resurecting an old circular sawmill

[redneckhillbilly]

since I aint that good at fixin chainsaws I thought I'd start a build thread on getting an old circular sawmill put back together and cuttin logs.

so heres the start of it, I spent the morning today retrieving various parts from a few piles scattered thoughout an old farm.

heres the 1st pile that contained the blade and the log carriage.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

got this stuff loaded up and next week I will go fish more parts out of other piles

 

[redneckhillbilly]

heres the old Fairbanks-Morse diesel motor that powers it, I still havent drug it home yet.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I did find some roller tables and other parts I didnt picture earlier, so heres the pile so far. various sprockets and gear boxes for sawdust conveyor, and other misc stuff I found that I may be able to use.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

end of next week I will be hauling another pile of belts, chains, and cables to drive the carriage, and hopefully the motor home, I have always wanted a sawmill, and getting some old crap running is my speciality.

 

[hacskaroly]

end of next week I will be hauling another pile of belts, chains, and cables to drive the carriage, and hopefully the motor home, I have always wanted a sawmill, and getting some old crap running is my speciality.

That is awesome, looks like a fun project!! I look forward to seeing the progress!

 

[redneckhillbilly]

That is awesome, looks like a fun project!! I look forward to seeing the progress!

hopefully its making lumber sometime this fall, the motor is the big variable, your close enough you may be able to see it in action live.

 

[Woodtroll]

That's a worthy endeavor! I, too, like restoring old things to function, even when it would be easier to just buy something new. Having to rebuild something almost from scratch is one of the best ways to learn the intricate details of exactly how a thing works, and I've learned a lot that way.

Best of luck, and please keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Coupe]

The old fairbanks Morse looks interesting, and yes keep us posted. I too like
restoring old things that's why I have last count 38 ghainsaws I have restored.
One of my first jobs when I left school was working in a circular saw mill and went
from breaking down the logs to benching and finished in the yard grading
the timber.
Good on you for taking it on.

 

[Sloughfoot]

Where I lived for awhile every watershed of any size previously had a circle saw mill at the bottom of it. They were free for the taking when the lumber companies moved on and a lot of old guys had one, usually hooked up to an old diesel tractor that barely ran. I don't know what happened to the original motors. I bought a lot of lumber from one of them and part of the deal was helping him mill it.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

Ive spent the weekend spraying everything with diesel, and trying to find info on the motor, so far very little info, I have a few parts supliers i use for the old stuff when I work on it, so tomorrow Im gonna make some calls.

if anyone has a line on new/used parts for that fairbanks morse 36A I would be very interested in knowing about them.

and I will definatley keep this thread updated regulary, I do appreciate the good words from all who have commented, Im sure I will have questions as this thing gets closer to assembled.

 

[Basher]

One big problem resurrecting old mills is rusted shafts where the shafts mount to the bearing boxes. If the shafts have rusted or pitted at the babbit bearings the rotating shaft will quickly eat up that soft babbit. I have been involved with old rotary mills since I was 8-10years old when steam power was still around. I ran my own mill off a Caterpillar diesel with a 10 speed transmission. Oiling up the bearings every morning before startup helped preserve the babbit but eventually all those bearings wear out.

 

[Junk Meister]

I read your post wanting a Tach
this thread got by me. I will be watchingnow.
Looks like you have a Bell Saw made in KCMO. Through the years is now TimberKing
They work well off of the PTO of a tractor. Issues of throttle and clutch controls
PTOs run clockwise as most industrial power units are counter clockwise.I have seen them direct coupled from PTO to Mandrel with a Drive/PTO shaft. If the blade is insert tooth make note of the tooth pattern as C and D are not so easy to find and #3 are getting that way, Your Fairbanks is a 1200 RPM and your 471 will be 1700 to 1900 rpm. your mill appears to have been run flat belt drive from an old tractor. (Think SC CC Case)
If you UTube for info look for M14 or M16 M i believe is for "MOBILE" or bellsaw circle mill. the small wheels under the carriage are hard to get or make.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

the fairbanks unfortunatley is not going to be used, it has had alot of water get into it and parts are very hard to find.
I am buying an old road grader with a 471 detroit and plan to either run the blade hydraulicly or from the driveshaft through the gearbox, but I need to figure out the shaft speed in various gears at various engine speeds.

since i first started this post alot of work has been done to the carriage and drive and tracks and rollers, I am taking thursday off work to dedicate a whole day tobthis project and will post some new pics.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I forgot to mention that if anyone has a need for the old fairbanks morse engine or parts from it I am willing to sell whole or part out for cheap, I cant get myself to take it to the scrapyard.

 

[Junk Meister]

One very common mistake I see is people put the GUIDE TRACK next to the blade. it really needs to be the far track and the flat (Weight bearing)track and wheels go near the blade.

 

[Junk Meister]

I would go with the gear drive to maintain steady RPMs. rotation direction will be an issue. .Hydraulic tend to be inconsistent assume your mandrel nut is LEFT HAND THREAD?. If you have your blade tensioned/smythed/doctored let them know your mill and how it is set up. it will need to be worked over as a RIGHT hand mill even though the mandrel is threaded left handed. Your blade should favor the right / log side.. IF the goes by the sawyer on his right side heading into the cut.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I am very apprecitive of you sharing your knowledge, I know absolutley nothing about sawmills especially circular sawmills, my cousin is a very good fabricator that has seen a few in action, but thats the extant of our knowledge, as this thing progresses I will be asking a ton of questions.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

heres the future powerplant, got it running today, its getting hauled in tomorrow morning, gonna try to use as much as possible off this beast. gonna build hydraulic dust conveyor, hydraulics for the carriage, and what ever else. heck sitting in a cab would be nice also