Bandsaw mill for $220 - sort of!

**TTIT** · 29th August 2012, 03:16 PM

Since I got my PM1800 bandsaw I've been frustrated by it's capacity being so much greater than mine you might say - it has a 460mm cutting height but there's no way I could man-handle timber that size over the table. I couldn't spare the floor-space to build a permanent rig like PJT's and I would only need it on rare occasions anyway - so I decided to try and come up with a sled arrangement that was compactable, quickly and easily set up for use and light enough to be slung from the rafters when not in use.
Started off drawing it in SketchUp but decided I could actually build it quicker

. Because it was all experimental and could needs lots of adjustment, rather than weld everything (and manage the associated distortion), I used my whizz-bang new drill-taps to cut all the threaded holes - those things are so cool

The plan was to build it to a bare minimum and only beef it up where necessary - in it's current state it seems strong enough to do the trick as long as I don't do anything stupid.
A bit of trickery in the middle of the rails allowed me to keep the loss of cutting height down to just 53mm which I was happy with. While it was strong enough in-situ, I had to brace it below the table to give it enough strength to be lifted from either end when in mobile mode.
Steel (some left over, some I already had) = $160
Bearings (10 of 8x8x24) = $33
Assorted bolts = $27
Castors = scrounged

Pic 1. In mobile mode - end legs folded up.
Pic 2. Loading end.
Pic 3. 25mm middle section with brace underneath for mobile mode.
Pic 4. The 'Catch all' folded up.
Pic 5. Secured to the saw by bolting to an insert in the mitre slot - allows the whole thing to be pivoted to manage blade drift. Only tool required for entire setup - 13mm spanner.

**TTIT** · 29th August 2012, 03:25 PM

Pic 6. The trolley - the purpose of the handle shape will become obvious later.
Pic 7. The centre roller on the cutting side where it is housed under the zero clearance strip.
Pic 8. Roller under the zero clearance strip and alignment screw to keep it lined up between the tracks.
Pic 9. The pivot point where the trolley tips on to the rollers to load logs.
Pic 10. Trolley in place to load a log. As any wood I bring home is only going to be as big as I can maneouvre on end, the loading function followed suite - slide off the ute on-end straight on to my hand-truck, round to the shed and walked off the truck straight onto the sled - too easy!

**TTIT** · 29th August 2012, 03:36 PM

Pic 11. Billet that has been 'walked' on to the trolley.
Pic 12. Loaded up - actually tipped this one on with my camera in the other hand! - too easy

Pic 13. A view of the zero clearance strip that keeps the crud off the tracks and bearings and gives me something to line up on for cut position.
Pic 14. In action...
Pic 15. ... and the 'Catch all' worked fine too!

One of the main reasons for building this is the 4 BIG brothers to the Rose Mahogany billet pictured - they are all 2m long and about 250mm x 300mm and I don't want to waste any with the kerfs of the big mills - even if I don't mill any more than those billets, it will have been worth the trouble.
Now for a coat of paint - I hate rust

**Wongo** · 29th August 2012, 03:38 PM

Thats impressive sir!

**Groggy** · 29th August 2012, 03:42 PM

Top job!

**BobL** · 29th August 2012, 04:17 PM

I like it - a lot!

**Stevenp** · 29th August 2012, 06:34 PM

**Willbur** · 29th August 2012, 09:21 PM

Awesome job there TTIT!

**Ruddy** · 29th August 2012, 09:56 PM

Ingenious.......you are a clever man(and a very neat one too) Where are the shavings that should be on the on the floor?

**vk4** · 29th August 2012, 10:29 PM

LOVE IT

Wish I had enough room for a set up like this.

Jeff
vk4

**TTIT** · 29th August 2012, 10:58 PM

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated.

Originally Posted by vk4

LOVE IT

Wish I had enough room for a set up like this.

Jeff
vk4

Not really that big - you can't swing a cat in the shed so I need to keep this area clear for all my projects - would love to be able to leave this rig up all the time but it uses a lot of space

Originally Posted by Ruddy

Ingenious.......you are a clever man(and a very neat one too) Where are the shavings that should be on the on the floor?

Cropped out the pile holding the lathe up

**Acco** · 29th August 2012, 11:05 PM

Nice job Vern

**Ueee** · 29th August 2012, 11:12 PM

Love it

I know what you mean about loosing timber to kerf, just think of all the fiddleback that has been turned into dust over the years

Whats it like to feed, Could a weight and pulley system be beneficial?

**pjt** · 30th August 2012, 02:21 AM

Good job, I like the log loading feature

Pete

**bosox** · 30th August 2012, 05:30 AM

Impressive load capacity! That’s tough!

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Bandsaw mill for $220 - sort of!

...the trolley

.. first cut!

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