have to buy anything. Thanks for the help guys! I am starting to really enjoy milling and are looking forward to a new toy.


 
When I built my mill I thought of making the blade pivot to allot for ground clearance. I haven't found that I've needed that option yet.

Have fun building and please post pictures.

jerry-


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## ptjeep (Nov 22, 2011)

Well i finally got around to building my version of a 820wards' mini mill. I got tired of rebuilding carbs and doing vac tests so i decided to work with some metal. I ended up using two pieces of 1.25" square tubing stack on top of one another instead of 2x4 box tubing. I got 10' of it for $10 so that was way cheaper than a stick of 2x4, $60. The 1.25" was a left over piece at the metal place so that is why is was so cheap. It was used for the main guide rails, 1/2" all thread to hold it together, and some 1/4" flat bar for the bar clamp and width guide rail. I also picked up a stick of 3/4" angle iron which will be screwed to a 2"x6"x10' board that i will pick up this weekend. I hope that i can try it out this weekend or maybe first of the week. I should end up with about $25 in this thing so thats not to bad. After i took the pics i also added a push handle and after a trial run my add a chip deflector. I don't know whats up with the pics, when i embedded them they are huge as in take up the whole screen so i just gave up on that for now, sorry. Edit: figured out pics.
















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## ptjeep (Nov 22, 2011)

A couple more with the 260 mounted up.








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## 820wards (Nov 23, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> A couple more with the 260 mounted up.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



PTJEEP,

Very good! I like that you built your mill for minimal $$. I think you are really going to like using your mini-mill. With the handles you have made will make it that much easier to use. Please post some pictures when you mill. You will find that the dust deflector was worth the time to make. I found that I needed to get my deflector as close the saw as possible without touching. A piece of AC line-set insulation foam fit over my deflector sealed the gap between the saw and deflector.

Nice job!
jerry-


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## 820wards (Nov 25, 2011)

PT,

I meant to ask you how long your rails are on your mill. I found that 18" was a good length because it gave me the length for stating as cut and finishing a cut. The first mini-mill I built the rails were to short and was difficult to use when I was cutting a log at the maximum length of my rail guide board. 

jerry-


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## ptjeep (Nov 25, 2011)

Jerry, the rails are 12" and seem to work pretty good but would probably be better at 18". I took it out for a test drive today and was very impressed at the ease of set up and use over my mill. I took a 2" pine slab that I made a few months ago to rip into 2x4's. A chip deflector is gonna be a must and the width guide might need some rethinking, didn't work all the great. I forgot the camera so here is some cell pics. I took more pics but when I try to add more than two it crashes. Sorry.












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## hamish (Nov 25, 2011)

Now I know what that "other piece" was on your mill, the width guide! Are you trying to mill more than juts cants/beams with your setup?


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## ptjeep (Nov 25, 2011)

Right now I am just playing with the mills for fun, its an excuse to run some saws. In a year or so I might make some ruff cut lumber and a friend is building a house right now that might want some milled beams. That's about all.


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## 820wards (Nov 25, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> . A chip deflector is gonna be a must and the width guide might need some rethinking, didn't work all the great.




PT,

Looks like you had some fun today.

You might try turning your saw around so it is pulling into the wood until you get the chip deflector made. I have my saw set up to be cutting on the top of the bar, pushing the chain down through the wood. It should work either way. You can see in this picture of my first mini-mill how wide the 3/4" angle is set. I don't get side-side rocking at all. I think you will see a big difference in stability if you use a wider guide rail board.







My guide board is a 2x6x8'. I found that having a wider set of rails keeps the mill much more stable and has less tendency to rock sideways.

Here is a view of the mill I built for my friend. He is pushing through the log and the chip deflector keeping the chips from flying into his face.






Like you handle!
jerry-


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## ptjeep (Nov 25, 2011)

Thanks for the input Jerry. I'm going back tomorrow with 4 more slabs to rip so i will turn the saw around and give it a try. I'm using a 2x6 also but my guide rails are 1.25" square tubing which takes up some room. I'm gonna run it a while tomorrow to get a good feel for it to see what needs changed. I might be better off with a 2x8.


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## 820wards (Nov 26, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Thanks for the input Jerry. I'm using a 2x6 also but my guide rails are 1.25" square tubing which takes up some room. I'm gonna run it a while tomorrow to get a good feel for it to see what needs changed. I might be better off with a 2x8.



I went back a read your post on the build and realized you had used 1.250" x 1.250" tubing which makes it wider in the middle, but I don't think it should be a problem.

What were the issues you had when milling? 

Did the mill want to rock from side to side? 

Other than looking like a snowman from the dust shooting back at you.... 

jerry-


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## 820wards (Nov 26, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Thanks for the input Jerry. I'm going back tomorrow with 4 more slabs to rip so i will turn the saw around and give it a try. I'm using a 2x6 also but my guide rails are 1.25" square tubing which takes up some room. I'm gonna run it a while tomorrow to get a good feel for it to see what needs changed. I might be better off with a 2x8.




PT,

I found that the 'with guide' needs to be as long or longer that your rails to make it work smooth. I made mine 18" to match my mill rails.


jerry-


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## ptjeep (Nov 26, 2011)

Thanks for the interest and input Jerry. I ripped around 12 or so boards today and must say that i really enjoy this mini mill, much easier on the back. So far the mill is working great, although it needs lock washers to keep from vibrating loose. One of my angle iron guide rails must have a slight bend at one point cause i feel some resistance when i push by it but that should be a easy fix. I turned the saw around like you suggested and didn't get as much dust in the face but i did make a quick chip deflector out of a piece of cardboard to see how it helped and it did quite a bit. Gonna have to make one for it. Your right about the width guide, mine is half as long as my guide rails which is to short and when i welded it together it warped even though it was clamp in a vise. Since its bowed it lets the saw weave as it cuts. That shouldnt be hard to fix either. Now i just gotta find more wood to mill!


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## mdavlee (Nov 26, 2011)

Preston I have a lot of cherry on my grandpas farm that will be firewood if someone doesn't want to mill it or saw it. If you want in on some of it I'll save some for you when I start to cut it up.


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## ptjeep (Nov 26, 2011)

mdavlee said:


> Preston I have a lot of cherry on my grandpas farm that will be firewood if someone doesn't want to mill it or saw it. If you want in on some of it I'll save some for you when I start to cut it up.



Definately interested, just let me know when.


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## mdavlee (Nov 26, 2011)

I'll hit you up with some pictures of the logs when I get home from Fl. I hope to be in around Christmas long enough to do some cutting over there. You can mill on site or take them home with you. We were planning on getting a whole trailer load of logs from there for firewood.


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## 820wards (Nov 27, 2011)

ptjeep said:


> Thanks for the interest and input Jerry. I ripped around 12 or so boards today and must say that i really enjoy this mini mill, much easier on the back. So far the mill is working great, although it needs lock washers to keep from vibrating loose. One of my angle iron guide rails must have a slight bend at one point cause i feel some resistance when i push by it but that should be a easy fix. I turned the saw around like you suggested and didn't get as much dust in the face but i did make a quick chip deflector out of a piece of cardboard to see how it helped and it did quite a bit. Gonna have to make one for it. Your right about the width guide, mine is half as long as my guide rails which is to short and when i welded it together it warped even though it was clamp in a vise. Since its bowed it lets the saw weave as it cuts. That shouldnt be hard to fix either. Now i just gotta find more wood to mill!



PT,

To correct the bow in your mill rail, use a hacksaw and cut a straight line in the center on the back side of the 1/2" stock you welded to the rail. You can then clamp the rail flat to your welding table or to another of piece of heavy tubing you know is straight. Weld the top and bottom and let it cool, then come back and weld the the backside. I had mine warp because I didn't clamp it to my 1/2" thick welding table first. I knew better.

Sounds like your getting the hang of using your mini-mill. Once you get it dialed in you will use it a lot for squaring logs into cants and making lumber. 

jerry-


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## ptjeep (Nov 27, 2011)

I definitely plan to use this mini mill to square up big logs before milling with the mkIII. When i milled the slabs that i ripped this weekend the 394 kept hanging up in the bark during the cut and i would have to try to pull the saw out of the bark while also pushing the mill forward. Not fun at all and very hard on the back. But wont be anymore!


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