Author Topic: groundhog sawmill (Read 1135 times)

duck_nutt · « **on:** January 27, 2012, 05:54:07 pm »

hello everyone. glad I found this place. I have a question to anyone with knowledge of the old groundhog circular blade sawmills. My father in law(80 years old) recently decided to bring the old sawmill back to life! it has been sitting there for over 20 years. he occasionally(every other year) started the engine, but it's in need of some TLC....rotting wood and stuff like that around there....we have 3 large blades, i'm guessing 50 inches or so in size...one is 'cupped' a little and he was looking for information on hammering one out, or 'pecking' it, as he calls it...is there anyone here familiar with the process or know where i can get some information on the subject...the folks around us who ran those kind of mills are getting a little long in the tooth. kinda hard to get much information from them...any help will be appreciated

we do have the mill running. first thing we did was run the carriage off the tracks

..got that back, and the pole that has the drag chain broke

..it's a constant battle keeping it going, but we're having fun!

beenthere · « **Reply #1 on:** January 27, 2012, 06:15:28 pm »

Welcome to the forum.
You will get a lot of help here, I am sure.

Here is a place to start. The publication by Stan Lunstrum is excellent for working on your circular mill.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/circsaw.pdf

The saw blades at rest do have a dish to them, and flatten out when turned up to hammered rpm.

duck_nutt · « **Reply #2 on:** January 27, 2012, 06:31:25 pm »

tyvm beenthere...i'm printing it out now..
2 of the blades are only slightly cupped and run true at the right rpm...we just have one that's stubborn

Sprucegum · « **Reply #3 on:** January 27, 2012, 06:33:05 pm »

Welcome to the Forum

I have an old circle mill too and I have knocked the carriage off the track twice so I am waay ahead of ya!

Is "Groundhog" the name on the mill or do you call it that for some other reason?

duck_nutt · « **Reply #4 on:** January 27, 2012, 06:39:45 pm »

that's what i've always heard him call it.....it was pieced together by his brother in law many years ago.....it has a big diesel engine that runs it...'ve heard he bought parts from all over....piecing it together....maybe frankenmill might be a better name

beenthere · « **Reply #5 on:** January 27, 2012, 07:01:49 pm »

We'll let you fill out your bio so we have a general idea what part of the world you live.

Just click on your name and go to your profile to do that. Also can set up your own gallery and put some pics in it of the "mill" to see what you are working with. Sounds like a fun project to help FIL bring it back to some form of life while he is still around. Not a better way to learn some of what he knows, and it must make him mighty proud of his SIL to know he is interested.

Might have some suggestions from here as to where you have a nearby saw doc to get that third saw worked up. Could be a blade that is extra and never been hammered for this mill.

captain_crunch · « **Reply #6 on:** January 27, 2012, 11:07:19 pm »

Can you post any pics this would help figure out how to help you
Brian

mad murdock · « **Reply #7 on:** January 28, 2012, 12:36:14 am »

Welcome to the forestry forum duck nutt! Sounds like an interesting mill you have resurrected. Can't wait to see pics.

thecfarm · « **Reply #8 on:** January 28, 2012, 09:10:34 am »

duck_mutt,welcome to the forum. Good luck with the mill. Who knows,there may be a member close by that can help.

Rooster · « **Reply #9 on:** January 28, 2012, 09:31:44 am »

haberdasher? Really? How often do you get the chance to use a "cool" word like that? eh? Somewhere there's a men's clothing and accesaries shop owner looking over the top of his spectacles and rolling his sight orbs.

jueston · « **Reply #10 on:** January 28, 2012, 11:01:15 am »

welcome to the forum, i know nothing about older sawmills, but someone will be along that will have all the answers to your questions, i don't think there any questions about sawmills that can't be answered by someone on this forum....

steamsawyer · « **Reply #11 on:** January 28, 2012, 01:41:18 pm »

Well, hello right back Mr _nutt. I'm glad you found this place too. I'm relatively new on this site myself and I really enjoy the time I spend here. There are still a lot of old circle mills out there. I get excited to hear of another one getting reserected.

Your blade should be tensioned for a specific speed, maybe somewhere around 500 or 600 RPM of the saw arbor. You will see the rim flutter and wobble at lower speeds. I would suggest that you spin it up to the governed speed of your engine and see if it flattens out ok. Blade speed is one of the most critical things about your mill. I am sure there are sponsers on this site that are good saw shops but B.H. Payne is the only one I will use. The busness is family owned and every time I have dealt with them they treated me as if I was part of their family.

Getting the old engine limbered up is a big first step. Probably some time would be well invested in cleaning and lubing everything that moves on the husk and the carriage before you try sawing. Perhaps you can saw your own replacement lumber to replace the rotten stuff... that's what I did. Assuming that the old mill ran right in the past you should be able to shoehorn yourself right into the lumber busness.

It appears that most of the millers out there now days are working band mills. I suppose they are more economical to use they are way more portable and they require only one or two people to operate. Since I was born a hundred years too late I have to do things like they did in the olden days....Thank goodness we have these computers and the internet to do the research...

We are going to run my mill tommorow, Jan. 29th if anybody wants to come out and play.

Check out my gallery and youtube channel... steamboatal.

PS... What beenthere said... Indespensible and a very good read....
We gotta have pictures man, pictures.

Banjo picker · « **Reply #12 on:** January 28, 2012, 03:04:52 pm »

I have a buddy from Arkansas that calls small Cir. mills groundhog mills....don't know where the term came from...but I'll ask him the next time I see him. Banjo

millwright · « **Reply #13 on:** January 29, 2012, 05:26:09 pm »

Welcome to the forum, you should be able to get all the information you need here, I take it from your name your a duck hunter. Thats almost as addicting as milling.

Banjo picker · « **Reply #14 on:** January 29, 2012, 06:59:05 pm »

He might even be from Arkansas...they hunt duck over there I am told. Banjo

bandmiller2 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 30, 2012, 09:32:51 am »

Ducky welcome,I would not even consider hammering the saw yourself,thats a trade that takes alot of practice and years to learn.Ask a sawyer in your area who hammers his.Solid foundation and sound timbers are most important,outherwise many problems will arise,will talk more later. Frank C.

duck_nutt · « **Reply #16 on:** January 30, 2012, 11:00:55 am »

wow..what a great welcome...I updated my profile but I'll go ahead and save you the trouble of clicking...

I'm 45 years old and live in carrollton mississippi..I've got some pictures on my phone i'm trying to get on the computer...Yes, as my name indicated i enjoy duck hunting, but I'm trying to wean myselff off that expensive habit...my father in law borrowed an old woodmizer LT 30 a few years back....it had alotta miles on it at the time and the engine was about worn out, but we made some pretty lumber out of those trees...Paw does dirt work for a living...dozers and tractors and dirtpans...he started saving the trees that he had to move and has quite a pile..we also had a storm last year that blew several red oaks over that are huge and straight...that's what got him thinking about the old sawmill...he doesn't want them to go to waste...

i'm really excited I have a place to ask questions.....and do a lotta reading!

I'm an air traffic controller......but thinking about becoming a sawyer when i retire!!

beenthere · « **Reply #17 on:** January 30, 2012, 11:07:13 am »

Quote from: duck_nutt on January 30, 2012, 11:00:55 am

.........I'm an air traffic controller......but thinking about becoming a sawyer when i retire!!

Now that just might be a real positive experience to have handling incoming logs, processing, and re-directing the lumber handling end of the business.

Lambee10 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 30, 2012, 12:54:52 pm »

I had to read this to see what a groundhog sawmill actually was. I thought it was maybe a reference to the movie that keeps repeating itself and he keep sawing the same log over and over and over.

Hey...isn't groundhog day coming up??

I am not sure this is cheaper than duck hunting but you can cut some cool mounts from the knots off the logs.

welcome.

reride82 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 30, 2012, 01:04:11 pm »

Welcome Ducknutt!

Rebuilding that old Circle Mill will be time consuming and very well worth it! Glad to see another Circle miller on here

Levi

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Author Topic: groundhog sawmill (Read 1135 times)