Getting a circular mill running

[Joe Hillmann]

I am helping a friend who is getting a circular mill set up.  It has a 60" blade with 44 teeth.  From what I have read on here for a circular mill you want 4-5 hp per tooth.  Is that correct?  Right now he doesn't have a power source for the mill.  If he can find a smaller power source than the 160-220 hp needed can the mill be powered with less power if he leaves every other tooth out of the blade?  If so would that mean he would need 80-110 hp?

[bandmiller2]

Joe, that's the ideal horse power for a production mill with the ideal feed rate.  Your friend can get by with less if he's not in a big hurry. If he's going to find a diesel he might as well get one around 150 HP or a little more, little difference in price. Yes he can cut with every other bit but theirs really no need. Frank C.

[SquareG]

Download the lundstrom sawmill guide.  I think they would want you to maintain the "standard bite".  So decrease the feed rate and the number of teeth to match the power available. 
Shannon

[beenthere]

Lunstrum Circular sawmill guide .pdf

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/circsaw.pdf

[lyle niemi]

I have a 350 cummins running my mill, I didn't need an engine that big but they are cheap to buy and overhaul, I find with these little mills that its better to saw steady and not fast

[captain_crunch]

look at my avastar pic that is a belsaw run with 45 hp tractor PTO not sure hp to tooth ratio is always correct my saw is 42 in with 36 teeth??? Got to get pics of My latest toy 12 in Belsaw planer

[dgdrls]

Lundstrums book is very informative,

I would suggest Electric power if its possible.

Best
DGDrls

[ddcuning]

Anywhere between 120 and 150 hp will do fine. Like others mentioned, lower hp will result in the need for a slower feed rate. Also keep in mind that you can have all of the power in the world an have sheaves and belts that cannot deliver that power to the mill. The Lundstrum book will give you the equations to allow you to calculate how much power your sheaves and belts can transmit to the saw. No sense in overbuying if you can't get it to the saw unless you just get the engine cheap. My belts and sheaves can only transmit about 130 hp to my saw even though my engine is 190hp. I got the engine so cheap, I didn't worry about it.

Dave C

[Ron Wenrich]

That's a good point.  I've seen mills that don't have enough belts to get the power to the saw.  Its often overlooked.

[bandmiller2]

Avoid flat belts if possible. Went out and checked my mill it has 6 "C" section belts for a 100 hp diesel never had a hint of slippage. Big long "V" belts are expensive many times they can be found in  sets at scrap yards on big compressors est. Most of the time big diesels are cheaper than the cutesy little ones, its sure nice to be awash in power. Frank C.

[ddcuning]

I have 6 "C" V-belts as well and when doing the calculations for my sheaves I came up that I could transmit around 130hp. 6 "C" V-belts will definitely transmit 100hp with no problem.

Dave C

[Ron Wenrich]

We used a web belt and ran 6 groove.  They held up a long time, didn't have to worry too much about debris falling on the belts, and it eliminated single belt stretching or slippage.  Its more expensive, but we were a production mill. 

[ddcuning]

Ron, I thought the web belt with 6 grooves was a better option but I was advised against it for my mill. The supplier indicated that the web belt could get sawdust trapped in it and get between the belt and the sheaves causing the belt to slip. Since there is a small gap between the individual belts, any sawdust can be expelled easily. That is the advice they gave me. I was headed to the web belt before that. I have experienced one belt stretching and one not on my six. I had asked for a matched set but I don't believe I got it.

Dave C

[Dave_]

Avoid flat belts if possible. Went out and checked my mill it has 6 "C" section belts for a 100 hp diesel never had a hint of slippage. Big long "V" belts are expensive many times they can be found in  sets at scrap yards on big compressors est. Most of the time big diesels are cheaper than the cutesy little ones, its sure nice to be awash in power. Frank C.

That was my exact problem with my old Belsaw A10.  I ran a Perkins (approx. 140 h.p.) but was only getting about 40 h.p. to the saw using 6" flat belt.  That was the pulley size supplied with the mill.  In context, I think Belsaw saw their niche to be small log sawing on the farm for project wood.  My old mill was probably originally ran off a belt pulley on a farm tractor. 

My Corley has V-belt sheaves and I look forward to having ALL my power get to the saw when I set it up  8). 

I will miss the romance of the flat belt but won't miss the inefficiency of power transmission.

[Ron Wenrich]

The amount of sawdust that goes back around your sheaves is not that much.  I never experienced difficulty with sawdust.  But, that errant piece of bark or wood under the belts will make things hop.  Put a guard over your belts and that will eliminate a lot of the problems.

[ddcuning]

Ron, next round I will probably go with the web belt. I have not been overly happy with the mismatch in belt lengths on my "matched set".

Dave C

[Ron Wenrich]

Along with better power transfer, I believe we had problems with the "matched" sets as well.  Sometimes the only thing that matches is that they're all black.  Always had a floppy belt.

[bandmiller2]

A little off subject but its good form to keep your belts out of the sun it will shorten their life. My mill is under cover but I still cover them when not in use. Frank C.

[backwoods sawyer]

Seems like we got better power transfer to the edgers and block chipper when we changed from indavidual floppy belts to webbed belts. Took more to smoke a set of belts and the webbed ones were more apt to tighten and go after sticking a cant in the edgers or replacing shoes on the block chippers.