Sawmill design question?

Gundog · December 17, 2016, 10:49:11 PM

I don't know a lot about sawmills but I know a little about machine designs not like an expert just that different designs exist for other equipment. In planning my sawmill project it dawned on me to possibly use my tractor PTO to power the band saw and making the saw stationary to accommodate that design and have the bed holding the log move rather than the saw moving through the log, the log would move through the saw. Has this been done? Are there reasons I am not thinking of that would make this not work? I have a CNC router table with a moving gantry like a traditional band sawmill but I have seen some high dollar industrial routers where the gantry is stationary and the table moves in X & Y axis.

The main reason I would consider this is I would not have to buy and engine and my tractor has 25 HP off the PTO and it is near new. I could use the drive shaft off my brush hog to transfer power to the saw I could see I would need a way to engage and disengage the saw drive but that could be accomplished with a belt tensioner of some sort.

Mike

paul case · December 18, 2016, 05:09:11 AM

Oh I think if you have the machine shop to do it you can make it. You would probably need to run it on a belt and pulley set up to get the right wheel speed. It is real nice to be able to speed up the power unit for a cut and then slow it down for the time to reset for the next cut. WM LT40 and others even stop the band.

I think cleerman makes a high production bandsawmill like you describe with a log carriage and stationary band. I think if you wanted to power it from a tractor why not do it with a hydraulic motor and hoses to a moving sawhead would be much easier.

PC

ozarkgem · December 18, 2016, 05:13:14 AM

Lots of band mills with stationary head and standard log carriage. Mostly the wider band mill. Lots of you tubes on them. You would have to buy or design a carriage and then power the carriage. Way more iron to build it also.

ozarkgem · December 18, 2016, 05:14:27 AM

Paul what are you doing up so early!

paul case · December 18, 2016, 05:21:25 AM

Feeding the wood stove.

And you?

PC

ozarkgem · December 18, 2016, 06:00:22 AM

feeding the wood stove :D. But I always get up early. 4:30 is sleeping in.

ladylake · December 18, 2016, 06:20:18 AM

I'm really feeding the wood stove, -25F right now.

Mike You might want to start with a old circle mill that can be bought cheap. Steve

bandmiller2 · December 18, 2016, 07:37:27 AM

Mike, it will work but small affordable band mills were designed to get away from heavy carriages and foundations for tracks. Moving a reasonably light band head instead of a heavy log and carriage is the advantage of band mills. If your going to go the carriage route you might as well have a simpler arbor and a circular headsaw. Old handset circular mills can be had reasonable and they will still whop fancy band mills production wise. Please don't let me discourage you Mike its just your going the long way around. Frank C.

paul case · December 18, 2016, 10:53:19 AM

I really was feeding the wood stove. It got down to 3 here and that is real cold for us too.

I like checking the sawmilling forum on FF so much that I do it when I only have a spare minute or 2, like when waiting for the fire to get going so I can shut the damper down some and go back to bed.

PC

Gundog · December 18, 2016, 11:59:40 AM

Thanks guys I really like Paul's idea of feeding a hydraulic motor with the tractor and go back to the moving gantry design. I was just thinking out loud trying to figure out how I could power it with something I already have and not have one more engine to maintain and purchase. I have so many different pieces of power equipment and they all have their own engines and maintenance needs. I wont be using the mill that much so I just don't want another engine sitting maintaining batteries etc.

I was up at 4 AM feeding my stove also but I will admit I went back to bed after the stove was going good.

Mike

fishpharmer · December 18, 2016, 12:38:31 PM

Gundog, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination, skills and budget. Oh yeah, physics has some laws you need to abide by ;D. Having built a mill myself, there is definitely a tradeoff about whether you want to spend your time making lumber or making a mill. Remember the "search" function is your friend, there is a good chance something like this has been discussed here before. Good luck!

paul case · December 18, 2016, 12:44:47 PM

If I was going to build up a hobby or personal manual mill that would only be used from time to time, it would be 10 hp single phase electric. It dont eat anything unless you are using it. The electric motor would run in an enclosed building with no problem. No motor maintenance. Compared to anything else it is relatively easy to hook up and not too expensive. Both the mills we have are on electric and run quiet, strong, and cheap.

PC

ozarkgem · December 18, 2016, 06:51:05 PM

Quote from: paul case on December 18, 2016, 10:53:19 AM
I really was feeding the wood stove. It got down to 3 here and that is real cold for us too.

I like checking the sawmilling forum on FF so much that I do it when I only have a spare minute or 2, like when waiting for the fire to get going so I can shut the damper down some and go back to bed.

PC

I really was feeding mine also.

muggs · December 18, 2016, 07:29:33 PM

Me and my brother built 2 band mills. We kept the head stationary and moved the log through it on a carriage. If I remember correctly, it worked fine. This was 45 years ago [before Woodmizer ] We patterned it from a circle mill. One of the power units we used was my 65 Chevy truck after we flattened it with a tree falling on it. [not on purpose.] :D :D :D >:(Muggs

york · December 18, 2016, 07:55:01 PM

Well,thats the way the big boys do it.....

ozarkgem · December 19, 2016, 06:53:36 AM

I love watching those saw. If I was younger ???????????????

Ron Wenrich · December 19, 2016, 01:57:07 PM

A company out of Missouri named Woodland Mills used to make a stationary band mill with a moving carriage. They're not the same as Woodland Mills in Canada. The Missouri company is out of business. I saw their mill operate at a mill show a good number of years ago. It was a pretty decent design, but I like a vertical mill over a horizontal mill. They fed theirs and used a narrow blade. There are still some of these around.

Another outfit - Lion Country sawmills, in PA make an upright unit. If you had an older circular carriage, you could make this work fairly easily. You would probably have to convert to a hydraulic feed. That's not a bad thing. They use a 25 hp electric, but said a 50 hp gas or diesel would also work. They are running a 2" band. If I were building a mill, this is the type I would go for. Here's a video of their setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDh1WeCFm-s

No reason you couldn't run with a PTO. You probably could run with a hydraulic motor. We ran an edger with a hydraulic motor for years. Your biggest problem would be how hot the oil would get, especially in the summer. You would also need heaters on any tank in the winter. We also ran our debarker heads with hydraulic motors.

Ljohnsaw · December 19, 2016, 04:37:54 PM

That's a pretty neat set up. Interesting the way the head tilts back on the log backstroke to get it off the wood. I was waiting for the front air hose to snap, though. Looked like it was tangled up.

ozarkgem · December 19, 2016, 06:30:54 PM

There used to be a Woodland vertical mill about 20 miles from me. As the board came back it ran through an edger. Truly a one man mill. I was ran off of a Deuce and a half
diesel engine using hydraulic motors.

paul case · December 19, 2016, 07:22:40 PM

I think that is the same mill that member rem22 owned. He bought it and used it where it was and sold it to someone else never moving it home. The sawhead on it moved and the log stayed put. It was a vertical bandmill.

They had a slab conveyor that took the slab all the way to a burn pit. SOund familiar?
PC

ozarkgem · December 19, 2016, 08:54:20 PM

Quote from: paul case on December 19, 2016, 07:22:40 PM
I think that is the same mill that member rem22 owned. He bought it and used it where it was and sold it to someone else never moving it home. The sawhead on it moved and the log stayed put. It was a vertical bandmill.

They had a slab conveyor that took the slab all the way to a burn pit. SOund familiar?
PC

I think that is right. Been 10 yrs ago. I remember the edger was built in and it was on the right side of the sawer. One step right and you lined up the flitch and it came back towards the sawyer and onto a set of roller conveyors. I think it did come from down in his area. I will have to ask Alvin the next time I see him. The log bed was slanted also. Was slanted CCW from where you stod. Ran 2" bands.