Initial Setup - Building a Large Bandsaw Mill - Part 17

After months of building this saw it is finally time to get the saw head calibrated to start cutting. The majority of the work involved is aligning the wheels and getting a blade tensioned and tracking correctly.
Companion Article: www.mattcremona...
Plans for the sawmill: www.mattcremon...
Bandsaw mill playlist: • Wide Cutting Bandsaw M...
First Cuts Livestream: • First cuts on the band...
First Cuts Edited: • Cutting a Small Log on...
Products Used
Shim Stock: amzn.to/2kILhbB
Angle Finder: amzn.to/2kIBQss
Tension Meter: amzn.to/2khjfqK
Thank you to Triton Tools for sponsoring my work: www.tritontools...
Support What I Do: www.mattcremona...
Website: mattcremona.com
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Twitter: / mattcremona
Facebook: / mattcremonaww
Email: [e-mail]

[@stevecollins9450]

Not bad on the tweaking that was needed to get it working well. I must have missed something, why are the tires not on the wheels?

[@mcremona]

Tireless has more advantages for my application. I don't have to worry about them wearing out, I can use lubricants that would otherwise destroy the tire, and I don't have to worry about the tires affecting the balance or trueness of the wheels if the tire material differs slightly in thickness or density. Thanks Steve!

[@umbalaba]

Will using tireless make it necessary to round the wheels now and then? And if so how do you plan to do that?

[@mcremona]

I don't think I'll ever put enough hours on this saw to affect the wheels but if they do need to be recrowned, I can have that done at a machine shop

[@umbalaba]

You are probably right. I have no experience myself, but your build has really inspired me to perhaps attempt someting like this myself :-)

[@mcremona]

Thanks! If you ever do, let me know :)

[@pj_fetscher]

Just watched this for a little inspiration.. working through the blade tensioner mechanism now.

[@mcremona]

You’re not done with that saw yet?

[@jessjulian9458]

l'm still amazed everytime I see that the mill. what a beautiful machine. The beauty will be in the wood it will produce for many years. Great job Matt.

[@louisnemick317]

Congratulations on the brith of your son.

[@mcremona]

Thank you!

[@rwe2156]

Congrats on the baby.

[@mcremona]

+Robert thanks!

[@jimm1028]

The saw mill baby ,or the human baby?

[@tomahoks]

Jim M both

[@WayneEarls]

Congrats on the baby!

[@mcremona]

+Wayne Earls (Wayne's DIY) thanks!

[@thomasarussellsr]

I would consider a sight window in the guard on the tracking wheel side so you can set the tracking at full speed with the guards on for safety.

[@rocktruckrob]

great video...all you need now are lights for night cutting...lol ...again a pleasure to watch your progress

[@mcremona]

+rocktruckrob thanks!!

[@rayc.1396]

Matt: use a hose for each of your grease zerks, anything to extend them to where the zerk is easily accessed. The center bearing, go to a bearing supply and pick up some shims to eliminate the gap between the bearing and base. You can get shims down to .001" thick.

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

Figured it was time I watched through these saw build videos. These are some awesome videos. Your dad looked (understandably) a tiny bit nervous when you were dialing up the motor RPM. I first heard about Matt Cremona watching a video April made where she built a saw. I started watching your channel after see you on hers. Thanks for sharing!

[@loofayfiasco]

i wouldn't have guessed that i'd spend more than 5 hours watching a dude in Minnesota build a backyard sawmill but i've been completely addicted! thanks for making videos, they're brilliant and a lovely way of learning stuff. 👌🏼

[@mcremona]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@safetythirdwoodworking23]

Really nice job on this!

[@mcremona]

Thanks!

[@1planters]

Yep.. you are one bright man.

[@willwade1101]

If you want rubber on the wheels do like a friend of mine did. He took a bicycle tube smaller then the diameter of the wheel and cut it then stretched it over the wheel.

[@canonguy1]

Wow..!!! Very impressive....!!!

[@mcremona]

+canonguy1 thanks!

[@cando9609]

Sweet, Matt! ::heh:: I can feel your Dads pride for you above his concern for the noisy fan. Well done! Keep on keepin' on!

[@matthiaswandel]

Wanted to read the companion article, but the link points to a nonexistent page

[@mcremona]

+Matthias Wandel thanks for the heads up. Should be fixed now

[@keiboman]

Matthias Wandel Did anyone else read this in Matthias' video narration voice?

[@dfmackenzie]

Yes, so true. I read this with that tone which communicates Matthias' approach of "I have encountered a roadblock, which will be immediately followed up by a response which should allow the project to continue to move towards completion." These dudes don't let much stop them. Very impressive.

[@peggyt1243]

The link works now; I just tried it.

[@donpollard9460]

I see you have an angle cube - iGaging, I presume. I have one - there is a woodworking supply guy here in Australia and he has them for $AU45. They work great. I also bought an iGaging outside digital caliper - bit dearer - great tool; has inches, inch fractions and metric.

[@josephbohme7917]

Now > 4yrs later everything is simpler to make changes an know what actaully milling is. Congrats. Want to hear what is was good abiout the saw overkill and better design changes for others. HP of motor rpm/ blade speed. in per sec./ minute and your feed speed

[@dennisrisk6063]

Piano wire clamped to a block run from one side to the other same dim. blocks. Measure from wire to wheels. you are making a straight edge with the wire. I've used this method on machine tools. Long runs. Wire needs to be as tight as a guitar string.

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

Piano wire as tight as a guitar string? Intriguing analogy. You have me wondering if a bear can be busy as a beaver, or if a frog can float like a butterfly and be like a Gordon Sumner.

[@Retroweld]

Holy! You are one smart dude Matt. Amazing.

[@mcremona]

+RetroWeld you're too kind, Douglas :)

[@HWoodCreations]

This was an awesome build series Matt. Well done on every part of it and for not losing sight of your goal and finishing the project. Two thumbs up!!!

[@phooesnax]

Great stuff Matt You amaze!

[@mcremona]

+phooesnax thanks!!

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

Congrats Matty C. I bet that's a good feeling.

[@mcremona]

Thanks Grady!

[@briangodfrey5079]

To align the two wheel axles parallel, you could use four clamps to clamp a piece of angle iron across the faces of the wheels. Then just snug down all of the various bolts and you're good. (Or maybe you've already figured that out, being as this is a two year old video.)

[@peggyt1243]

+3 Fahrenheit ...... -16 Celsius. Damn that is cold. Kudos to you for continuing to work on the mill even in such harsh conditions.

[@davidbuck6976]

Great video Matt and congrats on the new blessing! Just worried that you might have too much tension on the blade at over 500kg, but the calculations appear correct, and I am used to working with much smaller blades. Does coming back to to 400kg [drop by 20 percent] cause any problems? and would the blade last longer? The elasticity or Young's modulus would be approx 1/600 of it's length. So a 25 foot blade it would be 3/8 to 1/2 inch stretch I reckon. Also in the metal working game I used to tension blades by incrementally by indexing the blade and increasing tension as I went, but again on smaller blades.

[@sjscreations2608]

Is it possible to get the wheels concave so the blade doesn’t come off them, or am I talking shite? Cheers Sean

[@Kebekwoodcraft7375]

I think a lots of people don't know a lock washer combined with a flat one don't work better to use lock tread liquid

[@jordangvc5008]

Your killing me Matthew! I watch 26mins of video to see it come to fruition and you skip it and send me to another one! Not cool man

[@seanflanagan5674]

So glad to see that you got a socket for the bearing bolts - it was bugging me to see you handling those freezing bolts, dropping the end wrench, and likely snapping off a finger or two as well. But I also wanted to see you shorten the bolts to a more appropriate length. Oh well. Keep chuckling! God bless you and yours!

[@PeterOConnl]

Ha! Who needs a gym membership when you can build a bandsaw mill

[@mcremona]

+Pete's Workshop no one haha

[@paublusamericanus292]

matt: did you know, that 90 degrees is not correct on a bandsaw? on a car, what you need is tow in, on a band saw you should have tow out. not much but it cuts without waviness, or marks if not square.

[@workinonitSurge]

ITS ALIVE!

[@mcremona]

Dun dun dun!

[@howiemoth3847]

Spacer blocks.

[@plakor6133]

That's It! the world's first wind propelled band saw mill! 9 minutes

[@mcremona]

+xoney wooo!!! :)

[@WoodByWright]

Sweetness!

[@FPChris]

What about bicycle tubing on the wheels?

[@Mitermikeswoodshop]

Nice job Matt happy it is finally working. Awesome accomplishment. come on you can't do the conversion from hertz to rpms, i lost all faith in you now.....lmao. great job

[@smasica]

Dumb Question: Since there is no flange on either side of the drive wheel or idler wheel, what keeps the blade from sliding off either side, just tension and friction?

[@mcremona]

The flange on the back side of the blade guides provides thrust bearing surface.

[@josephbohme7917]

Isn't there a neighbor teen that could be an apprentice helper because he sure would learn a lot by working with you.

[@fabian075]

Hi, I´m building one, but I have proble with vibrations, when the engine is running, the blade have too much vibration, do you know why?, did you have that problem or not?, thanks

[@mcremona]

I didn’t have vibration issues. Likely one of the rotating components are out of balance. If the vibration is very bad, it’s likely the bandwheels

[@josephbohme7917]

A blade tension can be made consistent and never change over time ever, unless you want to. Like a clock a cable going over a pully with fulcrum & a known weight on an leverage arm. Much less technicial than a hydraulic ram $$. Fifty Pounds on a 3' arm pivoting on a 1/2 bolt put a wallop of force on the wheel which can be locked when ready Mechanical vs hydraulic,

[@tomayrscotland6890]

Hi Can you tell me the HP & KW & Voltage of your Motor. I am thinking of an electric mill too. But I am looking to put a DC motor on. Or whatever I can get at a reasonable price. You have done a fine Job on your Wood mill. Tom Scotland.

[@josephbohme7917]

4 rpm in 4 seconds is 60 rpm at 4 hz.. Get a laser thermometer to see how much friction the blade gets for feed rate norms. Wide logs, weight above blade, and wood type.

[@granttuma]

I know it’s 4 years later, but god damn Matthew, I’m feeling that cold pain you’re working through here.

[@josephbohme7917]

Your idle mount has excessive play. It sould be rock solid and all adjuster should be linked for positve via and neg adjsutments or you can use turn buckle couplers.

[@robertpearson8546]

Do you find fractions of inches easier that metric? I was taught fractions. But that does not mean that is a good method. I was taught many very bad techniques in school. Keep in mind that the US is on the metric system. The definitions of US units are based on the metric units.

[@rebelcast4574]

I know much of this took place off screen, so with all work involved, how many hours in total do you figure you have in this project?

[@rwe2156]

Hey Matt just wondering have you thought about a way to elevate one end of a tapered log to get a parallel cut? Or you think it's not an issue?

[@mcremona]

+Robert I'll add log leveling rollers to the bed at some point. It's a low priority though. The bed is so close to the ground that I can use a bottle Jack to lift and shim the log

[@hulksta3223]

About how much did the saw mill cost you?

[@davidstutz6204]

That sounds (at the end) like steam machine :D

[@johntamayo9453]

Hello im new my name is john I was wandering how much for the wheels and if you dont mind where did you buy them from

[@willwade1101]

I would have cut the shim then notched the hole so you could slide them in without fully removing the bolts.

[@alanblasczyk1779]

Very nice work Matt. You learned one lesson on the THK linear bearing trolley cars the hard way, other than that, things went rather swimmingly. I see, your old house was in BC. That is where I lived when I first moved to MN back in 1986 and I went to ARCC before moving on to UM to get my degree. Small world dude. Anyway, excellent job Sir !

[@josephbohme7917]

got to remember teeth direction you chose for rotation of mill - clockwise from front? or Reverse

[@artsandcraftsmanship]

Hey Matt, who made those bandsaw wheels? I have a 20" Northfield that could use new wheels and haven't found a source...

[@mcremona]

+Ben Martin I got these from Cook's saw. They're the 30" wheels but they also have smaller ones

[@WildmanTech]

I love watching this build!

[@edwardholmes91]

Great video Matt, big congratulations on the progress of this project, it's certainly been an interesting series to watch and I look forward to more tweaks and cuts! I have to admit that I'm an Electronic Engineer, so I've not had much experience with mechanical projects, but I find your approach to this task very interesting and logical.

[@AuditorsUnited]

arg matey sure thats not a pirate ship the way she moves in the wind and the sails...dose she float?

[@martyhandley4456]

Could u have just cut a slit into the shims the width of the bolts to allow for easier adjustment, not having to pull the bolts out completely to add or remove the shims? This is an awesome machine you are building, first video, I'm going back to the beginning. Looks like ur freezing ur ass off, I know I would be....

[@RBCire]

8:42 I think you mean "dry-docked sailboat"

[@jdbeekeeper]

Hi matt love the work you are putting in to that band saw and cant wait to see it cutting some big logs, but I seen this and thought of you and maybe you would take a look and tell me what you think? Homemade Bandsaw Mill From Old Car Wheels WayOutWest Blowinblog

[@JimDockrellWatertone]

That is awesome. Hoping for more live feeds of this thing in operation. Perhaps when you are ready to do a big one.

[@acoow]

Max!

[@ajromanelli]

Glad to see the mill coming along so nicely! One item to consider...For some spots you are using a lock washer on top of a flat washer (e.g. the drive side mount bolts). I think you are negating any benefit of the lock washer by using it on top of the flat washer. The lock washer needs to be able to engage between the base material and the bolt in order to provide their designed functionality. With setup you have the lock washer will spin the flat washer and the bolt will back out. Either take out the lock washers (and use loctite) or remove the flat washers.

[@publicprofile1]

Come on newbies! Get this guy to 100K!

[@mcremona]

+Jake Belk 😀

[@romanian.woodshop7974]

That rock in the idlle mount it will cause evenualy cracks an tear in the blade.If you will make it stiffer and spring loaded will be better.Otherwise an awesome job with that monster. :)

[@sjscreations2608]

Matt the bandsaw is a beautiful creation, congrats! What I’d like to know is, where you live are felled tress free to get? Do you make that much furniture that you can justify a mill? Do you sell the slabs you cut up? Cheers Sean

[@josecanyousee56]

Think those wheels weigh more than you do!! Lol!!

[@ralphmdgs9072]

IF it works do not fix it.......U need to work on the rubbing

[@johnmcclain4479]

Unfortunately, you didn't orient the pillar block bearings to simplify lubrication.

[@willwade1101]

Sorry, you did. I was too quick with my comment.

[@josephbohme7917]

Cold weather tension is going to change during use. and heat of cutting

[@daddywoofdawg]

Sounds like the wheel/bearing something over there is rubbing/scraping. What you should do to the carriage is drill ahole so you can drop a bolt into the hole to keep the carriage from moving when you need to work on it. or a small piece of C channel with a couple rare earth magnets on the inside and use that like chock.

[@yummboy2]

Precision made = easily adjusted! You did good!

[@mcremona]

+G Bruce one can never have too many adjustment

[@thomastieffenbacherdocsava1549]

Matt, Nice work dude! congratulations having worked through the MN winter! I was thinking you could use bicycle wheel inner-tubes to track the blade and educe the possibility of stressing the blade?

[@MosquitoMade]

how does it not bother you to have the grease zerks on those bearing blocks not all on the same side? I saw you wanting to adjust the drive motor fan grill to straighten it out, so don't pretend you don't care :-P

[@mcremona]

+Chris “Mosquito” Albee I flipped one of them so the lock collars would be in opposing directions. Zerk misalignment is a side effect ;)

[@MosquitoMade]

So it's warranted, but that doesn't mean it doesn't bother you :-D

[@mcremona]

+Chris “Mosquito” Albee well I can't see it so maybe that helps

[@victorvqz674]

Hola. De cuántos caballos es tu motor?

[@mcremona]

10

[@BrianAdle]

I'd probably throw some clamps on the rails to keep the carriage from sliding while I was working on it.

[@BigFatTonys]

There are lasers available for rent. If you really have to have the blade running plumb and in plane a construction laser is the way to make it so.

[@marktattley4525]

Appreciate your sharing of vision, easy to learn from, blessings abundantly to you, cheers.

[@mcremona]

Thank you!

[@ldwithrow08]

For crying out loud, get down to Harbor Freight and get some big sockets. You'll frostbite your hands tightening all those bolts.

[@ldwithrow08]

I see later in the video you did.

[@biggun321]

where did you get the big bandsaw wheels?

[@mcremona]

+Grummon Mallory Cook's Saw

[@MrdoallDoanything]

Do these bands how wheels not have rubber tires on them

[@willemkossen]

Something needs some oil... squeek squeek. Hello Neighbours!

[@fernandoamaral4424]

WOW, WOW and WOW, amazing machine, good job, congratulations Mathew!

[@RXRSawdustStation]

Great #Woodworking #Bandsaw #Sawmill video, #MassiveMatt! Hey, is that a light on your logo on the top or is that the last bit of sun - sunset - reflecting on it? #KeepTheChipsFlying!

[@norm1124]

Why not putting the logo in the middle of the maschine? Great build!

[@ThoenWorks]

From a fellow Minnesotan - Bandmill is looking great! Yah sure! Cooks Saw - (where it looks like the wheels came from ) have an excellent series of videos talking about blade tension, alignment, set, etc. Would be worthwhile to watch.

[@michaelball7440]

Confused. An old video...?

[@nohtgonahappen7314]

What did it cost you to make?

[@amitsewak1423]

Always load the blade and then adjust

[@josephbohme7917]

That noise sounds like disaster.

[@FredMcIntyre]

Of course it's gotta be tireless, it has to keep up with you Matt! 👍

[@mcremona]

+Fred McIntyre I planted that one just for you, Fred 😄

[@FredMcIntyre]

Matthew Cremona 😆

[@athiker7209]

Looking very nice. I can't wait to see it cut some lumber. Wait, I've already seen it. lol

[@mcremona]

+Ron Briz lol thanks Ron!

[@dmj1170]

Amazing accomplishment. Great job and attention to detail paid off.

[@AcornFox]

Congratulations on the little one!

[@mcremona]

+AcornFox thank you!

[@jonathanayling4378]

How do you get all those metal shavings out of your woodworking shop?

[@mcremona]

vacuum

[@ypop417]

Most blade guides I have seen use 2 to 3 bearings instead off one.(one on each side with one on the back of the blade) This is to keep the blade from twisting and to keep it inline. The flange on the back will work for the third bearing but I see no way to keep the blade from twisting. Unless I am missing something? Look at the guide on a small band saw like this www.carterproducts.com/band-saw-products/band-saw-conversion-kits

[@mcremona]

+Y Pop the bottom guide wouldn't allow the blade to get close enough to the bed to make the last cuts. Most bandsaw mill don't have a lower guide. I got the addition lower jaw on mine which is a carbide block to add bottom control for the really wide cuts

[@ypop417]

Ok that makes sense now just did not see the blocks in this video. How thin are you planing to go on a final cut 1" or less?

[@mcremona]

+Y Pop the thinnest I plan to cut would be 1" boards but I should be able to get down to 1/2" should that ever be necessary