Breezwood

moonhill · February 06, 2008, 06:07:31 AM

I have been using a Breezewood band mill for the past 13 years. I am wondering how many others are out there? I have 74 feet of track. My longest stick was 53 feet, 9x9, almost no wayne. I have converted the cable feed system over to rubber tires and added pvc tubes to the acme thread lube system. I have changed the bearings behind the drive wheels once or twice and need to again, with a shaft replacement. I have chatted a bit over in the Timber frame section, thought I might see whats going on over in the sawmill department. Tim B.

uplander · February 06, 2008, 10:10:15 AM

Hey there moonhill. How about a pic of that breezewood if you can. I would like to see it.

Uplander

Brad_S. · February 06, 2008, 10:56:00 AM

My first mill was a used Breezewood. I couldn't cut a straight line with it but I'm sure operator error was the main culprit. Andy Riss(?), owner of Breezewood, couldn't have been any nicer or more patient with me. Sure was a strudy built machine.

Brian_Rhoad · February 06, 2008, 01:17:59 PM

I have a Breezewood B2000 mill. I got it new in 1993. I also converted to tires to drive it and the PVC tubing over the acme thread. I can saw 26' on the main track and 50' with the extension I made. I replaced the shafts with harder material to keep them from flexing. The whole mill has been completely rebuilt. I have just redone the log bunks using Woodmizer uprights so they can be adjusted. I made a winch setup to turn big logs. The largest log I've cut is Poplar, 30" + on the small end and 26' long.

thecfarm · February 06, 2008, 05:38:10 PM

I would like to see a picture too.Where was it made,website?

Brian_Rhoad · February 06, 2008, 06:42:51 PM

They are made in Reynoldsville, PA. I don't think there is a website. Phone # is
814-653-9500

moonhill · February 06, 2008, 07:25:03 PM

Brian, can you post pictures, I am not quite there yet, a bit slow in the tech department. What grade steal did you use? This is the second shaft and it would be great to upgrade. I am very pleased with how it cuts, and love those long cuts, 30' and up, the only problem is trucking to the mill, but it usually works out. Tim B.

Brian_Rhoad · February 06, 2008, 09:20:10 PM

I'll try to post some pics. I'll have to take some pics as I don't have any digitals of the mill. I don't know exactly what grade steel was used for the shafts. I took my old shafts to a machine shop and told them to make me some new ones that were harder. They used what they thought was best and they are working great. The old shafts flexed at the bearings and were wore from rubbing inside the race. I had a hard time keeping the set screws tight on the old shafts. I used bearings with locking collars on the new shafts and don't have any problems.

moonhill · February 07, 2008, 06:17:14 AM

I repaced mine with the locking collars as well. I will see what the machine shop says about harder stock. Tim B.

bedway · February 07, 2008, 12:05:57 PM

We want pics,,,,We want pics,,,,We want pics,,,, ;D,,bedway

Tom_Averwater · February 07, 2008, 09:22:07 PM

I've got a Breezewood also. It is down right now also to put new bearings and a new shaft on the drive side. The bearings that they used on these machines were not intended for the amount of pressure it takes to keep the blade tight. How did you guys convert the cable drive system to tires?

Brian_Rhoad · February 07, 2008, 11:00:25 PM

I race gokarts and had some old tires and wheels laying around and got lucky with having the right size for the mill. I replaced the kart wheels with steel wheels and hubs. The tires need to be about 10" in diameter. So what ever size tire comes out to 10" can be used. My wheels are 5" diameter but I think 4" tires may be easier to find in 10"OD. The hydraulic motors have a 1" shaft, so you need a hub for a 1"shaft. If you convert to tires you need to add a flow control valve in the forward output hose. The original pulleys were 8". Going to a 10" tire speeds up the feed rate too much to control with the spool valve. If you put the control valve in the forward control hose, you still have full speed in reverse. The control valve makes it nice to feed slow through big or hard to cut logs. Also you can adjust the air pressure so the tires slip if you hit something solid with the mill. I can hold back the mill with one hand but still have no slippage while making a cut.

moonhill · February 08, 2008, 05:48:35 AM

Brian, I didn't use a flow control valve and it works ok, but it makes sense. I just use the forward lever adjustment to set my feed rate, it can be a bit finicky, and therefor the F.C.V. should offer more control. Have you gone through many tubes? I find I change tubes a couple times a year, they seem to rub inside the tire. I have cut lots of debris through the years the worst was a horse shoe, grown completly within the tree, hidden. The band was trash and the saw just stopped, no flying debris or teeth. That was with the cables, the tires would do the same thing even better.

Andy Riss is a nice fellow to work with. He has moved on to something else though and is no longer making the B2000. The phone number no longer works. I talked to suffolk machine and they know where he is and it is possible to talk to him. Tim B.

Brian_Rhoad · February 08, 2008, 12:41:48 PM

I have the same tubes in the tires as when I used them on the kart. They have been on the mill for over 10 years with no problems. I've cut through fence insulators and hundreds of nails and wire. The worst thing I've hit was a telephone wire "hook". They look like some of the tree climbing screws hunters use. Real hard steel! It just chipped a couple of teeth.. The blade is useable if I resharpen it. It is a Simonds blade.