New Mill

[chaikwa]

Just got done building my new mill. Used plans from Linn Lumber and well worth the price. Here's a few pics;

chaikwa.

 

[jjett84724]

That thing is cool. Let's see some pics of it working now!!

 

[dancan]

Nice bit of work , thanks for sharing now get some pics of wood being cut !
How many hours you into it for ?

 

[chaikwa]

I've only used it when it was UN-painted. I just wanted to make sure it was accurate and relatively defect free before I put the paint to it.

I'll get some sawing pics as soon as the paint dries!

I have way more hours into it than I care to admit. Being a welder/fabricator by trade, you'd think I could crank it out in a month or so. Truth be told, I have the better part of the winter into it.

chaikwa.

 

[Coalsmoke]

That is a real nice package you put together there. I think we need some videos of it in action. I am a 'recovering' fabricator myself. Owned my own shop and business for a few years and decided to get out of the full time thing while I still have my health. I can fully understand that time involved in it. It's easy to piece out a project like that in the minds eye, but it takes time when it comes to making the 3D version of it

Nice work.

 

[HUCKLEBERRY]

That's a pretty inspirational piece of work. It does'nt get much slicker than that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[deeker]

Looks great!! Now get those leveling legs down...level....and get to eating sawdust!!!

Don't forget the pics.

Kevin

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice! Those pics will give me a lot to think about for the mill I'll soon be building. Looking forward to seeing some sawdust.

 

[dave k]

Looking at the quality of your work I can only imagine the milling equipment that would appear if you and Bobl lived next door !!
What is the HP of the engine ? and the size of the band ?
There are a few mobile mills here in Ireland but from what I am told trying to get the right set up seems hard, to lightweight frame manufacture and band sizes that are to easily damaged.
Looking forward to seeing it in action.

 

[TreeWinder]

Impressive, very good work

 

[chaikwa]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

The motor is one of those cheap chinese Honda knock-offs, 13 HP. Figured I'd see how much I get to actually USE this mill before I spend the money for the motor I really want, (18 to 20 HP Honda). In the small amount of time I've used it so far, the motor seems to be adequate in terms of power. How long it will last remains to be seen.

The blade is 1 1/4", .042" thick with 7/8" tooth spacing. Most of what I'll be sawing is hardwoods tho, so I think I'm going to try 3/4" tooth spacing with the next blade I buy.

Brmorgan, if you're going to be building a mill, I highly recommend the plans from Linn. They take all the guesswork out of it and Gary is always available to answer questions. Not to mention that you get an assembly DVD and the price of the plans back if you buy any parts from him. I bought the hydraulic blade tensioner, blade guide rollers and the bronze blocks that fit the 1" Acme rod for raising the head.

I'll get some sawing pics but there won't be any video... I have no video camera. Sorry.

chaikwa.

 

[lmbeachy]

You're hooked, better start saving money for that bigger motor.

 

[Coalsmoke]

Yep, a little A-series Cummins would make that mill sing

 

[DK_stihl]

backhoe

Is that a JCB hoe your pulling your mill with?

 

[chaikwa]

Is that a JCB hoe your pulling your mill with?

Yes. 1996 210SL. Great little machine.

chaikwa.

 

[Can8ianTimber]

So do you have any rough cost breakdown for all us drooling over your nice work? It would be really interesting to find out how much you spent vs. the cost of a new mill.

Thanks

 

[Coalsmoke]

So do you have any rough cost breakdown for all us drooling over your nice work? It would be really interesting to find out how much you spent vs. the cost of a new mill.

Thanks

I was wondering the same thing myself.

 

[wavefreak]

And I thought the mailbox I made in shop class was cool.

 

[chaikwa]

So do you have any rough cost breakdown for all us drooling over your nice work? It would be really interesting to find out how much you spent vs. the cost of a new mill.

Thanks

Including the cost of the motor, I have about $2000 into the carriage only. I don't know about the track because I used the old assembly from my chainsaw mill and reworked the dogging system with steel I already had from other jobs. The only thing I added to the track was the winch for log turning. Everything in the track assembly is pretty heavy stuff tho, so if you had to buy everything new, I'd estimate another $2000. But there's nothing that says you need to use 2" X 5" X 3/8" wall tubing for the mainframe or 7" channel for log bunks either. You could do the job nicely with lighter material, I just like things stronger than they have to be!

chaikwa.