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Band thickness

Started by Forestry Man, July 06, 2011, 10:52:37 AM

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Forestry Man

Quick question. I know that the common blade for bandmills is 1 1/4 x .042 or 1 1/2 x .042
Lets say I'm gonna saw small logs, sometimes up to 40 inch. Type of wood would be softwood like european fir, pine and aspen. Should I use same type of bands on these logs or should I get thinner one cause of the small logs. Thinner band is probably cheaper(can run smaller wheels and that decreases also the total length on band) but also not that strong. What would You suggest?

Banjo picker

Hello there Forestry Man,  I am no blade expert by any means and therefore will only tell you what I use...I have used .042,  .043, and .050  all 1 1/2"...they all cut fine, but I am partial to the .050's ...what is common on one mill may not be common on another...Mills that run smaller engines tend to use the lighter gague blades...

An observation that I have made from your current and past posts:  If you were to build or buy a mill that used very thin bands and attempt to cut 40 inch logs, in all likely hood you would have to gun barrel cut it...which would leave your stationary roller a good ways away from the log...If the mill is not set up near perfect, you will probably get some nasty lumber ....On large logs like that a heaver band is your friend...

Keep reading , there is lots of info on here to help you make an informed decision..Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Forestry Man

Quote from: Banjo picker on July 06, 2011, 05:50:55 PM
Hello there Forestry Man,  I am no blade expert by any means and therefore will only tell you what I use...I have used .042,  .043, and .050  all 1 1/2"...they all cut fine, but I am partial to the .050's ...what is common on one mill may not be common on another...Mills that run smaller engines tend to use the lighter gague blades...

An observation that I have made from your current and past posts:  If you were to build or buy a mill that used very thin bands and attempt to cut 40 inch logs, in all likely hood you would have to gun barrel cut it...which would leave your stationary roller a good ways away from the log...If the mill is not set up near perfect, you will probably get some nasty lumber ....On large logs like that a heaver band is your friend...

Keep reading , there is lots of info on here to help you make an informed decision..Tim
Thanks for sharing your experience Banjo. In my mind I thought that thicker band is the better idea. I am trying to cut down blade cost, so I was also considering thinner blade. But your probably right, it ain't worth it cause I am gonna build my own mill out of scrap.

I also looked up bandblade dealers in Estonia and to be honest, it's bad. There are some of the local manufacturers out there who make and sell bandblades, but I am more than sure that they're not that good as the blades You guys are using over there. The only quality brand I found is Lenox. I sent them a email today. There is also a dealer of Woodmizer products in Latvia(another country in Baltic). I sent them a letter to find out if there is any dealer of Woodmizer blades in Estonia. I am trying to find out what these quality blades will cost. I think I am on the right way If I'm looking for quality blades to cut down the blade cost right?

Banjo picker

If you have access to Woodmizer , I am sure you can get bands from them...I am using the last of an order of Lenox .042 's right now myself....either one would cut good lumber....What engine will you use on your mill?  Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Forestry Man

I got a price list from Latvian Woodmizer dealer today. Now I have to wait one from Lenox and compare the prices. If I'm gonna build a mill one day I probably try both of them, but I just want to get the idea of cost for right now.

I haven't really got deeper into the motor area yet. I know that I have numerous of electric motors laying around the scrapyard. I know that most of them are from Russia, but I need to find out more about them. As I have understood, then more powerful engine gets more out of your blade!? In this case I wouldn't like to go less than 15hp equal to gas engine. But if I have chance I definetly go higher than just 15hp.

I am more concerned about band wheels. There's no chance I can find any proper bandmill wheels in Estonia and I cant afford milling them or buying from somewhere else. I have to consider using automotive wheels, thats best solution for me I think. I've read that automotive wheels have natural crown. Does that mean if set up properly, they gonna track the wheels without no problem?

Cheers

Kansas

I think a lot of people on this forum that built their own bandmills used tires for their bandwheels.

The bigger the bandwheels you go, you can go thicker on the band without stress fatigue. We run .055 on our LT70 with the bigger wheels. We usually went .045 on the smaller wheels  on the LT 40. We tried the thicker blades, but they broke fairly fast. That being said, don't discount going with thinner blades. Our other mill, with loads of horsepower and running a 2" blade, cuts better with one brand of a thinner blade than what we can run. Here we have the luxury of having several band manufacturers to choose from. You might not. But don't be afraid to try different thickness and brands of blades if you have the choice.

A 15 horse electric motor would work. 25 would be better. Not sure if I understand you, but a 15 horse gas would be a bit undersized except for smaller scale cutting. We had an 18  gas on our first Woodmizer, and we cut a lot of lumber with it, but it did struggle a bit at times.

Forestry Man

Thanks for the advice Kansas.

Sorry for being not clear enough. I have read some of the gas engine vs electric motor topics and according to these links...

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Gasoline_Versus_Electric_Motors.html
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Power_Comparison_Between.html
http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/124190.htm

...I understood that electric motor requires less hp for powering a mill than a diesel engine!?

Kansas

Someone on this forum would know more than me how horsepower translates from electric to diesel or gas. For instance, I think that a 25 horse motor would translate to about 40-45 hp gas or diesel. The bigger question is, the engines you are looking at, are the standards different in your country? I am sure someone that knows will pipe up concerning how horsepower is figured in this country. I'm guessing somewhere around 65% of the horsepower of an electric motor at a certain hp will be what the hp delivered on gas or diesel of same rating.

Forestry Man

That's good question Kansas. Unfortunately  I am real dumb when it comes to electrical devices or motors. If someone with more knowledge would spare a word I would appreciate it !  ;)


A little update. I was looking around my scrapyard to find any decent motor but all of them were between 1 to 5 hp. Fortunately my dad came home today and got this beast on the back of the truck

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=26231&pos=2

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=26231&pos=1

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=26231&pos=0

As you can see its three phase 15kw motor. Thats about 20 hp. Not 100 % sure but it should never been used before, just has some rust on it. It weighs 120 kg though...that might be a concern or what do you think. Dad told me that there should be a 15 hp one laying somewhere as well. Need to find that one too.

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