foley belsaw mill

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scampr
440 crawler
440 crawler
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Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:36 pm
Location: south/central NH

foley belsaw mill

Post by scampr » Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:57 pm

Here i go again, getting another project i really shouldnt get into. I bought a old M14 Foley Belsaw sawmill .Does anyone have much experience with it? It was swapped over to run off a 4 cyl saab engine thats long gone. :) I am planning on getting it back to a PTO and run it off my Farmall H but the more i think about it i think the 440 would be a lot better job with that detroit just purring.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what i am getting into this time? Thanks
scampr 440icd, 350B, 47 Farmall H, 55 Farmall cub and ashamed to have a Kabota too

hydrogeo
440 crawler
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Location: New Hampshire

Re: foley belsaw mill

Post by hydrogeo » Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:39 am

I spent a fair bit of time around one of those same mills growing up. My folks neighbor that had it ran it off his Farmall H when he first got it as well, but the H didn't quite have enough oomph for sawing larger wood or making real productivity. He ended up finding a beat up Farmall MD which worked much, MUCH better. Those old IH diesels were kind of a cool setup where you were supposed to start them on gas, get them warmed up, and cut over to diesel. The gas system didn't work, so it was often my job (as a 12yo) to drive the H in 3rd gear down the road with the MD in tow so our neighbor could pop start it (after a healthy dose of ether). I don't think many kids these days get to do that kind of stuff.

Not exactly the safest piece of machinery out there, but I saw a lot of lumber come off that Belsaw rig. Neighbor ended up selling it and upgrading to a bigger mill powered by a 8V71 out of an old Peterbuilt.

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scampr
440 crawler
440 crawler
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:36 pm
Location: south/central NH

Re: foley belsaw mill

Post by scampr » Sun Apr 21, 2019 5:04 pm

Thats what i had thought about the H and I would LOVE to get my hands on a MD... anyone that hasnt seen one should check them out its a amazing system . according to what i have found i think the 440 ICD might come close to the MD pto hps...???
scampr 440icd, 350B, 47 Farmall H, 55 Farmall cub and ashamed to have a Kabota too

hydrogeo
440 crawler
440 crawler
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:48 pm
Location: New Hampshire

Re: foley belsaw mill

Post by hydrogeo » Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:52 am

Honestly cheapest route might be to source a dedicated power plant. I bet you could find an 80's vintage 2wd Chevy truck with a 305 or 350 mated to an SM465 manual trans, or an S-10 with a 4.3 v6 and a manual (I have one of those in my rock crawler buggy, great little motor that is completely bullet proof). You could make up a skid or even a trailer to hold the powerplant. Running an SM465 in second gear at around 2,200 rpm, for example, I believe would give you 540 at the trans output, and you'd have all the hp you'd ever need. And I bet you could put it together for less than $1k. I'm sure you could also find a small diesel, but that would probably be a bit more $. Possibilities are endless.

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scampr
440 crawler
440 crawler
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:36 pm
Location: south/central NH

Re: foley belsaw mill

Post by scampr » Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:21 pm

The SBC is of course a great engine but at this point i want to see if this think actually will cut good and be worthwhile before i build any more motors.. I have done so many SBCs i can do them in the sleep. I also like playing with old stuff and thats another reason i want to try the 440... that detroit sounds so good....lol
scampr 440icd, 350B, 47 Farmall H, 55 Farmall cub and ashamed to have a Kabota too

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