# Sawmill Belt and Pully Arrangement



## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Has anyone ever modeled or drawn up the arrangement of belts and pullys that operate an old fashioned saw mill? I am trying to model one I sat at Tuckahoe steam and gas association in Easton MD, or similiar. One photo of the mechanism is shown below


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

Perhaps this is a place to start – http://www.westernscalemodels.com/

I’ve not reviewed any of their books, but at least by description there may be something useful. I’d assume that there is a certain “sameness” to belt drives so they might have diagrams of something workable.

edited to clean up formatting (hopefully)


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry

Maybe this will be of help??









U.S. Forest Service - Small Sawmill Operators Manual c. 1950's (PDF 7.92MB)[/b]

Here's another bit of information.

Steam & Engine of Australia - Frick 00 Sawmill - Specifications & Drawings[/b]


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks, Guys-

HH- They do really high quality modeling at Western models, and I got my shaft bearings from them, thanks for reminding me of their products

Steve- Wow, right on! the documents have drawings and figures, and very cool photos of sawmills of yesterday, thanks for those great references.

Regards

Jerry


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Welllll Jerry, it's just one of those things, Each manufacturer accomplished the same thing just a bit differently. Basically the sawyer's lever tightens one of a pair of belts depending upon which way it is moved... to move the carriage 


I did a photo essay on the sawmill currently at Portersville, if it helps http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/sawmill.html
This is a later Frick, as you can see one belt goes one way around the saw mandrel to advance the carriage, the other goes the other way to retract it. the rocker connects to the sawyer lever

















Here's the model husk I built without the belts - compare it to the above photos and it's fairly easy to see how the belts should run... on a Frick 









One of the best sources, if you want to build a scale mill, is catalog reprints. Nation Builder Books carries several.


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