(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

marc rosen wrote:
(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

I think yer nuts! Would you use a Lie-Nielsen chisel as a screwdriver?
It's sort of like whistling while you make love. Even if you can
accomplish it, it's very bad form.

DonkeyHody
"I'd rather expect the best from people and be wrong than expect the
worst and be right."

I think yer nuts! Would you use a Lie-Nielsen chisel as a screwdriver?
It's sort of like whistling while you make love. Even if you can
accomplish it, it's very bad form.

That depends on what's causing the whistling.

Marc,

I thought about that before. It seems that you would have to build some type
of wheeled carriage for your saw and then a bed with rails for the carriage
wheels to roll on. The bed would be simple, but the carriage could get
complex if you wanted the features that a bandsaw mill has (like adjustable
height, etc.).

I say "Go for it!" .........and then post pictures!





"marc rosen" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

marc rosen wrote:
(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

I seem to remember Delta had one that was designed to be used as a
milling machine. Had a plastic or fiber glass looking case\cover with
handles. 2 people picked it up and set it on the log to follow some
kind of guide for the first cut then guided off the top surface. Might
have an old magazine with an add or article about it.
Joe

You mean like this?

http://www.woodmizer.com/en/sawmills...T10/index.aspx

Go for it. Probably save about $3K building your own for fun instead of
buying prefab.


"marc rosen" wrote in message
oups.com...
(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

Vic Baron wrote:
I think yer nuts! Would you use a Lie-Nielsen chisel as a screwdriver?
It's sort of like whistling while you make love. Even if you can
accomplish it, it's very bad form.

That depends on what's causing the whistling.



Aren't you confusing whistling with wheezing? ;-)

Carlos
--

On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:20:48 -0500, Joe Gorman
wrote:

marc rosen wrote:
(Hey, this is a serious question so all sarcastic responses are
welcome)
Has anyone ever turned their 14 inch bandsaw on its side to make it
into a mini lumber mill, similar to the commercial units that are- or
were- available? I'm thinking taking the table off would be
advantageous (it's a 40+ year old Delta Rockwell machine) but I think
some type of lower guard protection is necessary. On the other hand,
maybe keeping the table would provide a sturdy and significant edge
guide.
Weight is not a factor as I have a very sturdy joist system to suspend
this from and I thought this could be a cheap way to make boards from
logs. Thanks in advance,

Marc

I seem to remember Delta had one that was designed to be used as a
milling machine. Had a plastic or fiber glass looking case\cover with
handles. 2 people picked it up and set it on the log to follow some
kind of guide for the first cut then guided off the top surface. Might
have an old magazine with an add or article about it.
Joe


Yep. Called the "Lumber Company" . Introduced in the mid eighties,
Made in Tupelo, MS, had about a 4 year run as I recall.

The only real market for the thing was in an area where a portable saw
mill could not be brought in and set up.

Frank

On 21 Dec 2006 08:02:36 -0800, "DonkeyHody"
wrote:



whistling while you make love. Even if you can
accomplish it, it's very bad form.

DonkeyHody

Good idea. I'm gonna give that a try.

No sarcasm intended but think it through some more.

If you're sawing "green" you'll need an oiler - the
sawdust is damp, sticky and there's a LOT of it.

So
- how are you going to keep it from gumming up
the works. Upright, woodworking, bandsaw's aren't
designed to eject saw dust BEFORE it gets to the
drive wheel. And they don't have, because they
don't need, an oiler.
- the "cabinet" of a WoodMizer type bandsaw isn't
as beefy as an upright woodworing bandsaw so
you've got a more weight to deal with - getting
to the log, setting it up, moving it (rather than
the log, which is normally heavier) along the log,
taking it down and getting it back to wherever
you're going to store it.
- full size logs, especially green, are HEAVY. You
don't want to move one any farther, or higher
than you have to. That means
- lugging your saw TO the wood.
- rolling rather than lifting the log onto a base
that's as close to ground level as possible
- moving the saw over the log rather than
the log passed the blade - with control of
both the depth of cut, and the flatness of
the cut. Trapezoidal boards are a PITA.

There are a lot more considerations but you get
the idea. BEFORE you go much further, find a
sawyer with a bandsaw mill, watch him set it
up, use it, clean it up and put it away. Pay attention
and if your lucky ask a lot of questions and
get a lot of answers. A bandsaw is a bandsaw
is a bandsaw ISN'T. Thin front wheel drive
family van. Now think Off Road Four Wheel Drive.
They both have wheels, an engine, etc. but the
details are quite different - for a reason. A
Swiss Army Pocket Knife can do a lot of things.
But you don't see a butcher using one at work,
nor will you see a mechanic using one. Dedicated
tools work better, with less effort and a lot
less cussing and swearing.

You can probably make your idea work. The
question is how much effort, time and money,
and how well will it do this new specific job?

If you've got the time and money and have a
Rube Goldberg streak in you - go ahead on.
And don't forget to report back with what
you did, what you shouldn't have done, what
you're going to do next time - and how it worked

charlie b