Corley Head Blocks repair II

[dowlenjj]

My bunks are wore. The front head block has side to side play. I do not think it would cause a tremendous amount of problems sawing, but I am rebuilding the mill, and I want to fix the problem. Has anyone every shimmed the bunks? Or should I look for a used part? I did see a head block for sale on ebay for a Frick mill so guess there are some Corley parts out there. The Ibeam section has been replaced, at some point, by a machinist, pretty good work too.

[ddcuning]

I had my ells on my Frick machined both face and baseand the base it rides on. All square now but there is a larger gap then before. I contacted D&D Sawmill Parts out of Chambersburg PA and they made me a shim kit for my Frick 00. Not sure how different the Corley ell is from the Frick ell but the same kit may be adaptable. It wasn't cheap ($250 per ell) but they said it would fix the problem and the shim kit is good for 1million bf. I am off this week working on the mill and can post a picture if you would like.

Dave C

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

And Welcome to The Forum Mate ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8)

I would just get in touch with Corley in Tn you might be supprised at how reasonable parts are and the beauty of it is that they are still Mfg Sawmills so you need to give them some support imho Mate  ;)

Regards Chris

[dgdrls]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,65335.0.html

may be some parts for you here as well?

DGD

[bandmiller2]

A fella can dump a whole bunch of bucks in an old mill if he's not carefull.Many times homemade shims ,washers and adjustments will do the job.All you need is to be able to cut a square cant and boards within practical tollerances,remember that's why they call it rough sawn lumber.Try it before you condem it then tweek it to satisfaction. Frank C.

[Ron Wenrich]

On some of the old mills, the bunks weren't fastened down.  That way you could move the bunks on the carriage to fit whatever suited.  I've seen many a mill that had shims on them.  Its usually caused by wear on the wood over the years.  You could put a metal strip underneath to reduce the wear and make it easier to move them.  You would have to do front and back to make it level. 

[ddcuning]

Frank C. I have been carefull and still have spent a bunch of money on my mill. I believe it is worth it after all of the frustrations I went through on the previous mill that had everything worn out and everything out of square. It made nice lumber for rocking chairs on most days and every once in a while you would get lucky. I put together the shim kits on all 4 headblocks tonight and will get a picture tomorrow to post.

Dave C

[bandmiller2]

Your right Dave,but not all old circular mills are worth bringing back to life,many should just be kept for parts.Anyone looking at an older handset mill should have a knowledgable sawyer look at it and check for wear.My current mill I mixed and matched the parts from four mills to build what I wanted.Theirs no shortage of old mills,just of guys willing to set them up properly. Frank C.

[ddcuning]

Included is the picture I was talking about. I had the base and face machined then orderd the baseplate and shim. You have to drill and tap the ell then attache the baseplate. The shim then attaches to the baseplate. This takes out all of the side to side motion. I still have to shim just a litte between the gear rack and the wide shim to make it slide easily.

Dave C