iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

home made production band mill

Started by JB Griffin, August 20, 2017, 02:43:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

JB Griffin

Has anyone built one? There's lots of home made hobby type mills out there.
I'm considering building a 4 poster, w/26-28" bandwheels, 17' 4" x1.5in blade, hyd feed, up/down, engine driven hyd pump. Chain turner, straight up/down backstops, and building the head frame stout enough to hold a 900lb. F3L912 Deutz diesel.

Setworks is gonna be necessary,  but don't know squat about computers. Maybe a store bought retrofit?

Lookin for 3-5mbf a day.

All opions, suggestions,  or comments are welcome.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

ladylake

 Sounds real good, if you get real ambitious put on 2 chain turners and 2 log clamps.  If only 1 make sure to get them close to each other  so you can turn and clamp a short log in the same bunk. Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

ladylake


You might want to use a hyd motor driving a 45 to 1 ( seems like WM used to low of a ratio to speed things up on some of their bigger mills and it wouldn't hold the head) or higher worm gear box to hold the head steady rather than just cylinders which could leak down a little through the valve, also some setworks count the teeth on a gear to work .  Some also use a encoder with a small cable for that..  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

JB Griffin

Won't be using cyls. to raise the head, just think thats a bad idea.
Probably use gearbox chain set up.
Baker style bed w/12" I beam rails and 1/2" plate bunks w/hardface welding on top.
Maybe two turners but definitely at least three backstops maybe four or five. Cooks style drive chain setup.
If it can be.packed up tight enough I'll use a pantograph arm instead of a cat track.
Maybe even a debarker. ;D
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

Dave Shepard

Why build your own mill? Budget, looking for a project?
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

JB Griffin

I
Quote from: Dave Shepard on August 20, 2017, 05:18:45 PM
Why build your own mill? Budget, looking for a project?

I am dissatisfied with the three mills I have run. I think I can do a better job with design and it would be exactly what I want.  After sawing almost a million bdft I know what I want, and no one makes exactly what I'm looking for.
Yes budget is also a concern as I believe I can build a mill for less than what the closest manufacturer charges which is $50k+
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

ladylake


  I'm no fan of a cat track either, in the way too much plus cost.  The overhead cable sure looks good if it hold up in real life.  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

JB Griffin

What I am referring to is the swinging arm seen on automatic circle mills.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

JB Griffin

Quote from: 4x4American on August 20, 2017, 06:14:33 PM
That's called a pantograph

I knowed you talked kinda funny but I thought you could read :D  ;)

Quote from: JB Griffin on August 20, 2017, 05:08:06 PM
If it can be.packed up tight enough I'll use a pantograph arm instead of a cat track.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

longtime lurker

Production and portable are just about impossible to achieve together so im assuming you're thinking fixed.

Why not just buy a preloved production setup and refit and refurbish? Plenty good 6" bands out there and just recrown the wheels. You can run a 2½ or 3 inch band that doesn't require a full filing room and still get the option of putting a 6 back on if you need more speed.


The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

JB Griffin

LL, I'm just looking for 3-5mbf a day so thats just more mill than I need.
I agree that portable and production don't go hand in hand most of the time, maybe a Jackson lumber harvester, maybe.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

moodnacreek

Sounds like you need a circle mill or a Sanborn slant mill.

JB Griffin

I want to be portable, so whatever I end up with needs wheels.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

longtime lurker

Problem you run into if you start sawing production is this: dont much matter whether you saw 5 or 15 per day the amount of support equipment doesnt really change. You need a loader. You need log deck and transfer decks, and a roof over it all so you dont have to stop when it rains. You need a waste setup, resaw capabilities, and a docker. You need a place to stack and a place to saw packs and a place to load packs onto trucks. And logs... lots and lots of logs.

About the only difference between running 5 and 15 is the number of LCD guys (lift, carry drag) you need to lug stuff about... my place I can run 5 a day pretty much by myself but 15 means at least 2 or 3 paid helpers.

My point being that the actual sawing equipment and support equipment doesnt change much. What changes is how it works: do you stop the mill to stack and stop the mill to load the log infeed and stop the mill to deal with customers and stop the mill to mow the yard... or does all that happen while the saw runs regardless.

Not saying 5's not a good number... theres a lot of advantages to running by yourself and it can be more profitable if you can keep up with demand. But I am tossing out a couple considerations that need to be factored in when you build or buy this thing. Personally I think in most cases its better to have a roof over the mill and a permanent setup and just buy a log truck rather then putting wheels under a mill.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

slider

I agree with Longtime lurker.On that big of mill i would stay stationary.I have a self loader and in most cases can pickup their logs cheaper than they can bring them to me.

Also good advice from Steve,if you are going to build from scratch do add the second chain turner.On my lt 70 i have often wanted the extra turner but it is not possible with the way the frame is designed.
al glenn

JB Griffin

LL and Slider, I understand what ya'll are saying. I currently work at a mill where we run a Baker Dominator w/ a 2 saw edger, log deck, green chains, roll cases, tie slide, wheel loader, etc. And 3 guy tailing me.

My reason for wanting to be portable is that I could take it to the woods or customers logs. The cost to make it portable is like a grand, self loading log truck like 10 grand.

I have an idea to make it a more efficient one man show, basically just a return belt on the edger to bring the board and edging strips back to me.
Just saw a flitch, drag back, start next line, edge flitch while mill is sawing, drag back next flitch, start next line and push flitch thru edger, stack board and slabs, ect.

Finding someone who actually wants to work around here is very hard,  so I'm planning on it being just little ole me. :)
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

4x4American

If you were portable, you could have the person you're sawing for provide help, that's another potential.
Boy, back in my day..

moodnacreek

J.B.  Three to five M is a lot to put on the ground for a one man show. Have to have nice long clean logs and no problems that day. I've never got past 4 M with my hand set and one man.  But it can be done.               Those Sanborn come up for sale and the ones I've seen are on wheels.  All my experience is with circle saws so I think the Jackson is worth a look.

JB Griffin

With the right logs and setup I think 3mbf is doable 5 might be a strech though.

That figuring sawing ties, not just lumber.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

paul case

Last Monday and Tuesday my son Scott sawed by himself 180 3x4-10 cants plus some 4/4 side lumber each day. Lumber still had to be edged but I would guess a couple hundred feet each day. That totals to 2k each day on a lt 40 super. No infeed deck or live rolls and he packaged the cants and slabs. I think 3k is doable and on ties you could roll even faster in the right sized logs. Getting the right sized logs now that is another problem.
I like this set up on an edger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7klLZeRQTfQ&t=430s
However we stack up our edging and work it in when there is help.
PC
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

stefan

Here is a couple of links to an in my opinion very interesting sawmill manufacturer in northern italy, resch&3.
Their mills can be equipped with a boat load of options, and i kind of like the way they designed the log and board handling.

And they have a sawyers cab. I like cabs and if you are thinking of sawing production a cab should make your days a little easier.

As shown they make mobile versions of the mill and i belive that if you are set to build a machine like this you should be able to get some ideas. There are a lot of movies showing the mills on youtube and the website.

Also, what kind of vehicle do you plan to tow this thing with? If you start adding hydraulic handling equipment things tend to get heavy and an average pickup may not be the best choice.

Here is a link to their website.

http://www.resch-3.com/sv/om-oss.html

https://youtu.be/GcB1VG9W-Nk
https://youtu.be/Qo39rSXWjgc




moodnacreek

Didn't consider ties. Guess that would up the tally.  My record days are in pine cutting 1x12 and minis. 12 footers work  best on my mill.

Magicman

Quote from: paul case on August 21, 2017, 10:44:59 PMI like this set up on an edger.
Paul, The video was a bit confusing until I realized that it was an LT70, the logs were machine debarked, and that was not your location.   ???  I then read your quoted statement above.  :P 

I did not understand the apparent head bounce.   ???
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

Thank You Sponsors!