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ideas for electric feed motor for homemade mill?

Started by markct, August 28, 2008, 12:54:03 PM

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markct

well now that i have my homemade sawmill workin i am looking at adding power feed to it. i was just wondering if any of you had any ideas for cheap motors and controller?

Fla._Deadheader


Look for a used Trolling Motor. Has the controller and motor to match. Get a high torque, if possible.

  Craigslist ???
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

markct

ooo now thats an idea i hadnt thought of ! a trolling motor geared down thru a small chain drive would surely be perfect! and there basicly continious duty, unlike some of my other ideas like window motors or wiper motors outa a car. hmm maybe one of those little electric scooters kids have these days, i see them in the trash from time to time

StorminN

markct,

I use electric wheelchair gearmotors around my Mobile Dimension mill. I've got two that power the sawdust conveyors, and one Rascal scooter motor that powers the up/down on my mill. They are all 24VDC, I power them with two deep cycle batteries in series... but I've run them from 0-30VDC and they work fine.

The wheelchair motors are nice because they're gearmotors from the start, just add a $3 Surplus Center sprocket and a chain and hook them up. They also all have a built-in electric brake (normally ON), so when the power is cut, they don't creep. Check with your local Hospice or old folks home, they always seem to have a broken chair for parts...

Whatever you do, be sure to posts some pics afterwards!

-Norm.

Happiness... is a sharp saw.

Fla._Deadheader


I gathered Wheelchair motors AND Trolling motors, for my build down here.

  You want to be able to reverse, and, high speed reverse on a bandmill, COULD get hairy, when you need to crawl the head back, due to a band jamming in the cut.

  What about up/down power ???  ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Gary_C

Quote from: beenthere on August 28, 2008, 03:43:10 PM
Or the 12v motor in the exercise treadmills...

You are supposed to wear them out on the treadmill, not take them out and use them for something else.

  ;D ;D
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

beenthere

 ;D ;D
Yeah...missed dat part. :D :D

Some part of the controls gave up, and had to buy a new one..after sending for a new control board (must be sommers else).  I use it in the "push" mode, and the motor is the load. Dear wife doesn't like that routine.

Pics







south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

mike_van

Hey Mark, an idea I had [but never tried] would be a hydrostatic out of a lawn tractor - You just drive the hydro with an electric motor, rollerchain from an axle to the carridge drive & control the speed fwd/rev with the hydro lever - ?  For the ammount of load that the hydro would be running, any small electric would probably work.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

markct

yea mike i remember ya mentioning the hydro drive idea that day at your house, definatly an interesting concept indeed, but im thinking 12 volt electric since i wanna be able to drive the whole mill off the motor on the sawhead. your electric saw setup is sweet indeed tho, makes me wish i had 3 phase available at home! ya still have them logs, i been getting my sawmill finetuned on some semi crappy pine logs from a neighbor, they sat a few years so have some bugs bored in them in places, but for the most part they have some decent lumber in some places. but good to get started with indeed, and some are so crooked that theres plenty or slabwood off the sides to keep the maple syrup fire going this spring! but hopefully i will get my flatbed trailer back together soon also and come grab some of those logs from ya

kelLOGg

I use a wheelchair motor, too, for feeding. I put a MidWest Motion speed controller on it and it has worked well for a couple of years. For up/down I use a small inline gearmotue from Surplus Center. See my gallery for pics.
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

bandmiller2

Mark,in the fire service booster reels used to be popular they used a 12 motor that looked like a regular motor,used to reel in the hose.Most fire truck dealerships and service facilities have them kicking around.If you don't have any power now I would consider hydraulics that way you could have a log turner,and log loader as well as hyd. motor feed,no duty cycle or overheating.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

rbarshaw

!2 vdc cordless drill, mounting is the hard part. Just hook it to your 12 vdc source. You can pull the trigger speed control and mount it elsewhere to run it or leave it in place, just have to go to it to reverse. They can be picked up in alot of thrift stores for next to nothing.
Been doing so much with so little for so long I can now do anything with nothing, except help from y'all!
By the way rbarshaw is short for Robert Barshaw.
My Second Mill Is Shopbuilt 64HP,37" wheels, still a work in progress.

solidwoods

Gear motors were built for this purpose.
Use a rheostat to regulate the amps.
,,,,
Or hydraulic is my choice, (brush type dc motors just are a pain in the
) :o (the reason is you have to use just the right electric motor or you will burn it out learning a lesson,, then you use another and learn another lesson then you use another and learn another lesson and on and on).
Hydraulic is simple, off the shelf, forgiving where wires aren't.
And if you add a log turner or toe board it can be tapped also.
jim


Ret. US Army
Kasco II B Band mill
Woodworking since 83
I mill & kiln dry lumber, build custom furniture, artworks, flooring, etc.
If you mill, you'll be interested in some of my work in one way or another.
We ship from our showroom.
N. Central TN.

redprospector

Lot's of good ideas here. I chose a hydraulic motor to drive the feed on my mill, but the right 12/24 volt motor would work.
I use a cable drive on mine rather than a chain. Very easy, and cheap to maintain. Fasten the cable (I use 1/8") to each end of the bed, one end is spring loaded and the other has a system to tighten the cable. I made a flat drum to fit the shaft on the motor, with a couple of wraps of the cable it works like a capstan winch.

Andy
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

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