# Linn Lumber 190A kit build



## OH_Varmntr (Mar 1, 2022)

Ordered this kit back in September and received it this last week. This is the 190A complete carriage kit, built but not assembled. Chris at Linn Lumber offers kits or complete mills at various stages of build.

This is going to be for use for making lumber for farm projects. I have a Honda GX390 13hp engine for it.







Started with welding up the 20' rails and temporarily assembling enough of the carriage to figure out my bunk heights.











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## Brufab (Mar 1, 2022)

Following


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## SweetMK (Mar 1, 2022)

Yours is more finished than mine!! 




{I have not ordered one ,, yet,,,,}


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 1, 2022)

Picked up one of those "cold cut" saws, aka carbine tipped metal cutoff saw from Menards. Beats the heck out of an abrasive saw.











Works great!


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## BobL (Mar 1, 2022)

I'm looking forward to seeing it cut.

BTW that's not really a cold saw - cold cut saws run at much lower speeds 50-100 rpm and use a much higher pressure to cut metal. While the evolution type saws are better than abrasive saws I still prefer using bandsaws for cutting steel. Very quiet, zero sparks and far less swarf scatter. Bandsaw do take longer to cut, but they can usually be left cutting while I go do something else, and they turn themselves off when a cut is finished. One downside is they do take up more space in shop. I bought my horizontal small (6x4" cut) bandsaw second hand for $70 about 15 years ago and its been one of the most used machines in my shop. I do cut a lot of ally sheet on my Woodworking table saw using a negative raked tooth blade. I really dislike the noise but it does have really efficient dust extraction which reduces swarf scatter significantly.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 1, 2022)

BobL said:


> I'm looking forward to seeing it cut.
> 
> BTW that's not really a cold saw - cold cut saws run at much lower speeds 50-100 rpm and use a much higher pressure to cut metal. While the evolution type saws are better than abrasive saws I still prefer using bandsaws for cutting steel. Very quiet, zero sparks and far less swarf scatter. Bandsaw do take longer to cut, but they can usually be left cutting while I go do something else, and they turn themselves off when a cut is finished. One downside is they do take up more space in shop. I bought my horizontal small (6x4" cut) bandsaw second hand for $70 about 15 years ago and its been one of the most used machines in my shop. I do cut a lot of ally sheet on my Woodworking table saw using a negative raked tooth blade. I really dislike the noise but it does have really efficient dust extraction which reduces swarf scatter significantly.


Indeed, it is not a true cold cut saw. I had plans on picking up a horizontal bandsaw for less than what I have in the Evolution saw, but couldn't spare the floorspace in the shop at this time.


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## BobL (Mar 2, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Indeed, it is not a true cold cut saw. I had plans on picking up a horizontal bandsaw for less than what I have in the Evolution saw, but couldn't spare the floorspace in the shop at this time.


Yeah space is always a premium. I live on a small (4500 sqft) plot about 1 mile as the crow flies from the city central business district. My shop is 450 sqft (that's as big as teh city authorities will allow) but it contains a, Table sw, mitre saw, jointer/thicknesser, wood and metal bandsaws, wood and metal lathes, Drill press, Hydraulic press, 3 grinders, a welding booth/bay/table, 2 large benches, 9 chainsaws, and a furnace. My dust extractor and compressor are outside in their own enclosures. If I want to make anything large I have to do it on the back patio. I store wood and metal under the house. My milling spot at a tree loppers depot is 29 miles away which is a PITA but theres heaps of space there for gear and storage, and also projects if needed.

Good luck with your project.


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## SweetMK (Mar 2, 2022)

I am addicted to building out of steel,, for fun,, I could not live without a bandsaw. I bought this one used, in 2001.
This is my 1" JET 9X16 ,, it is cutting four pieces of 3/4" thick steel at the same time.






1/2" X 12" is so wide, I hate to pull that many teeth at the same time, so I put that steel in the saw on an angle.






My shop is twice the square footage of my home,, so, I have room for it.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 6, 2022)

It was nearly 70 today in NW Ohio so I wiped all the carriage pieces down with acetone and put a good coat of self etching primer laid down.

My 5 year old picked out the Dark Hunter Green color. I'm not too big on the gloss but being as it will live outside I'm sure it will dull quickly.














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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 7, 2022)

Two hours later and all of the carriage related parts are finished.

Turned the heater in the shop up to 60 and the dehumidifier is showing 56% so that should give it a decent cure over the night.

I doubt I'll make much progress on the track over the next few days but we will see.


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## chipper1 (Mar 7, 2022)

Looks good.
Maybe when I'm down that way I can sneak by to see it "live".


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 7, 2022)

chipper1 said:


> Looks good.
> Maybe when I'm down that way I can sneak by to see it "live".


Once I get her up and sawing, you'd be more than welcome. [emoji106]

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## chipper1 (Mar 7, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Once I get her up and sawing, you'd be more than welcome. [emoji106]
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


You know I'll take you up on that .


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 7, 2022)

Some progress this evening. The crossmembers for the track are welded up. These will receive 2 drilled and tapped holes. One on either end of the top to bolt the bunks down to. There will be spacers to hold the bunks up off the crossmembers to allow space for the log holders to slide. Only the center 4 will have them.

I began assembling the carriage but the paint isn't as cured as I'd like it to be so it will cure atleast one more night. 

Also, the kit came with split lock washers. These will all be getting replaced with knurled safety lock washers.


















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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 8, 2022)

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## chipper1 (Mar 8, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk



My eyes.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 8, 2022)

Some details of assembly. Assembling bearings and spacers.





Bearing and wheel assembly mounts and adjustments.









ACME height adjustment. Easily upgradable to power assist. Linn Lumber sells a kit for these. The foot mounted bearings need their mounting holes located, drilled and tapped.

















Hydraulic tensioner cylinder. I have to drill and tap holes to mount the pump where I want.





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## BobL (Mar 8, 2022)

That kit is starting to look surprsiingly like our old mill. We bought it as a used mill in 2014 and it was at least 10 years old when we bought it and had not been well maintained., We know it came from the US but it had an eclectic mix of metrics and imperial bolts/threads plus has been repair with lots of Tek Screws.
It has electric lift but it uses the same hydraulic tensioner setup, Acme thread thru wooden blocks ETC




Here's where the shaft was rusted to the bearing. Fortunately there were two thread holes in the inner bearing pac that allowed me to inset those bolts to rotate is against the there shaft.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 8, 2022)

BobL said:


> That kit is starting to look surprsiingly like our old mill. We bought it as a used mill in 2014 and it was at least 10 years old when we bought it and had not been well maintained., We know it came from the US but it had an eclectic mix of metrics and imperial bolts/threads plus has been repair with lots of Tek Screws.
> It has electric lift but it uses the same hydraulic tensioner setup, Acme thread thru wooden blocks ETC
> View attachment 971480
> 
> ...


Hi Bob, that definitely looks like an earlier version of mine.

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## BobL (Mar 9, 2022)

Thanks

What sort of guide bearings/blocks will you be using?
Ours came with a simple down pressure home made Hardwood guide block setup


However, amongst the parts box were the 2 rollers, one each side. I tried using them, but they kept getting clogged with sawdust and seizing so we went back to the wooden blocks - they work OK sort of but I wonder if they have improved on the rollers?
I modded and replaced the bearing bolt with a home made hollow bolt with and grease nipple, external spacer (1) internal space (3) to see if I could regularly blast the dust out of the bearing with a grease gun but still no good.




Here you can see the new grease partway trough the bearings in pink.
I'm going to try this again with sealed bearings.
Orange is spacer 3, Blue is spacer 1.


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## kenmbz (Mar 9, 2022)

Really fun watching this all come together.
The color looks close to British Racing Green, so this will certainly make it faster


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## chipper1 (Mar 9, 2022)

BobL said:


> Here you can see the new grease partway trough the bearings in pink.


Maybe it would work better if you used a different color grease Bob lol.
Nice job on that, odd it isn't working well for you.
Wonder if its because of the very fine dust off your extremely hard woods.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 9, 2022)

BobL said:


> Thanks
> 
> What sort of guide bearings/blocks will you be using?
> Ours came with a simple down pressure home made Hardwood guide block setup
> ...


Hi Bob, my mill utilizes roller guides with sealed bearings.

This page shows the components on the Linn Lumber mills.








Parts and Accessories


Linn Lumber Sawmills parts and accessories.



www.linnlumber.com







kenmbz said:


> Really fun watching this all come together.
> The color looks close to British Racing Green, so this will certainly make it faster


Thanks, I hope I can keep up the pace to keep guys interested!



chipper1 said:


> Maybe it would work better if you used a different color grease Bob lol.
> Nice job on that, odd it isn't working well for you.
> Wonder if its because of the very fine dust off your extremely hard woods.


That may not be a bad idea. Also some "bearing" greases may not cut it at those high speeds and loads. At 5000 feet per minute blade speed, a 3" diameter roller is running 6400ish RPM, a 2.5" roller at 7640ish RPM, and 2" roller at 9550ish RPM. Have you tried a high quality bearing? Different grease? Shielded bearings? I used to buy shielded bearings for another application but basically the same setup that would be submerged repeatedly in water and mud. I would pull the inner shield and drill a tiny grease purge hole in the outer shield. Helped increase the bearing life immensely.


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## BobL (Mar 9, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Hi Bob, my mill utilizes roller guides with sealed bearings.
> 
> This page shows the components on the Linn Lumber mills.
> 
> ...


Thanks very much for that info and it all makes sense - I will try with some sealed bearings.


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## BobL (Mar 9, 2022)

I had a closer look at the Linn Lumber 1900A and 1900 models on line and realise that our mill must be an older model as it is a bit larger all round than with those mills.
Ours has a 27HP Kohler motor, a 36" max width cut , so can handle a 42" wide log. I think it has 26" wheels, and the band guide rollers are wider to supports 2" wide blades. I spoke to the boss about about an hour ago and now we know where we can get parts he's now considering rebuilding this mill.
The best thing is the boss is thinking about moving it under cover to better protect the mill - this also means I will be able to use it more often in winter which is when all our rain falls. In summer its also too hot, this summer we've had 13 days where daytime maxes have gone over 105F, and 32 days over 95F.
We are going to need a new hydraulic ram as the old one leaks, slowly - but enough to be irritating and we have lost a couple of blades because off loss of tension during a cut.
Instead of water from a hose we are going to go with a water tank with the usual dash of dishwashing liquid.
We need to do something about the guides, starting with reinserting the original rollers with new bearings but we might go to something with added support from underneath.
Two of the log bunks have major dents and need replacing. 
There are couple of other rthings that need attention but I can't think of then ATM.
I will be really interesting to hear how you get on with yours and will be great to have someone with a smiler mill design to talk with about with.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 11, 2022)

Hi Bob, here is the bearing setup for my roller guides.







They don't have a very high load rating.





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## SweetMK (Mar 11, 2022)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news,, but, there is a 99% chance that the *very fine sawdust* BobL produces is the cause of the bearing failures.

I worked for a company that built VERY high voltage (6,000 volts) and pretty high amperage distribution cabinets and we used a fiberglass type material to make brackets and supports for the copper bus bars..
The material came to us like sheets of plywood, except it was sheets of glass mat, instead of wood.

Rather than sawing, and drilling, someone saw a CNC router that was designed for wood.
It had six spindles, and ran like 20,000 rpm. They installed the machine, (this was about a $250,000 machine.)
The 1" (25mm) thick fiberglass routed beautifully,, EXCEPT,, the dust was VERY fine.
Within two weeks, all the spindles were destroyed.

The company even built a new design "air seal" that used large amounts of compressed air to try to keep the dust away from the bearings.
That failed.

It turned out that the ONLY thing that would help was slowing down the spindles.
To save the bearings in the spindles, a 50% reduction of speed was required.
We ended up having to buy a second machine,, to keep up with production demands.

Ultra fine dust is REALLY hard to keep out of bearings,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, changing the type bearing seal may not help.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 11, 2022)

SweetMK said:


> I hate to be the bearer of bad news,, but, there is a 99% chance that the *very fine sawdust* BobL produces is the cause of the bearing failures.
> 
> I worked for a company that built VERY high voltage (6,000 volts) and pretty high amperage distribution cabinets and we used a fiberglass type material to make brackets and supports for the copper bus bars..
> The material came to us like sheets of plywood, except it was sheets of glass mat, instead of wood.
> ...



I work with systems from 345,000 volts AC right down to 5 volts DC and am very familiar with the insulating board you describe. Nasty stuff for sure when you cut it.


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## SweetMK (Mar 11, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> I work with systems from 345,000 volts AC right down to 5 volts DC and am very familiar with the insulating board you describe. Nasty stuff for sure when you cut it.


The fiberglass board is red in color,, 
when the first dead spindle was returned,, the company said 
*"something has caused the grease to turn red!"*

They had never done anything other than wood before,, 

I just remembered the name,,,* "GLASTIC",,*


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## blades (Mar 11, 2022)

Number of years ago I rebuilt a band saw for a customer every bearing in the the unit was locked up. They were and still are cutting various types of insulation boards from fiberglass and ceramic composit materials. That stuff just eats bearings and blades.


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## BobL (Mar 11, 2022)

Thanks for the info OH_Varmntr. The bearings in our mill rollers are exactly the same number as yours.
Unfortunately I can't reuse the old bearings as sealed bearings because I have removed both the seals from the inner bearings, and removed the inner seal and drilled small holes in the outer seal of the outer bearings to let the grease through. 

Re: DUST Comments
Thanks for the info on the fine dust and bearings.
The thing was that when I used the grease purging method, dust in the bearings was not a problem.
The bearings still turned turned fine after cutting but the bearings and rollers got hot which is why I now suspect the grease?
FWIW while cutting we use a decent stream of cooling water both above and below the blade so there's not much fine dust floating around but theres a lot of sawdust mud. 

I contacted Linn Lumber about this and within 12 hours I received a detailed reply from Chris King. I was really impressed that he replied to the operator of a 20 year old Linn Lumber kit mill. He mentioned that they supply rollers with both sealed and greased bearings but unfortunately did not provide any answers about the type of grease. He suspects the back of the back of the blade might have been too close to the back rim of the roller - he recommended an 1/8" gap - I cant remember what we used.
I have sent him a couple of more questions about setup and hopefully he will reply.

I'm going to try new sealed bearings and see what happens. 

Thanks again to everyone who replied.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 11, 2022)

BobL said:


> Thanks for the info OH_Varmntr. The bearings in our mill rollers are exactly the same number as yours.
> Unfortunately I can't reuse the old bearings as sealed bearings because I have removed both the seals from the inner bearings, and removed the inner seal and drilled small holes in the outer seal of the outer bearings to let the grease through.
> 
> Re: DUST Comments
> ...


I was wondering about that also. Too much moment load caused by the back of the band riding on the roller guide wheel flange will prematurely wear bearings. Especially in this application where the bearings are quite small to begin with and are certainly not designed for such loads.

I'm looking forward to hearing results of your experiments with your mill!

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## BobL (Mar 11, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> I was wondering about that also. Too much moment load caused by the back of the band riding on the roller guide wheel flange will prematurely wear bearings. Especially in this application where the bearings are quite small to begin with and are certainly not designed for such loads.
> 
> I'm looking forward to hearing results of your experiments with your mill!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


I just picked up some new sealed NSK bearings from our local (2.5 miles away) bearing store - US$14 for 4 so if they don't work out it's not going to break my bank account. It's going to be a while before I can get down to the milling yard to try them out as we're tied up for the next few days.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 12, 2022)

I was hoping to make some headway tonight but I've run into a big of a snag for now. While mocking up the bunks and laying out the log stops I noticed if placed where the print shows, the log will be clamped too far towards the axle of the fixed band wheel and will contact the band wheel and fixed roller guide.

I believe I've figured out why and have sent an e-mail requesting the location of the threaded mounting holes for the sawframe. Hopefully the resolution will only involve drilling and tapping 4 new holes and I can continue on here.

Here's a picture of what I'm referring to, I've grayed out the print out of respect for Chris and his property.


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## BobL (Mar 13, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> I was hoping to make some headway tonight but I've run into a big of a snag for now. While mocking up the bunks and laying out the log stops I noticed if placed where the print shows, the log will be clamped too far towards the axle of the fixed band wheel and will contact the band wheel and fixed roller guide.


Those stops are are not really for holding logs but for thinnish billets or cants which means they can also be very small.
Those on the woodlander small mill (red arrows in picture) are only about 1/4" thick, the ones on our bigger mill are ~1/2" thick
I usually use those If I am splitting a 2" thick boar into a 1" board.
Anyway, you are correct their inner edge should be just inboard of the blade guide mechanism.
Logs and tall billets are normally help up against removable steel tube verticals as shown by in the picture - this ensures that no part of the log should come into contact with the guides.
The Woodlander has two lengths of those tube but they need to be located a bit further inboard otherwise they would come into contact with the wheel shroulds.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 13, 2022)

Hi Bob, you are correct, my use of the term log in the context of these clamps is incorrect. I haven't progressed far enough along to start installing the log stops at this time.



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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 14, 2022)

Okay, so it's confirmed that I had 4 holes located incorrectly, so I've remedied that. While waiting to hear from Chris I began building the sliding clamps and got them finished last night and got a coat of paint on them today. These slide along the bunk tops and have both a sharp point for holding cants and adjustable height bars for logs.
















Next I will be locating the square tubing on the bunks that will accept the adjustable height backstop bars on the fixed end of the bunks.


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## BobL (Mar 14, 2022)

I received further Information from Chris at Linn Lumber about the rollers. He said my "flow through grease" roller mod should work fine but high speed grease should be used. I found out from a machinist that the Blue grease I used would be too viscous for the bearing speeds involved and I should be using a Bentonite based (brown or tan) bearing grease.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 14, 2022)

BobL said:


> I received further Information from Chris at Linn Lumber about the rollers. He said my "flow through grease" roller mod should work fine but high speed grease should be used. I found out from a machinist that the Blue grease I used would be too viscous for the bearing speeds involved and I should be using a Bentonite based (brown or tan) bearing grease.


Thats good to hear Bob! I'm not a chemist or anything, just a lowly electrician. I learned the hard way about mixing grease in motors and other expensive gear with precision bearings to know you have to use the right stuff.


This is more like it! I have a video uploading now. Should be done soon.






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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 14, 2022)

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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 15, 2022)

Lots of progress today, I'll upload another video tonight. 

Sneek peek...


















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## SweetMK (Mar 15, 2022)

I am surprised there is not a spring loaded "idler" pulley on that drive belt.
The idler pulley does several good things,, besides keeping the belt flap to a minimum,,,
(more wrap around the pulleys,, etc,,)


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 15, 2022)

SweetMK said:


> I am surprised there is not a spring loaded "idler" pulley on that drive belt.
> The idler pulley does several good things,, besides keeping the belt flap to a minimum,,,
> (more wrap around the pulleys,, etc,,)


I've thought about adding one. It would lessen the intervals between belt tensioning. Wouldn't take much. 

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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 16, 2022)

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## Franny K (Mar 16, 2022)

The acme threaded rods are the Linn stuff I like. I think a set is like $450.00

I don't see balancing drillings in the pully parts used as band wheels.
I don't see how to adjust the band wheels other than shimming pillow blocks on one side or loosening all bolts and having play in the holes.
Same for the adjustment of the roller guides not shall we say the industry norm.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 16, 2022)

I'm not familiar with industry norm, but camber adjustments are done where the raise/lower framework bolts to the vertical sliders.






As far as bearing shimming goes, there are spacers on the axles between the bearing races and the band wheels to locate wheels. I centered everything and aligned it on the bench with a straight edge then with a blade tensioned on it. It needed very little tweaking but we will see how it does at full speed in wood. 

The roller guides are adjusted through their frame mounting bolts. The holes are oversized.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 16, 2022)

The track is fully welded and needs some paint. This is just a staging area to run it a bit.





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## Screwbolts (Mar 17, 2022)

Your Work is excellent, Looking very good!


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 17, 2022)

Screwbolts said:


> Your Work is excellent, Looking very good!


Thank you, I hope it cuts as good as it looks!

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## TRTermite (Mar 17, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Some progress this evening. The crossmembers for the track are welded up. These will receive 2 drilled and tapped holes. One on either end of the top to bolt the bunks down to. There will be spacers to hold the bunks up off the crossmembers to allow space for the log holders to slide. Only the center 4 will have them.
> 
> I began assembling the carriage but the paint isn't as cured as I'd like it to be so it will cure atleast one more night.
> 
> ...


What are the dimensions on your carriage wheels? (Probably to big for a belsaw)


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## BobL (Mar 17, 2022)

Terrific job - looks totally pro!
I just noticed your mill doesn't have the" batwing" wheel guard door openings.
Does this mean you have to completely remove the guards off to replace a blade etc?


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 17, 2022)

TRTermite said:


> What are the dimensions on your carriage wheels? (Probably to big for a belsaw)


The bandwheels or the wheels the carriage rolls on the track?

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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 17, 2022)

BobL said:


> Terrific job - looks totally pro!
> I just noticed your mill doesn't have the" batwing" wheel guard door openings.
> Does this mean you have to completely remove the guards off to replace a blade etc?View attachment 974206


I pull one pin and they slide off.











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## TRTermite (Mar 18, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> The bandwheels or the wheels the carriage rolls on the track?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Carriage wheels. 2 or 3" diameter


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 18, 2022)

TRTermite said:


> Carriage wheels. 2 or 3" diameter



Being installed the way they are it's difficult to get you an accurate reading.

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## SweetMK (Mar 18, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Being installed the way they are it's difficult to get you an accurate reading.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


What's difficult??
Get them x-rayed, the lab tech can give you an accurate dimension,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## Screwbolts (Mar 19, 2022)

TRTermite, seems to be totally oblivious to the "Fact" that he could go directly to Linn Lumbers web site and ask the question there of the fine people of Linn Lumber. "You can not teach someone anything, You can only help them discover it from within"


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 19, 2022)

Screwbolts said:


> TRTermite, seems to be totally oblivious to the "Fact" that he could go directly to Linn Lumbers web site and ask the question there of the fine people of Linn Lumber. "You can not teach someone anything, You can only help them discover it from within"



No worries, I'm all for answering a guys questions.

2" wheels.


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## TRTermite (Mar 20, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> No worries, I'm all for answering a guys questions.
> 
> 2" wheels.
> View attachment 974855


I Thank You For The picture . I would think some of the M14 sawmill owners would appreciate this option for their carriage issues. Your thread / project is moving right along. NICE WELDS too


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 22, 2022)

SweetMK said:


> I am surprised there is not a spring loaded "idler" pulley on that drive belt.
> The idler pulley does several good things,, besides keeping the belt flap to a minimum,,,
> (more wrap around the pulleys,, etc,,)


Parts came in for my idler setup.


20220322_124858


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 22, 2022)

I couldn't resist making a test cut now that I have a tensioning cylinder that doesn't leak. There was a burr in the threads that I had to tap the hole deeper to remove. Going to put finishing touches on the mill tonight then hopefully the rain holds off and will throw a log on tomorrow for a run.



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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 22, 2022)

First tensioner attempt. I don't think it's tight enough.



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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 23, 2022)

Knocked the remaining few tasks off the list today prior to hauling it back to the woods with the tractor and getting poured on. I am ready to throw a log on and try it but of course we have nothing but rain the next 72 hours. 

Welded the track frame tubing ends on and tapped them for eyebolts, added an oil drain hole in the motor mounting plate and changed the oil while I was at it. Also tensioned the belt a bit tighter this time and it seemed to have really helped the bouncing tensioner. I may order shorter springs so I can get more preload in them.


20220323_113559

Soldered a tab on my lube drip tube and mounted it. 


20220323_114319


20220323_114706 


20220323_115253


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 29, 2022)

Broke her in this morning.


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## BobL (Mar 29, 2022)

Looking really Nice !
I couldn't tell if you were running any water cooling or not?
Thanks heaps for teh pictures and vids - very useful to me

Some suggestions:
Move the throttle to the side of the mill frame so you don't have to climb over the bunks as you mill.
Add some carriage stops at both ends
Turn the blade tension pressure gauge so you can see it while running. If for some reason the pressure starts to drop you can see it and stop before the blade comes off 

Your build has given me the impetus to start a rebuild of our Linn mill. 
One thing I can see from your vid is I need to remake the infeed roller support - the previous owner had chewed this out to get extra range of adjustment - who knows why this was needed but he also put shims under the follower wheel bearing supports presumably to level the blade between the wheels but I think he might have been chasing his tail. Anyway its a mess. I will start a new mill refurb threadd so as not to clutter up your terrific build story..


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 29, 2022)

BobL said:


> Looking really Nice !
> I couldn't tell if you were running any water cooling or not?
> Thanks heaps for teh pictures and vids - very useful to me
> 
> ...



Thanks Bob!

I wasn't running water as my tank was frozen. I added 2 cups of diesel and it separated from the water over the last few days and we had temps into the teens the last few nights.

The throttle isn't that far over, I was experimenting to see how different positions varied the amount of input required to push the carriage. Walking just outside the track allows me to see the tensioner gauge. If anything I will add a bracket to position the throttle at an angle.

There are carriage stops at both ends of the track. The track is angled slightly downward in this spot so it freely rolls to the end and stops.

It was a lot of fun and I made a ton of 1x1 1/2" stickers.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## BobL (Mar 30, 2022)

OH_Varmntr said:


> Thanks Bob!
> 
> I wasn't running water as my tank was frozen. I added 2 cups of diesel and it separated from the water over the last few days and we had temps into the teens the last few nights.


We sure could use some of that coolth here. We've had a long hot summer only 3/8" of rain for all of Dec, Jan, Feb and March. Zero rain from Dec 20 to Feb 6. Its been threatening to rain (humid) for about a week but we've barely had 1/12" of rain for the last 3 weeks. I hate it when there's clouds but we still have run air conditioners to stay cool.


OH_Varmntr said:


> The throttle isn't that far over, I was experimenting to see how different positions varied the amount of input required to push the carriage. Walking just outside the track allows me to see the tensioner gauge. If anything I will add a bracket to position the throttle at an angle.


Fair enough.


OH_Varmntr said:


> There are carriage stops at both ends of the track. The track is angled slightly downward in this spot so it freely rolls to the end and stops.
> It was a lot of fun and I made a ton of 1x1 1/2" stickers.


Fun is a bonus. Happy tikes.


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## OH_Varmntr (Mar 31, 2022)

I've been looking at blade sharpening systems and after watching a few videos decided it's something I can build. I ordered a cheap 110v chainsaw sharpener and a 12v gear motor with power supply a few days ago and will be building one once those come in.


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## BobL (Mar 31, 2022)

I'm looking forward to see what you come up with.
We've been using an automated Dinasaw sharpener and manual Dinasaw setter for the last 8 years.
Even though I've on and off been sharpening and setting BS blades for close to 8 years I still am far from what I would call a pro but here are a few comments that might be useful.
We started with a ceramic wheel but it seemed to wear quite quickly although I may have been just trying to take off too much off in one pass which knocked the stuffing out of the ceramic wheel. Dinasaw grinder wheels are a custom fit to the sharpener so using other wheels would have been tricky so eventually we got a DInasaw diamond wheel and this lasted for 7 years - only got a new one a few months back.
Touching up tips is quick and easy but eventually the entire tooth needs reforming and I find this takes a bit more time and finesse especially as I use multiple passes to get things right.
Consider practicing on an old blade since there will be mistakes. On my first attempt I managed to cut the tops of half a dozen teeth before I worked out why.It took me a couple of years to let the sharpener run unattended but.even now I dont wander of out of sight. Now I can be resetting one blade alongside another being sharpened.
I'm finding that resetting even after a light touch up is worth it as it produces the least wandering cuts but that may be because we're using about 25-28"' sets and because of the hardness of the wood being cut. You can probably get away with less in your wood.


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## OH_Varmntr (Apr 1, 2022)

BobL said:


> I'm looking forward to see what you come up with.
> We've been using an automated Dinasaw sharpener and manual Dinasaw setter for the last 8 years.
> Even though I've on and off been sharpening and setting BS blades for close to 8 years I still am far from what I would call a pro but here are a few comments that might be useful.
> We started with a ceramic wheel but it seemed to wear quite quickly although I may have been just trying to take off too much off in one pass which knocked the stuffing out of the ceramic wheel. Dinasaw grinder wheels are a custom fit to the sharpener so using other wheels would have been tricky so eventually we got a DInasaw diamond wheel and this lasted for 7 years - only got a new one a few months back.
> ...


Thanks Bob. I came across this video on YouTube and figured why reinvent the wheel as this gentlemen explains everything really well. I have enough scrap at home to make one and have about $70 in motors at this time.


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