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Crusarius’ sawmill build - started with Linn Lumber basic kit

Started by Crusarius, September 18, 2017, 01:02:23 PM

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Crusarius

KB your tab was the influence for doing that on mine. I like the idea of being able to have an idiot moment and not do major damage. I am famous for "just one more" That usually turns into more than 1 and alot of work fixing something I broke from stupidity or just plain to tired to pay attention. I have gotten better as I get older but still like to push my luck.

Kbeitz

The Tab works great... Now I could just make one for nails...
I hit two nails twice today before I seen them.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Crusarius

be sweet to develop some type of die that sticks to metal and spray all the logs. Be even better if it was an anchorseal product that sealed the log or maybe borate to kill the bugs? :)

Crusarius

crap. I thought I was over my design funk. :( So I made the changes to my carriage. Went to put it back together. No go. :(

Now I am wanting to just redesign the entire thing cause that is one detail of this build I have not been happy with yet.

my 2 pieces of channel I cut to wrap the 2x6 upright is not working so good now. anybody have any other ideas? I was looking at linear bearing but no way am I going to pay that much for them.

The 2 pieces started out as 2.5x2.5 When I cut the fourth side to wrap the 2x6 they sprung like crazy. I did not think it was going to be a problem but I was definitely wrong.

Now I don't know what to do.

Ljohnsaw

My frame was made from pre-welded shelving units.  The uprights are about 2" x 1".  I took some 2x4x¼ tube and sliced it to make a C to wrap around the uprights.  I lined them with some UHMW plastic (from breadboards).  Works great.  There are 8 in total.

 

 

If I were to do it over, I'd make the plastic inserts one piece.  I had to use some screws to wedge them in and keep them aligned - works ok.  I've cut close to 5,000 bd-ft and the paint is still intact.

With the open front area, I added a magnetic scale:

 

But as it turns out, that is where I tend to push the head and it was causing it to slip a little.  So...

 
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Crusarius

ljohnsaw is yours a 4 post design? or are the supports that small?

My support bar is 13" long and wraps the entire 2x6 box. I dunno why I forgot about the UHMW I was talking about using it alot.

Crusarius

oooooh just found a set of 3 .03" thick x 12 x 15 for 5.47 on amazon :) crazy colors to :)

Ljohnsaw

Here is better view of the mill.

 
The "head" is made from a pair of 2x2 fairly thin walled tube that was pre-welded into 4'x8' rectangles.  I ended up cutting them down into just under 2 foot so they would fit inside the uprights with the cut off pieces becoming the uprights between the frames, making the 3-D rectangular prism.
Quote from: Crusarius on November 03, 2017, 09:10:46 PM
oooooh just found a set of 3 .03" thick x 12 x 15 for 5.47 on amazon :) crazy colors to :)
Found what??
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Crusarius

oops I left out a critical detail.

flexible plastic cutting board mat set.

Crusarius

its kinda funny. before I started this build I read just about every thread I could on sawmills. Got a design in my head. Then went to town.

Now as I am building I wish I did more reading looked at more pictures and thought about it alot more.

I am sure it will be good, but some of the things I wanted to do to make mine different from everyone else may be biting me in the butte.

Magicman

Remember that even Wood-Mizer is continually making changes/improvements.  Year model and Revision# becomes important when ordering replacement parts, drive belts, etc.  Thankfully that information is kept under your WM account number and is available when you call for stuff.

New models are sometime sold as "prototypes" at a reduced price but they can be a real challenge for the buyer later on as service/parts are needed.
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

Crusarius

yea. Like my jeep. I am pretty sure this will be in prototype stage forever :)

Crusarius

This weekend did not look like I did much. But I did full weld the bed. At least the parts that were ready to be welded. I started out in the shop trying to get it into a spot that would be easy to weld. Since I am so restricted on space I thought my death jack / hi lift would work the best. It was a great idea; till I realized it is only a 48" hi lift (the frame is over 50" wide). Needless to say it was still to heavy to move by hand. I added that piece of angle with a pair of c-clamps in case the jack slipped.



As the sign on the wall says this is the wrong way to do this. I really miss having a chainfall.


This is just a really kool shot of the welds and the view from my shop. You can also see my bucket forks that I used to flip the frame up so I could weld it.



I don't normally do vanity shots of my welds but I was very happy with this one. I was doing a vertical weld from .188 wall to .095 wall.



Crusarius

I scored a free torsion axle from a friend of mine. It came out of a 2 place horse trailer. I needed to cut 18" out of the center to make it the right width. Not thinking it was going to be a big deal I grabbed the sawzall and started cutting. After a whole lot of swearing and getting kicked all over the place I grabbed the grinder with a cutoff wheel. I finally got all the way through the axle to find out it was solid.
This is a picture after cutting the second cut in the band saw. You can see the torsion spring on the far end connected to the axle mount. It does have electric brakes so I can add those later if I choose to.



Mockup of the axle under the trailer.




Really bad picture but this is how tight it is in the garage now. I think I need to get this thing painted so it can go outside and give me some work space again.







ktm250rider

Do you have a length of the base legs (that ride on the track)?  I cut mine to 3 feet last night and they just seem short when laid next to the head. 

Crusarius

I made mine 39" end to end that includes the wheel pockets which are 2"x3". I also offset the mast towards the back which makes the legs stick out more in the front and takes care of the uneven load.

Trying to remember but I think I have 10" to the back of the mast then 6" mast which leaves 23" legs off the front.

Crusarius

Help me! I am having a design fart. I can't get my backstops figured out. I thought I had it all figured out but then I started thinking about needing to adjust them. Can anyone help me with pictures of the backstop and how they adjust? I am starting to go crazy trying to figure it out.

I am planning on rotating backstops.

Kbeitz

That's what I did... The clamp presses on a brass button to provide resistance
so it stays where I put it.



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Crusarius

I don't see any adjustment on that. am I missing it or did you just make it fixed and decide to deal with it?

What is the angled bar behind your backstop? Do you raise each backstop 1 at a time?

Kbeitz

The backstops rotates. It you don't want it so high then you don't
rotate it up so far. The angled bar is my toe lift with a roller on it.



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Crusarius

did you build any adjustment into it? I may be over thinking my design a bit. I am trying to make it adjust in 2 planes so I can keep it square through the full rotation.

Kbeitz

It keeps the log square at all angles. I'm happy with it and the only changes
that I have made to it was to cut it off the frame and made it so i could bolt
it on. This way if something gets bent I can unbolt it and fix it. Oh... And looking
back at my pictures I cut the point off the top. It's now much easier to keep it
square. In this picture you can see at one time I had teeth on the backstops.
I found that I did not need them so off they came. You will find that the only
time you really need the squareness of the backstop in the first time you rotate
your log. After that the bottom of the log sets flat on the bed of the saw. It
also helps when your using your saw for edging.



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Crusarius

I am so ready to give up on the fancy backstops. I made my prototype and it is nice and perpendicular straight up but as I rotate down it close to less than 90 degree angle. I wish I could get past this mental block I am having and figure this out. I know it is something very simple I just can't get to it.

Kbeitz

Quote from: Crusarius on November 11, 2017, 08:24:55 PM
I am so ready to give up on the fancy backstops. I made my prototype and it is nice and perpendicular straight up but as I rotate down it close to less than 90 degree angle. I wish I could get past this mental block I am having and figure this out. I know it is something very simple I just can't get to it.



The swivel end is not square to your bed frame. Put a square on the backstop and
unhook the other end off the frame and move it to your left facing the stop. Reattach
to your frame and you should be good to go.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Crusarius

Well I think I might have finally got it. I ended up making it 2 way adjustable. May be a total pain to get them alighned but once done I think we will be good to go.

p.s. Do not put your finger there. It really hurts.

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