On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 04:07:27 GMT, "john moorhead"
wrote:

I am also considering building a band mill

I use a Wood-Mizer LT-15

It's impractical to build a band mill from scratch. You're going to
buy in the engine, and you need to source wheels from somewhere.
They're big enough that turning them is going to need a really large
lathe. So if you're buying wheels, where from ? Can you get something
like Wood-Mizer wheels as spares ? I know that things like the roller
guides are available.

With the Wood-Mizer, I can saw veneers to a thickness that's limited
by the tooth raggedness, not the blade stability. Now I'm not going to
achieve that on car tyres. For some uses, the simpler home-build
designs might do, but a S/H LT-15 isn't that much more expensive then
building your own. I'd certainly look at that route.

One thing I would think about is making some bed rails. Wood-Mizer
rails are expensive, relative to their manufacturing cost to someone
with a metal bandsaw and a stick welder. If this machine was going
nto a permanent timberyard location, then I'd certainly make my own
bed.