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01 Frick questions

Started by NMFP, November 25, 2011, 09:01:41 PM

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NMFP

Hello Everyone:

Just purchased an 01 Frick wooden mill and wondered if anyone had any drawings or paperwork on installation and so forth?  I didnt know if there was ever any kind of paper work that came with these mills years ago or not but thought I would check.  Looking for some thoughts on building the tracks and so forth.  The wood on this mill is rough but in ok shape, going to replace all of the wood and clean, paint and lubricate all of the metal parts as well.
Thanks so much in advance.  Everyone here on the forum has been very helpful with everything I have ever asked questions about.

NMFP

Ron Wenrich

Lunstrum wrote the book on mill installation and operation.  http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/circsaw.pdf
Its good to look things over before you do an installation, as it answers many questions, and probably causes a few more.

I don't know of any specific booklets on Frick.  http://fricksawmills.com/  is your source for parts, as they bought the rights to Frick mills. 

I've seen lots of mill installations.  I've worked on handmills as well as automatics.  All of them have started at different angles to get to the same type of operation.  Start with a good foundation, and the rest is pretty easy.  You need a stable base and be able to tie it into the husk. 

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

SCSawyer

Congrats, I just sold my old 0 frick mill,  sure will miss it, just search the internet theres no shortage of frick info out there. Good luck
Silas S. Roberts , Bluff Mtn. Timber

Don_Papenburg

I think it is Nation Builders books that I got my books onFrick sawmills One shows the layouts the other has parts and descriptions.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Woodchuck53

Morning. If the mill is intact where it is then pictures, pictures and a few more pictures. Measure everything to scale and transfer all to a large working sheet that you can have copies run off. Put a couple on the dash of the truck and leave them there. The one us use will surely get blown around and smudged. Z

I had used my mill as is for years and when I moved it to my place I took an old man's advice and am now passing it on to you. (Not that i am old or anything)

The rebuild is slow due to funds and other pressing matters like living so don't get in a rush. Paint everything and finish all mods before you mix welding with future sawdust of course. Enjoy the task and you will know everything you will need about your mill by doing this. And yes this is a great source for advice some even wanted. And we like pictures of (How I did it) We can all learn something. Have a great one, Chuck
Case 1030 w/ Ford FEL, NH 3930 w/Ford FEL, Ford 801 backhoe/loader, TMC 4000# forklift, Stihl 090G-60" bar, 039AV, and 038, Corley 52" circle saw, 15" AMT planer Corley edger, F-350 1 ton, Ford 8000, 20' deck for loader and hauling, F-800 40' bucket truck, C60 Chevy 6 yd. dump truck.

NMFP

Thanks everyone!!  Evereyone has been extremely helpful with my questions and thoughts.  I always wanted to get back into sawing with a circular mill again and I think that is finally going to happen again.  I will be posting pictures as the progress happens but probably wont be much until spring.

Thanks for all the help.

NMFP

bandmiller2

NMFP,somewhere on the net I've seen the factory plans for set up, tried to find them now and can't,they were on one of the old machinery forums.The two most important measurements are the elevation between the top of the knees and the arbor loose collar and the distance between the end of the knees and the saw.The distance from the end of the knees to the saw determins last board thickness.If you want to have a 1" last board clearance must be less than an inch to support the bottom of the board,I usally do between 5/8 to 3/4".the end of the knee must be high enough to clear the loose collar and arbor nut.Depeding on the mill and the courage of the sawyer many leave a 2" last board,thats your call.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Ron Wenrich

You might also want to consider the distance of the dogs from the headblocks.  Sometimes they stick out over the end of the knees.  I've clipped the ends of dogs that stick out a might bit too far.  Mill alterations and wear could make a difference from mill to mill.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

NMFP

Frank & Ron:

Thank you for the advice.  These little things are what will make the process go better.  By the way, do you know if the old Frick wooden frame mills were sold as plans or were they sold as complete units you installed yourself?  I see many that are similar but yet, all have different configurations like they were modified at one point.
Also, does anyone know what size carriage was originally supposed to be on an 01 frick wooden husk mill?  the one I have was extended to 18-19'.  i was thinking of shortening it to make my mill more compact because if I need to say long material, I always have my band mill available for that.
Thanks guys and your help is appreciated.
Erich

bandmiller2

Erich,I'd say most were sold with the wood complete,I have herd of mills for export that just had the metal parts to save freight.Local mill builders used southern yellow pine for its stability.I would say 16' is probibly the standard carriage legnth although in those days special orders didn't upset them.My carriage is 14' and its excepted to let logs overhang a couple of feet,so 18' is reasonable.If you have the room and the carriage track leave it long,nice to have the ability to cut long. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Ron Wenrich

Most came with the wood installed.  I've seen some where the paint was still on the wood, and the carriage and track wood matched.  Looked to be factory.

I know one guy that actually put two carriages together to saw barn beams.  He sawed up to 40'.  There isn't any advantage to shortening the carriage.  A lot depends on how many headblocks you have.  For a carriage that length, you should have at least 4. 

Our first mill was one that someone rewooded. He used Doug fir.  Most any type of harder softwood will work, but you want it to be dry. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

NMFP

Ron:
This one has 3 head blocks so I am wondering what the optimal length carriage would be for this set up.  I was thinking the distance between the 1st and 2nd should be 6' and then the distance between the 2nd and 3rd should be 8' but what are your thoughts?  I would like to make everything as correct as possible during the rebuild process.
Thanks, NMFP

Dave_

Erich, watch Ebay.  Frick manuals show up from time to time.  In fact, there is a Frick 100th Anniversary Company History reprint on there right now.

Dave_

In C.H. Wendel's book on sawmills, he shows a Frick O1 from a 1915 company catalog that came with a 25 ft. carriage and 65 ft ways.   

Frickman

I'm currently running a steel Frick 01 I rebuilt from the ground up. I've run and been around Frick and Farquar mills all my life. Lunstrum's book and some common sense are all you need to install and run a Frick, there's not much to them. Just keep everything square, level, plumb and solid, set your lead, and go to work.

Most of the wood mills were sold complete, ready to run. Alot were rewooded over the years with whatever someone had on hand. I don't care too much for the wood mills, as ambient humidity seems to affect their accuracy somewhat. They're not as durable either. Most were sold on price though, they were significantly cheaper than steel mills. They're OK, I've owned and run them. I just prefer steel.

As far as carriage length goes, I've seen everything from ten footers to thirty footers. The longer ones are made of several shorter ones bolted together. My twenty footer is two tens bolted together. Longer is better in carriages. A longer carriage, with more sets of trucks on the track, helps to even out any variations in the track. Basically, it helps you saw straighter. As a rule of thumb the track is usually three times the length of the carriage. You can extend the track, and run a longer carriage, as long as you have enough grooves in your main carriage cable drive sheave to accomodate the extra travel. Shortening a mill, as you want to do, is pretty easy. Lengthening it can be a problem however.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Ron Wenrich

Quote from: NMFP on November 29, 2011, 11:07:08 AM
Ron:
This one has 3 head blocks so I am wondering what the optimal length carriage would be for this set up.  I was thinking the distance between the 1st and 2nd should be 6' and then the distance between the 2nd and 3rd should be 8' but what are your thoughts?  I would like to make everything as correct as possible during the rebuild process.
Thanks, NMFP

You could always add a headblock.  I have a 16' carriage and have 4 headblocks.  Mine is setup with 6' ion the center 2 headblocks, and the front and back headblocks are another 4'.  You don't want a log to hang out too far beyond the headblocks, as the logs will have a tendency to spring.  With your setup, you would saw 8' logs on the front headblocks, 10' & 12' on the back headblocks, and 14'+ on all three. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Sprucegum

My headblocks are 8' apart - too far - I get a lot of bounce in a small cant. Some day I will rebuild and go with 6'.

NMFP

I am thinking about locating a 4th headblock to install on the carriage to help out with longer logs.  As far as species go for building the carriage and husk, I know many people have used southern pine and white oak but is there another prefered species to use as an alternative?  I have white oak logs available but drying it will take time.  Any suggestions there for alternatives?

york

Hi,
i would be thinking about steel and how long is your "set shaft?"

Yes,four head-blocks is the way to go......bert
Albert

Ron Wenrich

Anything that is dry.  I've used Doug fir.  It might be worthwhile to find someone that has reclaimed timbers.  Maybe some old barn beams that you could resaw.  But, I'd stay away from the lighter species like white pine. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

NMFP

Thanks Ron!  Greatly appreciate the help.

York, i do not know how long the set shaft is because of not having the mill to my place until spring.  I have thought about steel.  My thought is to build the foundation out of wood, the carriage out of wood but then install the husk as steel.  Eventually I would change the carriage to steel as well as the ways. 

My foundation I am thinking will be of pressure treated 6x6 every 4', then 2x8 stringers each side with cross bracing followed by 2x8 hardwood for the base of the ways where I can mount the grooved and flat track.  Very similar to the way that Lunstrum shows in the diagram in the book.

bandmiller2

Erich,if you google steam&engines of australia and go to page 8 there are plans for a oo frick mill,yours is an 01 but the plans will give you a good start.If you also google frick sawmill plans theirs anouther site that gives the dimentions of the parts of different sized fricks.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

york

NMFP,
You,have a good project going there-take your time-i bought a meadows mill new,was all wood and on the outer corners of the main rails of the carriage they had let in angle iron to give head blocks more bearing surface-turning logs gives them a good pounding...
    I also,have seen,set shaft`s made longer by using a coupling,in other word`s you could make your carriage,a little longer-just my two cents,bert
Albert

bandmiller2

There are two common systems to mount headblocks on a carriage,the headblock knee assembly like the Frick and the set beam like the Chase and Lane.Set beam is easy to add to just line em up and bolt to the beam.The problem with the headblock knee is getting the gear on the set shaft to move to a new location.I don;t know for sure as I've never worked on one but probibly the gear key is tapered and must be driven out one way.Sand the shaft smooth and lube before an attempted move.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

NMFP

York:
I know the carriage was originally 15' but the previous owner had lengthened it to 18' but still only had 3 head blocks.  I am thinking baout adding the 4th just to make it more versatile but also to help with log movement.  One interesting thing about the carriage and set works on this mill is that it has 2 set levers and 2 sprockets on the set shaft.  I understand how the one is supposed to work but the other one, I will need to investigate when I move the mill in the spring.  I have never sawn or seen a mill that had 2 set levers.  Is this something that anyone else has ever seen or has?  I unfortunately do not have a good picture of it that you can easily see the levers though.

I think I will definately need a good supply of PB blaster for the dissassembly.

Thanks to evreryone,
Erich

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