This project goes over the build of a simple Bandsaw from old car wheels. Car wheels are big and heavy, but in many ways, they are ideal for bandsaws. They are available everywhere cheaply. They have a rubber tire for the blade to sit on, and they have excellent bearings.
STEP 1 : REMOVING THE COMPONENTS AND WELD THE STUB AXLE
Take apart the brakes, the backplate, bearings, and the stub axle out of the housing. Weld the stub axle onto an off-cut of scaffolding.
STEP 2 : TWO WHEELS ON ENDS OF A STEEL SCAFFOLDING
So we now have two wheels, spinning on the ends of two straight lengths of steel.
STEP 3 : MAKING THE FRAME
We take some scrap-angle iron pieces and make a rectangular frame for the mill. This form is the base of our mill.
STEP 4 : ADDING A SLIDING MECHANISM
In order to make the sliding mechanism, we take a scrap pipe and try to fit it onto a square iron pipe so it can slide in and out smoothly. This will be used for all adjustments. This is welded onto the frame.
A Steel plate is welded onto the sliding bars. This is for the engine to sit on. The engine will drive one of the car wheels
STEP 5 : MOUNTING THE CAR ENGINE
We mount the 11 HP Petrol Engine to a steel plate and the tire is connected directly to the engine shaft through a drive belt.
STEP 6 : CONNECTING A DRIVE WHEEL AND LEVER
The drive wheel is bolted onto the frame, also added a lever for the engine mount which will act as a sort of clutch, tightening and slackening the belt when necessary.
STEP 7 :ADDING SUPPORT
We add two more pipes on the bottom of the frame and slid them to the support platform of the second wheel made from the same square box iron and some short sections which is part of the blade guide.
STEP 8 : ADJUSTING THE BLADE TENSION
The second wheel has to be adjustable in a few different directions and has to be lined up with the first wheel so the blade stays on them both without running off the tires. To adjust the tension on the blade by moving the wheel away from the first one, we use a bottle screw.
The blade guides are made from cheap bearings. They need to be adjustable so that the saw can cope with logs of different sizes. The blade guides help keep the blade straight as it goes through the log and also stop the plate from being pushed off the wheels
STEP 9 : BUILDING THE FRAME AND PULLEY
The band saw has to go up and down so that it can cut planks from a log. We make a simple frame to hold it. It has to fit inside vertical pieces of angle iron on the saw. The support frame is bolted onto the saw by using a bracket that grip the uprights.
A couple of barn door pulleys are bolted onto the top of the support frame and the mill frame. A trailer winch is bolted onto the middle of the support frame. Using a 3mm wire and winch-pulley system, we can move the wheel frame up and down.
Two short pipes are added at the front and these hold up a guard which can be taken off when we need to get at the belt or the blade. If the blade snaps, the side guards should make sure that it heads down towards the ground and not up to the ceiling.
The saw is stationary and the log is moved through it using dolly trailers or rails.
Image Credits : WAY OUT WEST with Sandra and Tim
