[Bill Beauregard]

My father used the term "wood". A blade that doesn't do an effective job of removing sawdust will bind, require more power to move, and slow cutting until at least the teeth are clear. This causes each tooth to remove either a tiny bit of sawdust, or none. This binding turns horsepower into heat, and prevents quickly moving to cool wet wood that would cool it. It's a situation pretty extreme with a two man hand saw.

[RazrRebel]

I was wondering. I know the one item that costs a lot is the band wheels. Main reason is the size. Do you guys think we could get by with smaller wheels, and maybe idler wheels up higher to make up for the size. I've been trying to source wheels,not finding much though. I can find ten inch wheels pretty easily. Just a thought, what do you guys think.

[WerkSpace]

There are some companies that are utilizing automotive tires for band wheels. This has got to be as inexpensive as it gets. I'm not totally convinced that this would be the way to go, but it's certainly worth investigating. http://lumberjocks.com/bryguy22/blog/32572

I was wondering. I know the one item that costs a lot is the band wheels. Main reason is the size. Do you guys think we could get by with smaller wheels, and maybe idler wheels up higher to make up for the size. I've been trying to source wheels,not finding much though. I can find ten inch wheels pretty easily. Just a thought, what do you guys think.

[weldin mike 27]

Have a look at this. Probably impractical for large scale but very simple, so worth looking at.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/golden-s ... 1062724903

Mick

[Bill Beauregard]

Have a look at this. Probably impractical for large scale but very simple, so worth looking at.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/golden-s ... 1062724903

Mick

I have a homemade one of these things I built 30 years ago. It worked very well but it sat straddling a 2x10. You had to use great care to keep the plank follower tightly on the plank. If I were doing it again I'd want a ladder like guide rail with aluminum apparatus. You need a big saw, add 40 pounds of steel clamped to the bar, it gets heavy. Great for ripping beams, not great for boards.

We find it difficult to get custom sawing on short notice. Covering a grease pit, decking a dump truck, making a timber for a building, these things along with an Alaskan Sawmill make sense. I sit right now beneath a 10x10 timber I cut on my land, ripped to a square, then dressed with a broad axe. Somehow that seemed cool at the time.