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Thread: Homemade Bandmill (update)
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29th December 2012, 11:20 PM #1
Homemade Bandmill (update)
Here's an update on how the bandsaw is coming along. since the initial post I did about 6 months ago I have made some more changes.
The old hand winch would not raise & lower the cutting head to produce accurate & repeatable dimensions, so I replaced it with a 12v winch (note the cable is winding from the top of the spool which is normally a bad thing to do but in this case the load is quite low, so all is OK. to fix I would have to mount the winch the other way round).
I replaced the old steel ruler with a digital readout, Its easy to stop the winch within 0.5mm then a quick press of the button again to get within 0.2mm, I rekon thats accurate enough !!. Still need to get a groove machined in the 2 cable pulleys (pallet trolley wheels from ebay) to keep the cable from slowly drifting away from center.
I'm still just milling my lower quality logs at the moment to gain more expeirence, (there's a lot to learn) and not wanting to stuff up any good logs. Have just tried a stelite tipped blade on the hardwoods (blackwood & mesmate) & it cuts very nicely.
The still to do's: centrifigal clutch, extension for the log deck from 16' to 22', some more guarding, toe board roller for adjusting the height of tapered logs, sub frame & wheels to make it all mobile and get it out of the shed!!
Cheers,
Dean.
mill03.jpgmillhead.jpgwinchlift.jpgtoeout2.jpgtoeout1.jpgdigital.jpg"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life"
Confucius.
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29th December 2012 11:20 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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1st January 2013, 07:35 PM #2Senior Member
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Hey Dean! What PSI are you pumping the Porta Power too? I am thinking of going Hydraulic tension on My Mill, Currently I just have a screw thread and it is hard to get accurate tension on the blade.
Cheers,
Jon
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1st January 2013, 11:08 PM #3
Hi Jon,
I used a ram off a disused Lely hay mower, I cut & welded it to reduce it stroke to a only a few inches & mounted a spring behind it to work as an accumulator . It has a 50mm bore diameter. I'm putting about 1000PSI into it generating about 3200 pounds of force. Could go higher if needed but not required as its cutting straight.
The band needs about 1600 to 1800 pounds of tension, x 2 = 3200 to 3600 pounds.
The oil pressure you will need to opperate a ram at a given force will be dependant upon the rams bore diameter. for example if I had a 38mm bore I would need to increase oil pressure to about 1800PSI to get the same force
Regards,
Dean."Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life"
Confucius.
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2nd January 2013, 09:13 PM #4Senior Member
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Thanks for the info Dean, It is so hard to get good info on building a Mill,I live next door to a bloke who owns a Bearing and Hydraulic Business, He is a good bloke to Know, We have been looking at using a Jack Ram out of a trolley Jack but we can't get access to the oil journals to attach a Gauge. I built mine a couple of years ago, and I am looking at Refining it a bit. I originally started out building a Portable mill that I could transport but I made it that Heavy that it has to remain in Situ as I don't have many Mech aids at my disposal.
Good luck with your ongoing Project.
cheers, Jon
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26th June 2013, 11:34 AM #5
Dean
Missed this thread earlier, but love the build. Very well done.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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26th June 2013, 11:40 AM #6
Jon
I realise you may have gone down the hydraulic track, but if you haven't or as an intermediate measure, try using a torque wrench for tensioning. This will give you a consistent reading. My Laidlaw was supplied with a simple bar indicator but has long since given up the ghost and for a long time I have relied of "feel," I would suggest you delve into your automotive tool kit and drag out one that clicks when you reach the right tension.
To preempt the obvious question, I don't know what the right torque is, but I can tell you that if you break the band, it was too much.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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23rd August 2013, 11:36 PM #7
Update 2
Well its 6 months on & I've finaly got the mill out of the shed & can now have a clean up. The sub frame / drawbar is now fitted along with axle & cast wheels from an old Crump spreader.
I was asked whether I could mill a few logs for a local community project, so I jumped at the chance as it enabled me to see how it would work in a portable situation.
So last weekend I hooked it up to the tractor & drove about 10kms up the road to the logs. Mostly it all went very well, some very nice macrocarpa was sawn, only had a couple of littly "oopsies" such as leaving a steel backstop a few mm too high & "zzzzing" hitting it with the blade, and milling a small log without a clamp as I already had another log clamped on the deck, not a good idea.
I learnt a lot from this exercise and need to make more mods & changes, particulary log rotation and handling, things like toe board for adjusting for log taper, rollers for easy handling of slabs for resawing.
pics below
cheers,
Dean.
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life"
Confucius.
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24th August 2013, 08:47 PM #8Neil____________________________________________Every day presents an opportunity to learn something new
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3rd September 2013, 09:32 PM #9Member
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great looking mill ....
Dean,
thanks for the update on your mill. I have been pouring over your photos and am NOW encouraged even more to have a go at making one of these mills myself. I have also spent last few months pouring over all the youtube videos from the brand-name machines all the way through to the DIY ones. There seems to be a general pattern appearing in my mind as to how best tackle the construction of the key elements - I must admit I am still trying to lock down the specific ways I will deal with certain details...ie....I will likely use square threaded acme rods to lift the cutting platform on the main frame. (I will likely attached a winch motor via sprockets and chains to drive the threaded rods. I was also looking at the option of mounting bearings/runners to the vertical sleeves of the motor platform (the sleeves that contain the SHS verticals of the main frame)...to reduce the amount of friction and "stick" on the up-pull of the winch cable....anyway - the most challenging component that I am still deciding on...are details relates to the platforms that will hold the main wheel axles...in essence I am trying to figure out the best combination of elements to allow me to (1) tension the blade and (2) toe-in/out and up/down the wheel axle. Is there anything you could suggest (from your own experiences) that would shortcut my dilemma regarding this detail.
I don't have anything built as yet....I have just started to buy all the steelwork, bearings, axles, wheels etc....motor etc.....construction and a thread following the progress may evolve soonish...
look forward to your thoughts....I may try and draw a few options (of the detail i'm thinking about) and see what you think of it....
regards
szczepan
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