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new member (sawmill question)

Started by b dukes, January 10, 2010, 02:01:37 PM

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b dukes

Hello, everyone! I am really new to all of this and have alot of question. I want to purchase a sawmill of my own. I have been looking but am not sure what kind would be the best. I think the Belsaw m14 ?  I also have been talking with a man that has a meadows mill for sale.  I want a mill that is pto powered, I have a 80hp tractor.  I have a friend that said his grandfather had an old mill , after digging through the wood what we found was a sawmill but in pieces. It seems to be all there, but has a wooden frame that is almost all rotted away. I will post some pics when we go back and get it this weekend so maybe someone can tell me what I have.

Bibbyman

Welcome to the forum.   8)

Good luck on your project.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

WH_Conley

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place. If that mill can be identified anywhere it will be right here. Either someone has one or can point you in the right direction to get info.
Bill

beenthere

Welcome to the forum.
Sounds exciting.
If you haven't already, look back at previous posts that have members' pics and experiences finding similar piles of mills without much wood support left. Think in Bibyman's gallery you will find some as well.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Magicman

I can't help you with your circle mill questions, but I can say Welcome to The Forestry Forum.  There are plenty of experienced circle mill sawyers here..... 8)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Meadows Miller

Gday

Welcome to the forum Duke you have come to the rite place Mate  ;) ;D ;D  8) 8) 8) 8)

With the mills we'll have alook at what you bring home from your mates place for a start  ;) out of the meadows and the bellsaw id go the meadows personaly  ;) :D as i have seen acouple of manual portables going for the $2-4K mark in the US  that where tidy units plus ittl save you gettn the upgrade bug earily going for a heavy built mill firstup  You can also get new parts from meadows which will save some dramas if you want to avoid fabricating parts up for you mill  ;) :D ;D ;D 8) With the hp 80hp should do just fine swinging an 48" blade and lighter freed speeds and a blower  Looking forward to pics Mate  ;) ;D 8)

Regards Chris
4TH Generation Timbergetter

zopi

Welcome..you found the right place..

Dunno beans about circle mills...

Will make you a nice deal on an LT-15 though....with suitable donations to the forum... ;D
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

motohed

Welcome to the forum , you will find good friends here ! You will also find more information then can be digested .

apm

Welcome, b dukes, to the endless journey! I was in your shoes a little over thirty years ago. At that time, I went with the Meadows. It was in similar condition to what you describe, rotting wood and a bunch of parts. It took a very long time to get it all sorted out and functional, but you learn a ton of stuff in the process, like "hot babbit splashes and burns through the first layer of skin pretty quickly", and "never back into a running belt with a steel lacing". (ever seen a butt split both ways?)  ;D

Later, due to the requirement for help to operate the Meadows, I sold it and bought a Belsaw M14, brand new. I'm only operating on a hobby basis now, so it was the best choice for me. The meadows was a "real" sawmill and very productive, but you needed at least three men and lots of power to operate it efficiently. The Belsaw has it's limits but saws a surprising amount of very true lumber very quickly.

Of the two choices, probably would be up and sawing quicker with the Belsaw, maybe cheaper, too. But if you intend to saw big logs or longer than about 12' you'll need the meadows. 80 hp will be more than enough to make a Belsaw sing.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Greg
Timberking 1600 now

b dukes

Thanks for all the input so far. What I want is to buy a mill now and as I get time fix the one we are going to get this weekend. , if possible.  And if not I guess I can put it up for parts.  As I said I think all of the pieces are there, but I am not sure of the time frame it would take to rebuild it.  It seem to be a really old  mill having all babbit bearings. What I would like is some suggestions on what kind of mill I should try to purchase., and some possible leads on where to find one. I want a circular mill that I can power off the pto of my tractor. All I need it for sawing around the farm.

b dukes

You answered a big question I had. Of all I have seen and read the belsaw, like the m-14 are more user friendly that some of the other mills. A one person mill.  I found a m-24 for sale but it has a wooden frame. What is the price range I should expect to pay for the  m-14 .  Also what kinda price is on an saw blade with inserts, Like a 44" or so and are they easy to come by.

bandmiller2

Welcome Duke,if your not going into production the Belsaw will do you fine.The big advantage with the Belsaw is the tractor is behind the mill and not in your way ,to handle boards and slabs.There are complete manuals for Belsaw mills on the internet.Hard to give you a price so much depends on what comes with it and its condition I wouldn't pay much no great demand for circular mills now.A headsaw 44" in diameter would be perfect for a belsaw.Doesn't the mill come with a saw??if not its not worth much money.Look up a local sawmill and ask who hammers their saws usally the hammersmiths have or no where good used saws are.You want a saw with a common and available bits and shanks."B" pattern shanks with 30/32 teeth would be about right.When you say wood Belsaw you mean wood under the track I think they all had steel carriages,don't be afrade of the wood.Meadows is a good mill but if its a right hand mill the tractor PTO will turn the wrong direction.keep us posted ,say hello to Daisy Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Carpenter

Welcome to the forum,
I think you should fix up the old mill, its fun ;)
Of course, you do what you feel is necessary.  Fixing up an old mill is a lot more work than it looks like it should be but rewarding in the end, (I hope). 

Meadows Miller

Gday

Frank That Daisy was one nice Girl Mate  :o :) :) ;) :D ;D ;D

Duke with the saw you can go to www.arsaw.com they have New Bh payne 44" 8 gauge insert saws at $1183.00 set up with how many teeth you want which for around 80 hp would be about 30 tooth  ;) normal steel bits which you can sharpen with a mill file will run at about $1.20 ea i run arsaw tct bits at $3.30 ea but you will need to get a sharpener with a dimond wheel in it to sharpen them  ;)

I run the same saw settup  with 38 teeth with 9/32 bits running at 650 to 700rpm  pto drive with a 6306 perkins 80hp in a chamberlain tractor and it does a great job in pine and recycled hardwood warf piles which is about the hardest going you could get  ;) the chaimberlain also runs the hyd feed and a 8" blower of the mandrel aswell  ;)

With mill choise its like the old saying The poor man pays twice  ;) I know ive done it myself  :o :) ::)  if the bellsaw is going to be an interm measure  and it needs alot of work id put my effort into getting the bigger machine going strait of the mark if all of the components are there which we will be able to tell if you can take some detailed pics of the husk ,carriage and feedworks rebuilding a frame w/out the old one isnt to hard if your handy with a tape measure  ;) ;D  you could get a mill going in about a month of full weekends another advantage would be if you have a barn to work in on it in the evenings i stripped down painted and reassebled my carriage in about 8 hrs over two days  ;) the worst part was waiting for the paint to dry

With pto drives you can set any carriage up to run of them aslong as your not overdoing it with the power requirement of the mill  ;) ;D

Carpenter Itll be Rewarding your doing a Top Job Mate  ;) ;D ;D 8) 8) 8) 8)

Regards Chris  
4TH Generation Timbergetter

Tripp

Welcome,

All good advise so far.

If you would be interested in seeing a m-14 set up and running come by and visit.
I am in Appling, GA. Which is about 30 minutes west of Augusta, GA.

Tripp

bandmiller2

Duke,just rambling on here, the hardest part of a circular mill is the foundation and alignment,once you get a mill setup you won't want to do anouther right away.There is really nothing you can interchange between the belsaw and the handset meadows.Belsaw even uses a headsaw with a smaller arbor hole than a standard mill.You can use a standard saw with a 2" hole on a Belsaw with a bushing but not the outher way around.Do any of the mills your looking at come with a saw that is usable thats the big buck item.A little rust can be cleaned off, saws live a long time as their made with alloys that resist rusting.Tractors provide good torquey power but it seems you always need the tractor for something else when its hooked to the mill.If your going to use the Meadows save as much of the wood as possible to copy if its set up take pictures and measurements.If your not a "handy"person working with wood/metal probibly best stick with the Belsaw.Sawyers tend to hang on to old saws for emergencys ,that usally never come,very often they will have older smaller saws around that can be had, ask around.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

KyTreeFarmer

Hi and Welcome to the forum. Have you checked out craigslist or sawmillexchange on the internet. Both are good places to find m-14's for sale. Good luck on your project. You will find information on this forum that you didn't even know you would need to know.
KTF
Woodmizer LT15G
Belsaw from Sears & Roebucks
8N Ford
87 Kubota 2550 W/FEL

fstedy

Timberking B-20   Retired and enjoying every minute of it.
Former occupations Electrical Lineman, Airline Pilot, Owner operator of Machine Shop, Slot Machine Technician and Sawmill Operator.
I know its a long story!!!

customsawyer

Welcome to the forum and might I add that I drive right past you most every day.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

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