Thread: Bandit Mill

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback so far. Some really good pointers there that I'm going to have to look at incorporating.

The wheels are flat, not crowned. I considered running them without any kind of cushioning, but I think it will create a heat problem. I know aluminium has a lower temperature coefficient so that would be a lot less likely to cause issues than the cast iron ones I'm using.

Obviously setup of the wheels is critical, and any kind of toe-in will cause the problems I've had, so it's just going to be a case of making adjustments and seeing what works and what doesnt.

To balance the lift mechanism I'm going to move the cutter head right up to the frame and devise a new system of rollers to hopefully allow it a bit more mechanical advantage. The motor is strong enough, I think it's just a case of getting the engineering right so that its lifting only the weight moment, rather than trying to overcome any twisting moment in the threaded rods.

Guide rollers are just simple 10mm 2200RS bearings.

looks like a good thing , best of luck with it . must start my own found a couple of cast pulley wheels and lathed them flat , cheers Bob

you may find that the nuts on the threaded rod should float in a housing so they can align with the thread , looks like you are having fun and a good machine as well . cheers Bob

Well, after what has been a flat out year with more than half spent away I have found some time to get back into the bandit mill project. I've only got a couple of weeks here, so my intentions are to fix what I can.

There's 3 main issues;

1. Blade flying off the front of the cutter.

2. Lift mechanism

3. Tyres for the band wheels. (The neoprene that I had glued on just tore itself off when the blade came off.



I started with problem 3 because I thought it would be the easiest to fix. I bought standard 18" bandwheel tyres off the net and was intending to cut a shallow groove in the bandwheels to house the tyre. The tyres are a standard size, so I thought that would be a good long-term solution. Unfortunately when I put the wheels on the lathe to cut the groove, the wheels proved to be very effective at simply grinding off the cutting edge of the tools. Unfortunately, I don't have access to TCT cutting tools, so I'm back to square 1 again on that idea.


I think I'll start working on the lift mechanism next and see if I can get something a little more effective working there. I've got a few ideas, so I'll keep updating as I go.
In the meantime here's a couple of pics.

IMG_0046.jpgIMG_0048.jpgIMG_0051.jpg

Great to see you back here James, I've been wondering how your mill was progressing.

I started my bandsaw build about the same time as yours, mine's not completed yet but its in usable condition & is working suprisingly well with a small stockpile of sawn timber now stickered & drying. Hopefully with some limited expeirence I've now gained I can offer some suggestions to your modifications you need to make.
I'll post some pics of my mill soon so you can see what I've done, wont post them in this thread as I dont want to distract from yours but I'll post a link in here

cheers,
Dean.

Originally Posted by Jamesg1981

Well, after what has been a flat out year with more than half spent away I have found some time to get back into the bandit mill project. I've only got a couple of weeks here, so my intentions are to fix what I can.

There's 3 main issues;

1. Blade flying off the front of the cutter.

2. Lift mechanism

3. Tyres for the band wheels. (The neoprene that I had glued on just tore itself off when the blade came off.



I started with problem 3 because I thought it would be the easiest to fix. I bought standard 18" bandwheel tyres off the net and was intending to cut a shallow groove in the bandwheels to house the tyre. The tyres are a standard size, so I thought that would be a good long-term solution. Unfortunately when I put the wheels on the lathe to cut the groove, the wheels proved to be very effective at simply grinding off the cutting edge of the tools. Unfortunately, I don't have access to TCT cutting tools, so I'm back to square 1 again on that idea.


I think I'll start working on the lift mechanism next and see if I can get something a little more effective working there. I've got a few ideas, so I'll keep updating as I go.
In the meantime here's a couple of pics.

IMG_0046.jpgIMG_0048.jpgIMG_0051.jpg

Same thing happened to me slowed lathe down and got a carbide tipped tool some water to cool and cut easy ,need to get the time to assemle what ive done.goodluck with yours cheers Bob

James, I've posted a few pics of my mill in this thread - https://www.woodworkforums.com/f132/h...6/#post1591183 - the toe in/out adjustment may be of some value to you, I found once set corectly I haven't needed to touch them again.

cheers,
Dean.

Dean, that's a really good setup there, I'm impressed. Your toe-out adjustment is very similar to what I had in mind, so it's good to know yours works well if that's the model I'm going to work off.

How does the digital ruler setup work and where did you get it? Will be stealing that idea.


Mine is moving along quite nicely at the moment, I've fabricated some cutterhead guides that run really smoothly and re-engineered the drive to the threaded rods. I'll post some pics tomorrow, just ran out of time to take them this afternoon. I'm hoping to have the lift mechanism powered up and working by tuesday afternoon.

Here's a few pics of what I've done so far. I'm hoping this fixes the lift mechanism problem, but I'll test it tomorrow and see how it goes.

I've also added a photo of the only good weld I've managed in the past couple of weeks. I won't be getting a job as a boilermaker anytime soon!!

James, I have mounted the digital ruler onto a sub board (2x1 timber), this mounts to the frame with 2 bolts with wingnuts for fast & easy removal. the digital readout would not be water proof so once the mill is outside Ill just take it off & keep it in the shed when not in use.

I bought it from a Chineese company Anyi - Digital Scale Units _ digital scale units(vertical type) - Anyi Instrument Co.,Ltd -
I think it cost about $105 with postage. I didnt get the 1000mm one as it was to dear, so I got a 400mm unit, I then made the height level that moves the unit also adjustable so I get the full 36" of cutting head travel.

If I were to buy another digital readout I'd search for other suppliers, they forgot to send battery & mounting brackets.

cheers,
Dean.