My new BIY sawmill and rail bed.

[J & L Creations]

Freebie frame is always a plus. Seems as if we both work way more than we should, but I sometimes go by the name of "workaholic". The 18 HP engine I used seems to do a nice job, 30 HP you could run everything off of even the hydraulics with no loss of power. Yes we do have to charge for our services, not just because of the machines we build, but because of the intellect and engineering skills it took to build them, maintain them and run them. You might be able to receive two free band saw blades, if you go where I did. Because the company I went to did this for me they will have a customer for life.
www.kascosharptech.com 1 800 325 8940

 

[Stump Shot]

I run Kasco blades as they are an affordable option. The nearest Woodmizer dealer sharpens them for me. Next time new blades are needed will be looking for some with bigger gullets when new. The guy from Woodmizer put a new profile on those Kasco blades with a noticeably deeper gullet, what a night day difference. I would say they cut with near one half the effort.

 

[J & L Creations]

I run Kasco blades as they are an affordable option. The nearest Woodmizer dealer sharpens them for me. Next time new blades are needed will be looking for some with bigger gullets when new. The guy from Woodmizer put a new profile on those Kasco blades with a noticeably deeper gullet, what a night day difference. I would say they cut with near one half the effort.

That is a good tip, I wonder if Derick at Kasco could incorporate that into a couple of blades to try out, I'll give him a call when I reorder blades. Do you know off hand how deep the modified gullet is?

 

[Stump Shot]

No, I just layed one over the other to compare.

 

[Stump Shot]

It's not much, like about 1/16".

 

[Stump Shot]

I run Kasco blades as they are an affordable option. The nearest Woodmizer dealer sharpens them for me. Next time new blades are needed will be looking for some with bigger gullets when new. The guy from Woodmizer put a new profile on those Kasco blades with a noticeably deeper gullet, what a night day difference. I would say they cut with near one half the effort.

I should have clarified that this is true in big wood from 20- 30 inch diameter(30" is max on this mill). Smaller logs are not a problem.

 

[exSW]

Down loaded the book. Got to digest it once or twice.

 

[J & L Creations]

Down loaded the book. Got to digest it once or twice.

Please let me know what you think. There is quite allot to it, so if you have any questions, I try to answer them, thanks.

 

[J & L Creations]

Down loaded the book. Got to digest it once or twice.

So exSW what do you think of the book, or have you had a chance to go through it?

 

[exSW]

So exSW what do you think of the book, or have you had a chance to go through it?

Not yet,thanks for reminding me. I'll probably get to it after the clocks turn back.

 

[J & L Creations]

Ok, thanks.

 

[exSW]

Ok, thanks.

I did look through it and realized it would need a more thorough and concentrated digestion. I do most of my reading when the days are short. My reading,music,gun and (clean) chainsaw rebuilding room is due a rainy day cleaning and reorganization for the soon to come hibernation season.

 

[J & L Creations]

Oh, cool I wish we had an off season.

 

[J & L Creations]

Nice job, looks great. Once you get using it a bunch, it will kinda let you know if it needs something here or there, not to worry, they're usually small tweaks that make things go a little easier for ya, all in good time. Want to see some lumber next!

Well Stump Shot you were so right. We've finally got the saw all dialed in and tweaked now, but getting there we've gone through one blade already. It's cutting straight as an arrow now. We do have some beautiful slabs of mesquite wood. Try a 20' oak next, don't know the diameter yet as I have not seen it, I think it's better than 20". A sharp blade makes a huge difference in the way the blade acts to the wood it's cutting which is an obvious statement, but for a first timer, until I felt the cutting edge of the blade, it was a bit of a head scratcher and a learning curve. What do you use for lubricating the blade?

 

[Stump Shot]

I'm using water with just a couple drops of dish soap in it for blade lube. I was scolded by the sharpener guy for running the blades too long after they were dull, said it made them hard to sharpen. Now I pull them the first sign of being dull, usually being harder to feed into the wood. Made some wavy boards with dull blades before that, so worth figuring out your machine. Don't feel bad, I did everything wrong at the beginning, It'll come. When you get it all figured out, it will be just work.

 

[J & L Creations]

I'm using water with just a couple drops of dish soap in it for blade lube. I was scolded by the sharpener guy for running the blades too long after they were dull, said it made them hard to sharpen. Now I pull them the first sign of being dull, usually being harder to feed into the wood. Made some wavy boards with dull blades before that, so worth figuring out your machine. Don't feel bad, I did everything wrong at the beginning, It'll come. When you get it all figured out, it will be just work.

That's exactly what happened, the saw was getting hard to push and the blade was causing waves in the cut. I guess sometimes learning the hard way makes an unforgettable impression. Thanks Stump Shot.

 

[exSW]

Sometimes if you feed them to fast you can get waves also.

 

[Stump Shot]

Sometimes you can find a local dealer that has open house cutting events, even if not, most will help you out with questions and the like. I've visited the Woodmizer dealer here to get my blades sharpened and pick his brain a bit.

 

[J & L Creations]

Well, just made it home from cutting the 26' oak tree down, it was 24" in diameter. Had to cut 4' off the trunk, it was rotten and hollow. Cut 2' off the top, so ended up with 18' to slab up. Actually cut 5 slabs 3" thick 18' long and one 3" thick 12' long. So all in all it was good tree to slab up. The sawmill worked great. I'll have to look for a sawmill dealer and a place to sharpen the other blade I have. Thanks for the kind help guys.

 

[Sherm'n]

Yes, 12volt DC motor, it does have a gear reduction on it. I would think with right sprockets you could get it to the right speed like you did for your set. This just works of a chain similar to how your set works, just back and forth instead of round and round. Ends of chain have eye bolts used as tensioner. Chain goes over sprocket down to two idlers, one going each way. Has a two way switch for forward and reverse with stop in the middle. Then there is a knob that sets the speed it's like how a dimmer switch on old cars used to be, where you turn it up or down to give it more or less voltage. Relatively simple set up, and all works off of the battery and is charged by the motor. So when I'm sawing I can dial in the feed that works best and it stays steady, on the return trip turn it wide open to get to the next cut quickly. Pictures can probably tell the story better than I can. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I'll try to answer best I can.

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Good morning Stump Shot, Looking over your drive set-up for your mill for ideas to drive a Peterson swing blade mill that belongs to a friend. I believe your basic set-up will work on it, we're trying to find the winch motor and controls. Wondering where you found your winch motor and controls, and any other info that may help us out. Thanks a bunch.