bandsaw flaws

[gene1605]

bandsaw plans

Jim I'm just putting the finishing touch to a smaller mill and will post pics. soon, also have poorly drawn plans, for the small mill about 10 pages, send me a private message with e-male address will send to you.

 

[jdrum]

well as i said above i have a house trailer frame to work with. so my design is taylored to the metal i have.

the head posts will be two 5' long I beams (3 x12) with a set back like genes for a cross support
the hoist ? i have been thinking of using 2" web straping instead of cable ( I already have a bunch of it). drive it with a hand crank using bicycle sprockets and chain (neghbor kid left bike in the woods when he got his dr lics). ive got a couple of lawn mower breaks and calipers and plan to use one to lock the winch to prevent creep down.

i havent really considered guides yet, but will probably go with roller berings .i have used them on vertical bsaws ( 14" to 36" )for years and havent had any real problems, they should work to get me running and if i have trouble i'll go from there.

i plan to be primeraly stationary, so i have opted for 10 or 15 hp 3 ph
electric. but will provide for conversion to gas if i need to go mobile.

 

[gene1605]

Iron

I use New iron, have scrounged other parts, kinda hard to scroung for 150 x mills but it can be done

 

[gene1605]

sawmill picks

Enjoy
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[mtngun]

What are we looking at in this picture ?

Guides.

Motor mount.

 

[gene1605]

pictures

first pic
adjustible band guide
v belt idler
adjustible guide bearing asmbley
10 hp. tecumpsi motor mounts

ps I have 2 pr of these mounts free, any takers, Rman ?????? just need address

 

[Old Hilly]

R-man, that's a bit cool!

Wow, that's what I call cold, r-man. Looking on the bright side, it was about 35 degrees C here today, but on the warm side of the zero degree point on the thermometer. Then there was the 80% humidity and very little breeze to cool things down. At least you can put more clothes on to keep warm. There are limits to how much I can take off. Staying in the creek isn't an option either. One look at me and the cows head for the bush as fast as they can.
Getting back to trailer axles, if you were to use a square section stub axle and drill a hole in it to act as a pivot point you would then have a fairly simple way of adjusting the blade tracking using a long bolt and locknut. But I think someone would have already worked that out long before I did.
Dennis.

 

[r.man]

gene

great detail pics. i love the simplicity and compactness of your design especially since that translates directly to less materials and less work.
i think i caught most of the functions showing in the latest photos but i'm not 100% sure of a couple of things though. let me run them by you.
1) your slides are made of angle with one piece longer than the other to act as a bottom stop for the saw head.
2) adjustment bolts in two sides of the slides to take out slack
3) you adjust band tension with your non driven wheel so i'm guessing you track with the driven wheel.
4) the large T bolt is to snug up your guide slide.
5) you slide the motor mount to tension the drive belt.

here's where i'm unsure:
why does the bottom of the slide have a finger shape to it and what is the larger piece of box steel horizontal near the guide bar?
as to the offer of the mounts i appreciate the thought but its a long way to mail something that heavy. i should be ok for mounts since i have a couple of parts snowmobiles and they use a very similar rubber mount. thanks anyway.
i'm amazed that non of your family wants to take over making that design. the more saws i see and the more i get into design and materials the more i appreciate what a peach it is. thanks again for sharing.

 

[gene1605]

carage frame

after i thought about that lever awhile i guessed it was some kind of offset but the box steel baffled me. does this mean you build your basic carriages standard every time and modify when you choose the size?
i just read that jim is using a house trailer frame for materials, did you build yours out of new steel or did you scrounge some things?
ps it's about -30 F outside tonight with a full moon on fresh white snow. i could probably read outside if i had a large print book and my spectacles on.
if the aussie is reading thats -35 C.

I build 3 different mills with 3 different frames, they are similar in design and sometime use the same size Iron but different length.

Here is one thing that must be done with a 2 post carriage, to eliminate headshake. the bottom of the post must fabricated with less width than the top then spread apart before welding to feet.

 

[gene1605]

questions

great detail pics. i love the simplicity and compactness of your design especially since that translates directly to less materials and less work.
i think i caught most of the functions showing in the latest photos but i'm not 100% sure of a couple of things though. let me run them by you.
1) your slides are made of angle with one piece longer than the other to act as a bottom stop for the saw head.
2) adjustment bolts in two sides of the slides to take out slack
3) you adjust band tension with your non driven wheel so i'm guessing you track with the driven wheel.
4) the large T bolt is to snug up your guide slide.
5) you slide the motor mount to tension the drive belt.

here's where i'm unsure:
why does the bottom of the slide have a finger shape to it and what is the larger piece of box steel horizontal near the guide bar?
as to the offer of the mounts i appreciate the thought but its a long way to mail something that heavy. i should be ok for mounts since i have a couple of parts snowmobiles and they use a very similar rubber mount. thanks anyway.
i'm amazed that non of your family wants to take over making that design. the more saws i see and the more i get into design and materials the more i appreciate what a peach it is. thanks again for sharing.

There is a tab on the bottom of slide to stop the band from hitting the dogs
Probley the band guard [cover ] support

 

[r.man]

aussie

how big is the steel on your scrap trailer? i have been looking for one myself and have high hopes of finding one after the snow is gone. for you sweating koalas, or is it sweating roos, we normally have enough snow from mid november to early april to stop any outside movement that doesn't involve a snowplow. when everthing starts moving in the spring i hope to be to the point that i need a track. talk to ya later.

 

[Old Hilly]

r-man

Unless it is something really big, Say over 25 feet long, most of our caravan trailers are made out of really light-weight tube and by the time the caravan is over 15 years old the chassis is going rusty and not worth doing anything with. It is easier (and cheaper in the long run) to just go out and buy the steel you need rather than stuff around with something that is already just about buggered to start off with.
Hey, you have snow in winter, we get floods in summer. Lots of people get stranded by floodwaters and this gives the emergency services something to do. Lots of people have a boat so that they can get to a main road and then into town. Sort of like being snowed in but much warmer, thank God! Then again, we don't get to ride around on snowmobiles, which really looks like fun.

 

[mountainlake]

the slides dont need bearings
use 2 cables
push guide bearings 1/2 to 5/8 in, keep in mind useing rubber tires, with low hp. and slow 4000 ft. band speed you use less band tension, band breaking is not a problem
Grampa

I'd buy guide bearings from Cooks, a little spendy but they are a important part. I run 1/4" down pressure, 1/2" might bend the blade too sharp around the guide wheel and cause the blades too break. Steve

 

[jacklbrown49]

Brownie

While I was reading I saw pics of Gene's mill and thought it looked doable for me. I am in the middle of my build and have made some mods. I decided if the wheels were coplaner and the tires had enough give when uninflated that I could forgo the tension and alignment adjustments. I used trailer axle stubs and a 3x3x1/4 tube for the saw head. After aligning and tacking the axles in the tube I ordered a band to check tracking. I used a 1 hp electric motor for the test and it worked like a champ. I had no idler on the drive belt and no guides on the band when I tested it. I have some serious vibration and hope balancing the tires will remedy that. The band and belt tracked fine. Tom at Suffolk Machinery said my big problem will be getting blades that are consistent length, but the one he sent for me to test with worked great and I just rolled it on and off of the tires without letting any air out. I only had 25 psi in them when I tested it. Here are some pics of the part pile and headrig running. I would attach a video of the thing running if I and get the file size down. I really appreciate all of the folks here and the help they have been.

 

[jacklbrown49]

Brownie

Here is a link to the video of the headrig test. If this doesn't work let me know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRjIdGweUIY

 

[FJH]

I tried to zoom in on the bearings that support the carriage, not much luck on the zoom, but we can see basic concept.

You may find that you will have problems with this roller track Design,I used this design for my mill !The bearings tend to build up saw dust and make it lumpy to roll!I advise that you put a small angle iron < pointy side up and roll the bearing on that. rolling it flat on flat will likly cause you greif!
There is no good way of keeping the saw dust off the beam I have tryed everything the saw dust just gets there, My bearings are totaly enclosed and the saw dust just keeps coming!

just an observation on my own mill design mistake

 

[r.man]

fjh

thanks for the advice. couple of questions for you.
did you modify your mill with the angle iron?
was the buildup on the wheels or the track?
was your mill a two post, four post or other?
was your base the same as gene's(angle iron tight to the rectangular track)?
have any pics you'd like to share?
appreciate your time and interest.

 

[r.man]

brownie

you made me remember a couple of interesting questions that i keep forgetting about. how do you decide what length band is needed, or if you know the band size how far apart the wheels go. while i'm on the subject of bands, does anyone know if it is cheaper to stay with a particular length? i do know from experience that some larger pipe fittings are cheaper than a slightly smaller size due to the popularity of the larger size.

 

[FJH]

you made me remember a couple of interesting questions that i keep forgetting about. how do you decide what length band is needed, or if you know the band size how far apart the wheels go. while i'm on the subject of bands, does anyone know if it is cheaper to stay with a particular length? i do know from experience that some larger pipe fittings are cheaper than a slightly smaller size due to the popularity of the larger size.

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/7685528731-1172719178-38857/preview/page/
Sorry don't have too many pics hope the above helps some!
My set up is uniqe in design as it is hydralicly driven!I have struggled thur with
mine as I have no time to mess with it at the moment,
I used I beam as that is all I had laying around!
the 2x2 tube welded to the side of the I beam is what the bearings travel on.
the posts are mounted simularly to Genes on an I beam with the flange cut off the bottom bearings bolted thru it and guides on the sides.The upper travel flange over laps the main frame by 2 inches my ill thought theroy was that the saw dust would not I have enough room to get on the lower square tube because it was totaly covered( WRONG). I have very little room to mount angle or it would be done by now.More thought needed here!:chainsawguy: :angry2: Someday!

Your best to biuld to a band so your supplier always has stock! They will how ever build what ever length you need!
Mine happened to be close to a timber king model so my guy always has stock!
Mine is 198 inches !I would atempt to keep it smaller as my blades tend to be pricey stay to a more common woodmizer size or somthing along that line!

 

[mtngun]

I have very little room to mount angle or it would be done by now.More thought needed here!

Hmmmmm....... on metalworking machines like a lathe, it is common practice for the sliding carriage to have rubber or felt wipers, to wipe the chips off the ways (tracks) as the carriage slides along. Would it be feasible to employ a rubber or teflon wiper on a bandmill ?

But, I agree that it would be better to avoid the problem altogether by using inverted angle as a track. It just costs a little more money for the angle and the special wheels.

jacklbrown49, I think tension adjustment and alignment adjustment are very desirable things, but it's great that your saw is working (so far) without them.

Please let us know how your vibration problem is resolved.

I'm filing all this information away with the hope that someday I'll find the time to build a bandmill.