Sawmill Wheel Drive

Sawmill Wheel Drive WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Saws 15-4-30 "I got tired of trying to keep drive belts on the pulleys," says Garland Petefish, Jacksonville, Ill., who rigged up a wheel drive for his farm sawmill. Petefish used two small trailer wheels mounted on a shaft that connects up to a pto shaft from a tractor. The wheels are mounted on a tilting frame that's controlled by a hand lever he salvaged from a cultivator. To engage the saw, he simply tilts the wheels into the belt pulley, tightening it as needed according to the job. The more power required, the tighter he makes it. "The key is using two tires. I saw a farmer who used just one wheel and it slipped," he says.

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