Milling some more logs with my homemade sawmill. Things don't always go as planned. More info here: woodgears.ca/bandmill/misadven... Plans available here: woodgears.ca/bandmill/plans/
Matthias Wandel is a remarkable man, as he is not only gifted in the skills and ingenious in ideas but he is well spoken and his descriptions are so detailed and so clear. While he seems to be happy working with wood I am sure he would have done as well had he joined other professions dealing directly with society rather than the natural raw materials. I bet he would have made a great surgeon, lawyer and even a statesman and countries will be better off because of his modesty, humility and the ability to deliver his wares. Good luck Matthias and may the new year offer you health, happiness and peace.
matias hello, my name is Sandro and I am 28 years foreman in Brazil, currently work in the manufacture of preforms made from wood to concrete. I am delighted with your videos, you have helped me a lot'm fashioning my own band saw. in my garage, thank you even for the tips. a hug!
Not many people are willing to show the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thanks for your honest evaluation of how your tools work. You are the best at what you are doing, bar none.
I built a saw from your plans with a 1&1/2 hp motor I had the same problem with the tires getting chewed up so I said to hell with it and went with no tires at all. blade touching mdf and it works great. and I'm changing the guides to run "cool blocks" in place of wood. other than the mistakes on the plans , you sent me the right measurements and I would recommend your plans to anyone. keep up the great innovations and I will be ordering more plans
Your lucky those two plugs are on opposite phases otherwise it wouldn't work. Glad to see that motor I gave you still works and is plenty powerful. Cuts awesome!
Hi Mat Impressive little saw. Depending on your motor current that setup from a kitchen outlet is dangerous and could cause the wires inside the wall to overheat and cause a fire, and also it could damage your motor. Best bet is to run a heavy extension from a dryer outlet.Have your log well secure. A wobbly log will bind the blade. Also make sure that the blade is tight enough and that it is parallel with the bed to eliminate the blade from drifting. good luck.
Great effort on the mill- impressive for a home made job. Lubrication is not needed- a coarser blade (1TPI) will clear sawdust faster. Also more tension will help with bowing. If sawdust isn't clearing, increase gullet size on the blade (as in a coarser blade), or slow down (or both). If you can afford it, a TCT sawblade is excellent for resawing. A wider blade is good for resawing, but only if you can get sufficient tension. A tight narrower blade is better than a wide, undertensioned one. The wider the blade, the stronger the rig has to be to get the tension up there. The log needs a rigid securing system- consider screwing a bracket directly into the end grain at both ends. Don't stand on the log whatever you do- wooden crutches are no substitute for a leg. Secure the log better, and use wedges to keep the kerf open. All in all though, an impressive build. Thanks for showing it.
Mega Props Matthias! Most people will not show their "learning" moments, mostly because their ego is far greater than their ability. You Sir, are a gentleman and a scholar ;)
Wow. I stand in awe. I've no interest or need to cut wood like this, ever, but it's so interesting to watch. I'm glad you took the time to make a video channel from these activities.
Been running a Norwood portable sawmill since I was 13. First issue is the blade drift, you have a video that describes well whats happening, the beam strength of the blade cannot handle the back pressure of the cut, so it drifts. To compensate my mill uses 2 roller guides instead of traditional "block" guides for the blade, the rollers have a flange, which when installed properly rides about 1/8" behind the blade, and the rollers are mounted above the blade, adding downward pressure at the same time. The downward pressure depresses the blade about 1/4" lower than it would normally track. If your blade has less than 1TPI I would suggest ordering a custom cut 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 tooth blade. Bigger gullet, more dust removal, less friction, less deflection. I know you want to avoid it, but I have yet to see a working sawmill without water that does not snap blades left and right. You need to setup a water-drip system that runs directly onto the blade as near as you can to the entrance of the kerf. I add a little dish soap to the water to help emulsify dirt and prevent pitch and resin from sticking to the blade. This water drip is crucial on several levels. I try to let it flow as a constant stream, and adjust it until it looks to lay flat on the moving blade, vs just spraying off of it and all over the side of the log. First it cools the blade, which if not cooled, will develop microscopic cracks inside the gullet, and cause early failure of the blades. Next it helps reduce friction, which makes a huge difference when talking about energy losses in the process. It also serves to suspend the sawdust and ease its 'pooling' inside the gullet as its expelled from the saw. Last, it prevents the fine particulate dust from becoming air born, and with the soap, I find it helps the dust to settle into clumps that the wind wont blow around into a huge mess every time a storm comes in. Next is the set of the blade. Softwood is forgiving, but with hardwood I use blades that have extra raker teeth. Total kerf should be 2x the thickness of the blade, and on hard maple, I use a double raker tooth. This is my attempt to show the pattern when doing the offsets ( / left \ right - raker): Softwood / \ - \ / - / \ - \ / - Hardwood / - \ - / - \ - / - \ - Very hard or dry / - - \ - - / - - \ - - Now, last but not least, feed rate. The harder and more dry the wood, the slower you have to go. No way around it, believe me I have tried. If you are hitting a knot, you usually have to ease through it very slow, otherwise the blade will deflect, and sometimes you just cant avoid a bit of deflection, that's what straight line edgers/jointers/planers are for. These band mills produce rough sawn wood. If you can get within 1/8" of your target on any dimension, and within 10 degrees of square, its a good day. I ALWAYS cut my wood at least 1/4" oversize of what I want to account for sawing inconsistency, shrink, twist, cup, stain, and checking. There are days looking through dry wood I feel that should be more like 3/8". But soon it becomes 1/2" and then an inch.. next thing you know I have 400 8x8 and 10x10 pine beams that sat for 10 years until we decided they should be a cabin because we had nothing else left to build with posts & beams.
I love your videos. Real DIY explained and filmed in a very enjoyable and educational way. I want to build a bandsaw now even though I can probably buy a good used one cheaper, but not everything is about the money, need to have some fun too. Keep em coming!!
It should be mentioned that now kitchen receptacles are wired single phase at 20 amps, so one should really check into what thy have before making a plug like that. Excellent stuff Mathias, you rock!
I use an Alaskan Mill. I posted a couple videos from a few years ago. The mill allows me to go into the forest and salvage downed trees. With even a small chain saw and an Alaskan Mill it would be much less work than building a band saw mill-- plus, more access to interesting species. So much good wood is cut up for firewood.
im watching every post you made so far and i have to say, matthias, i really love your stuff, detailed and accurate, honest , just love your videos man, scouts honner
Matthias, suggest that you fix some hard bristle brushes in the front and rear of the roller skate board wheels to clear the sawdust off the tracks. Very ingenious builds. Thanks for sharing.
love your projects Mr. Wandel, but you need a blade drip, for cooling and lubrication. I use a diesel fuel/oil mix, with out it the blade gets hot, dulls quicker and starts to drift. I love the wooden sawmill, very cool.
Mathias, putting your foot on the log also binds the blade from pushing down on the cut wood, I'm sure you thought of that but just thought I'd mention it. Also as you mentioned, feeding the wood to fast will not let the blade do the work naturally.
As always, I'm impressed with your ingenuity. If I may offer a little advice not related to safety... (it appears that the safety police are already on you like bees on honey.) I've seen that "washboard" pattern on material from my mill before. Although there is a size difference in our mills, I think the only thing that matters is how the blade performs when in the wood. If I increase my feed rate a bit, the surface becomes smooth again. Reason being? A slower feed rate neglects sawdust extraction and "re-chews" the chips into a smaller material that slips past the blade. The blade will heat-up and become dull quickly. A hot blade is a no no and a dull blade is another great way to get thick-n-thin lumber. I know you can see the logic, but implementation of corrective measures are ultimately up to you. Thanks for sharing all your great work and God bless!
I really enjoy all of your projects and I thought this one was very ingenious. How many people could make such a saw and get it up and running. Even my expensive commercial band saw jams regularly and not always my fault. Keep the videos coming.
Awesome Thank you for sharing, very creative I am wondering on the first segment of your video when the wood start shaking by steeping on the wood causing a bit effect which made cutting the wood harder.
Ahh the good old "feet to keep the workpiece secure" trick LOL it's ok I use it all the time too I just think its kinda funny you make me smile mattias even when I'm down. Thank you sir
I have an assignment to submit tomorrow and I havent even started on it. Yet here I am watching a sawmill cutting logs... What am I doing with my life...
few tips for cutting wood: -Make sure the wood is still a bit wet -reduce your feed rate, going too fast for a (homemade) bandsaw -enhance the tension on your saw blade -use a "geared" V-belt on the motor drive or another drive system that can handle more torque -you can use brushes on one side of the bandsaw to avoid getting saw dust in your saw mechanism -something similar to a stone chisel could be slammed into the wood to secure it (that's how they secured entire trees in the early days)
Of course, one big advantage of having split duplex outlets in the kitchen is that it fairly easy to make a kludge like the one Matthias did to plug in your home made 220 volt band saw. In homes without duplex outlets with split supplies it is necessary to find two different outlets that are wired with different supply legs and make a kludge extension cord that can plug into the two different outlets to power your home made band saw.
Dear Mathias: this backfires is wnat makes machie construction so funy. I have had all sort of problems with machines build following precise calculations and plas made with expensive CAD software. there is a great joy when you e the machine finally workling the way you want.
The Logosol Company has a great log holding system you could emulate for this setup. the log holders are kind of like a latch from an old canning jar only they compress and stick into the log instead of hook over a latch. Really enjoying your bandsaw series. thanks!
Wow...I love how you make your own equipment. Am I correct in understanding that you could have sped up the blades rotation but the lower speed of cutting through the log was the key to keeping the wood at the same thickness? Thanks for sharing
I have also recently built my very own bandsaw mill and it works really well, can cut 20inch diameter oak like a knife through butter. i can see you are having a little trouble with the sawmill. well as through experiance i had ALOT of trouble too. But all is now good and works perfectly. The main things that concern me due to you sawmill are drift, blade, power and log secureness.
Excellent work! At 1:20 you show the blade entry angle. That angle needs to be just the opposite angle. So that the blade hits on the closest point of the log, in relation to the direction of the teeth. My friend has a mill from Timbermule. That's how they do it. It runs great. It's just a couple of degrees off from hitting the log squarely.
GREAT, GREAT VIDEO! That looked like shed loads of fun. By the way, how do you tell the difference between a Norway Maple and a Canadian Sugar Maple? I've been waiting decades for someone to answer that.
I'm British but lived and worked in the USA for 10 years. I had a wood lathe with a Baldor motor that could be wired to accept 220V but I had to go back to the consumer unit to get access to the 2 phases. It guess that this scheme is standard in North America to avoid household machines drawing high current having to use the expensive thick cable that would be needed for 120V operation.
my local sawmill uses a bandsaw and for cutting oak they have a small pipe that sprays soapy water on the blade and that washes most of the saw dust etc out of the kerf making it easier to cut
I agree it is because the log is rocking up. We have a portable bandsaw mill and if the clamps come loose and the log lifts it will spit a blade like that.
The shop vac idea has merit, I was thinking an air compressor line near the blade aimed at the cut might help with chip clearance. Don't think water would work too well, however waxing that blade occasionally might slick things up.
i am so impressed by how clever you are to make these saws it excellent and you end up with free wood too how brilliant you are in the UK our electric is 240v in our homes but i am surprised that you can get 240 v out of you 110v sockets i don't understand how you did that how can a double socket be two phase please explain for me apart from that i think your saws are ace i like them very much clearly you have got fantastic skills with wood thanks for the excellent videos truly inspiring Konstantin
Too many teeth per inch is one big problem when cutting long cuts in logs. You can use two teeth per inch for logs like this, giving room for the kerf until it clears the log. Big band saws have even fewer teeth per inch and the blades are much wider, sometimes having tungsten carbide teeth welded on the blade so you can up the speed without dulling the saw. I have ground off teeth on 3/4 inch blades, then used an antique saw tooth setting tool to reset the tooth orientation, it worked, but the finish was pretty rough. Old time sawyers could do it right, setting the teeth precisely the same on both sides for each tooth. A person could, theoretically use a travel dial indicator at the edge of each tooth to get this done precisely, but at that point, it would be better to get a good industrial bandsaw blade all ready done for this. Lennox and Starrett are two good brands.
When your blade was bowing up coming through the log (2:28), sometimes that can be due to belt slippage on the pulley. The feed wheel begins to slow down and is no longer pulling the blade through the wood. As the powered side slows down the other side begins to try and push the blade through the wood causing a bow and creating a "humped" cut. Try a different belt/pulley combination to create more surface area. I have this problem sometimes, tightening my belt always fixes it.
I do want ta add though that its pretty kool you built your own band saw/ mill its just the rigging of a 240 line outta whats probably a 12 gauge kitchen line blow my mind
I wonder if it would help to spray the blade with silicone or similar lubricant to help ease the drifting. I guess your next project is going to have to be figuring out a way to move the BS from the end you start on w/o actually moving. I can see the gears spinning in your head from here.Thanks for sharing as always Mat.
Please explain the doohicky you made with the kitchen socket in more detail, you put both positive plugs and both negative plugs in parallel to get 240v out of it?
hello your design for this mill is nice for a beginner, and I would like to say that if you look at a band saw you will notice the wheels are usually made of cast iron do to the weight to carry the blade through the wood or metal. Also a more designed log dog would assist in better cuts. when you cut the blade is drifting do to no weight to wheels not carrying the blade/ pulling the blade through the log. Also check with your blade guides they also have factor to do with blade alignment.. See if the information helps!
I wonder if placing a wooden wedge in the cut as the blade progresses, to take weight off the blade . I made a stand up bandsaw from plywood and used it to cut 8 inch thick duck decoys. Made my own bearings from stainless pipe and soap box derby wheels for blade pulleys . It worked flawless. Old Popular mechanic plans
Canada.I measured the outlets and got the same result as Mathias. It should also work in the US. Perhaps the wiring in your house isn't done correctly and should be checked out.
Ok. Then Canada is different. It will not work that way in the U.S.. We do not run both phases to a 110 outlet under any circumstance I can think of here. Our code for kitchens says that there must be two 20 amp circuits to supply the countertop outlets (to make sure there is enough supply for plenty of appliances), but we do not split the individual outlets in that manner. So just out of curiosity, since Canada runs both phases to the countertop outlets, do you also run two separate branch circuits? Or do y'all just go with the one since you have twice the capacity to start with? Update: I did find in the NEC where it states there must be two 20 amp circuits, and it does in fact allow for running them as he describes in the video, with the only requirement being that they have to be on a double-throw breaker so that someone cannot turn off the upper outlet and think it's safe and then get shocked from the bottom outlet. They have to turn off and trip together. So that method of wiring may be more practiced in some other parts of the U.S.. I have just never heard of it here in Texas....
A good way to keep the logs from moving around, I would use some short nails protruding upwards. Doesn't need much, just the very tips poking out. Drop your log to set it, and viola.
Hmmmmmmmm.....that 110 volt outlet trick gives me an idea for my welding machine that I don't have any place to plug in right now. Gets me thinking. Thanks.
Also the secureness of the log is important as when it starts tilting/vibrating it puts alot of stress and pressure on the whole machine and also making a rougher cut. the way i overcome this problem is that i clamp my log down (using f clamps) to the support posts/rails as my rails are slightly higher as they've been propped up. Then when i reach the clamp i remove it and clamp where i have already cut.
This is one of the coolest project you've done im my opinion. Having a sawmill opens soooo many possibilities for fine woodworking. recycling wood that have history, veneers, book-matching planks, etc. I'll look through your site im pretty sure you have a sketchup plan to sell? ty
The blades in bandsaws tend to bow one way consistently because the front is under more tension than the rear because of tooth offset, so when you put them under a lot of load they'll consistently deviate in one direction. Have you tried using nail plate to retain the bottom of the log more effectively?
It would be interesting if you added a gearing system off the motor (perhaps a worm gear on a rack gear?) that would auto advance the saw at a fixed rate. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the drift from going too quickly. Then again, I haven't built one of these, but it's a cool idea.
the blades i use are 3/4" x 2 hook tpi, the best blade by far for milling logs as the teeth have plenty of room for extraction of waste. Now you use a 2hp motor which is great for milling the sizes which you are doing but a 3hp motor is definatly a majour improvement. you wouldn't believe how much more lumber you will get out of a log which is only twice as big.
u could reset the angle of the teeth to make it cut a wider cut then the dust would clear better...u can make a saw set out of an old spanner with a saw cut the height of the saw tooth then bend one each way by hand... u can set them wide enough to cut rebates if u want....
Hi. I admire your use of wood to build your bandsaw, and it looks like a good piece of work. Having made my own bandsaw out of alluminium for lightness and transportability, I think your blade bowing problems may be caused by insufficient tension on the blade due to bending of the main wooden saw frame. Also, the blade jamming will not be helped by the log wobbling back and forth, and the saw cut will tend to 'nip' the blade. I think you need a better clamping mechanism, like a chain.
He got 240 from two different sockets in the same box that were wired to different phases. In a room that could have high load appliances running in proximity it makes sense to wire each socket in a duplex outlet on different circuits. I did the same in my computer room and shop.
Buddy has a woodmizer. Wider blade. Uses water to cool blade. Bandsaw mills use higher hp. 7 hp too small. 9-15 hp engine can push materials through. I've been a carpenter for 45years. Can't afford a real mill. This has gotten me interested. Semi retired. Gives me a winter project.
Love your design work sugjestion ,.. add a couple tooth brushes or acid brushes to rub on BS blade body just ahead of the lower (rt side ) bearing blocks I think sawdust is rideing on blade and getting packed in kerf cut next time around or rig a shopvac hose near where blade comes out of wood
