Assembling a band sawmill with your own hands is quite real. If you look at what components the price of wood consists of, then the need for such a device when working with wood becomes obvious. The cost of wood includes the price of the tree itself, the cost of its processing, delivery. Almost all of these items can be avoided if you have a sawmill at your disposal.
General design information
It's worth starting with the fact that there are quite a lot of various modifications of this equipment on the market for construction tools and fixtures. But since we are talking about assembling a band sawmill with our own hands, only one option is available. In this case, the machine has a saw that is fixed in a certain position, and the bed (trolley) with the workpiece located on it moves. This model is quite enough for full-fledged work with wood. All other modifications only simplify the work of the staff, automating the process.
Design Features
When assembling a band sawmill with your own hands, you should immediately think about its dimensions. They will depend on the place where the device will be located. There is some problem with this, since each private house or cottage has its own plot sizes, and therefore the dimensions for the equipment will have to be determined individually. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the assembly of a band sawmill with your own hands takes place according to certain drawings. However, they serve only as guidelines for connecting individual parts. The final model may differ depending on the raw materials with which you will have to work. Most often, such equipment is used for dissolving logs and trimming boards.
What you need to know when designing
The very first thing worth highlighting is the ability to constantly add to and improve the design, even after the end of the assembly process.
The assembly of a home-made band sawmill takes place according to the block-modular scheme. If there is no practical experience in the field of assembling complex mechanisms, then it is recommended to start with the manufacture of the simplest version. If initially the device had a manual drive, then later it is quite simple to re-equip it and increase the automation of the wood production process. For these reasons, it is initially worth assembling the simplest version of a homemade band sawmill.
You also need to approach the issue of assembly from a certain angle. The first thing to decide is whatit is the plane that will be cut. This will determine the position of the working tool. The second question that needs to be solved right away is whether the equipment should be universal or the work will be the same type all the time. In addition, experts recommend making the frame mobile, that is, it can be reinstalled.
Start of work. Seat selection
It is immediately worth noting that if there is not enough space, then you can design a mini-band sawmill.
Sufficient space to accommodate powerful equipment is considered to be 18 square meters. This is enough to dissolve even large-sized logs. Since not everyone has a large empty building to house the device, many simply install it on the street. However, constantly flying sawdust in large quantities force, in this case, to enclose the site with a fence, making it a small workshop. In addition, this greatly increases the relevance of the mini band sawmill.
In addition to the fact that you need a site for installing the device itself, you will also need a place to store the finished wood.
Selection of materials and accessories
The basis of the whole structure, of course, is the engine. Most often, either gasoline or electric is used. Of course, the main requirement is sufficient power to perform the operations that the owner plans. It is worth adding that the leader, in terms of practicality, is asynchronousElectrical engine. There are several reasons for this. The first lies in the fact that the issue of connecting to the home electrical network is quite resolvable. The second reason is the absence of the need for maintenance, which the gasoline unit needs. The third reason is to maintain a constantly high speed of the working tool, which guarantees a quality cut.
As for materials, only metal is used here. This is due to the fact that the weight of the structure itself and the weight of the logs are quite large. However, here you need to know which metal will fit where. As a moving part, that is, a trolley, you can use a thick-walled profiled pipe of rectangular or square section. For example, a do-it-yourself support frame for a band sawmill at home can only be assembled from a channel. Trolley rails can be constructed from a clearance angle of at least 450. However, a channel can also be used here, but with less linear characteristics.
Tools, equipment. Design features
As for the tools, everything here is quite short. Do not use bolted connections or any other. You will definitely need a welding machine. Following the assembly according to the drawings of the band sawmill with your own hands, it is quite simple to assemble the finished equipment. The main snag lies only in fitting the sizes to the desired parameters.
Assembly begins with the base frame. A cart with wood will also move along the same part. ExceptIn addition, not only the moving part will be attached to the rails, but also the frame on which the working tool - the saw - will be located. The main requirement that must be met is the high reliability of the frame. In addition, its horizontal plane must be sufficiently flat. To ensure high reliability of the device, it must be mounted either on a foundation, for example, a columnar one, or on racks dug into the soil.
Laying rail guides
A rather simple model is one that uses wheels from a car. It is also the most common among homemade ones. The dimensions of the band sawmill will be slightly larger than with the frame.
Here it is important to know that if corners with dimensions of 50x50 mm are used as rails, then they need to be laid, orienting the rib angle upwards. This increases the rigidity of the entire structure as a whole, and also helps to reduce wear on parts. If rolled metal with 100 mm shelves is used as guide rails, then the corners are installed in any convenient position. Here we can add that the channel is considered the most successful element for the manufacture of rails. In addition, a square profile with a width of at least 25 mm is used as "sleepers". Between themselves, all components must be connected by electric welding.
Working with videos
As roller parts, you can use either components machinedon a lathe, or conventional ball bearing models. If the work goes according to the first option, then the bearing must have holes for installing the rotation unit, and they must also be hardened. If the second option is used, then it is necessary to have one larger element and two more smaller bearings, but identical to each other. Naturally, it must be remembered that the inner diameter of the bearings must be the same. The shaft must be machined with a stop collar on one side and threaded for attaching the rollers on the other.
Saw frame
How to make a band sawmill? The assembly process of the saw frame begins with the preparation of two vertical guide elements. Racks, as well as sliders, are best made of steel pipes, the gap between which should be as small as possible. After that, you can start assembling the rectangular frame of the cart. Upper and lower sliders must be welded to the sides of this element. Since wheels will be attached to the lower cross member, it must be made of a channel or a rigid square profile.
The body of the sawmill itself is very easy to make, as it consists of paired vertical racks, as well as paired horizontal parts that are attached to each other at right angles. Practice shows that a good solid frame will be obtained if a steel square profile with a width of at least 50 mm is used. Rolled metal is also used as spacers, but with less thickness.
At the bottom of the frame you need to install the rollers. Before that, you need to determine the distance between the resistant walls. It must match the width of the rails.
It should be noted here that if not a profile pipe is used for assembly, but a steel corner, then each junction must be additionally reinforced with a steel brace with a thickness of 2 mm. Thus, it is quite possible to assemble a band sawmill with your own hands at home.
Some tips for using the sawmill
Assembling the device correctly is only half the battle. It is quite important to use the equipment correctly. It is important to know that you need to pull the saw blade very carefully and correctly. If you tighten it too much, it will significantly reduce tool life. In addition, it is not worth operating the saw for more than two hours in a row. After this period, work should be stopped, the saw removed and hung up to relieve residual stress.
Be sure to use lubricants for the band saw blade. In the warm season, the usual mixture of water and detergent will do. In winter, you will have to use a mixture of kerosene and motor oil, or diesel fuel with oil. Mixing ratio 5:1.
After the work has been completed, you need to loosen the tension of the saw. This will help to avoid fatigue on its surface, which will increase the service life.
You can also add that you can make a band saw from a chainsaw, that is, a working tool from this unit is used.
