TraditionalTool
Addicted to ArboristSite
I haven't been around here in a while as I haven't done any milling in a while.
I am starting to mill some timber again and the one thing I'm continually reminded about is how difficult it is to move and turn logs on the sawmill. I have a rough terrain forklift which I use, but there's a lot of getting in/out of the lift when I need to turn a log...need to wrap straps and cinch down low, then get back in the lift to pull the forks up, etc...often it takes a couple times getting in/out of the lift for each cut, which makes for a long day.
Obviously I don't have any hydraulics on my mill, and short of that, I've come up with an idea for manually turning logs that I think will work nicely.
The concept is similar to what the guy who made the Swing-Set gear in the past. He seems to have gone out of business as his site no longer exists, but he had some sprockets wrapped with #80 chain which he used a floor jack to lift both ends of the logs to easily turn them. I was going to build something similar to that, but then a light came on in my head recently and I remembered a project I did to build machine skates to move my heavy machines around the shop, and I used ball bearings, which I still have a load of. I bought a big lot off ebay from Denso. I suspect they were used for alternators in cars.
What I am thinking about doing is something like this.
I am not sure how I will fabricate that arc, if I will cut some steel plate, or bend pipe and weld axles to, or bend tube, etc...but I will try to have a row of ball bearings on each side. Maybe 8 per side to cover a 36" arc, that would be about 4" between bearings.
The idea is to be able to roll the log with a cant hook easily. Any comments?
Cheers,
Alan
I am starting to mill some timber again and the one thing I'm continually reminded about is how difficult it is to move and turn logs on the sawmill. I have a rough terrain forklift which I use, but there's a lot of getting in/out of the lift when I need to turn a log...need to wrap straps and cinch down low, then get back in the lift to pull the forks up, etc...often it takes a couple times getting in/out of the lift for each cut, which makes for a long day.
Obviously I don't have any hydraulics on my mill, and short of that, I've come up with an idea for manually turning logs that I think will work nicely.
The concept is similar to what the guy who made the Swing-Set gear in the past. He seems to have gone out of business as his site no longer exists, but he had some sprockets wrapped with #80 chain which he used a floor jack to lift both ends of the logs to easily turn them. I was going to build something similar to that, but then a light came on in my head recently and I remembered a project I did to build machine skates to move my heavy machines around the shop, and I used ball bearings, which I still have a load of. I bought a big lot off ebay from Denso. I suspect they were used for alternators in cars.
What I am thinking about doing is something like this.
I am not sure how I will fabricate that arc, if I will cut some steel plate, or bend pipe and weld axles to, or bend tube, etc...but I will try to have a row of ball bearings on each side. Maybe 8 per side to cover a 36" arc, that would be about 4" between bearings.
The idea is to be able to roll the log with a cant hook easily. Any comments?
Cheers,
Alan