Anyone Mill With an Ordinary Bandsaw?

I have someone who wants to give me an old Craftsman bandsaw. Old but good condition with stand.
I know a member who has used his table saw to make lumber. I know im limited but if it works it'd be ideal for small logs. Anyone do it or have tried it?

 

Brad, my coworker bought a Grizzly vertical bandsaw last year to start playing around with milling 12" and smaller diameter logs. He said it worked great, although the bigger stuff was a little hairy on the first cut. Once you have a flat surface to work from, it's not so bad. Set up your fence and go to town. The trouble he had was he liked it so much that he went out and bought a small WoodMizer this past spring
I've personally run a few small logs through a bandsaw and I think it's actually better than the table saw. Less surface contact = less chance of it getting pinched in the cut and things going sideways in a hurry. If you can get an old Craftsman, do it! I wouldn't hesitate if it were me in that position.

 

Yes, it works extremely well.
Widest blade it will take will work best.

 

Thanks. I have a small job to do for the lady tomorrow and she's offered it to me twice. Happened to think of it and wondering if she still has it.

What diameter/length have you run through yours?

 

About 4’ sections, but only 5-6” diameter. I’m sure I could do longer pieces provided they’re relatively straight to begin with. I wouldn't hesitate to try larger stuff if I have a solid setup. The 3 square pieces on top here are 3x3” American chestnut and were run through the bandsaw. Everything underneath was done on the table saw.

 

I think you'd want some type of sled if you were going to get serious about it. That way it won't roll on you, and the sled will keep the kerf straight. Have the piece securely clamped or screwed down, then push it through. At least on your first cut. But... so far I've gotten away without using one. I suppose even a 4x4 screwed temporarily to a log as a guide is better than nothing.

 

Yup, know exactly what youre talking about. Got to thinking how the first cut would be made. Cant recall if it has a miter guage slot or not? Find out tomorrow.

 

I'm pretty sure it's going to have a miter gauge slot.
Best thing would be to get a copy of the manual and carefully set it up. Band Saws have a number of fiddly bits that if not set up correctly will cause frustration and poor results.

 

Pretty impressive stash of material. Have any specific plans for it's use?
Don't think I have ever seen American chestnut.

 

American chestnut trees themselves have been considered functionally extinct for 80+ years so not too many people have seen the lumber from them. There's a market for salvaging the old stuff from barns and farmhouses, but new lumber itself is long gone history. So far the only plan I have is to build a rustic bench for my kids. Bigger picture though, I want to keep saving as much as I can, from the rare old wood I find to the recently killed smaller stump sprouts. Eventually I might want to make tongue and groove flooring if I get enough of it.

 

I’ve done it Brad. I made a sled to clamp firewood size pieces (that were tiger maple) and sliced them into about 2” boards. Made some tool handles for files and ash shovels. Still have a bunch of em to make picture frames or something when I get the wood shop set up. I have pics on the laptop. I’ll dig em up and share asap.

 

This was the internet pic that gave me inspiration.


Once you have a flat surface, a resaw fence could be used to make the rest of the cuts. Wider the blade the better for that.

 

Thats ingenious. Never would thought of that.

I envisioned a piece of plywood with its own fence where i'd screw through it to the round, shimming as needed. Once a flat surface is established its easy.

 

"banDDsaw BRAD"....???

 

Update: I did some work for the customer today and the bandsaw is gone. Well it was a good idea.

 

Too bad it went away Brad. I could tell you were getting into the whole idea! You have to quit hanging around with questionable characters that have bandsaw mills. Bad influence!

 

LOL!!! Enough questionable characters on here that dont have mills that i hang out with!

 

Who me? LOL

 

Sean Curry had a good set up for this. He doesn’t seem to be around anymore.

Vertical Bandsaw Lumber Mill

 

Definitely miss Sean being around!