iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Saw mill Kits

Started by Fpenkaty3, April 08, 2015, 07:48:59 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

iffy

I can cut 22'. Still looking for a 22' straight tree in Kansas.  :D It is nice tho not having to crowd the head to get the longer stuff on.

Remle

Quote from: iffy on April 15, 2015, 11:15:46 PM
I built a linn 1900 from their kit. Happy with the materials but the drawings were pretty basic. Started with a  kohler 17 hp on it but broke a piston so put a HF Predator 22 hp on it and am pleased so far. Had a 29" butt oak log on it the other day an after squaring it up decided to quarter saw. The cut thru the center used most of the 22 hp. Wheelchair drive motors seem to be working well.

iffy
Any chance of you posting a couple pictures of the wheel chair drive motors on you saw. My neighbor has a Linn 1900 as well. I've been trying to get him to add the wheel chair drive to raise and lower the head, I get tired just watching him crank it up and down.
Thanks.. Remle

iffy

I used 40 chain for both elevation and feed. Ran them on 12v for awhile but not happy with speed so switched to 24v and much better.

  

  

 [img]

Ox

iffy - your mill mechanics look great.  Where did you source your wheelchair motors, which kind of chair did they come from (if you know) and how much did they cost?  I wonder if the motors out of one of the Rascal or Hover round style chairs would work...
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

sparkimusrhyme

Hello, I am new to FF but I saw this question and decided to reply. I work for Bailey's in Northern Cali and for a demo day we put together and ran a Granberg M8 mill and with not being mechanically inclined I struggled to put the rails together and this rack that is inserted in the rails and then tightened so the rails don't move while your saw is running was the hardest part. I put it in a number of different ways before the light bulb lit up and I figured it out. The mill was easy to use and also gave smooth cuts and even the customers that got to use it were happy with it. I have no experience on the mills from ebay or even about building one on my own, sorry.

Fpenkaty3

Thanks for all the info everyone.  Ox I looked at my prints and the hole spacing is off by 1/8" where the saw frame mounts. The rest of the plans have been pretty solid. The track i am building is going to be 2x5 x 3/16 wall tube. Which i have at work. Then i am going to put 2x2x3/8 angle on top. How do you like the linn log dogs and clamps? I plant to use them as they are drawn in the plans and mount them on top of 2 x 5 cross tubes. I am also going to keep the 41" inside spacing and space my cross tubes every 36" Along a 24' long frame. I then have a set up where i will use chevy cavalier rear wheel bearings on a frame to make this into a trailer. Attached is a pic of a log arch i use with my 4wheeler made with these hubs. This arch was a car dolly when i got it. So far i have the biggest i have pulled with is was a 30" x 16' ash log. It was alot for the 4 wheeler.

iffy

I don't remember what brand of wheelchair. Do recall that it was free. Had a friend with a handicapped sil & they gave me an old one.
Fpenkaty3, I welded some generic hubs on 2" sq tube stubs then made an axle out of 2½" tube. Slipped the stubs in and drilled thru for a pin. Now I can pull both wheels quickly when I set up & level so I don't have to fight them while milling. I have more pics of my build in my gallery uder iffy's pics.

Ox

I absolutely love the Linn dogs and clamps.  Simple, rugged and fast.  I put stiffer springs in and welded a 3/8" x 4" rod in the end link of the pull chains for a t-handle.  I also lengthened the chain length specified so I could really get my butt in under myself to pull nice and hard without bending over into the track.  I drilled a 13/64" hole in some extra crossmembers I made and added in so I can slip one end of the t-handle right in so I don't have to bend down to fish the chain off the ground.  You'll be amazed at how solid and strong 4 of those clamps are (especially with heavier springs) when they're all pulling together.  Your cant will NOT move.  And I imagine that if the log is vibrating and trying to move ever so slightly the first few cuts the points on the dogs will just keep getting tighter and tighter until things stop moving around.  It seems like a beautiful thing.  I just realized I might need to keep a short pry bar on the mill to pop the points out of the log...               It sounds like you'll have a really strong and stiff frame.  Your ideas will work very nicely.  I'm glad you found the screw up in the plans.  I didn't think I had to look ahead and check everything over with a bought set of plans, you know?  Up to that point everything was OK so complacency set in.  It seems like they would fix the mistakes.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who called and said something about that.  I would be ashamed to send out plans that were wrong in any way, shape or form.  I think they sell more built kits and mills than plans because they didn't seem too worried about anything being wrong in the plans.  I also think they run a machine shop so I imagine they're busy.  When I called it was kind of like, "Oh yeah, that's been wrong for awhile..., sorry about that!  We'll get it fixed here soon".  However, Chris is a very nice and patient fella and will walk you through any hangups.  My irritation with the plans being wrong and confusing is always remedied when I talk with him.  I don't want anyone to think I'm badmouthing him - that's not my intentions.  I'm just sharing what I thought and felt at the time.  Sometimes I had to leave a quick message and he has always called back in an hour or two.  I've called him probably 5 times with different questions.  I ended up getting two bum main pillow block bearings with the hardware kit that were made with bad set screw threads.  I could almost pull the set screws out with my fingers they were so loose.  He's sending me two new bearings free of charge.  I didn't ask for them, he offered them as I mentioned the bearing problem while talking over a couple of other questions.  They are Chinese bearings but the longevity seems to be promising.  I've heard of a Linn mill with close to 2,000 hrs (I think) with no major issues.  Time will tell.  I've heard that by running pure synthetic grease in ball or roller bearings you can get enormous amounts of life from them.  After seeing that grease for $15 a tube I guess I'll stick with my red mid priced grease.  We never had a bearing failure on the farm when we used it so I reckon it' good enough.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

arnold113

Fpenkaty3, after building a band mill myself I would say you're smart in going for a kit. I built mine from scratch. I had never even seen a band mill before. I watched a lot of video on youtube. Never do what I did. I had to redo almost everything after I found this forum and got a lot of help from the great bunch of guys that make up this forum. The most important point I can make is make everything possible adjustable. Welding steel its very hard to keep everything square. The heat pulls it out of square as you weld. If it can be made adjustable it will save you a lot of work when you start the final alignment.
Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck.  pictures, pictures, pictures...
Arnold113
DIY band saw mill: four post, 25 HP gas engine, 32" x 18' portable, 24 vdc and hydraulic controls, pineywoods log turner, hyd log loader. RF remote controls for mill.  DIY set works.

Ox

Very good suggestions, arnold113.  Larger holes like 3/4" drilled in pieces that need adjustment with a 3/8" bolt running through it makes for good adjustments.  Stack some washers starting with a 1/2" machine washer then a 3/8 flat then a 3/8 lock and it works and clamps down quite well.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Remle

iffy
Thanks for the pictures, much appreciated.
Remle

iffy

Yer welcome. Still working on feed system. Speeds were too slow on 12v and I was afraid I would not have enough torque if I went to larger drive sprocket so I added another battery in series to get 24v. Speed problem solved but now how to charge 2nd battery? I think I will disconnect built in alternator and add a belt driven Delco 10si. Can get a 24v internal regulator for abt $10 & then could charge both batteries.

Fpenkaty3

Thanks fot the info. Started making some of the smaller weldments. So far so good. I put a pic in gallery if the one I attached does not show up.

beenthere

If you follow the photo posting primers (see Index on Home page) then you can get them from your gallery to your post. Click on "Modify" and then double check your success using the "Preview" button to see what your post will look like.

After you click the line below "Click here to add Photos to post", your gallery will come up in a new window. Click the menu tab "my gallery" and not the "Upload" tab, follow through by scrolling down after you select your pic you want to post.  Let us know where you get hung up.

And member kbeitz just posted some good helps for doing what you are trying to do.
here:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,82922.msg1265595.html#msg1265595
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Fpenkaty3


Fpenkaty3

Got it  8)

The pic may not look like much. but its a start. I have all the 2x5 tube at work ready to cut for the bed. The next two weeks things should really start moving. Also a pic of my homemade log arch. I have some 30" ash logs  to move this weekend.  :o

 

Ox

Looks good!  No question, that's a Linn Lumber mill.  You'll be surprised at how long it takes to measure, drill and tap all those holes.  What I figured to be a month of building has turned into over 2 months but a normal feller would be able to knock it out in a month I figure.  It's a stout and nice looking design and I'm happy I went with it.  I'm sure you will be happy with it too.  What are you using for the head up/down?  Did you get the kit from Linn Lumber with the acme rods?
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Fpenkaty3

Yes, the main reason i got the kit from ebay was that it included the acme rod with brass nuts and brackets  and all the other stuff. The basic saw frame kit from linn did not it was like 300-400 more to have that included. But the linn kit did include some steel.

One question i had was on how you mounted the band wheel pillow blocks. One side is .5 on top of .1875 so plenty to tap and hold a 1/2-13 bolt. The other is .25 on top of .1875 so kind light to tap for 1/2-13 thread. I have seen people put slots on the inner tube and run the bolts right thru the outer 2.5 tube on the tensioning side. How did you do it? I think next time i would use .75 and .5 shift everything down .25 but feel better about the security.

Ox

I did both sides .5 on top of .1875.  The sliding yoke side I had to space the bolts for the pillow block with 2 or 3 washers, whatever it takes to keep the bolt from threading in too far and scraping on the double tubes that the yoke slides on.  Plenty of threads to tighten nicely. 
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Ox

I remembered your post today in the shop and double checked what I wrote last.  I remembered wrong.  It is 1/4" plate on the sliding yoke for blade tensioner.  That's what I get for relying on my memory.  Just like the plan says.  I cranked on the 1/2" pillow block bolts nice and tight and no problems with thread strength.  I'm sorry for my screw up  :-[ and I hope this gets to you in time so nothing is messed up in your build.   :-\
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Fpenkaty3

Ox thanks for lookin into that. I have the .25 welded already so i will go with that. If its a problem i can change them later.

Got my tube cut up at work today and quickly layed it out on the garage floor. 20' long and cross pieces will be about 34.25 apart.

 

Ox

That's awesome.  That'll be a much stronger and stiffer frame than the 6 x 6 x 3/8 angle I had to use.  I'm glad to hear I didn't screw you up with the wrong information I posted earlier.  The only thing that is seriously wrong is the engine frame box we already talked about and you're aware of it so the rest should go quite well.  It seems you know what you're doing and will probably have a better time with it than I did! - Ox
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Fpenkaty3

Helped a friend pull 8 nice ash logs today. 

 

Magicman

Yes you did.  Now what?? 
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

thecfarm

Got logs,got sawmill?   ;D 
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Thank You Sponsors!