simple mill

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abs111999

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I wanted to have a simple chainsaw mill for a few years and finally came up with this. It is for the Beam Machine.
I got rid of the big ubolt bar clamp on the Beam Machine and opted to bolt right thru the 24 inch bar. I think its better.
The guide beam is 2 boards 2x6 with spacers in between to make it tight on the approx. 3.70 inch Beam Machine. It works good and the holes help dust clear away somewhat. I made a rudimentary log clamp to hold the log against the mill but it is woefully inadequate ....
I need to have a ratchet or hydraulic mechanism to force the log against the milling frame. I also need some kind of end clamps to keep the small logs from sliding back and forth when I am rocking the saw thru thru the cut.What I really need is an adjustable log bunk that can be adjusted to be 90 true to the guide rail. My first cant on a piece of dry Lodgepole looks like a drunken fence rail more than a nice 5 by 5. I am glad I didnt grind off the little dog perforations on the Beam Machine because it wouldnt cut without them mostly.I was thinking about taking them off earlier.
By having the guide off the ground 3 ft it gives good visibility underneath to see the bar and where its at.But I need to stand on blocks to get high enough to make a cut.Its not fast. The truth is bandsaws are much better in almost all ways.
I would never waste time making 1 inch planks with this setup. It would be a total waste of time.
If you want a simple set up for chainsaw this works but maybe someone can comment on a nice log bunk that bolts on the upright posts under the guide rail and has an up and down adjustment to get a true 90 degrees to the guide rail.That way after the first cut you could lay the log flat on the bunk and know the next cut is at 90 degrees, My first cant looks like a pentagon.
There isnt much point in milling unless you have that taken care of.THis is for rough beams and cants only. Bandsaws are much better for planks.
 

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Another saw with a slabbing jig (alaskan mill) would complement your system. 90 degree cuts are hard enough with a quality log bunk and standards. If you start with good flat slab cuts, you can get better cuts with your beam machine. You can also process bigger logs. Once set up it's about twice as fast.
It's still slow, but eliminates some of the room for error.

Check your rail often too. Wooden ones tend to warp and twist.
 
I came up with a pretty good bunk system..it uses 4x4s and is very strong.And its 90 degrees to the rail but I know its not perfect and this rig is for rough cants.
Cutting planks will always be the realm of the bandsaw...and all the logs for this are 7-9 inch only..we dont have anything else that is available
here on the high prairie. 7-8000 ft on the Continental Divide.
 
btw it seems that you cant delete stuff on a post after its posted...?? why is that?? I will post some more detailed pics tommorrow. THe simple mill platform
is making nice true cants now and was an interesting project for 20$ total.
THis project makes me want to tackle the ominous homemade bandsawmill project. I had a Woodmizer LT15 years ago but I would never buy a mill now.I could never justify the cost. So I wanted to put this out there in this forum....I want a bare bones small bandmill.The closest one that fits my bill is the new Hudson
model Sawyer. Its about 2200$ and has a corny paint job. BUt its got a lot of experience behind it so I want to use it as a template.If I could find someone
on this forum who would build just the sawhead/carriage/one piece/ just like that one,and have it ready to accept my own bandwheels and my track and my band lubricator box etc( I would want a blade tensioner of some kind. It wouldnt need to be assembled or anything but fully welded etc..
.....if someone could build that for me (no paint or any frills whatsoever) for 400$ it would make it do able. What do you think???
 
A369D630-E731-4B20-B93D-A2B0A947A468.png 2D80DDBF-D5C9-4404-B1DD-D82735CC2B48.png 3C8E7F13-FEC2-4F6B-A570-B576C1AEAB73.png BCDA7E78-9832-425B-A2F0-2869F091EE1D.png DAE68C67-5037-437A-A374-72437EDD7810.png CACB123E-B961-4591-958C-3E105108F8BC.pngYou asked....
Likely be around $325.00 materials
6-8’ labor minimum
1.5’ machine work
50-60 in consumables
Consultation/drawing/blue print etc. a lot of head scratching/unknown
Pallet to ship.
Product liability insurance / patten infringements?
Betting a shop would quote in a $1,500.00 ballpark
.
Big difference if one is doing many ..several at a time,instead of one off’s
Jigging up / buying in larger quantities (cutting labor & the middleman down or out)
Like women/Doctors/backyard mechanic’s/welders, etc. sawmills lol
None of them are bad, just some better than others.
IE: just recently 2”x 2” quarter wall sq. Tube was $8.67 a foot
6011 electrodes tiny bit over $4.00 lb.



Iirc
Linn bandsaws on the west side sells kits, Albany Or
I believe. That’d be worth looking into...
BTW
Thanks for the chuckles.
 
MR If thats all you got to say on this help forum, go back to your oxygen tamk and get off this forum. I cant believe the website management let you
post your dogshht. Look at america fade away and fast... I want 30 bucks an hour even though I am worth 8. I want my ass wiped and a day off to do it.
Everyone else is getting it so why not me..... Within 5 years that overpayed BS will be buried and laughed at forever. 100k ayear for blue collar workers????
LIES and will never sustain. Your idea of valuation is a fkkn joke.
 
Ketchup, here are some photos.. the glued up 4x4 blocks slide onto the base 4x4s and adjust in and out. They work good and are securely fixed.
But I am seeing the limitations of the Beam Machine already. THe dog grooves are tilting the cut so even though the bunks are 90 degrees to the rail I still have to shim the log to make it come out square. But for cants it works. Eventually I should run the Beam Machine on a steel plate so it doesnt wear like that and that would make the dog system useless.
 

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Let’s see if you might be able to leave a make believe world & get back in touch with reality here......
You’re asking to have a direct copy or based off of a Companies
manufacturers product for around two bit on a dollar...
.
A quick short background about me....
Around 1970-1 I seen a chainsaw mill at work milling/ two siding
logs & beams it ran on a 4” A36 channel...
Went home & build one w/a few changes.
Next year took welding in 1st year of H.S.
Then the other years as a teachers aid in welding
Advanced welding at a CC
Shipyards, basically been in the trades
60% + of a working career.
Divorced & had to sell my dream shop
a few years back, rebuilding at present.
.
I’d agree with anyone the cost of doing business
In today’s world, metal working isn’t something
doable on the cheap.
I’ve looked & studied sawmills for a few decades.
Seriously considered building a couple designs & marketing
them, what I wanted for my own use/ what would
actually have different options to a buyer.

Was as I sold a couple large metal lathes & a milling
Milling machine, kept a small footprint horizontal mill.
Actually still better set up than most commercial shops.
 
Back to the OP.

What about sloping the beam and log support mechanism ?
Even a few degrees makes a difference when Alaskan milling and I can't see why that wouldn't work on a beam system.

bobsmillingstyle.jpg
 
Havent been to Perth since 91'. Aus was quiet back then.Really nice.
I hear you wouldnt even recognize the place now if you hadnt been down in 25 years.Crowded world. I wonder if the world losing 2.5 billion population
would help.
 
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