Horizontal vs Vertical blade orientation

[Jim Timber]

I realise it's easier to run a gravity positioned saw across rails, but is there anything else that makes cutting wood horizontally better than in the vertical plane?

I've got a saw head that was originally constructed for metal, but I moved away from doing big stuff and never finished it. I want to convert it to wood, and run it off a 4 cycle engine (I have one, and it's a good match with proper gearing). All that's needed is a small redesign on the guides and a new motor mount + build a frame for the works.

I'm open to either orientation of the saw head, but am wondering which is actually preferable vs which is done more because of easier initial set up. Mine won't be portable; I'll house it in it's own shed and will have a roller table to scoot the boards out to drying rack proximity with (already have the rollers).

 

[BobL]

If your mill is in a fixed location and you already have a vertical setup there is no need to change it.
Most big bandsaw mills are vertical and the log is moved.
I guess in your case you plan on moving the mill using threaded rods etc?
As long as the mechanism is protected from saw dust I can't see a problem.

 

[Jim Timber]

I should clarify - I built the saw head. It's got a 24" span between wheels and a 15" throat. Realistically, I'll be limited to about 18" slabs, but that's bigger than any usable standing wood on my land, so it's not a problem. The wheels are cut down aluminum car rims and the idler bearing is a fwd hub. I'm not sure what I'll do for the drive hub now that I'm not using a big industrial gear motor to power the saw, but I'll think of something.

I haven't decided if I'm going to have a rolling saw carriage or if I'll move the logs. I haven't gotten that far in my design process.

I'd like to be able to quarter saw as easy as regular milling. We've got a lot of white oak, and I'm thinking that could be real special in my house some day.

 

[BobL]

I have thought of one reason and that is the bottom wheel needs to be below the log. This means either putting the wheel below the ground or lifting the log up.

 

[Jim Timber]

The logs need to be moved to the mill house anyway. Once in, they'll need to be moved onto the saw bed. Either I'll have a tractor with loader at that point (kinda depends what happens money wise this year), or I have a lift hoist in mind that should do nicely. Pretty low tech, low effort operation - I'm no superman.

One of my next shop projects is a logging arch for behind my atv.