bandmill question

[sawthemlogs]

i have noticed that a lot of bandmills that i have seen the blade is 90 degrees to the bed rails,  my friend has amill but his is set at more of an angle. i questioned him  why it was  at a angle,his resonse was it pushes threw easier...are all manual feeds at a angle ? does it make adifference / or is this just aselling gimmick

[Tom]

My opinion is that it is a selling gimmick.   When a fellow builds a saw, or modifies it, sometimes he comes up with some really strange ideas.   The folks that like this design say that the entry into the log is softer and some tout that it cuts faster.  I don't see how it can because the angled blade is  having to remove more material than a blade that is 90°.

Still, It's just my opinion.

[Chico]

Totally agree Tom when the saw is full in the cut it is pulling more dust as the width of cut is longer The only thing I can see is maybe you won't have a s much deviation or(bullheading) because you don't strike the saw on the log fully and it has time for the body of the saw  to get in the cut but this might only be a help for newbies imo once you saw and can feel it in the seat of your britches you know what you can and can;t get away with as far as speeds jmo'
Chico

[mike_van]

It does make a world of difference with a chainsaw though - The more with the grain you hold the bar, the longer, stringier the sawdust will be.  Seems to feed easier with  the bar at this angle. I'm not sure this would be the same on a bandmill, it would narrow the throat [capacity] having the head skewed.

[gizmodust]

In agreement with Tom and Chico.  If it were easier to cut on an angle, the vertical bands would have done it long ago.  Mine is a manual bandsaw mill and once you get started it only takes about a log and a half and you can feel it.  JMO

[thecfarm]

I forgot what brand does that.I have a manual mill and the blade is set up straight.If there was really any benefit to it,all the band saws would be set up like that.I don't think it would cause any problems.just looks odd.

[moonhill]

The birds nest you get form ripping with a chainsaw is due to the chain filed for a cross cut, in part?  Band saws are for ripping.  If you have ever tried ripping large stock with a hand rip saw you will feel a difference in the angle of the cut, it has to be the proper angle,if the teeth are forced into the end grain it will be much harder, where if you push the hand saw angled back it is much easier.  It is like patting a cat the hair has to go one way or the cat won't like it.  I see the band cutting square across the cant as the best, most aggressive of either example, a pleasing compromise. 

I have never seen a band mill with a skewed band, any pictures? 

Tim

[ladylake]

 
  It would make sence that it would push easyier. If put at a 45* angle you'ld probably have to hold it back, but at the loss of cutting width. On a push mill more hook would make it push easyier also.  Steve

[Ironwood]

I am sure the "chip" is slightly different. In theory it "could" make a difference, but as stated it has likely been researched by WM, and others. Ones I've seen are yellow (commercially built) and many others that are Amish built.

 Ironwood

[Bibbyman]

 



Mr. Zimmerman with his EZ Boardwalk mill is made that way.  I think there is at least one memeber that has one.  Maybe a couple.

 



He's had his mill at a number of shows in this area.  This time I found him at the Kentucky Wood Expo - 2006

[Haytrader]

 


I am one of those members Bibby.
We have been sawing red cedar and ponderosa pine and one finger will move the mill through the log.
I f you think about it, do you lay a handsaw flat on a board?
I sure like my mill and it will cut a big a log as my tractor can lift.

[Bibbyman]

 



Pretty good balancing act!

We’ve visited with Eli a number of times over the years.  I think the quality and safety features of his mill has improved over the first ones I seen.  The blade was poorly guarded on the first model I seen.

I also see a neat feature for a manual mill in this picture – the ladder like construction in the frame to provide a leverage place to push a log or cant against the back supports.

[Haytrader]

Yes. We use the ladder all the time.
It also has a couple large stops to flip up when loading a log.
I extended the bed on my saw so it cuts 24' to accomodate some long logs.
Those big long logs are almost impossible to turn by hand so we use the tractor w/pallet forks.
If I had hydraulics to turn the log and level it  hmmmmmmmmmm   you know that saying.....wish in one hand and.......

[Chuck White]

The design of this mill really makes a lot of sense! 
With the blade at that angle, it can actually pull itself through the log, and if necessary, with very little effort on the sawyers part.

[ladylake]

 If I had a push one I'd want that design.   Steve

[robnrob2]

MY MIll is made by JT Pickle of Southern bandsaws, and it cuts at an angle, I have laid a speed square on the board and checked the marks left by the band and it is set at 5 degrees, thats not a lot but you can tell it tends to pull itself, specially with a fresh band, and I still can get my guides apart 30", thats a wide board, But I dont really think a lot of angle can be to good, because that also effects the hook the of the band  in the wood,, anyone else agree, if I'm runnin a 10 degree hook on my band and the saw head is also set at 5 degrees, then isnt it correct to assume, I'm actually cutting with a 15 degree hook angle??

[Chico]

Not in my way of thinking Hook is measured on the saw and regardless of the direction it enters the wood it's still 10 Degrees jmo
Chico

[Tom]

Yeah, I think hook is defined by its relationship to the rest of the band/blade and its direction of travel.

But, ripping teeth can be made to cut excelsior too.  The closer you get the teeth to cutting the side of the log in a direction that is parallel to the bark, you will get excelsior.  It makes a big mess on a bandmill too.

The little bit of angle that sawheads are engineered by some, I don't think is enough to cut this way, though it is making the tooth approach the wood from more of this angle than one that sawing straight into the butt, or top, of the log.

Before I become to critical about some of these designs not working, I try to remember, first, that the grain in a log isn't always as straight as we think.  So, moving the head may favor one direction but not the other.  What it doesn't do is make it approach the grain the same way on every log.  By the naturre of things, you will hit grain going all kinds of ways regardless of whether your blade is head-on or set at an angle. \

What we have is the ability for us all to try "our thing".  If it works, we were right.  That doesn't make it wrong. 

[tcsmpsi]

Perhaps if I had both type band angles, on equal manual mills, to try equal logs for a while, I might be able to make a determination.

However, with a fresh band, my heavy headed manual mill will 'push with one finger' as well.  In fact, in some wood/logs, I have to hold it back rather than push at all, as some knots/grain/density are more conducive to the blade seeking the path of least resistance.

I've noticed some logs, with the end cut on an angle, give the impression of the blade starting in the cut easier, but that is largely due to the blade cutting narrower wood, and in some cases has provided a 'false bravado' to start the cut a little too fast.

The best overall condition I have found to facilitate a bit better blade entry into the end of the log, is to cut a bit off the end to expose fresher wood.

A well shaped and sharpened blade, regardless of the manner of power or position, is the greatest bood to sawing.

[Haytrader]

tcsmpsi,

We have to hold my saw back a lot, especially with a fresh band. I just didn't say anything about it cause I wasn't sure if ya'all would believe me.
 
Whether the blade is perpendicular to the log or at an angle, there are x amount of surface square inches to saw with each pass, so in theory, it takes about the same amount of time to make a pass, no matter the relation of the blade to the log.