Some our old sawmill scrap

[rogue60]

Got some pics of some of our old sawmill junk today brings back the memories thought some might find it interesting.
Is a shame the old bandsaw is just scrap no one wanted it was made back when thing's were made to last was old when we got it bout the 3rd owner I think from memory.
We used to cut the softer woods like Cedar/Hoop Pine/Silky Oak/Rosewood with it up to early 2000's.
As you can see in the pics you run water on the bands to help keep them cool same as circular saw's like bench saw's and breaking down saws.
To much heat makes saw's wander water helps keeps em cool and cutting straight along with correctly adjusted packing.

Some basics of bandsaws- The benefits of Bandsaws is a very narrow kerf = not much waste.
Down sides they are not very good at cutting Hardwoods like we have down here like Ironbarks and such they get to hot to fast and wander in the cut.
Another down side you have to send bands out to get rolled/sharpened and or re tipped as we used to run tungsten carbide tipped bands.


Packing top on the fly adjustable up and down best to always keep it close to top of cut.


Packing bottom


Water feed above the cut on band.

 

[rogue60]

Band tension adjustment.


Bands we had about 15 working bands at any one time that way you have plenty half could be sent off to the band doctor was like a 2 week turnaround.
Sometimes perfectly good bands just snap in half nothing bad happens when this happens they stop instantly but yeah ya can't have to many bands.




The control panel all basic stuff sizing and carriage control's.

 

[rogue60]

The carriage


The carriage track

 

[rogue60]

It all started with my dad (he used to be a cutter for the big mill's) getting a railway sleeper order for around 800 sleepers mid late 80's he didn't own a mill of any kind back then so he ripped them out with an 090 got it done and filled the order.
From there he made a Buzzsaw to cut sleepers this is that Buzzsaw or what's left of it.
It had a Holden 173 red motor on it the Aussies will know the motor yeah bloody hard work was no light weight lol
Me and my older brother are thinking about getting it back up and running as it was back in the day it's part of our family's history dad's old Buzzsaw.
I remember hanging off it helping as a young teenager can't say I was never not a little intimidated by it lol more so the chit it could pickup and throw at your shins we used to hang thick old hessian bags off the main axle/beam to slow chit down.


Not my vid but this is a Buzzsaw in action cutting Hardwood railway sleepers.

 

[rogue60]

From the Buzzsaw dad's next step was make his own portable sawmill- breaking down saw and a bench saw was all deaisel power we used to move from padock to padock cutting sleepers.
I don't have pics of the saw bench sold it bout 10 year ago but this is the breaking down saw he made. The main frames he used I remember he got off the scrap dude here it was ex army from the Vietnam war era part of a floating pontoon bridge you can see in the pics.
Anyway this is what's left of the breaking down and carriage he made.
It used to run a 6 foot saw new that gives you under a 3 foot cut you need to minus the 3-4 inch collar and every time you sharpen the saw it gets smaller they all start out as a 6 foot saw and get smaller from there lol


The carriage

 

[rogue60]

 

[rogue60]

Yeah we eventually got half moden stuff for cutting timber for the Railways still gut busting hard work but not quite as bad as the old days lol

 

[rogue60]

 

[Wisconsin Welder]

Thanks for sharing all that, very interesting story. I didn't understand the buzzsaw part then when I scrolled down and saw how that thing is arranged............No *s-word your shins! dang man