Blade drop

jreynolds · June 14, 2015, 05:19:03 PM

Hello everyone i am new to the saw world i own a older wood-mizer lt-30 and i mostly been cutting flordia oak.
i have tried everything but at the last 2ft. of my cut the blade dips down and levels back out at the end of the cut.
in about a 10 to 12 in. span. i tried new blades ,new tensioner , i run 2 gal. of water in a 10FT. span . the larger dia. log the bigger the dip . any ideas.
thanks

plowboyswr · June 14, 2015, 05:41:32 PM

While I can't offer any advice, I can say welcome to the forum. And I'm sure that someone will be able to help you.

jreynolds · June 14, 2015, 06:08:24 PM

thanks for the welcome .

gww · June 14, 2015, 06:24:03 PM

The consistancy sure makes it sound like a dip in the track or the log hanging way past the last bunk. Just my guess as I am very new.
gww

Kbeitz · June 14, 2015, 06:53:37 PM

Could it be the weight of the board pinching the blade ?
Maybe try a wedge in the board before it finishes...

bkaimwood · June 14, 2015, 07:29:21 PM

Important detail to know...is this in one log you are fighting with now on the mill, or every log?

Chuck White · June 14, 2015, 09:48:00 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, jreynolds!

Magicman · June 14, 2015, 10:00:33 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, jreynolds.

There are many questions to ask about whether this happens with other log species, did this just start happening, is this Live Oak that you are sawing, blade guide alignment, blade tension??

prittgers · June 16, 2015, 02:34:04 PM

Drive belt tension coupled with worn teeth that need a resharp/reset can cause diving. How much blade tension are you running?

MikeON · June 17, 2015, 06:59:36 AM

Does the mill have the Simple Setworks? My LT40HD Super was acting like that when I bought it (used), although more random. It would start to drop down in the middle of a cut. Turned out to be the connector at the back of the setworks box. I replaced it once but the problem persisted. So I soldered the wires straight through, eliminating the connector. That was about 10 years ago and it still is working right.

Ox · June 17, 2015, 10:10:26 AM

Welcome, jreynolds!

Good suggestions already offered and more help can't come to you until some of the previous questions are anwered.

bkaimwood · June 18, 2015, 06:24:11 PM

It appears J has fallen asleep...

4x4American · June 18, 2015, 06:46:43 PM

2 gallons in a 10ft span is wayyyyy too much lube! You might be going way too slow if you can get 2 gallons out in 10ft. Check the tension on your drive belt, check the deflection of your roller guides, put on a new blade, tension it really tight and go at a decent pace. Watch some videos on youtube to help you figure out what speed you are going. Put your location in your profile, and maybe a member that lives nearby you would be willing to come out and give you a hand. Is this just happening in one log, or is it every log, in a consistent place? Have you tried putting something that is easy sawing on the mill to test it? Are your logs clean? Have you tried calling Wood-Mizer? How many logs have you sawed with the mill so far? Give us details so we can knock it out of the park!

Ga Mtn Man · June 18, 2015, 07:45:42 PM

jreynolds has left the building (and hasn't been back since he first posted).:-\

Ox · June 18, 2015, 08:12:02 PM

Maybe his problems went away and he doesn't need help anymore. If this is the case, it would be nice to see what he did to rectify the situation for future reference.

POSTON WIDEHEAD · June 18, 2015, 08:34:33 PM

We all can learn from others problems. We can learn from suggestions from other members on how to solve these problems.
But it just grips my goat when a member will not do a follow up to let us know if the problem was solved and / or what the out come was.

Just my 2 cents.

drobertson · June 19, 2015, 07:52:19 AM

Not sure if I read his first post right, but will add something for the data base, while sawing two days ago on a large pine, it was 28"-38" respectively 16'. Well I got it broke down into cants for 2x 6's, then stared making my drops, while making my final sizing cut I noticed a black residue on the entry side of the cut. And in fact I got a dive/dip down for bout a foot then a leveled out cut. Turns out the B-57 belts just gave up the ghost, or whatever, they went soft, and appeared to be dissolving. I changed them out and all is good again. Not sure just why this happened, but thought I would add it to this thread.

SawyerBrown · June 19, 2015, 08:08:55 AM

Welcome, jreynolds! (Wherever you are out there ....)

Ox · June 19, 2015, 10:50:48 AM

drobertson - that certainly is a head scratcher, isn't it? It seems the guides should correct anything happening before and after them, doesn't it? But there is your experience and what happened to you plain as day! Sometimes things just can't be explained. Very interesting.

drobertson · June 19, 2015, 01:02:00 PM

Ox, the blade guides are set and true, and the coolant was adequate, it's just like they got hot, but the tension was fine, they just gave up so to speak, almost like a petroleum base coolant was used, but just water and pine sol. So, head scratcher yes, just glad to have some spares handy. Now I need to order some more back ups. The pine was excessively pitchy, this could have contributed to the demise of the belts, just never seen it before like this.

Ox · June 19, 2015, 04:51:02 PM

Very, very strange indeed. Hopefully someone else will see this and share their experiences as well. Perhaps it was a fluke in the belts themselves, maybe a bad batch? I remember going through a few belts on the farm with a paddle conveyor for moving TMR out of the mixer and into the feed cart. They would just disintegrate. Just a week or so is all we'd get out of them. Eventually we lucked out and got into some better belts, same manufacturer, and all was well again. These were the blue fabric belts from Tractor Supply. We kept getting a free replacement through the trouble times but were still out the trip to town every time!