Sawmill From $150 and Scrap Metal - Testbed and First Cuts - DIY Bandsaw Mill - Part 4

In this video, I construct a basic testbed to see if the wooden wheels will hold up to milling. After some cuts I discovered that the V belt tends to slip on the motor pulley, so a redesigned tensioner is required or I will upgrade to a centrifugal clutch.
The test frame is also not stiff enough due to lack of cross bracing, but I just wanted to throw something together to see if its worth continuing the project. Eventually this will be a trailer style mill, so the frame pieces are designed to be re used for that.
The total budget to get to this point was around $250 NZD (~$150 USD). I kept a keen eye for deals and designed around cheap clearance parts. The purchased items are below:
- Engine: Rato "7hp" 212cc - $150 NZD (~$90 USD)
- V belt - $16 NZD (~$10 USD)
- 30mm ball bearings - 4 x $6 NZD (~$15 USD)
- Giant M20x550mm bolts for axles - 2 x $2.50 NZD (~$3 USD)
- Motor pulley - $15 NZD (~$9 USD)
- Pulley Bushing - $8 NZD (~$5 USD)
- Other bearings - about $20 NZD (~$12 USD)
The frame is re-used scrap metal that was free.
Thanks for watching :)

[@wannabewoodsmith4217]

Greetings from Chicago !!

[@wannabewoodsmith4217]

Great build !!! New Subscriber

[@SparkyFabrication]

Welcome! Thanks for subscribing, its much appreciated.

[@attilahofferek90]

dont forget to cool and lubricate the saw band with water

[@SparkyFabrication]

Thanks for the suggestion! In the final version I plan to add drip feed lubrication, which should help with wood resin build up.