req : building plans for sawmill

Ebay has plans for bid

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

I've seen the second one, not too hard to follow.

DE



On Sun, 1 May 2005 16:55:09 -0500, "geppers"
wrote:

req : building plans for sawmill


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http://www.pennswoods.net/~zigbug/
http://www.smnet.net/pmwinston/Mill/thumbnails.html

Ideas from various commercial units at
http://www.ripsaw.com/
http://www.timberking.com/
http://www.norwoodindustries.com/

geppers wrote:
req : building plans for sawmill

I'd like to build one of the bandsawmills. And I've been
thinking about how you might design the mounts for the
bandsaw wheels.

If you have the two wheel axels under tension, what type
of bearing is best/standard/normal for this type of application?

I was thinking that a roller or ball bearing wouldn't be quite right
for this
sort of thing. But I don't know much about bearings, or bearing
terminology.


And second, I was thinking that one wheel could be fixed, while the
other one would need atleast the tension adjustment. But is this true
or
a good idea, because you might need to adjust each wheel to keep the
band from jumping off.

I was thinking that an excellent way to begin to mount these wheels
would be to take a solid bar and put it on a vertical mill and make
both axel sides as accurate as you could get it, with some sort of
slide provision for the tension adjustment.

But then I thought maybe this would be wasted effort because the wheels

might not be available to take advantage of this precision. IE. Can
you get
super balanced, super true wheels?


Thanks.

On 2 May 2005 14:55:25 -0700, "stone" wrote:

I'd like to build one of the bandsawmills. And I've been
thinking about how you might design the mounts for the
bandsaw wheels.

If you have the two wheel axels under tension, what type
of bearing is best/standard/normal for this type of application?

I've been scrouning parts for a bandmill for a while, there's a
group on yahoo for milling (lumber). I've picked up an old
front wheel drive car and plan on using the rear axle
parts for the band wheels. Some plans specify a
trailer axle set, cast wheels would be ideal but more than I
want to invest.


The mini spare tires are
said to work nice in this application. I've been hoping
for steel prices to come down a bit before I start. I'm
going to use hydraulics for tensioners, feed ect. I want to
use a 20hp 3ph electric motor for power.


And second, I was thinking that one wheel could be fixed, while the
other one would need atleast the tension adjustment. But is this true
or
a good idea, because you might need to adjust each wheel to keep the
band from jumping off.

The tracking adjustment is simular to a standard shop bandsaw. A
1.25" blades needs a* lot* of tension . My main concern is to
operate remotely away from the blade, non of this pushing the carriage
by hand for me.


I was thinking that an excellent way to begin to mount these wheels
would be to take a solid bar and put it on a vertical mill and make
both axel sides as accurate as you could get it, with some sort of
slide provision for the tension adjustment.

Use tele tubing with roller bearings for guides. The plans on ebay
are worth looking at along with some of the web sites. A lathe/mill
would be very helpfull.



But then I thought maybe this would be wasted effort because the wheels

might not be available to take advantage of this precision. IE. Can
you get
super balanced, super true wheels?

Yep, cast wheels are available from some of the manufactures
also used mills are sometimes cheaper than building a mill.

DE


Thanks.


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On 2 May 2005 14:55:25 -0700, "stone" wrote:

I'd like to build one of the bandsawmills. And I've been
thinking about how you might design the mounts for the
bandsaw wheels.

If you have the two wheel axels under tension, what type
of bearing is best/standard/normal for this type of application?

I was thinking that a roller or ball bearing wouldn't be quite right
for this
sort of thing. But I don't know much about bearings, or bearing
terminology.


And second, I was thinking that one wheel could be fixed, while the
other one would need atleast the tension adjustment. But is this true
or
a good idea, because you might need to adjust each wheel to keep the
band from jumping off.

I was thinking that an excellent way to begin to mount these wheels
would be to take a solid bar and put it on a vertical mill and make
both axel sides as accurate as you could get it, with some sort of
slide provision for the tension adjustment.

But then I thought maybe this would be wasted effort because the wheels

might not be available to take advantage of this precision. IE. Can
you get
super balanced, super true wheels?


Thanks.
I saw pictures of a well used home made bandsaw mill. The drive wheels
were actually drive tires. Yup, regular car wheels, with inflated
tires on 'em. It looked as if the wheels were mounted to axles and
axle housings that had been cut down. It was a pretty big setup in
that it could handle large diameter trees. I'm sure it's still out
there on the web.
ERS

b I'm
going to use hydraulics for tensioners, feed ect. I want to
use a 20hp 3ph electric motor for power. /b

Are you going to use the motor to power a hydraulic system then use
hydraulic motors to sping the band and move the carriage?
(keep me filled in on this, if you are)


I hear you about staying away from the thing. I'm also going to put a
fairly hefty cowling around the thing, a balistic shield.

I thought maybe I would pony up for the wheels and build everything
else.

Go price your steel. I needed some the other day, and was expecting
something outrageous, but the total wasn't that bad. Shop around.

Finished goods made from steel warped my expectations a little bit for
the raw metal. Things made from steel sure have skyrocketed.

On Mon, 02 May 2005 16:42:16 -0700, the inscrutable Eric R Snow
spake:

I saw pictures of a well used home made bandsaw mill. The drive wheels
were actually drive tires. Yup, regular car wheels, with inflated
tires on 'em. It looked as if the wheels were mounted to axles and
axle housings that had been cut down. It was a pretty big setup in
that it could handle large diameter trees. I'm sure it's still out
there on the web.
ERS

Y'mean this one: http://www.gardenofwar.gq.nu/mill/millnotes.html

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...ill_maybe.html

Sharp looking!
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...m_scratch.html

Here's one for a metal bandsaw:
http://www.frugalmachinist.com/3wheelbs.html


--
STOP THE SLAUGHTER! || http://diversify.com
Boycott Baby Oil! || Programmed Websites

On Mon, 02 May 2005 21:03:19 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2005 16:42:16 -0700, the inscrutable Eric R Snow
spake:

I saw pictures of a well used home made bandsaw mill. The drive wheels
were actually drive tires. Yup, regular car wheels, with inflated
tires on 'em. It looked as if the wheels were mounted to axles and
axle housings that had been cut down. It was a pretty big setup in
that it could handle large diameter trees. I'm sure it's still out
there on the web.
ERS

Y'mean this one: http://www.gardenofwar.gq.nu/mill/millnotes.html

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...ill_maybe.html

Sharp looking!
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...m_scratch.html

Here's one for a metal bandsaw:
http://www.frugalmachinist.com/3wheelbs.html


Wow I just posted something similar before I saw this thread,

I'm going to use those mini spare tires for wheels and spindle assy's
from a geo storm or Pont grandam. Just bolt a CV axle thru the assy
cut off the other CV joint and attach a pulley or two for the drive.

I'm leaving some of the obvious items like pillow blocks to support
the cv axle but by using one cv joint it will allow you to shim the
spindle assy's without binding up the drive shaft.

Those spindle assy's cost around 60 bucks new in KY and a new CV axle
costs 75 bucks.

Good luck.

On 2 May 2005 14:55:25 -0700, stone wrote:
I'd like to build one of the bandsawmills. And I've been
thinking about how you might design the mounts for the
bandsaw wheels.

Same here. But - what about this...why? Could you start with, say,
a 14" Delta, add a riser block to get the opening you want, and add rails
to that? While DIY is a wonderful thing, all the fiddly bits are in
getting the wheels & band & bearings all tweaked just right. Why not
start with a saw that has done all that already?

I've got the Delta (well, Rockwell) 14" saw, and I can't see a compelling
reason not to try rail-mounting it for sawmill use. What am I not
thinking of?

On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On 2 May 2005 14:55:25 -0700, stone wrote:
I'd like to build one of the bandsawmills. And I've been
thinking about how you might design the mounts for the
bandsaw wheels.

Same here. But - what about this...why? Could you start with, say,
a 14" Delta, add a riser block to get the opening you want, and add rails
to that? While DIY is a wonderful thing, all the fiddly bits are in
getting the wheels & band & bearings all tweaked just right. Why not
start with a saw that has done all that already?

I've got the Delta (well, Rockwell) 14" saw, and I can't see a compelling
reason not to try rail-mounting it for sawmill use.

What am I not thinking of?

If it would handle the tension required to keep a 1.25+" blade
tensioned and be power fed into a log I'd say nothing. I want
hydraulic tension for a couple of reasons and that would require
some mass to stand up to the higher tensions. The longer the blade
the sharper it stays.

If you are sawing along and hit a hard spot heating up the blade it
will expand and I want something to keep the tension on the blade.
That would be either a big spring or hydraulic.

I have to agree about the fiddly part, a friend had a cabin done
by a man with a bandmill --top of the line with all the goodies.
It did some great work and fast but a 40k investment in the saw alone.

Also know a fellow who built a cabin with a chain saw mill---talk
about detemined, said he wouldn't do it again.

DE




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On Tue, 03 May 2005 18:34:41 -0600, DE wrote:
On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:


Same here. But - what about this...why? Could you start with, say,
a 14" Delta, add a riser block to get the opening you want, and add rails
to that?
I've got the Delta (well, Rockwell) 14" saw, and I can't see a compelling
reason not to try rail-mounting it for sawmill use.
What am I not thinking of?

If it would handle the tension required to keep a 1.25+" blade
tensioned and be power fed into a log I'd say nothing.

Well, I have a resaw blade for it, and it handles 6" of wood in resaw
just fine, so that's nearly there for logs.

I want
hydraulic tension for a couple of reasons and that would require
some mass to stand up to the higher tensions. The longer the blade
the sharper it stays.

Makes sense - less passes per tooth, when there are more teeth.

If you are sawing along and hit a hard spot heating up the blade it
will expand and I want something to keep the tension on the blade.
That would be either a big spring or hydraulic.

The big spring is already on a bandsaw, so ... ???

I have to agree about the fiddly part, a friend had a cabin done
by a man with a bandmill --top of the line with all the goodies.
It did some great work and fast but a 40k investment in the saw alone.

I don't use that much lumber to justify that sort of thing, but if
I can do this for 500 bucks plus the saw I already have, then it's
attractive. Doubly so if I can make the saw a temporary member of
the sawmill, and bring it back into the shop when I'm done.

Also know a fellow who built a cabin with a chain saw mill---talk
about detemined, said he wouldn't do it again.

I've seen chainsaw mills used, and I'd tend to agree. Maybe for
the challenge, but not as a routine. Too much kerf loss if nothing
else.

On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

If you have a look at the plans for these things, a 14" delta would
simply not cut it. It's way out of the ballpark. The mills are
designed to tear through large quantities of wood, mlaybe up to 12" or
more, at high speed.

The Delta simply could not take the tensionming of the 1.25" band

Same here. But - what about this...why? Could you start with, say,
a 14" Delta, add a riser block to get the opening you want, and add rails
to that? While DIY is a wonderful thing, all the fiddly bits are in
getting the wheels & band & bearings all tweaked just right. Why not
start with a saw that has done all that already?

I've got the Delta (well, Rockwell) 14" saw, and I can't see a compelling
reason not to try rail-mounting it for sawmill use. What am I not
thinking of?

Dave Hinz wrote:

.......I've seen chainsaw mills used, and I'd tend to agree. Maybe for
the challenge, but not as a routine. Too much kerf loss if nothing
else.


I always see this mentioned in regard to chainsaw mills, "too much kerf
loss" and I guess compared to a band saw mill, it does chew out a wider
cut, but have you ever seen one of those old Bell-Saw circular saw rigs?
The kerf on those runs as bad if not worse than a chainsaw mill! If it
gets the job done and you are not paying for the trees, a chain saw mill
is the cheapest solution. If you are talking about production work,
then even the lower end bandsaw mills could be called "too much work"

On Thu, 05 May 2005 07:10:01 +0800, Old Nick wrote:
On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

If you have a look at the plans for these things, a 14" delta would
simply not cut it. It's way out of the ballpark. The mills are
designed to tear through large quantities of wood, mlaybe up to 12" or
more, at high speed.

The Delta simply could not take the tensionming of the 1.25" band

Hm... the resaw blade I have is I think a 1" band, does good on smaller
stuff. Do you suppose it's a "won't work", or a "would be slow"
kind of situation?

Greetings and Salutations...

On 5 May 2005 17:28:03 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On Thu, 05 May 2005 07:10:01 +0800, Old Nick wrote:
On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

If you have a look at the plans for these things, a 14" delta would
simply not cut it. It's way out of the ballpark. The mills are
designed to tear through large quantities of wood, mlaybe up to 12" or
more, at high speed.

This is a point.

The Delta simply could not take the tensionming of the 1.25" band

This is true. IIRC, the largest blade the Delta 14" was
designed for was a 3/4" one. Getting a proper tension on a wider
one would be nearly impossible...although I do seem to remember
hearing about some low tension blades out there...

Hm... the resaw blade I have is I think a 1" band, does good on smaller
stuff. Do you suppose it's a "won't work", or a "would be slow"
kind of situation?


I have had really good luck with using my Delta 14" for
resawing lumber, and, for preparing bowl blanks for the lathe. It is
a bit slower than some other machines...but, then...I am not trying
to make a profit here. There is a big difference between hobby
milling and milling for profit. If I was going to go into the
small-scale sawmill business, I suspect I would just go ahead
and drop the cash for a small commercial mill. After all, my
goal would be to make money off sawing wood...NOT to burn
a lot of expensive time building a kit.
my problems with using a 14" bandsaw for any serious milling
are as follows:
1) unless serious surgery is done, 12" is the biggest chunk
of wood that will feed through it. That is pretty small for lumber.
If you do the surgery to build a frame to hold the two parts of the
saw in sufficiently rigid alignment, then, you will have done so
much work that you might as well have spent the extra 20 minutes
to cobble together the mounting plates for a couple of car tires
for the band to run on.
2) awkwardness. That Delta is cast iron...and pretty heavy,
so getting it mounted would be an issue.
3) As a part of that...it is DESIGNED to be used upright.
While I have seen a few mills that cut with the band vertical, most
of the smaller, hobby mills run the band horizontal. Mounting
it vertically means that there is a lot of work to raise the
log up to it. Mounting it horizontally means that it MAY not
be rigid enough to withstand both the force of gravity AND the tension
of the blade, so, might well be hard to align.
4) To get the full benefit of the blade, one would really have
to remove the table and rework the guide mechanism...not only is that
more work, but, it means that the saw becomes useless for anything
BUT sawing logs. realistically, it is unlikely that anyone would take
the 30 minutes to an hour or more to get the removed parts remounted
and the saw set up for other uses around the shop.

Now, having said all that...I think that by building an
infeed and outfeed table that provide good support for a log carrier,
it would be quite possible to use the saw for SMALL sawmill projects.
Frankly, I find that with the WoodSlicer blade from Highland Hardware,
I can feed a full, 6" board through the saw pretty much as fast as
I like without bogging the saw down (I have a 3/4 HP motor on my saw,
too), so, I suspect that with a manual saw like this, it should be
"fast enough" for hobby work.
Regards
Dave Mundt

On 5 May 2005 17:28:03 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On Thu, 05 May 2005 07:10:01 +0800, Old Nick wrote:
On 3 May 2005 20:17:06 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

If you have a look at the plans for these things, a 14" delta would
simply not cut it. It's way out of the ballpark. The mills are
designed to tear through large quantities of wood, mlaybe up to 12" or
more, at high speed.

The Delta simply could not take the tensionming of the 1.25" band

Hm... the resaw blade I have is I think a 1" band, does good on smaller
stuff. Do you suppose it's a "won't work", or a "would be slow"
kind of situation?



Dave, A good way to look at this is in the horsepower ratings.
My 12" shop bandsaw is a .75hp A 14" delta can't be much more than
that.
10 hp on a bandmill would be underpowered, 14-20 is more like it.
It's not just the wheel size but the axle/bearings on the wheels not
to mention the guides needed for highspeed sawing. Size matters....
Are the pulleys on the delta rated to handle 20+hp?

My chainsaw mill is 12hp 36" bar and it will rough mill a log into
cabinet wood fast. I resaw on the bandsaw in the shop after drying.

Making a homemade carriage with the wheels aligned and coplanier
is not brain surgery, just basic setup work in a mill with the
adjuster doing the final tracking. For me the hydraulic engineering
is the tough part ie making it somewhat automated.

DE


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I don;t have any problems resawing on my homebuilt 20" bandsaw with a
1" blade. Works fine for what little woodworking I use it for.......I
built it to make metal chips not wood, but sometimes you just have to
make those woodchips as well.

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

what does it mean to 'put a crown on the band wheel'?

Is this a hump in the middle or lips on the edge, or what?

Thanks.

The face of the wheel has a crown or "hump" as you say on it. Its to
help make the blade track. I have made any crowns I used from 1 1/2
deg to no more than 3 deg. It doesn't usually take much of a crown to
get things to track.

On 5 May 2005 16:06:17 -0700, "stone" wrote:

===what does it mean to 'put a crown on the band wheel'?
===
===Is this a hump in the middle or lips on the edge, or what?
===
===Thanks.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

On 5 May 2005 16:06:17 -0700, "stone" wrote:

what does it mean to 'put a crown on the band wheel'?

Is this a hump in the middle or lips on the edge, or what?

Thanks.
A hump in the middle. Actually, the whole surface is curved such it is
higher at the center than at the edges. You won't need much crown. The
crown helps the blade to track. But aligning the wheels is way more
important than crowning to get the saw band to track properly. The saw
must be made so that at least one of the wheels is adjustable in two
directions. Imagine a plane passing through the fixed wheel. Now
imagine an in-and-out adjustment on the other wheel that lets you
bring that wheel into the plane of the fixed wheel. And the other
adjustment tilts the wheel. If a line is drawn through both wheel
centers as they lay in the same plane the tilt axis will be parallel
to the plane and perpendicular to the line passing through the wheel
centers. And I think you will need a lip on the back sides of the
wheels. At least all the band saws I've seen that used cast iron or
steel wheels have a lip on the back to prevent the blade from coming
off. And if the running surface of the wheels is wider than the
distance from the bottom of the tooth roots to the back of the blade
you will need a rubber belt (called a tire) on the wheels to prevent
taking the set off one side of the teeth.
ERS

On 5 May 2005 17:28:03 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

As a sawmill? Pretty near "won't work" Many reasons. Most of them have
been said in replies to your post; power, position, tension, design,
speed, max cut.

But if you just had a little bit to do.

I am surprised you can use a 1". Most of them are so thick they are
not happy around a 14" wheel. I have seen some thinner ones. I think
under heavy use, the 1" band of normal thickness may start to wear, as
it's bent too small to be happy.

Hm... the resaw blade I have is I think a 1" band, does good on smaller
stuff. Do you suppose it's a "won't work", or a "would be slow"
kind of situation?

On Sun, 1 May 2005 16:55:09 -0500, "geppers"
wrote:

req : building plans for sawmill

Well, so far you have shown a great deal of energy (not) in both your
OP and in your non-replies. You have had some good discussion. I for
one am bowing out until you show more interest.

On Thu, 05 May 2005 10:38:49 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:

If you are talking about production work,
then even the lower end bandsaw mills could be called "too much work"

Not sure what you mean here....I agreed with the rest of your ideas.

Old Nick wrote:
On Thu, 05 May 2005 10:38:49 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:


If you are talking about production work,
then even the lower end bandsaw mills could be called "too much work"


Not sure what you mean here....I agreed with the rest of your ideas.

I am not the original poster of this thread, I was just chiming in on
the apparent bias against chainsaw mills, often being faulted for having
too wide a kerf and being too work intensive.

I pointed out that a chainsaw mills kerf is not any wider than the old
Bell-Saw traditional circular saw blade mill. ( I have helped run one of
those and even with a tractor with a bucket it is WORK to get the logs
up and possitioned on the cart and dogged in place for sawing) A chain
saw mill lets you position a relatively light weight saw on the log, a
much easier proposition.

Secondly in regard to the criticism of a chainsaw mill being "too much
work for production work", I would suggest that setting up the small,
lower end (lower price) bandsaw mills, without the automatic or remote
controls for return, depth of cut, etc. is ALSO a lot of work, similar
to the work required for the set up of a chainsaw mill. Thus my
statement that even a lower end bandsaw mill could be called "too much
work". Yes, a small bandsaw portable mill may make a board cut faster
than a chainsaw mill, but the real work is the set up and dragging the
saw back for a second cut. Production work, (lots of board feet)
requires a high end mill, which for most folks is way beyond their
budgets, I know it is for me.
a good bandsaw mill for production work, will run over $5,000, and more
than likly, for real production work, you are in the over $10,000 range.
When you compare a chainsaw mill setup which will usually run under
$1,000, less if you already have a suitable saw, I don't think that a
Chainsaw mill is such a bad deal. They are highly portable, relativly
easy to sharpen, replace you cutting medium (chain) and they do get the
job done. I find that the major work with making your own lumber is in
the handling of the trees and then the proper stacking of the lumber,
not so much in the cutting. With whatever method you choose,
traditional circular sawmill, bandsaw mill, Portable or stationary, or
chainsaw mill, you still have the back breaking work of moving the wood.
Sorry for the long reply, but logging and milling wood IS hard work no
matter what saw you choose to use.

On Fri, 06 May 2005 09:25:47 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:

Well...I guess I at least made you make your point.. G

But your points are well made. Seriously.

I agree that unless you are making/paying max $/weight for your wood,
a chainsaw mill is no worse than a bs mill, and a lot cheaper on bang
for the buck basis.

I guess the only "work" difference might be pushing the chainsaw
through the wood ( this is another aspect of wider kerf), and also the
feeling I get that c/s chains take more care than BS blades to perform
their job. However I base this on cutting clean wood with thye BS and
bush wood with a C/S.

Old Nick wrote:
On Thu, 05 May 2005 10:38:49 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:


If you are talking about production work,
then even the lower end bandsaw mills could be called "too much work"


Not sure what you mean here....I agreed with the rest of your ideas.

I am not the original poster of this thread, I was just chiming in on
the apparent bias against chainsaw mills, often being faulted for having
too wide a kerf and being too work intensive.

I pointed out that a chainsaw mills kerf is not any wider than the old
Bell-Saw traditional circular saw blade mill. ( I have helped run one of
those and even with a tractor with a bucket it is WORK to get the logs
up and possitioned on the cart and dogged in place for sawing) A chain
saw mill lets you position a relatively light weight saw on the log, a
much easier proposition.

Secondly in regard to the criticism of a chainsaw mill being "too much
work for production work", I would suggest that setting up the small,
lower end (lower price) bandsaw mills, without the automatic or remote
controls for return, depth of cut, etc. is ALSO a lot of work, similar
to the work required for the set up of a chainsaw mill. Thus my
statement that even a lower end bandsaw mill could be called "too much
work". Yes, a small bandsaw portable mill may make a board cut faster
than a chainsaw mill, but the real work is the set up and dragging the
saw back for a second cut. Production work, (lots of board feet)
requires a high end mill, which for most folks is way beyond their
budgets, I know it is for me.
a good bandsaw mill for production work, will run over $5,000, and more
than likly, for real production work, you are in the over $10,000 range.
When you compare a chainsaw mill setup which will usually run under
$1,000, less if you already have a suitable saw, I don't think that a
Chainsaw mill is such a bad deal. They are highly portable, relativly
easy to sharpen, replace you cutting medium (chain) and they do get the
job done. I find that the major work with making your own lumber is in
the handling of the trees and then the proper stacking of the lumber,
not so much in the cutting. With whatever method you choose,
traditional circular sawmill, bandsaw mill, Portable or stationary, or
chainsaw mill, you still have the back breaking work of moving the wood.
Sorry for the long reply, but logging and milling wood IS hard work no
matter what saw you choose to use.

On Thu, 05 May 2005 12:57:04 -0600, DE wrote:
On 5 May 2005 17:28:03 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

Hm... the resaw blade I have is I think a 1" band, does good on smaller
stuff. Do you suppose it's a "won't work", or a "would be slow"
kind of situation?

Dave, A good way to look at this is in the horsepower ratings.
My 12" shop bandsaw is a .75hp A 14" delta can't be much more than
that.

It's the dual-speed metal & wood Rockwell version from the 60's,
and I seem to recall it was a bigger motor than that, but, ...

10 hp on a bandmill would be underpowered, 14-20 is more like it.

Gotcha.

It's not just the wheel size but the axle/bearings on the wheels not
to mention the guides needed for highspeed sawing. Size matters....
Are the pulleys on the delta rated to handle 20+hp?

Probably not.

My chainsaw mill is 12hp 36" bar and it will rough mill a log into
cabinet wood fast. I resaw on the bandsaw in the shop after drying.

Making a homemade carriage with the wheels aligned and coplanier
is not brain surgery, just basic setup work in a mill with the
adjuster doing the final tracking. For me the hydraulic engineering
is the tough part ie making it somewhat automated.

Maybe _next_ summer. SWMBO informs me that a lawn in the "back yard"
is the priority for this year.

Anyone ever built a successful rock picker?

On Fri, 06 May 2005 09:25:47 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:

Old Nick wrote:
On Thu, 05 May 2005 10:38:49 -0400, Clamdigger
wrote:


If you are talking about production work,
then even the lower end bandsaw mills could be called "too much work"


Not sure what you mean here....I agreed with the rest of your ideas.

I am not the original poster of this thread, I was just chiming in on
the apparent bias against chainsaw mills, often being faulted for having
too wide a kerf and being too work intensive.

I find that the major work with making your own lumber is in
the handling of the trees and then the proper stacking of the lumber,
not so much in the cutting. With whatever method you choose,
traditional circular sawmill, bandsaw mill, Portable or stationary, or
chainsaw mill, you still have the back breaking work of moving the wood.
Sorry for the long reply, but logging and milling wood IS hard work no
matter what saw you choose to use.
Try a manually operated pit saw some day, especially the hired man's
position.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On 6 May 2005 17:30:30 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:


Maybe _next_ summer. SWMBO informs me that a lawn in the "back yard"
is the priority for this year.

Anyone ever built a successful rock picker?
There used to be a device called a Degleman Rock Rake, much like a
single row, spring tooth harrow, with the teeth made from 1/2 round
stock about 1" wide, mounted convex forward and about 1 1/2" spaces
between.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

In a previous life I landscaped my way through school each summer.
I couldn't imagine making a rock picker for just a back yard.
There are a number of different types of pickers, rakes, windrowers,
basket types, agri use usually. There one made not far from here,
very heavy duty 100+hp to run.

The rental yards have one mounted on a skidsteer that works ok. How
rocky is your yard? If not too bad just hire some young types and
hand pick/rake it.

In the real rocky stuff we didn't even try to pick rock we just
hauled topsoil in and covered it up. Rock will move to the
surface in the spring when the frost goes out if you live up north.

DE



On Fri, 06 May 2005 17:54:02 -0400, Gerald Miller
wrote:

On 6 May 2005 17:30:30 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:


Maybe _next_ summer. SWMBO informs me that a lawn in the "back yard"
is the priority for this year.

Anyone ever built a successful rock picker?
There used to be a device called a Degleman Rock Rake, much like a
single row, spring tooth harrow, with the teeth made from 1/2 round
stock about 1" wide, mounted convex forward and about 1 1/2" spaces
between.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada


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On Fri, 06 May 2005 17:54:02 -0400, Gerald Miller wrote:
On 6 May 2005 17:30:30 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:


Maybe _next_ summer. SWMBO informs me that a lawn in the "back yard"
is the priority for this year.
Anyone ever built a successful rock picker?

There used to be a device called a Degleman Rock Rake, much like a
single row, spring tooth harrow, with the teeth made from 1/2 round
stock about 1" wide, mounted convex forward and about 1 1/2" spaces
between.

So, the harrow I'm using isn't far from it. Now that the rocks are
tipped out of the soil, how do I pick 'em up? I was thinking some sort
of a inclined ramp, with a metal edge at the front, and expanded steel
mesh or similar as a "basket". Slight angle, rocks come in, dirt
drops through, that sort of thing?

googling for Degleman Rock Rake now, thanks!

Dave "Free rocks, yours for the picking. I'm serious." Hinz

On Fri, 06 May 2005 17:36:49 -0600, DE wrote:

In a previous life I landscaped my way through school each summer.
I couldn't imagine making a rock picker for just a back yard.

Well, the "back yard" is several acres...

The rental yards have one mounted on a skidsteer that works ok. How
rocky is your yard? If not too bad just hire some young types and
hand pick/rake it.

We're talking an area 300 feet by 100 feet initially, and it's very
rocky. I had parts of it clean last fall, and this spring I can't
even see where I picked. It's a glacial "esker", so it's all the
rocks it picked up from north of us, at the edge of the melt.

In the real rocky stuff we didn't even try to pick rock we just
hauled topsoil in and covered it up. Rock will move to the
surface in the spring when the frost goes out if you live up north.

Wisconsin. Yup, that's the thing. I can cover it with nice dirt,
but they'll keep floating up. Maybe it's time to see what the rental
place would charge.

On 9 May 2005 15:18:54 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

So, the harrow I'm using isn't far from it. Now that the rocks are
tipped out of the soil, how do I pick 'em up? I was thinking some sort
of a inclined ramp, with a metal edge at the front, and expanded steel
mesh or similar as a "basket". Slight angle, rocks come in, dirt
drops through, that sort of thing?

Rake them into piles and pick them up with the loader bucket. This was
being used on airport work where any gravel with a bit of organic
staining was reserved as "topsoil". The airport was situated on one of
the finest gravel deposits in the country - everything from fine,
white, silica sand, to one boulder 13 x 7 x 5 feet.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

So, the harrow I'm using isn't far from it. Now that the rocks are
tipped out of the soil, how do I pick 'em up? I was thinking some sort
of a inclined ramp, with a metal edge at the front, and expanded steel
mesh or similar as a "basket". Slight angle, rocks come in, dirt
drops through, that sort of thing?

googling for Degleman Rock Rake now, thanks!

Dave "Free rocks, yours for the picking. I'm serious." Hinz

Dave

Here's some specifics for a good picker if your determined
go that route. They rent for $100 a day in these parts.

"ANDERSON ROCK PICKER" World's Finest Rock Removal Equipment. 40 years
of field proven dependability. Free litera-ture. ARMOR METAL PRODUCTS,
Box 4609-PF, Helena, MT 59604. Ph. 406/442-5560.
2500 Phoenix Avenue, Helena, MT 59601


A photo here'
http://www.hodgesfarmequipment.com/farm.html

A local landscape material seller uses a payloader and
a vibratory screen with a conveyer. A 3/4" minus screen does
a ball park quality job. I use a "stone" roller 42"x 10'
1.5 ton that I push the rocks back down every few years;
works great.

DE

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On Mon, 09 May 2005 21:49:15 -0600, DE wrote:

Here's some specifics for a good picker if your determined
go that route. They rent for $100 a day in these parts.

Boy, for $100 a day it's not worth dicking around with an inferior
solution. I'll see if I can find similar in Wisconsin, thanks.

Unfortunately, the local implement dealer just closed... bought out by
a larger outfit 2 or 3 years ago, and now it's empty. Funny how that
works...

On Wed, 11 May 2005 23:01:04 -0400, Doug Warner
wrote:



Why pick them? My dream machine would dig up the top 12-24" of soil,.
and crush the rocks into sand, thoroughly shred any organic material,
and mix in any amendments before laying it back down in a smooth,
ready-to-seed layer.


And sterilizing the soil destroying all weed seeds....




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On Wed, 11 May 2005 23:01:04 -0400, Doug Warner wrote:
DE wrote:


In a previous life I landscaped my way through school each summer.
I couldn't imagine making a rock picker for just a back yard.
There are a number of different types of pickers, rakes, windrowers,
basket types, agri use usually. There one made not far from here,
very heavy duty 100+hp to run.


Why pick them? My dream machine would dig up the top 12-24" of soil,.
and crush the rocks into sand, thoroughly shred any organic material,
and mix in any amendments before laying it back down in a smooth,
ready-to-seed layer.

If you'd like to try out that theory, Doug, I've got the perfect chunk
of land for you to do it on.