Yes J.O.
I still have my early generation New Zealand Peterson swing blade mill.
The difference from yours, Waynes and others was it was made to be two-man packable portable. Take the mill to old left behind ancient trees ground laying sections. “Just carry out the cut lumber. Leave the sawdust and edgings behind.” Thier motto.
Use and age had the original aluminum side guides loading machinery damaged. I never saw, or got those. I got 20 foot angle iron lengths bolted to 6" x 8" wooden skids.
And the original aluminum center section had failed and been millwright converted to steel plate and large angle iron.
I bought a 40 foot two section aluminum ladder. Used each section as the travel rails.
Yes. Like you. Then 16 foot boards only.
This was in early 2007. The markets here collapsed for custom ungraded lumber in the later 2007-09 financial melt-downs.
For 3-4 years a higher value in cut and delivered fire wood. I then bought a higher weight capable old pickup truck. Did some fire wood making selling, delivery again.
Stopped. I knew that I could do without that money. Left the firewood market to young men, with families/children, out-of-works, and having a pickup and a chainsaw.
Ha! The years have flowed past. And I got even older.
Once we move and fully re-settled-in: I will restore it to functioning. Show it off. Locally gift it away to a younger wanting to wadge-slave free him/herself.
Like yours: not in any way modern standards safety made - it will take a very special young man. Responsibility aware and accepting.
A project I am looking forward towards.
As not-a-Christian: always; we have the world that we make. A responsibility that I take very seriously. We each make our own heavens and hells. Here. So we are each responsible to make a good world around us.
Regards
Steve unruh
Same same, actually. I always store mine away. Sawhead indoors and frame parts in the shed. Only 8 bolts to disamble it.
-BUT- even if it takes me less than an hour to set it up on my own - it would be nice to have it permanently set up on the wood lot, away from the neighborhood, able to saw a couple logs whenever I stumble on a down tree.
-BUT- it’s a 5.5kW (7.5hp) electric. I would then need a generator. At least 15kW, which means at least 30 hp gasoline - on woodgas 60 hp. Which means a junked out car and a heavy genny in the woods, a shed for the entire apparatus, battery, coolant…you know the drill.
Also, I have sometimes brought the mill on the trailer to saw for other people. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I set it up permanently.
Your butt stays put in your rear end no matter which direction you turn.
I’m sorry to disappoint you Tone. I’m no way near your abilities.
What Kristijan said earlier - your place look like a castle, with all the attributes you’ve accomplished
Understood J.O.
Mine was a factory electric motor unit too. ~The same electrical wattage. It was the 3rd owner, the one before me, who retrofitted to the gasoline engine.
This 20 hp on gasoline V-Twin powers it fine even at a less than maximum RPM horsepower.
This engine has a DC output charging capability for a starting battery.
Factory gasoline engined, then they could later for EU safety certifications then add a DC electric clutch. For an emergency big-red-smack button, “Oh Shit” shut down. Those rules later tighten up requiring a seconds timed blade brake too.
I’d really like to add the first now.
Without a track retention system (just gravity weight) I’m skeptical about quick blade braking not lift-up hopping the whole center off of the tracks.
English language pun: Begets, begats, problems and complexities.
S.U.
DAM!!! I don’t know how I have misssed this thread. Especially the opening video of JO. I have been so envious of JO’s saw mill since I saw his first video with the yak-a-dee yak music. JO did seem to slow his pace down a bit with out the music. I have a 10 hp gas engine that I “thought” might work. I bought a right angle gear box. By then I realized that 10 hp would barely pull a band saw mill. How about going to electric motor. Na! Our 60cycle/ 120/240 electrical system makes electric motors too big and expensive. I would have to go to three-phase but I don’t have that service on my property.
So here I sit just drewling over the opening video of JO’s engineering a the basic level. Thanks JO. TomC
You make my head swell, TomC.
Wife keeps telling me I’m born in the wrong century. Flintstone tecnology is my thing. I holler for wife to switch channels on the smartTV. Too many buttons on the remote
Back when father-in-law was still around, he got a call from a telecom lady. She wanted him to sign up for broad band.
He told her he already had a long band snowmobile and it works great.
-Oh no, this is about internet, she said.
-You obviously got the wrong number, he replied and hung up
I was wondering how big your cant hook was. Always remember what Archimedes said. “Give me a lever long enough and and a fulcrum on which to place it and I shall move the world”
Looking to set up my band sawmill (Norwood HD36) to run on wood gas. As I see it, the major issues are 1) getting the power to the mill-- a real challenge with a sawhead that moves on the track: 2) the intermittent use of power-- the engine powers the saw to cut wood (full throttle) about 60% of the time, and idles or is shut down when returning from a cut, turning the log, loading the log, and mill maintenance.
Thoughts are to convert the mill to electric (pretty straightforward), and run a 20kW genset on wood gas/ propane. Looking at 3 phase variable frequency that would also drive a compressor to store the wood gas to keep the engine under a more consistent load when it would otherwise be idling. Will provide more details and updates, if there is interest.
That’s a nice mill Dave. Which engine? Personally I’d just use an updraft charcoqal gasifier on a pull cart and put it about the middle of the mill and use about a 10 foot flex hose to the engine. It will be interesting to see how you proceed.
