# Horse Power for Thin-Kerf Sawmills?



## Cross Sawmill (Oct 9, 2013)

Well, How much does it Take? I am running 65 Horsepower and 236 Foot Pounds of Torque,but believe it could be done with less. Anybody?????


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## jimmyjames (Oct 9, 2013)

On your big mill? I'm sure you could, you could probably strap on a 20 horse Briggs but the cut speed would be considerably slower, its just a matter of how fast you want to cut. If you look at the big woodmizers with the 46hp diesels they can cut pretty quick through big timber but that's 30" and smaller, your more than double that in cut width, I think more power the better if you ask me, plus an engine with too more power than is needed will not only run more efficient but will also last longer than an underpowered motor being overworked....


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## SDB777 (Oct 9, 2013)

My LT-10 has 10hp B&S, it will do dried Pignut Hickory that is 21", but you ain't going to get in a hurry to do it. I cut at a pretty slow feed rate to get a better finish on a slab, but with a new blade I can lean pretty hard on it, and she don't grunt too hard.


Scott (still quicker then any CSM I have) B


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## Kevin (Oct 9, 2013)

Myself, I know better than answer your questions because I am never right. But I like that because I always learn something from you. Okay I will answer anyway. Yes Steve you can get away with a LOT less HP than 65, but you will need to stick with sawing branches not trees.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 9, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> On your big mill? I'm sure you could, you could probably strap on a 20 horse Briggs but the cut speed would be considerably slower, its just a matter of how fast you want to cut. If you look at the big woodmizers with the 46hp diesels they can cut pretty quick through big timber but that's 30" and smaller, your more than double that in cut width, I think more power the better if you ask me, plus an engine with too more power than is needed will not only run more efficient but will also last longer than an underpowered motor being overworked....


 Jimmy,
I believe that You are right in that Bigger Motors are better. Bigger seems to make the Blade Speed more consistent. ?????????
Steve


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## jimmyjames (Oct 9, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> > On your big mill? I'm sure you could, you could probably strap on a 20 horse Briggs but the cut speed would be considerably slower, its just a matter of how fast you want to cut. If you look at the big woodmizers with the 46hp diesels they can cut pretty quick through big timber but that's 30" and smaller, your more than double that in cut width, I think more power the better if you ask me, plus an engine with too more power than is needed will not only run more efficient but will also last longer than an underpowered motor being overworked....
> ...




I would think so but, I'm no expert on this matter, you by far have more experience with band saws and all saws for that matter. But yes I would think a more consistent blade speed as well as maintaining a fast blade speed therefore ableing you to increase your feed rate. Smaller mills with smaller motors start chugging in the cut so I'm sure the blade speed decreases far below the recommended 4500-5000fpm blade speed. Not only does higher blade speed cut faster it also clears the cut of chips and decreases drag and heat buildup on the blade, it keeps the chip in the gullet of the cutter , take that info with a grain of salt since it is second hand knowledge to me.


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 10, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> Well, How much does it Take? I am running 65 Horsepower and 236 Foot Pounds of Torque,but believe it could be done with less. Anybody?????


 Does anyone know of a band blade manufacturer that gives advice on what horsepower it(cutting) takes?


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 10, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> Well, How much does it Take? I am running 65 Horsepower and 236 Foot Pounds of Torque,but believe it could be done with less. Anybody?????


 How about chain-saw mills? Even big double motors could not have over 20 horsepower?????????


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 10, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> My LT-10 has 10hp B&S, it will do dried Pignut Hickory that is 21", but you ain't going to get in a hurry to do it. I cut at a pretty slow feed rate to get a better finish on a slab, but with a new blade I can lean pretty hard on it, and she don't grunt too hard.
> 
> 
> Scott (still quicker then any CSM I have) B


 Scott,
I have a couple of friends with manual feed(Push-Hard) mills. They both said they could "Feel" how the blade was cutting. Power feeds do not have this ability to do this. What do You think about this?


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## SDB777 (Oct 10, 2013)

I like to 'feel' the timber being cut, but then again if I had to do this as a job....well, sitting in an air conditioned cab and playing with joysticks would be the way to do it. I can 'feel' where knots and inclusions start and stop inside the log....I think that 'feeling' allows me to make fairly nice smooth surfaces in slabs. Sure makes the finishing much easier(I hate to sand wood forever and ever)!

I do know I am happy to have gotten the upgrade from 7hp to the 10hp! Even with a 1mm kerf on the blade I'm using in hardwood, I'm sure it makes a big difference. The old saying is always going to hold up with an type of engine....."There's no replacement for displacement!!!"



Scott (get to mill again in three days.....WOOHOO!!!!) B


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## jimmyjames (Oct 10, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> Cross Sawmill said:
> 
> 
> > Well, How much does it Take? I am running 65 Horsepower and 236 Foot Pounds of Torque,but believe it could be done with less. Anybody?????
> ...



Not very many people run double motor chain saw mills, from what I've read the investment isn't worth the huge added cost, 2 big St IHL 880's and a csm you'd have $6000 or more invested in it, even watching the big chainsaw mills with 27hp verticle shaft motors do not cut much faster than a single St IHL 880, its St IHL trying to take a large amount of material out, just 1 cut in a 24" wide and 10' long log with a .404 chain produces almost 10 board feet of shavings........ takes a lot of time and power to turn that much wood into dust.....


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Oct 10, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> SDB777 said:
> 
> 
> > My LT-10 has 10hp B&S, it will do dried Pignut Hickory that is 21", but you ain't going to get in a hurry to do it. I cut at a pretty slow feed rate to get a better finish on a slab, but with a new blade I can lean pretty hard on it, and she don't grunt too hard.
> ...



I run a woodmizer LT15 yip the "push hard" type  I can tell when the blade needs changing long before the cut quality begins to suffer. I have a 15HP motor on mine and it is to small for large production. Cut rates slow dramatically after you reach a 12-15" wide board. That is about the time you start bogging down the motor. I also run a husky 395xp with a 50" bar for csm. Adding another head would put you at 6-7 HP the biggest I have seen in a CSM is 2 power heads and an 84" bar it was for sale on CL for $2500 about 18 months back. It would be slow going with something that large but it beats the $50,000-70,000 for a new BSM from woodmizers industrial division that would compare in width production.


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## Kevin (Oct 10, 2013)

A guy in Pennsylvania named Reid been running a pair of 394 XP's on a single bar for years and swears by it.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Oct 10, 2013)

Ultimately I decided not to make a play on the double power head unit because I didn't have equipment big enough to move logs that large. An 84" wing span is a really heavy log! The most my skid loader can move is around 6000lbs. Most of the time that is about 7 feet long at 40" in diameter. (depending on species of course)


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 10, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> I like to 'feel' the timber being cut, but then again if I had to do this as a job....well, sitting in an air conditioned cab and playing with joysticks would be the way to do it. I can 'feel' where knots and inclusions start and stop inside the log....I think that 'feeling' allows me to make fairly nice smooth surfaces in slabs. Sure makes the finishing much easier(I hate to sand wood forever and ever)!
> 
> I do know I am happy to have gotten the upgrade from 7hp to the 10hp! Even with a 1mm kerf on the blade I'm using in hardwood, I'm sure it makes a big difference. The old saying is always going to hold up with an type of engine....."There's no replacement for displacement!!!"
> 
> ...


 It would be great if someone could figure out how to make a power-feed have a "Feed-Back" for the operator so You could tell how hard You were pushing the blade.


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## jimmyjames (Oct 10, 2013)

If your feed is hydraulicly powered you could put a pressure gauge on the feed line, the more hydraulic pressure the harder its pushing


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 11, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> If your feed is hydraulicly powered you could put a pressure gauge on the feed line, the more hydraulic pressure the harder its pushing


 That would be interesting to see what the gauge showed.


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 25, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> Well, How much does it Take? I am running 65 Horsepower and 236 Foot Pounds of Torque,but believe it could be done with less. Anybody?????


 OK! I will go with My latest estimate. Whatever You think add 50%.


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 25, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> OK! I will go with My latest estimate. Whatever You think add 50%.


 PS ;65 horsepower ,236 foot pounds of torque and OVER 1,500 pounds of rotating mass hardly ever stalls.


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## SDB777 (Oct 25, 2013)

Why not just mount up a Bugatti Veyron engine and be done with it....just saying 1,200HP would turn that wheel reallllly fast!

http://i29.Rule #2/albums/c271/SDB777/bugatti_veyron_engine2_zps558ca85c.jpg



Scott (you could really watch the fuel gauge move then) B


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 25, 2013)

SDB777 said:


> Why not just mount up a Bugatti Veyron engine and be done with it....just saying 1,200HP would turn that wheel reallllly fast!
> 
> http://i29.Rule #2/albums/c271/SDB777/bugatti_veyron_engine2_zps558ca85c.jpg
> 
> ...





SDB777 said:


> Why not just mount up a Bugatti Veyron engine and be done with it....just saying 1,200HP would turn that wheel reallllly fast!
> 
> http://i29.Rule #2/albums/c271/SDB777/bugatti_veyron_engine2_zps558ca85c.jpg
> 
> ...





SDB777 said:


> Why not just mount up a Bugatti Veyron engine and be done with it....just saying 1,200HP would turn that wheel reallllly fast!
> Send Me one(or two), I would like to try it!
> http://i29.Rule #2/albums/c271/SDB777/bugatti_veyron_engine2_zps558ca85c.jpg
> 
> ...


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## SDB777 (Oct 25, 2013)

Holy smolies....he wants three!!!



Scott (I gotta get a lotto ticket) B


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 26, 2013)

HORSEPOWER!!!! Is there such a thing as "Too Much". IF Your "Saw Head" will "Take It". I do not think so. If it will not "Take It" Welll! So MY expert Opinion; It Depends!


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 27, 2013)

OK! I know the answer to how much horsepower has to be applied . The amount is whatever it takes to maintain "cutter speed" at the tip of the band saw blade.


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## Cross Sawmill (Oct 27, 2013)

Cross Sawmill said:


> OK! I know the answer to how much horsepower has to be applied . The amount is whatever it takes to maintain "cutter speed" at the tip of the band saw blade.


 How in the Heck does a Person know that? Mount a "Sendec Tachometer" to Your bandsaw idle wheel and see what it reads. They are available from Northern Hydraulics for around 75 dollars. I have one mounted on My drive wheel but I will also put one on My idle side. That will "Tell the Story". The "Sendecs" only read "Samples" so the readout lags by a few seconds. It would still be useful information. Let Me know what it reads and I will let everyone know what mine reads.


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## Andrew Ward (Jan 15, 2014)

My LT 28 has an 18 horse power motor, and it seems to do just fine with rock maple that maxed the mills sawing capacity width wise. Yeah you can't put the power feed full tilt, but it gets the job done.


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