multi-options mini sawmill plans

[Walney Col]

Free multi-options mini sawmill plans I'm just finishing off.

Featuring 3 versions of mini sawmills each of which uses the same basic 25mm x 25mm steel hollow box section frame and can mill logs in excess of 12" diameter. In the plans the frame is mostly bolted together for the simple reason that I intend to build the chainsaw version first then dismantle it and swap out the chainsaw carriage in favour of one of the bandsaw versions later on. If you already know which version you prefer and make a permanent heavier duty track than my flimsy ladder then there's probably a reasonable rigidity advantage to be gained from welding it together from the start. The figure in the image is scaled to 5'2" to give you a reasonable idea of it's diminutive size.

Version 1 is a chainsaw mill suitable for use with 16" electric or petrol saws.

Versions 2 and 3 are 1HP electric bandsaw mills utilising a DC treadmill motor/controller and wheelbarrow and mini moto rear wheels respectively.

Note that these plans are for a carriage that will fit my ladder... no doubt your ladder is a different width in which case the length of the cross members would need adjusting.
The plans may change slightly when I start building it but there's as good a starting point as any.

Video slideshow here:-
[youtube]6nvywuhp9kA[/youtube]

For more details info you can download the free sketchup plans from here:- http://www.seafax.co.uk/index.php?id=multi-options-mini-sawmills

Comments/un-noticed errors welcome.

Col.

 

[dickm]

Your neighbors ain't going to think THAT is garden furniture!

 

[Myfordman]

Version 2 of the bandmill looks rather difficult to change the blade and apart from that, the significance of the two designs has eluded me so far.

 

[Walney Col]

Version 2 of the bandmill looks rather difficult to change the blade and apart from that, the significance of the two designs has eluded me so far.

Wheelbarrow wheels typically have a shaft around 20mm diameter which is better able to be supported just at one end than the 10mm spindles that go through the mini moto wheels. Changing blades on the mini moto wheels version is just as easy as on the other thanks to a slot through the carriage left specifically for that. The reason the carriage has been moved inboard is that being almost 2" fatter the mini moto wheeled version had so much weight overhanging the front of the frame I thought it prudent to mount the carriage on the back rails rather than the front ones.

This picture shows how you'd access the blade changing on the version where it's not obvious.

Col.

 

[Myfordman]

OK Col,

Thanks

 

[dzj]

Band-saws of this type usually have wider and thicker blades with few tpi. I'm not sure they will fare well running around wheels of 25cm diameter.

 

[Walney Col]

I have slight reservations about the 10" wheels too hence the 12" version. This is a very lightweight mill compared to the average youtuber's DIY mill however, and the blade I've chosen as a starting point is also suitably lightweight at 13mm x 3tpi, so I think it's in with a reasonable chance of success.

 

[dickm]

Just wondering about the geometry of the ladder plus wheels, Col. Is there a danger that the wheels will catch on the underside of any irregular logs? Maybe think of some sort of V-block arrangement to raise the log a bit?

 

[Jimmyarm]

What stops the weight of the cut piece pressing down on the blade of either design as you progress along ?

Isn't that the reason most saw mill blades are vertical rather than horizontal ?

All that will happen is that the blade binds up as you progress, potentialy snapping it and injuring the operator.

 

[Walney Col]

A maximum diameter log will catch on the side of the carriage before the wheels but an irregularly shaped log COULD snag on the wheels first, but it'd be a simple matter to rotate the log so that it doesn't and/or trim any protruding limbs off with the chainsaw beforehand.

 

[Walney Col]

What stops the weight of the cut piece pressing down on the blade of either design as you progress along ?

Isn't that the reason most saw mill blades are vertical rather than horizontal ?

All that will happen is that the blade binds up as you progress, potentialy snapping it and injuring the operator.

I've looked at literally dozens of home made bandsaws while I was drawing the plans up and and not one of them was a vertical, and it seems that neither are any of the professional offerings at least in the sub $25,ooo price bracket. In any case a couple of small wedges knocked into the kerf as you progress is a normal enough thing to do to hold the cut open especially on chainsaw mills and the boards I cut will be a fraction of the weight of anything off any larger mill so I don't see it being much of a problem.

Check out Linda's Sawmill Cinema on youtube sometime.... their type of saw seems to be typical of what the many small sawmills are using nowadays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uog7gjWVbI

Col.

 

[Walney Col]

This is the home made sawmill that inspired my own efforts.

[youtube]HRNGelIVPco[/youtube]
It's built entirely from a mini-motor engine and wheels some 25mm hollowbox section and a ladder, and if mine works half as well I'll be proper suited. He seems to us it to cut veneer but there's also another video of the same mill being transported into the canadian wilderness on a snowmobile to cut timber on the spot for building some sort of weather station.
Col.

 

[blackrodd]

There are, as you say, several horizontal bladed bandsaws out there, Woodmizer is probably the most recognised and there are some of these, on Flea bay from time to time.
I am surprised that judging by the dialogue, so many people have not seen one!
There's a similar model at our local home grown wood yard, and you should see the amount he turns out.
I wish you the best with the build and hope you enjoy the odd bit of problem solving! Regards Rodders

 

[Walney Col]

Thanks Rodders. It's 90% about having a new toy to play with and only 10% about wanting to source my own timber. As you say portable bandsaw mills are as common as muck nowadays but lacking both the money and the space for a real one I'm more than happy trying to build my own domestic version.

Col.

 

[blackrodd]

Thanks Rodders. It's 90% about having a new toy to play with and only 10% about wanting to source my own timber. As you say portable bandsaw mills are as common as muck nowadays but lacking both the money and the space for a real one I'm more than happy trying to build my own domestic version.

Col.

And seeing that timber in stick too, very exciting!

 

[dzj]

Isn't 15000 sf/m a bit fast?
(Most are around 3000-5000)

 

[Walney Col]

Isn't 15000 sf/m a bit fast?
(Most are around 3000-5000)

Yes. That's a reminder to me what the blade I bought is rated at. It's this one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121280934315?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I'll be aiming for a lot more modest 2000 sf/m with only a 1hp motor.

Col.

 

[heimlaga]

Horisontal band sawmills have became pretty common ans the bigger ones are actually pretty good.
However I think you will have to upscale your entire design with a factor 3 to make it usable. After all you need a certain size of log to produce boards of usable width. An ordinary ladder does bend way too much under the weight of a log and your wheels are too small to allow you to use a wide enough blade to get a reasonably straight cut in a knotty log.

Woodmizer have a reputation around here for having too small wheels and consequently too thin and narrow blades to do a good job. I think their wheels are something like 50 cm in diametre which is twice your wheel diametre. Their frames also tend to be a bit too lightweight to really last.

If I was building a bandsaw mill myself I would want the wheels to be at least 70 cm preferably 80 cm in diametre. I would use full size railway rails as tracks for the sawmill instead of your aluminium ladder. The cross members could be made from 100mm hot rolled U-channel for instance or maybe 6x6 inch timbers. Some old 12" diametre cast iron narrow gauge railway wheels of the kind that were used in mines and sawmills and industries of all kind would probably be very good for carrying the sawmill carriage. You also need proper blade guides that support the blade properly from three sides and some upright stops to prewent it from rolling or sliding sideways because of the cutting force.

A very good idea...but probably too small to do it's intended job!

 

[Walney Col]

A very good idea...but probably too small to do it's intended job!

I think it'll do it's job just fine, but that you're perhaps misunderstanding what it's job actually is. Making a bandsaw with 70cm diameter wheels to cut a 30cm dia log is just plain daft and defeats the whole object.

Col.

 

[DennisCA]

Interesting topic in a way. I plan to use my regular bandsaw with 60cm wheels to mill logs, when I am lucky enough to acquire some. I should have the wheel size and motor power to cut to the saws maximum depth (13" or 33cm, 40cm or 16" if i remove the blade guard or redesign it so it doesn't steal 3").

I'd have to feed the log on the table however so I'd probably have to plane it flat on one or two sides or remove the table and build some kind of rolling feeding mechanism. If I remove the table though I should get like 50cm (20") of resaw capacity.