DIY Bandsaw Mill

Well guys, I'm so, so excited to share this with you.

This is my neighbor and great friend's video of his build. It's all homemade by him, including the music for the soundtrack. I've been hoping to share it for a while now, but he had some hold ups in the video and uploading. He just came over and we uploaded it here. I donated the engine and some tractor time, but this is all his. I'm very happy to share it, he shares some great info here, I hope you guys enjoy it.....

 

That is just plain cool!

Gary

 

That guy is talented!

 

Very cool!

 

Wow that thing is awesome! I've always wondered how the blade tracking could work on these homemade bandsaws. I also wonder if he can get enough tension on the blade by simply inflating the tires. On my vertical bandsaw, when I run a 1" blade, there's almost no such thing as too much tension - you really gotta crank it down or the cut can "wander" too much. One other thing - you usually don't lube a bandsaw blade - how's that working out? Not sure that's necessary - you don't want that blade slipping on the tire!

Do you know what type of blade he used? How smooth is the cut? You can order custom-length Laguna "Resaw King" blades. Expensive, but they have carbide teeth, and the surface of the board comes out almost as smooth as if you ran it through a planer! I have one for my vertical bandsaw, and it's worth every penny.

I have a bunch of logs that I want to mill up, but I haven't decided how I'm going to go about it. I have several options. I built a couple of roller tables for my vertical bandsaw, and a custom sled with a guide runner that slides through the miter slot. I mount a pipe clamp to the sled and use that to secure the log, then make a slice. It's a very tedious process though. My neighbor a few houses down has a horizontal bandsaw mill that hardly ever gets used. Dunno if I want to get involved with them though - on top of supplying my own blade and gas, they'll probably still want to charge me rent on the thing. But there's a local Amish guy who mills logs pretty cheap too, but I kind of want to do the cutting myself. I want to "quarter saw" the boards - they're more stable that way, and it can reveal some really cool "figure" in certain types of wood, like maple.

The dream is to mill some of my own T&G hardwood flooring, to re-do my kitchen.

 

Shawn, it's not mine, but we hang out often, so I'll ask him your specific questions next time I see him. I do have a good stack of boards from that mill in my garage right now, and they look great. There is a little "bounce" that leaves a slight surface chatter, but I ran them through my surfacing planer and it knocked 'em right down. I believe it's working very well. The lube idea he got from researching other mills, I will ask about that. Overall I know he's very satisfied, I hear it running all the time and the stacks are getting large. He's got the mill shed mostly sided in now, and his father's cabin is getting the same treatment.

As for blades, he's fortunate to do maintenance at a fairly good sized manufacturing facility here, and they run a big computer controlled resaw. He gets all the cast off blades, and welds them to the proper length for his saw. They are all carbide tipped, and basically there's an unlimited supply. Great luck there! The cut comes out fairly smooth, but still want a run through the planer if you want a finished look. They definitely come out "rough sawn."

That's a beautiful piece of wood in your photos! Would make an awesome kitchen floor.

 

I thought it looked like a Laguna blade. That's quite the hookup - those things are expensive!!

I'd love to have that kind of access to one of those. Love to see some pics of the lumber you have too!

 

Very cool. Talented guy.

 

Shawn, I asked him about lube and tension. He said tension was no problem, he hadn't felt like he couldn't get where he needed to using the adjustments he built as well as tire pressure.

Apparently the lube is mostly Pine Sol, and it's as a solvent for the pitch in our soft woods. I guess that long length of blade in the wood can get pitchy and start to really create a bunch of friction and drag. Sounds like it's fairly common out here, maybe it's a softwood thing?

I took a couple pics of my lumber but the light was weird, I'll try to get some good ones as I get into the stack here in time.

 

Oh I see - that's a really cool idea!! You would have a lot of pitch in some fresh softwoods. In fact I have a bottle of pitch remover to clean my woodworking blades/bits etc. Bet I paid a lot more than I would have for Pine-Sol!! I was thinking it was like an aux oiler, like you'd use for a chainsaw mill.

 

For years I used Lenox Diemaster 2 bi metal blades on my Delta bandsaw with riser block & 1 HP motor. 1/2" wide,either 3,4,4/6 variable tooth per inch x 105 1/2 long. Last one I bought was around $40,it could last anywhere from 6 months to a year,depending on what I was cutting etc.Had to order them from a local machinery supplier,they used to stock them but not anymore.

Last December I tried something different - heard these were great probably 15 years back but never had any before -

Timberwolf Swedish silicon steel low tension blades -The style I use is a bit thinner (.025 thickness) vs the Lenox I used previously (.035) but very close in performance & durability. Just put on a new one 2 weeks back,very little time on it yet.The first 2 blades I bought lasted 11 months ago before needing replacement.Around $22 each from Viking Mountain Tool Works (shipped through Amazon in 5-6 days with free shipping). Most other retailers charge $30-35 (near full list) for the same thing.

These are a cheaper alternative to bimetal yet out last ordinary carbon steel blades 5 to 1 easily.

You have to check often & be patient - VM only has a few in stock at that price & they sell out fast,it might be a couple months before new ones in that size are restocked.That's why I buy 2 or more at a time,before the current blade is worn out.


http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

 

Very impressive. I enjoyed everything in the video and the "can do" attitude about building things.

Lead on