• Somebody Make Something

    From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sat Jan 10 16:32:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays. At
    first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was just
    going to work on things I wanted to work on. I started working on most
    of them, and accomplished none of them. There kept being some little
    thing I needed. At one point I was just going to throw the front seat pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I ordered were to short. Sigh!. Pretty sad when I can't even accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.

    Today I made a mold for a customer, but that doesn't really count. I do
    that everyday.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snag@Snag_one@msn.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sat Jan 10 22:15:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/10/2026 5:32 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays.-a At first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was just
    going to work on things I wanted to work on.-a I started working on most
    of them, and accomplished none of them.-a There kept being some little
    thing I needed.-a At one point I was just going to throw the front seat pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I ordered were to short.-a Sigh!.-a Pretty sad when I can't even accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks.-a Make me
    feel bad.-a LOL.

    Today I made a mold for a customer, but that doesn't really count.-a I do that everyday.


    Last Wednesday I picked up a load of treated lumber . Yesterday and
    today I used that lumber to build a new front porch - I already had the
    roof built - on our house . The original started life as a hallway from
    the camper to the new living room when I started construction of the
    house , and it was in pretty sad condition . I still have a couple of
    deck boards to fit and install , and I'll be building railings along 2
    sides and a short section on a third .
    In other news , I'm working on some parts for a sawmill . It uses hydraulics and the design of the control lever pivot mounts is weak .
    I'm modifying the new pivot mounts to make them stronger .
    --
    Snag
    I appreciated foreign cultures more
    when they stayed foreign ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 09:48:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Snag" wrote in message news:10jv85g$3lmjs$1@dont-email.me...

    ... In other news , I'm working on some parts for a sawmill . It uses hydraulics and the design of the control lever pivot mounts is weak .
    I'm modifying the new pivot mounts to make them stronger .
    Snag
    -----------------------
    What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components of
    mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires worked pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for nearly the recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight in wide cuts. 24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet cracking my previous 10" wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse blades. These are 1-1/4" wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested. They can be lightly sharpened a few times
    with a guided file without complaints from the regrinding service.

    My roller blade guides are somewhat similar to Cook's but mount differently, 2" diameter for down force and R8 ball bearings behind. Cheap bearings disintegrated, good ones have held up well. There's no lower guide, the
    blade can deflect under sawdust that passes when the Al flashing scraper
    needs readjustment. Cheap import bearings soon disintegrated, $5 good ones have held up well.

    My first blade guide mounts were simple to make but tedious to adjust. The current version can be removed, repaired and replaced without realignment. Removable spacers set downward blade deflection, the screw adjustments are
    for slight contact at operating tension without them.

    Downward deflection at the guide rollers is 1/4", on the high side of suggestions, to compensate for lower tension. The slight bend greatly
    stiffens the blade from twisting. Tension is 1000 - 1200 Lbs between axles,
    a compromise between tire load rating and Timberwolf's recommendation of ~15 ksi in the band gullet. That would be 1500# for ~0.1 square inch.

    It cuts 20" wide red oak pretty well when freshly reground or touched up
    with a file but I think would need a wider blade, stronger wheels and more than a $99 6.5HP Predator to cut wider. The feed is manual push, a gravity assist was barely worth the extra complications. Pushing tells me when the blade is dulling and beginning to bow in the cut.

    The belt tensioner idler is the drive clutch. It needs to be slipped to let the heavy wheels accelerate slowly. The blade speed is 50-55 MPH on the motorcycle's repaired speedometer.

    The frame is straight between the wheel axles instead of C shaped, thus stiffer and simpler. Its 13" throat depth lets it cut through the center of the largest log that fits between the uprights. Proven max capacity is a chainsaw-slabbed cant 20" square by 20' long, which the centered overhead gantry lifted to rotate and reposition. That log was 28" diameter above the stump flare and 4500 lbs.

    I had to modify the sawmill to handle it since I had designed for smaller
    logs on the assumption that those giants wouldn't fall -- until one did, luckily tipping away from the house.

    Green logs dry with less cracking if the ends are coated. I brush on molten wax, a mix of canning and more flexible toilet bowl ring wax.
    jsw

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  • From Snag@Snag_one@msn.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 09:09:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/11/2026 8:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    "Snag"-a wrote in message news:10jv85g$3lmjs$1@dont-email.me...

    ...-a In other news , I'm working on some parts for a sawmill . It uses hydraulics and the design of the control lever pivot mounts is weak .
    I'm modifying the new pivot mounts to make them stronger .
    Snag
    -----------------------
    What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components of mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires worked pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for nearly the recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight in wide cuts.
    24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet cracking my previous
    10" wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse blades. These are
    1-1/4" wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested. They can be lightly sharpened a few times with a guided file without complaints from the regrinding service.


    This is a commercial sawmill operation ... I don't know if it's a
    band mill or a big-ass circular saw setup . Odds are it's a circular
    with replaceable teeth . I've seen blades as big as 5-6 feet in diameter
    that take a 1/4" cut .
    --
    Snag
    I appreciated foreign cultures more
    when they stayed foreign ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 10:26:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/11/2026 7:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components of mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires worked pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for nearly the recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight in wide cuts.
    24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet cracking my previous
    10" wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse blades. These are
    1-1/4" wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested. They can be lightly sharpened a few times with a guided file without complaints from the regrinding service.

    I would think ring rolling flat bar, and welding in spokes would be an
    answer. Note: that meat saws, and horizontal band saws do not use a
    tire. Instead they use an all metal wheel with a lip, and they
    typically only use one width of blade.

    Turning a 24" wheel concentric might not be so practical unless you have
    a really large lathe or a modestly large lathe with a gap bed. There
    are ways to get "pretty close" on a mill though. Mounted to a rotary
    table offset to one side you can skim a wheel round. Concentricity is a
    bit more involved, but if you can center the bore on the rotab maybe not
    so much. A close fit stub in the bore of the rotab if you don't have a
    mill with 12+ inches of column clearance. It sounds ridiculous at
    first, but a 24 inch wheel needs to only have a little over 12 inches
    offset from the spindle and the same clearance to the column. Depending
    on the setup your rotab bore doesn't even have to be within the envelope
    of the machine.

    You know how to balance a wheel I am sure. Just drill out or add
    material until doesn't stop at any particular point when setup on on a
    simple axle, or on an axle across a couple "parallels." However, is it spinning fast enough that balance is even really an issue? I haven't
    seen any signs of balancing on any of my smaller bandsaws.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 13:02:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Snag" wrote in message news:10k0eeo$3vrlj$1@dont-email.me...

    On 1/11/2026 8:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    "Snag" wrote in message news:10jv85g$3lmjs$1@dont-email.me...

    ... In other news , I'm working on some parts for a sawmill . It uses hydraulics and the design of the control lever pivot mounts is weak .
    I'm modifying the new pivot mounts to make them stronger .
    Snag
    -----------------------
    This is a commercial sawmill operation ... I don't know if it's a
    band mill or a big-ass circular saw setup . Odds are it's a circular
    with replaceable teeth . I've seen blades as big as 5-6 feet in diameter
    that take a 1/4" cut .
    Snag
    -------------------------
    Oh, you are helping, not building your own. I know enough about circular
    saws to not try to build, run and maintain one myself.

    https://www.nhmagazine.com/the-curious-story-of-the-taylor-sawmill/
    The blade cuts up and down vertically like a giant jigsaw. I told the
    operator I'd try to find them a froe to split shingles but haven't seen one for sale and my attempt to forge one from a leaf spring didn't come out well enough.

    https://www.yelp.com/biz/wilkins-lumber-co-milford
    My family is unrelated, from the South. The blades are circular with
    inserted teeth, around 4-5' in diameter. The machinery looks quite old.
    Until relatively recently it was water powered, I stopped to look at that historical site and a dog walker told me they were still in business up the road so I visited and listened to their history.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Leon Fisk@lfiskgr@gmail.invalid to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 14:21:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:02:00 -0500
    "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snip>
    I'd try to find them a froe to split shingles but haven't seen one
    for sale and my attempt to forge one from a leaf spring didn't come out well >enough.

    I repaired, welded an original (antique) froe up for a neighbor that had
    abused one a bit. Cracked the loop for the handle and cracked spots in
    the blade...

    To make a modern version I figured a flat mower blade would
    be a good start and just weld a split piece of pipe on the end for a
    handle loop. Split the pipe, crush one ended a bit to form a slight
    taper. Angle grinder to shape the cutting portion of blade...

    You can still buy new and used ones on ebay...
    --
    Leon Fisk
    Grand Rapids MI

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 13:58:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10k0mg0$2k4a$1@dont-email.me...

    On 1/11/2026 7:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components of mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires worked pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for nearly the recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight in wide cuts.
    24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet cracking my previous 10" wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse blades. These are 1-1/4"
    wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested. They can be lightly sharpened a few times with a guided file without complaints from the regrinding
    service.

    I would think ring rolling flat bar, and welding in spokes would be an
    answer. Note: that meat saws, and horizontal band saws do not use a
    tire. Instead they use an all metal wheel with a lip, and they
    typically only use one width of blade.

    Turning a 24" wheel concentric might not be so practical unless you have
    a really large lathe or a modestly large lathe with a gap bed. There
    are ways to get "pretty close" on a mill though. Mounted to a rotary
    table offset to one side you can skim a wheel round. Concentricity is a
    bit more involved, but if you can center the bore on the rotab maybe not
    so much. A close fit stub in the bore of the rotab if you don't have a
    mill with 12+ inches of column clearance. It sounds ridiculous at
    first, but a 24 inch wheel needs to only have a little over 12 inches
    offset from the spindle and the same clearance to the column. Depending
    on the setup your rotab bore doesn't even have to be within the envelope
    of the machine.

    You know how to balance a wheel I am sure. Just drill out or add
    material until doesn't stop at any particular point when setup on on a
    simple axle, or on an axle across a couple "parallels." However, is it spinning fast enough that balance is even really an issue? I haven't
    seen any signs of balancing on any of my smaller bandsaws.
    Bob La Londe
    -------------------------------
    I sufficiently restored a second SB Heavy 10 headstock that could be mounted on a heavy wood beam frame with an X-Y table for the tool rest as a large wheel lathe. I bought an HF linked belt to drive it through the flat cone pulley and back gears, and a variable speed DC motor. The bigger problem is making the rim strong enough to hold a safe multiple of 1500 Lbs. Usually
    the rubber rim is a row of vee belts which require fairly deep turned
    grooves.

    The saw needs some welding repair from the last session, it wasn't built
    much stronger than necessary for the original 5.5HP design and modifying it for larger logs and higher blade tension cut into the margin.

    I removed the drive wheel tire to smooth a rim corrosion leak and it's now noticeably out of balance when running at some speeds, fortunately not the cutting speed. The 3" channel uprights that support the saw head can't have cross bracing except at the top end and are somewhat wobbly. They were weakened by notches nearer one end and cost me only $5 per 8' length so I can't complain too hard. The shorter cutoffs became their bases.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 14:28:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Leon Fisk" wrote in message news:10k0pn7$2naa$1@dont-email.me...

    On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:02:00 -0500
    "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snip>
    I'd try to find them a froe to split shingles but haven't seen one
    for sale and my attempt to forge one from a leaf spring didn't come out
    well
    enough.

    I repaired, welded an original (antique) froe up for a neighbor that had
    abused one a bit. Cracked the loop for the handle and cracked spots in
    the blade...

    To make a modern version I figured a flat mower blade would
    be a good start and just weld a split piece of pipe on the end for a
    handle loop. Split the pipe, crush one ended a bit to form a slight
    taper. Angle grinder to shape the cutting portion of blade...

    You can still buy new and used ones on ebay...
    Leon Fisk
    Grand Rapids MI

    --------------------------------
    I wanted to give the museum one that was or at least looked 200 years old.
    The sources here are drying up though I did recently find a "defective" Champion rivet forge blower that needed only a bearing play adjustment.

    At noon the TV showed a froe in use at a county fair. They are meant for abuse, beat on one end and twist the other. Mine was OK except at the handle end where I filled a defect with mild steel and could no longer trust hardening and tempering that highly stressed area. I left it straight and
    use it like a machete. It splits narrow kindling well enough.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snag@Snag_one@msn.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Sun Jan 11 13:36:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/11/2026 12:21 PM, Leon Fisk wrote:
    On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:02:00 -0500
    "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snip>
    I'd try to find them a froe to split shingles but haven't seen one
    for sale and my attempt to forge one from a leaf spring didn't come out well >> enough.

    I repaired, welded an original (antique) froe up for a neighbor that had abused one a bit. Cracked the loop for the handle and cracked spots in
    the blade...

    To make a modern version I figured a flat mower blade would
    be a good start and just weld a split piece of pipe on the end for a
    handle loop. Split the pipe, crush one ended a bit to form a slight
    taper. Angle grinder to shape the cutting portion of blade...

    You can still buy new and used ones on ebay...


    I have a blade made from half of an old Chevy leaf spring that
    already had an eye in one end . Mid 70's Camaro IIRC . I've got hickory
    stock to make a handle but haven't felt any urge to complete it . I left
    my spring in the wood stove for like 3-4 days to anneal and did part of
    the shaping on the mill and part with the angle grinder . It's still
    pretty hard ...
    --
    Snag
    I appreciated foreign cultures more
    when they stayed foreign ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 12 07:33:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Snag" wrote in message news:10k0u3a$57aj$1@dont-email.me...

    I have a blade made from half of an old Chevy leaf spring that
    already had an eye in one end . Mid 70's Camaro IIRC . I've got hickory
    stock to make a handle but haven't felt any urge to complete it . I left
    my spring in the wood stove for like 3-4 days to anneal and did part of
    the shaping on the mill and part with the angle grinder . It's still
    pretty hard ...
    Snag

    ---------------------------------
    Leaf springs may be made from 5160 steel. https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/04/01/how-to-heat-treat-5160/

    If the part fits a toaster oven could temper it. That's what the blacksmith suggested for my forged and hardened leaf spring blade. Since I had it, I fitted an incomplete laboratory tube furnace with 2" exhaust pipe for the tube, and a digital temperature controller, which could give closer temperature regulation to a toaster oven set at max.

    I bought the tube furnace at auction hoping to use it to heat treat
    shop-made cutting tools in an inert atmosphere or vacuum. So far coating the O-1 tool with soap and heating it in a charcoal-filled tube has sufficed for fairly crude home projects.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 12 22:31:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10juniu$3hi7e$1@dont-email.me...

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.

    ------------------------------------
    I'm taking a 3D CAD class in night school. I'm fine with orthographic and isometric drafting and mental visualization but the menu logic is difficult, like learning new thought patterns of a foreign language.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Clare Snyder@clare@snyder.on.ca to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 12 22:52:59 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On Sat, 10 Jan 2026 22:15:46 -0600, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:

    On 1/10/2026 5:32 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays.a At
    first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was just
    going to work on things I wanted to work on.a I started working on most
    of them, and accomplished none of them.a There kept being some little
    thing I needed.a At one point I was just going to throw the front seat
    pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I ordered were to
    short.a Sigh!.a Pretty sad when I can't even accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks.a Make me
    feel bad.a LOL.

    Today I made a mold for a customer, but that doesn't really count.a I do
    that everyday.


    Last Wednesday I picked up a load of treated lumber . Yesterday and
    today I used that lumber to build a new front porch - I already had the
    roof built - on our house . The original started life as a hallway from
    the camper to the new living room when I started construction of the
    house , and it was in pretty sad condition . I still have a couple of
    deck boards to fit and install , and I'll be building railings along 2
    sides and a short section on a third .
    In other news , I'm working on some parts for a sawmill . It uses
    hydraulics and the design of the control lever pivot mounts is weak .
    I'm modifying the new pivot mounts to make them stronger .


    I've been puttering away at building a rack to hang my bicycles to
    take up less dloor space in the garage. Building it out of "free angle
    iron" scavenged from bed frames gathered off the curb over the last
    year - whick means doing all the cutting with the "death wheel" rather
    than risking the band saw blades.
    It's been tiring my back significantly so I only get a couple hours in
    at a time. 15 months post surgery - the recovery has gone well, but it
    lets me know when I attempt too much!!!!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Joe Gwinn@joegwinn@comcast.net to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 10:43:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:31:12 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
    <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10juniu$3hi7e$1@dont-email.me...

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.

    ------------------------------------
    I'm taking a 3D CAD class in night school. I'm fine with orthographic and >isometric drafting and mental visualization but the menu logic is difficult, >like learning new thought patterns of a foreign language.

    I had this problem at first as well.

    3D CAD is organized in how-to-make process order, using the primitives available. Example: Start with a block of material. Subtract a
    cylinder of material, to yield a cylindrical hole in the block. And
    so on.

    Joe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 13:23:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Joe Gwinn" wrote in message news:8qpcmkpejr38lc9pp5jts8chkfh09voc6c@4ax.com...

    On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:31:12 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
    <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    I'm taking a 3D CAD class in night school. I'm fine with orthographic and >isometric drafting and mental visualization but the menu logic is
    difficult,
    like learning new thought patterns of a foreign language.

    I had this problem at first as well.

    3D CAD is organized in how-to-make process order, using the primitives available. Example: Start with a block of material. Subtract a
    cylinder of material, to yield a cylindrical hole in the block. And
    so on.

    Joe

    ------------------

    Possibly the issue is that my right brain processes the graphic images and
    my left brain the menu tree, and I have always had difficulty fully using
    both at once or quickly swapping. I can become so involved in solving a difficult problem that if interrupted I can't immediately talk. My postings here are practice to overcome that, but when I write coherently I can't visualize at my best. Fortunately on IQ tests the verbal and spatial
    sections are separate and I can take a moment to switch, but when brainstorming engineering problems I have to immediately explain my ideas.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 11:28:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/11/2026 11:58 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    "Bob La Londe"-a wrote in message news:10k0mg0$2k4a$1@dont-email.me...

    On 1/11/2026 7:48 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    What are you using for the wheels? They were the critical components
    of mine, the only parts I couldn't make. Motorcycle wheels and tires
    worked pretty well for me except that they aren't load rated for
    nearly the recommended blade tension, which keeps the blade straight
    in wide cuts. 24" diameter is large enough to avoid the gullet
    cracking my previous 10" wheel sawmill suffered with 3/4" wide coarse
    blades. These are 1-1/4" wide, 3/4" pitch as Timberwolf suggested.
    They can be lightly sharpened a few times with a guided file without
    complaints from the regrinding service.

    I would think ring rolling flat bar, and welding in spokes would be an answer.-a Note: that meat saws, and horizontal band saws do not use a
    tire.-a Instead they use an all metal wheel with a lip, and they
    typically only use one width of blade.

    Turning a 24" wheel concentric might not be so practical unless you have
    a really large lathe or a modestly large lathe with a gap bed.-a There
    are ways to get "pretty close" on a mill though.-a Mounted to a rotary
    table offset to one side you can skim a wheel round.-a Concentricity is a
    bit more involved, but if you can center the bore on the rotab maybe not
    so much.-a A close fit stub in the bore of the rotab if you don't have a
    mill with 12+ inches of column clearance.-a It sounds ridiculous at
    first, but a 24 inch wheel needs to only have a little over 12 inches
    offset from the spindle and the same clearance to the column.-a Depending
    on the setup your rotab bore doesn't even have to be within the envelope
    of the machine.

    You know how to balance a wheel I am sure.-a Just drill out or add
    material until doesn't stop at any particular point when setup on on a
    simple axle, or on an axle across a couple "parallels."-a However, is it spinning fast enough that balance is even really an issue?-a I haven't
    seen any signs of balancing on any of my smaller bandsaws.
    Bob La Londe
    -------------------------------
    I sufficiently restored a second SB Heavy 10 headstock that could be
    mounted on a heavy wood beam frame with an X-Y table for the tool rest
    as a large wheel lathe. I bought an HF linked belt to drive it through
    the flat cone pulley and back gears, and a variable speed DC motor. The bigger problem is making the rim strong enough to hold a safe multiple
    of 1500 Lbs. Usually the rubber rim is a row of vee belts which require fairly deep turned grooves.

    The saw needs some welding repair from the last session, it wasn't built much stronger than necessary for the original 5.5HP design and modifying
    it for larger logs and higher blade tension cut into the margin.

    I removed the drive wheel tire to smooth a rim corrosion leak and it's
    now noticeably out of balance when running at some speeds, fortunately
    not the cutting speed. The 3" channel uprights that support the saw head can't have cross bracing except at the top end and are somewhat wobbly.
    They were weakened by notches nearer one end and cost me only $5 per 8' length so I can't complain too hard. The shorter cutoffs became their
    bases.


    A t-joint wheel is going to be quite rigid. Cut a round ring for the
    bottom leg of the T. Ring roll the blade surface of the wheel. Add
    spokes from your ring to your hub.

    When I mentioned turning the ring I was not implying a huge amount of
    material removal. Just enough to make the surface acceptable and
    concentric with the hub bore. You should take the effort to get "pretty close" in fabrication so that is all you need to do. If you have enough material you "could" turn a slight crown, but I don't think other lipped wheels have a crown. They are just adjusted so the blade runs true
    without it. Balance can be achieved by drilling holes in the spokes. I
    am thinking flat bar for spokes. Of course adjust as your own mind
    works on such problems.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 11:30:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/13/2026 11:28 AM, Bob La Londe wrote:
    A t-joint wheel is going to be quite rigid.-a Cut a round ring for the bottom leg of the T.-a Ring roll the blade surface of the wheel.-a Add spokes from your ring to your hub.

    Or just cut sections to save materials and weld them in between the
    spokes.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 14:48:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10k62st$6jli$1@dont-email.me...

    A t-joint wheel is going to be quite rigid. Cut a round ring for the
    bottom leg of the T. Ring roll the blade surface of the wheel. Add
    spokes from your ring to your hub.

    When I mentioned turning the ring I was not implying a huge amount of
    material removal. Just enough to make the surface acceptable and
    concentric with the hub bore. You should take the effort to get "pretty
    close" in fabrication so that is all you need to do. If you have enough material you "could" turn a slight crown, but I don't think other lipped
    wheels have a crown. They are just adjusted so the blade runs true
    without it. Balance can be achieved by drilling holes in the spokes. I
    am thinking flat bar for spokes. Of course adjust as your own mind
    works on such problems.

    Bob La Londe

    ----------------------
    I examined commercial bandsaw mills and talked to the blade maker's tech support and didn't deviate much from their practice beyond using the
    available wheels because the bandsaws have a reputation for being difficult
    to adjust and maintain for straight flat cuts, many details have to be
    right. My 4x6 metal bandsaw needs frequent checking and adjustment to cut square.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/redneckengineering/comments/juujbe/homemade_bandsaw_mill_from_old_car_wheels/
    Mine has a guard enclosing the blade.

    The only real issue with my saw as it is now is keeping the blade sharp
    enough to cut 20" wide without excess feed pressure that makes the blade
    bow, I think when tension all shifts to the back edge from deflection in the cut and leaves the tooth edge free to twist up or down.

    I made a filing guide that supports the file on outboard rollers and adjusts for angle and depth of cut. Two or three rounds of tip filing between
    regrinds suffice for at least one big oak log and appear acceptable to the sharpening service.

    Deflection is much less of a problem after slicing off full width planks so
    I can extend blade life by swapping in partly used ones to match the cut width. They breeze through 6" or less after considerable use. If I changed from road tires to steel wheels for higher blade tension many other parts of the saw would have to be upgraded, notably the tensioner screw which I
    needed to change from all-thread rod to a fully threaded 1/2-20 Grade 8 bolt and captive Grade 8 nut to survive the current 1000 Lbs. I mentioned all
    this because I thought Snag might be designing his own.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 15:04:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10k62v8$6jli$2@dont-email.me...

    On 1/13/2026 11:28 AM, Bob La Londe wrote:
    A t-joint wheel is going to be quite rigid. Cut a round ring for the
    bottom leg of the T. Ring roll the blade surface of the wheel. Add
    spokes from your ring to your hub.

    Or just cut sections to save materials and weld them in between the
    spokes.
    Bob La Londe

    -------------------------------
    That would push my amateur skill further than I dare for a heavy wheel spinning up to 60MPH rim speed 3' from me.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snag@Snag_one@msn.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Tue Jan 13 18:54:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/13/2026 1:48 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    "Bob La Londe"-a wrote in message news:10k62st$6jli$1@dont-email.me...

    A t-joint wheel is going to be quite rigid.-a Cut a round ring for the
    bottom leg of the T.-a Ring roll the blade surface of the wheel.-a Add
    spokes from your ring to your hub.

    When I mentioned turning the ring I was not implying a huge amount of material removal.-a Just enough to make the surface acceptable and
    concentric with the hub bore.-a You should take the effort to get "pretty close" in fabrication so that is all you need to do.-a If you have enough material you "could" turn a slight crown, but I don't think other lipped wheels have a crown.-a They are just adjusted so the blade runs true
    without it.-a Balance can be achieved by drilling holes in the spokes.-a I
    am thinking flat bar for spokes.-a Of course adjust as your own mind
    works on such problems.

    Bob La Londe

    ----------------------
    I examined commercial bandsaw mills and talked to the blade maker's tech support and didn't deviate much from their practice beyond using the available wheels because the bandsaws have a reputation for being
    difficult to adjust and maintain for straight flat cuts, many details
    have to be right. My 4x6 metal bandsaw needs frequent checking and adjustment to cut square.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/redneckengineering/comments/juujbe/homemade_bandsaw_mill_from_old_car_wheels/

    Mine has a guard enclosing the blade.

    The only real issue with my saw as it is now is keeping the blade sharp enough to cut 20" wide without excess feed pressure that makes the blade bow, I think when tension all shifts to the back edge from deflection in
    the cut and leaves the tooth edge free to twist up or down.

    I made a filing guide that supports the file on outboard rollers and
    adjusts for angle and depth of cut. Two or three rounds of tip filing between regrinds suffice for at least one big oak log and appear
    acceptable to the sharpening service.

    Deflection is much less of a problem after slicing off full width planks
    so I can extend blade life by swapping in partly used ones to match the
    cut width. They breeze through 6" or less after considerable use. If I changed from road tires to steel wheels for higher blade tension many
    other parts of the saw would have to be upgraded, notably the tensioner screw which I needed to change from all-thread rod to a fully threaded 1/2-20 Grade 8 bolt and captive Grade 8 nut to survive the current 1000
    Lbs. I mentioned all this because I thought Snag might be designing his
    own.


    I don't need a band saw , my neighbor has one . Another neighbor just
    made a run to Missouri to pick up a couple (or more?) of big - like 36"diameter - black walnut logs . Some of those live edge slabs will be
    worth a whole bunch of money ...
    --
    Snag
    I appreciated foreign cultures more
    when they stayed foreign ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Joe Gwinn@joegwinn@comcast.net to rec.crafts.metalworking on Thu Jan 15 17:22:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:23:47 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
    <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    "Joe Gwinn" wrote in message >news:8qpcmkpejr38lc9pp5jts8chkfh09voc6c@4ax.com...

    On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:31:12 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
    <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    I'm taking a 3D CAD class in night school. I'm fine with orthographic and >>isometric drafting and mental visualization but the menu logic is >>difficult,
    like learning new thought patterns of a foreign language.

    I had this problem at first as well.

    3D CAD is organized in how-to-make process order, using the primitives >available. Example: Start with a block of material. Subtract a
    cylinder of material, to yield a cylindrical hole in the block. And
    so on.

    Joe

    ------------------

    Possibly the issue is that my right brain processes the graphic images and >my left brain the menu tree, and I have always had difficulty fully using >both at once or quickly swapping. I can become so involved in solving a >difficult problem that if interrupted I can't immediately talk. My postings >here are practice to overcome that, but when I write coherently I can't >visualize at my best. Fortunately on IQ tests the verbal and spatial >sections are separate and I can take a moment to switch, but when >brainstorming engineering problems I have to immediately explain my ideas.

    Hmm. Sounds like a missing corpus callosum. Return to manufacturer.

    Joe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Thu Jan 15 18:05:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Joe Gwinn" wrote in message news:90qimkpe6d1cmqfnm5hucd51bia8929sat@4ax.com...

    On Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:23:47 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
    <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    Possibly the issue is that my right brain processes the graphic images and
    my left brain the menu tree, and I have always had difficulty fully using >both at once or quickly swapping. ...

    Hmm. Sounds like a missing corpus callosum. Return to manufacturer.

    Joe

    ---------------------------
    I've had failing parts of my head replaced but nothing that complicated.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richard Smith@null@void.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 09:59:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> writes:

    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays.
    At first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was
    just going to work on things I wanted to work on. I started working
    on most of them, and accomplished none of them. There kept being some
    little thing I needed. At one point I was just going to throw the
    front seat pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I
    ordered were to short. Sigh!. Pretty sad when I can't even
    accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.

    Today I made a mold for a customer, but that doesn't really count. I
    do that everyday.

    I have struggled. I haven't even managed to get up and clear the
    gutters after leaf-fall.
    On Saturday (17th) we had the first life-giving sunshine of 2026. The
    mood of everyone lifted. People sat facing the sun in a state of bliss
    at the outward end of their walk along the beach. My friend and I
    finally lit a cigar she had bought on the 22nd of December and spent an
    hour there just feeling life and joy returning. At the cafe, before and
    after the walk, people were sat outside in the sunshine joyfully - first
    time of the year after a couple of months under a leadened sky with
    drizzle coming down most of the time if not rain.
    So please don't feel bad.
    We (in Britain) had a bad 'flu this year in that it debilitated people
    for weeks with a post-viral extreme shortage of energy.
    Doubly please don't feel bad.
    Best wishes,
    Rich Smith
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richard Smith@null@void.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 10:10:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> writes:

    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays.
    At first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was
    ...
    on most of them, and accomplished none of them. There kept being some
    little thing I needed. At one point I was just going to throw the
    front seat pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I
    ordered were to short. Sigh!. Pretty sad when I can't even
    accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.
    ...

    Comment 2

    Your government, "the beltway", "the Versailles on the Potomac", is good
    at
    making a mess
    the size of a Shakesperian tragedy, of everything it touches at the
    moment - does that count?! :-)

    Look - I do see that the one president is inheriting a vast "kicking the
    can down the road" mess. I won't decree absolution ;-) - but I do see
    an impossible situation to resolve.

    I have this winter watched videos of American mining enthusiasts going
    out into the wilderness finding gold and other resources. Bright,
    experienced and practically skilled. Only enough findings to hopefully
    cover costs and maybe make a few bucks on-top, but my goodness they are
    alive and that is where hope for America resides - that spirit.

    Best wishes
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 06:51:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Richard Smith" wrote in message news:m1qzrlx69e.fsf@void.com...

    I have this winter watched videos of American mining enthusiasts going
    out into the wilderness finding gold and other resources. Bright,
    experienced and practically skilled. Only enough findings to hopefully
    cover costs and maybe make a few bucks on-top, but my goodness they are
    alive and that is where hope for America resides - that spirit.

    Best wishes
    -------------------------------
    It seems to me that the percentage with that spirit is declining and most settle for fitting into in the herd. The small local sources for hobby metalworking and even woodworking tools and supplies have largely vanished since the 1980's. DIY rooftop TV antenna installations to avoid the $200 monthly fee for cable are very rare.

    https://www.riversidelocalschools.com/downloads/pedestrian%20short%20story.pdf

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 07:29:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:10kl5sl$a3tf$1@dont-email.me...

    The small local sources for hobby
    metalworking and even woodworking tools and supplies have largely vanished since the 1980's.

    ----------------------------

    A few decades ago an old lathe like this for $800 would list for at least $2500 without the valuable accessories.
    New ones cost $12,000. https://westernmass.craigslist.org/tls/d/greenfield-10-southbend-lathe-norton/7906339282.html

    $1000 for a surface grinder seems typical. They aren't very useful at the hobby level unless you make precision lab experiments or sharpen your own cutting tools. I did both.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 09:40:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/19/2026 3:10 AM, Richard Smith wrote:
    Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> writes:

    Yeah I'm talking to me too.

    I took almost two weeks off from customer jobs around the holidays.
    At first because I wasn't feeling tip top, and then I decided I was
    ...
    on most of them, and accomplished none of them. There kept being some
    little thing I needed. At one point I was just going to throw the
    front seat pedestal in my bass boat and go fishing, but the bolts I
    ordered were to short. Sigh!. Pretty sad when I can't even
    accomplish going fishing.

    Show me how productive you have been for the last few weeks. Make me
    feel bad. LOL.
    ...

    Comment 2

    Your government, "the beltway", "the Versailles on the Potomac", is good
    at
    making a mess
    the size of a Shakesperian tragedy, of everything it touches at the
    moment - does that count?! :-)

    Look - I do see that the one president is inheriting a vast "kicking the
    can down the road" mess. I won't decree absolution ;-) - but I do see
    an impossible situation to resolve.

    I have this winter watched videos of American mining enthusiasts going
    out into the wilderness finding gold and other resources. Bright, experienced and practically skilled. Only enough findings to hopefully
    cover costs and maybe make a few bucks on-top, but my goodness they are
    alive and that is where hope for America resides - that spirit.

    Best wishes

    At the current price of gold even a small amount can be profitable. Its tempting to pack up all of my dad's old hobby prospecting gear and head
    out into the desert.

    I know a hard dry clay (caliche) bank on bedrock above a wash that did
    not get worked out by the Chinese gold crews that worked the wash
    bottoms down to the bedrock in that area. We found where a lens had
    been worked out just above that clay bank, and a friend of my dad's knew
    the guy who sunk a tunnel into that clay bank along the bed rock in the
    1950s taking out over $80,000 USD. (Gold ran 35-45 usd in the 50s) He supposedly retired to Mexico after that. We explored it back in the
    late 70s. Its not a big tunnel. Its a huge clay bank , and he only
    knocked off a tiny portion of it. We dry panned some of his tailings
    (the rockier stuff that came right off the bedrock), and he missed a lot
    of gold. I could probably take enough gold if I was younger and
    stronger just using hand tools to make it pay. With just a little
    equipment. I could probably make some real money. Unfortunately its on
    a wild life refuge now. Even dry panning his tailings might not have
    been legal.

    There is a lot of gold in the USA that will never be worked due to
    various restrictions. One section of creek up near Prescott is
    designated a recreational prospecting area. Nearly everybody who gives
    it a go finds a little flower gold in the sand. Imagine what you could
    find just dredging the creek for a mile or two. Not legal. Shovel and
    pan only. Maybe a small sluice, but I don't think so. There was some
    land up stream that had proven for lode claims, but they are all patent, legitimately private, or no prospecting national forest. One claim
    belonged to a friend of my dad's (Virgil Corly sp), and we had
    permission to placer the creek there, but we mostly just went camping in
    the woods. Mr Corly and my dad have both passed away, and I am sure his permission doesn't extend to me with Mr Corly's Heirs. Mr Corly retired fairly wealthy, but he did it by parleying his gold findings in the
    stock market and hitting a vein of good luck in wise stock choices.

    I never really got the gold bug, but I do have a little gear. Haven't
    picked up a pan except to move it to a different shelf in 40 years. I
    have wielded a shovel a bit... for digging ditches and repairing
    plumbing. There are still plenty of opportunities in the US for gold. Particularly for "recreational" prospectors, but those gold shows don't
    show you the legal mine field that can be sown in your path if you get serious. One fellow I knew played the game hard. He didn't even really prospect. He just filed lode claims over top of other people's placer
    claims. I didn't really study the law to know how that worked, but one
    semi serious recreational prospector I knew was pretty sore about it.
    Made a point of telling me how he despised the guy for it.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob La Londe@none@none.com99 to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 09:43:57 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    On 1/19/2026 5:29 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
    "Jim Wilkins"-a wrote in message news:10kl5sl$a3tf$1@dont-email.me...

    The small local sources for hobby
    metalworking and even woodworking tools and supplies have largely vanished since the 1980's.

    ----------------------------

    A few decades ago an old lathe like this for $800 would list for at
    least $2500 without the valuable accessories.
    New ones cost $12,000. https://westernmass.craigslist.org/tls/d/greenfield-10-southbend-lathe- norton/7906339282.html

    $1000 for a surface grinder seems typical. They aren't very useful at
    the hobby level unless you make precision lab experiments or sharpen
    your own cutting tools. I did both.


    I have a small 6 x 12 surface grinder, and I have used it.... for
    flattening and squaring vise jaws so I can dial in the fixed jaw or the removable jaw on a mill table. I tried it for some hardened knife steel
    and the heat warping made it a useless waste of time. I've gotten a lot
    more use out of my D-Bit grinder, not always for its intended purpose.
    --
    Bob La Londe
    CNC Molds N Stuff
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Wilkins@muratlanne@gmail.com to rec.crafts.metalworking on Mon Jan 19 12:29:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.metalworking

    "Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:10kln0c$gmhp$1@dont-email.me...

    I have a small 6 x 12 surface grinder, and I have used it.... for
    flattening and squaring vise jaws so I can dial in the fixed jaw or the removable jaw on a mill table. I tried it for some hardened knife steel
    and the heat warping made it a useless waste of time. I've gotten a lot
    more use out of my D-Bit grinder, not always for its intended purpose.

    Bob La Londe

    -------------------

    My surface grinder has been useful, I sharpened jointer blades on the arbor and cleaned up the top of my anvil with it, plus salvaging dull brand-name endmills and large taps (between centers) bought cheap. It has probably paid back its $100 price by regrinding good endmills. The choice between a
    surface grinder and a 6 jaw lathe chuck would be difficult, I use both, neither is essential. The smaller 6 jaw on a 5C mount in a hex collet block
    is good for milling wrench flats on short pieces that don't fit a collet and can slip in a 3 jaw.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2