Easy ways to true up a sawmill bed

I talk about two methods to true up a sawmill bed to get it planar, one using a laser level, and the other using a string and bubble level. Both work great.
For folks interested in using a laser level, here are a couple Bosch models that are good:
Bosch GLL25 Laser Level
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Bosch GLL30 Laser Level
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Bosch GLL40 Laser Level
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And here are some good tripod options:
Bosch BT150 Tripod
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Amazon Basics Tripod
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YoTilon Camera Tripod
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[@haggetthill]

Great video. I just finished my custom trailer build. Now it's time to put my mill together.

[@chrowe4318]

My mill was delivered Friday. I was setting the bed up this morning and saw the notification of this video. I've got 4 laser levels and the string method was awesome. I ran a string down each side and had the whole thing done in not much more time than it took to set up the laser that I couldn't see in the bright sunlight. I've enjoyed all of your other videos and it's amazing that this one came at just the right time. Keep 'em coming. Thanks

[@warrenklingensmith1241]

If you have 6 bunks and 4 in the middle are high why not save time and adjust the bunks on each end. The middle stayed high for a reason. The middle stayed where you set them in the beginning and the end bunks went down.

[@Lumber_Jack]

There are 7 bunks. Lots of ways to do it. Since the middles were not uniformly off, and not uniformly level side to side, I would still have needed to adjust them even if I took up the bulk of the difference at the ends. Then it would have been adjusting all 7 instead of just the middle 4-5. I don't think I can conclude what moved the most. It appears that the middle piers went up a teeny bit and the ends went down a teeny bit based on the framing lumber behavior. Our clay soil shrinks/swells with moisture and was likely another factor (that is never consistent either).

[@ABBABEER]

Very simple and effective way to find flat and level. Thanks for sharing.

[@paulvanslyke3264]

Just found this and thanks. I like the guide blocks. Spring is coming soon so I will be checking when the frost is gone. One other thing I check is the relation of the saw blade end to end with the bed.

[@johnshearing]

The string must have some sag. I would only use the string to test if the rails are strait. To test if the bed is level and in the same plane I would use a water level which is just two like containers filled with water and connected with a hose. To get super accurate you can even use a depth micrometer to measure from the top of the containers to the water. This measurement should be the same for both containers. This was the method used by millwrights before lasers were available.

[@Lumber_Jack]

There are length limitations to using string, but over a 16' bed any sag is negligible. When doing masonry work we know we can stretch a line to 40' or 50' without concerns, and even longer. Be sure to use a good braided twine and proper fasteners and knots on both ends. Braided masonry twine is ideal for this. Done right, the main limitation on accuracy is how you read things with your eyes, so it comes down to sharp pencil marks and good vision. Informally, about 1/64" accuracy is reasonable. Water levels are great. I made one many years ago with red RV antifreeze and keep it carefully coiled up and stored in my barn (no spills!). There can be some error due to capillary action in the tubing (more of a time delay until it settles) and how clearly you can see or read the water level, but overall I find it to be a great method. I use it less now that I have a laser level, but in bright daylight the laser is nearly useless so the water level still has its place.

[@johnshearing]

Thanks for this information and all the great videos on your channel. I work as millwright in the factory environment but know very little about saw mills. Your channel is an enormous help to me as I get started.

[@mmezz5965]

Very useful information as I have the same saw. Only thing I could add is that your method does not check for a left/right error over the length of the bed. I align my string along the angle iron track that the wheels run on and that ensures my track is straight over it's length as well as flat. As you say, lots of ways to achieve a good result. Please keep up your videos.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Have you noticed that changing over time? I only aligned the tracks straight/parallel once, when assembling the bed and screwing down to my base. I am assuming that if the trolley is still rolling smooth with no binding and no jolts at track joints, that it's still in alignment side to side. But it's worth a check in the interest of science!

[@mmezz5965]

@@Lumber_Jack I found that mine did shift over time, I think mostly due to loading logs. At the time my saw bed was screwed to 8x8 blocks buried in sand. I have since poured cement pedestals and attached a wooden support system similar to yours and this has improved things a lot.

[@KT_keeper]

How do you set your logs on the bunks?

[@hugoasphaug]

Why not lift up the ends, two of them?

[@hillbillyfranks]

New subscriber I used to do that with mine all the time So I put it on a concrete I don't have to adjust them no more But I reinforced mine With AI beam No I don't have to just nothing no more So stay safe and stay healthy Look at your mother one

[@Lumber_Jack]

I wanted to clarify for folks that use two strings -- before starting, make sure your end bunks are parallel to each other horizontally, side to side. Could use a level for that or another method. From there, the two strings can be used to get all the middle bunks in the same plane.

[@jpdunamislodge]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 checking mine as soon as the snow melts.

[@benjamindaigneault9436]

Just a thought , you could have your two ends piece of wood the same thickness as your level, and use your level to adjust height and level at the same time

[@farnorthpicker56]

Great tip! My HM122 is on a bushlander trailer and it’s really tough to level off. This helped. Thanks for all your great informative videos, much appreciated!

[@bradley200711]

if I could start from the beginning, the alignment is off because the supports of the bed that go into the ground (earth) are not deep enough to go below the frost line? Or regardless of the depth of the supports, you must check and adjust the bed yearly (because big heavy logs will move the bed)?

[@ben8606]

Thanks for the great videos. I've got a 130max I'm setting up and your videos helped me quite a bit

[@markmelby4479]

If you put the laser on the side of the bed instead of on ends would that help?

[@longbeardmcstruttin5876]

This man is very intelligent, I would not be surprised if he is involved in engineering one way or another as a career

[@firewoodwarrior4396]

The fastest and most precise method is to use a line laser with a detector but ofcourse not everyone has one. Bubble level works suprisingly well but it takes a while to set the bed up.

[@CT_Yankee]

When you're adjusting the 'pedestals' to level the bunks, aren't you also altering the rail heights? This, in turn, affects the plane of travel for the saw blade. I would think it's more important to make sure all bunks are an equal distance above the rails. This way, the plane of the blade travel will parallel the the plane of the tops of the bunks. Perfect bunks only matter for that final pass leaving only a beam or plank remaining on the bunks - until you're at that point, each pass of the blade is going to be parallel to the previous pass. Thus, out of whack bunks won't matter until you're making that last pass affecting what remains on the bunks.

[@Lumber_Jack]

The bunks are fixed directly to the rails and all the bunks are the same exact height. When leveling/aligning the mill bed, we are moving the rails and bunks together. You can run a string or laser down the rails or down the bunks to align the mill bed. Either way both the rails and bunks are brought into alignment at the same time. I should also add that you absolutely need to have the rails and bunks in good parallel alignment with the blade path. If you are squaring up a beam or post, you want all opposite sides to be parallel and aligned with the pith. If the blade path is not parallel to the bunks, every time you turn the log to make a new face cut, you're going to get out of phase with the previous face cut and the lumber will become more and more out of whack. This is even an issue when cutting boards, since we often turn a cant partway through to manage stresses. You need to know that all cuts are parallel so that you can turn a cant and stay aligned.

[@CT_Yankee]

@@Lumber_Jack Assuming that each bunk is exactly the distance above the rails, your method is fine. My concern is when/if the hole tolerance for the connection between the bunks and the rail is sloppy. Variations in that distance can mess things up a bit.

[@Lumber_Jack]

​@@CT_Yankee It should not be an issue with a well manufactured mill, but if needed, it could be dealt with during assembly using shims.

[@CT_Yankee]

@@Lumber_Jack Forgive me for putting in my 2¢. It's my engineering background (and life) that has me constantly troubleshooting or attempting to improve a wide variety of stuff. I worked with a portable mill owner for several weekends sawing the timber I had felled on my property. Hope was that it would go into the home I had planned. Life threw me a few curves and that never materialized. Now I have a new property with numerous disease-killed ash tress, several large oaks that the gypsy moth caterpillars killed, as well as some hemlocks afflicted with the wooly adelgid (which will eventually die if my UPenn beetles don't save them). Been pondering getting an economical mill to make use of the timber before it rots (either on the stump or on the ground). I'm a typical frugal Yankee that can't stand to see any resource be wasted.

[@statelineforestry4207]

Great video. Now i know of how to fix the problem I'm having. 👍

[@mattcampbell4135]

My tracks are not flat. They sag at the joints between sections (3), however my bunks are level and flat. I just checked the beds using 2 strings. How do I fix this?

[@Lumber_Jack]

You should be able to adjust with the footpads as long as they are fastened down to a rigid/solid base. It gives you the ability to raise or lower any section of track. Sounds to me like you might need to lower the middle of the track sections. You can run a string along the tracks to better judge how to pull them into line.

[@ponydown418]

Great tips. I really like that string technique. I csnt wait to get my mill next year.

[@stevenjames3631]

Thanks for the informative video. I'm curious how wide your shed is and is. I just bought a 130max and am planning a shed.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Mine is 9' x 25'.

[@4821jeffrow]

I agree the string is what I like also and I really like the block with the lines this is a excellent idea

[@royramey5659]

Seems to me your end bunk is to low , raise it and the others will be right.

[@jamesraposa4632]

Any chance you could pass along where you got those pedestal bolts and "screw-downable" pads? I'm trying to set something up similar. Thanks for the videos and info, it's all much appreciated.

[@Lumber_Jack]

They are included with the sawmill.

[@KellyBurnham]

Thanks for posting. Where did you source your adjustable Toe Board/Jack, (the Red thingy)?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Info on toe board here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpTHgaqteZKCqNU There is an Amazon link to the one I bought in the video description, but there are several low cost motorcycle lifts on Amazon just like this that will work fine. Generally in the $60-80 range.

[@ericjesscunningham2563]

Thank you this was very helpful 👍

[@ricknelson3607]

Thanks for these ideas. The string method is a good idea.

[@bobbyhead4387]

thank you sir this helps a lot and will save me a lot of time

[@a.m.mendescapinha4768]

Thank you for your clear explanation.

[@lectro88]

Something I see overlooked is mention of Rails. Let me clarify what I mean. You talk about bunks and being flat..... The rails can pitch up or down at the joints so easily it isn't funny,. making a V or an A at each section, and it's possible to have the bunks flat and level and at the same time the track is doing the roller coaster and possibly exact opposite of the other side rail. The level can be off enough to essentially "Lie" to you. both in the level and how well you read it. I know all this as I have spent days chasing this and I have 2 additional track extensions, so that's 24 leveling feet and 8 sections of angle. 25.6 feet of track. (and you thought you had problems) On top of all this whatever your tack is resting on can be moving whenever you slam a log on it both loading or turning or roll the carriage back and forth and you have another "Ghost" to chase. Another thing is looking down the track with your "Eyes" at the track level like sighting a rifle. You will be amazed what straight Rails rails can do. that's up, down, right, left and yes even rolling or twisting. And something I and all others have left out is the track can just as easily bend or bow right to left as easily as it pitches up and down at each Joint... even when your measurements are dead on. So if you are having trouble remember you are battling so many moving parts at once, The rails can and do mimic a snake in every possible motion and you are trying to bolt everything together and straight.. If you got lucky and pulled your assembly off with no hitches "Kudo's to you" I have built and continue to build But this was the perfect storm for me as I am a perfectionist (I know..... it's Rough Cut Lumber) Another tell tale sign is if you see a carriage roller not rolling or stop rolling as the carriage is in motion(been there done that too) The one thing I have not done and it's next.... remove carriage and pull a string on each track at the same time. end to end. And work it all over again,. by the way I have the 130 max.

[@Lumber_Jack]

It's very important to get the rails straight and parallel upon initial assembly, especially side to side. Once you get all that set on a good solid base, periodic checks are a lot simpler since you're hopefully just worrying about the vertical adjustment and you can go off the bunks. Now that you've gone through all the work to get your mill bed assembled perfect, consider that some people just lay the bed on top of cinder blocks and don't screw the feet down. No joke. I'm sure that goes out of true after the very first log.

[@lectro88]

@@Lumber_Jack My point was to everyone. just because you bolt 2 square straight pieces together end to end, slap a level on it and think you're good and done,. That's VERY far from the truth. You have like an 8 axis multi-directional battle to deal with if you want anything "close to right". There are so many ways it can veer of course. And that gets progressively more complicated with additional track extensions. And you are also correct the first log can knock everything out on unstable base, and periodic checks need to be made. Also my comments were not meant in a negative manner., just Blunt information.

[@leif2335]

I have my mill on cinder blocks. Just set the mill up. Milled a few boards and they all have a hump in them. I will try your string method and hopefully this will straighten the boards out. They basically pop of the log as I cut them. I have been setting this mill up for three days and am becoming very frustrated with it. I'm hopeful that this method will work. Great looking setup you have. Thanks for the video!

[@Lumber_Jack]

Yeah, that's a very good indication that the bed isn't flat, and the string will show where the problem is. Should be an easy fix. Another good indication is that your boards come off OK, but the very last piece remaining on the bed is humped or scalloped. From time to time you will encounter wood with stresses and the cant will bow while slicing boards off. Both the boards and the cant can develop curves. Usually it's obvious that the wood has a problem, but that sure could cause a lot of confusion if it happened to someone on their first logs after setting up a mill.

[@Altt]

I've really been struggling to get my my flat, and I just cannot find a solution. My problem is as I run the trolley down the bed, that's when it sags. I've tried different string methods, including this one, but when I move the trolley, it's all wrong and I don't understand how to flatten it when it does that. Does anyone have any tips? It's a 20' Rebel Vallee Sawmill.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Sounds like the mill bed needs better support so it doesn't sag.

[@Altt]

@@Lumber_Jack I've been pondering it for three days solid now, and I my problem is probably the ground it's on. It has four jacks under it, all on large patio stones, so I should be able to get it flat! But if the ground is still shifting, that would make sense. I think I'll try getting a proper pap under it. Thank you for taking the time to reply!

[@justintime2277]

👍 From Cadillac Michigan

[@Cacheola]

Just installed my new 130 with the stainless steel caps on all but the outer bunks. I found that the stainless isn't sitting flush and will need to be removed, holes elongated and reinstalled... or just removed all together. Figure the rail accuracy is most important, so I filed grooves in the four corners and ran string lines allowing me to true them straight and flat. Also noticed the rails in the extension kit don't mate up perfectly with the ones supplied with the mill. Had to shim one side to allow a flat surface but cannot fully work out the dip at the join. Chinese steel and assembly, cannot expect accuracy lol. I'll wait for the rain to stop, take another stab, and find a happy medium between bunks and rails and call it a day. Thanks for the great videos Jack. Now I'm trying to wrap my head around the measurement scale and come up with an easy method for quickly determining measurements cutting from the top and the bottom allowing for the kerf... good times

[@Lumber_Jack]

I had to use a thin washer to shim one of the rail joints to make it perfect. As I recall, the bottom of the bunk was the problem -- it wasn't perfectly flat down where the bolts attached the rails to the bunk With that tweak it was perfect. I keep the absolute scale on the mill permanently so I always have an exact position for the blade above the bunk, and slap on other rulers to saw at known increments. I did a video about the various rulers. If you can work with the custom rulers (or make your own), it takes out all the guesswork and requires no thinking -- you just chase the marks down.

[@Cacheola]

@@Lumber_Jack watched your scale video again, thanks very much, and ordered some of those magnetic rulers from amazon. I appreciate your knowledge and how you're taking the time to put these together. I'll be looking into my belleville warsher assy and rethinking the torque wrench now, cheers from BC Canada ;)

[@kevinmcgehee5557]

Excellent video.

[@Gnomoleon]

How did you measure the block with the lines ?

[@Lumber_Jack]

The lower line is the same height as the spacer blocks used on the end bunks. And the upper line is just a string thickness above (about 1/16").

[@mapleridgefarm1026]

Hi, just wondering were you got those black joining plates for your log deck? Trying to find those at my local supply store but they dont have em.

[@Lumber_Jack]

I cut and drilled them myself, from some scrap steel I had laying around. It's about 1/8" thick.

[@mapleridgefarm1026]

@@Lumber_Jack lol no wonder i cant find them, ok thx for the info, appreciate it.

[@otija7017]

Just curious, if I use the laser directly on the sawblade, wouldn't that work too?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Should work but I suspect adjustments would be less "direct" since the blade sits on the sawhead which sits on the trolley via 4 wheels that are spread out. It would require careful trolley positioning for the base pedestal adjustments to correlate to what you see at the blade. If you reference the laser directly to the bunks you can get a direct read on adjustments.

[@otija7017]

@@Lumber_Jack I see. Thanks.

[@PieterLeenhouts]

Did you check to see that your saw blade remains at the same level as you run the head down the tracks? I've had situations where the bunk-to-track difference is not consistent. The bunk tops are all nicely leveled but the blade will shift up or down at each bunk.

[@Lumber_Jack]

I haven't seen that problem here.

[@PieterLeenhouts]

@@Lumber_Jack I'd be curious to see, if you set up your laser so that it is coplanar with your bunks and so that it projects onto your sawmill covers and then put a temporary mark on it, and see how much the laser image moves wrt the mark. In my case, I've had to put washers under the bunks to fix that. Even the rails have slight bows in them.

[@Lumber_Jack]

@@PieterLeenhouts I did have to shim 1-2 bunks upon initial assembly in order to get everything true (string showed the issue). Normally you should be able to take bows out of the rails very easily with the adjustment feet, since they can be used to pull the rail in any direction. But if the bow is excessive I'd ask for a replacement.

[@petergondwe518]

Smart machine

[@outsidewithrodney8240]

How do you know where to put the lines on the third piece of wood?

[@Lumber_Jack]

I held it next to the end blocks, on a flat table, then scribed a line at the same height. Then another line a string thickness higher.

[@davesmathers1990]

Awesome tks.