iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

broke my first blade today

Started by mrgraphix, September 19, 2012, 02:34:19 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

mrgraphix

I am glad i built guards when a blade come apart you know it.  I know it was my fault ass this is a homemade mill kinda learning as I go I have been meaning to put blade lube/ cooling drip on and will tomorrow also learning how to tension blade i had cut several hundred feet of oak and cedar blade was probably getting a little dull and i pushed the issue trying to finish the last log for the day.  I have to take th welder out to the mill and make a bracket for the water drip can.  also think i need to make some mods to the blade tensioner it is a baker style setup used all thread to apply pressure but all thread is bending i will try to get pics later today also i have thought of adding a spring to tensioner like baker uses is anyone familiar with bakers set up?  I know i am all over the place it is 1 am and just can't sleep thinking about what i need to fix  thanks
nothing is better than felling your own trees making your own lumber and then building something with it

Chuck White

Makes you jump doesn't it!

Lots of things lead to blade breakage.

Just going around the wheels to many times will do it too!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Kansas

95% of all the blades we put on the mills break. At least. The rest get wrecked for one reason or the other. Have a couple of people that scrap iron that stop by every few months and take our old ones.

drobertson

I remember you posting your mill in action. Can't remember if you show the blade tensioner that good. It would be a hard thing guessing how much tension is on the blade without some sort of gage. One that reads in psi.  Good luck.  You will get it,     david
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Magicman

I doubt that excess tension had anything to do with the blade breaking.  Breaking is just in the normal cycle of a blade.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Al_Smith

I don't have the experiance with band type sawmills that these folks do however with metal cutting bandsaws you'll get better band life if some type lubricant /coolant is used .

Even on the type built like a "Do-All" vertical saw a simple blast of compressed air over the band greatly enhances both the cutting plus the band life .

bandmiller2

First band break your due for a skivie change,don't know if you ever get used to it.If you hear a click click and are real quick sometimes you can shutdown before the band parts ways.Look at some factory built bandmills and measure the tension spring,or just order one from them. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

thecfarm

I have no gauge on my mill. I can tell just by pushing down on my blade if it's good or not.Just comes in time. And for all I know I maybe be all wrong with the thumb gauge,but my lumber comes out good and the blade stays on.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

mrgraphix

I had the blade tensioned with the caliper method I found on here .003 in of blade stretch in 5 inches.  It seemed to be running well i just think it was due to the fact I needed to get the blade lube set up on the mill this will be my next project for tomorrow as i have to work tonight so now I am off to bed. I think I will also add a spring into the tension set up on the mill.
nothing is better than felling your own trees making your own lumber and then building something with it

grweldon

I would think that .003 in 5 inches would be very difficult to measure without a precise fixture or tool. I'm not familiar with the caliper method of tensioning, but if you are measuring tooth distance with calipers and placing the measuring points by eye... you are not getting an accurate measurement.

I would think that you would get better results by measuring deflection between the guides or better yet... between the wheels with the guides removed.
My three favorite documents: The Holy Bible, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States.

hackberry jake

Boardwalk uses a precise compression spring. I don't know the specifics exactly but say the spring is compressed a half inch, then you know there is about 400lbs of pressure. Boardwalk put a max and min compression gauge on the spring. I usually run it in the middle unless I am having trouble keeping the band from wandering then I take it to the max. You might call Ed at ez boardwalk. He sells his parts for cheap.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

petefrom bearswamp

I agree with Kansas.
When they break my tail man jumps and when I destroy them I curse.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Delawhere Jack

You mentioned that the all thread in your tensioner was bending. You might consider using an automotive scissor jack. Salvage the threaded rod and nuts from it. It's usually acme thread, at least on the heavy duty ones.

isawlogs

 Maybe the rod is not big enough to give you the tenssioning you need, lube may help, but I doubt that it is the cause you are looking for here.
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

mrgraphix

I rebuilt the tensioner and added a spring here is I pic of the mod I added a piece of tubing with a spring this should keep the all thread from working its way up the back piece. i don't think the spring was strong enough but it was all i had at the time it was a valve spring from a 350 motor.


  
nothing is better than felling your own trees making your own lumber and then building something with it

bedway

I have found after having a number of bands break on me that most of the time you can hear a difference in sound or tracking of the band before it pops. Ive shut down my mill before my last two bands gave it up, and each was cracked half way across.

Chuck White

A blade definately changes it's sound once it gets a crack in it.

Once you learn that sound, you'll shut the mill down before the band breaks, possibly causing damage.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Kansas

On the plus side of broken blades, a customer dropped off a knife he made  for me yesterday out of a broken blade. He did an awesome job of it. I need to find a leather holster to carry it. It has the teeth on top; sharpened to perfection on the bottom, coming to a point with a wooden handle.

bandmiller2

Mr. G,I don't think a 350 chev. valve spring is anywhere heavy enough.In a limited space like you have sometimes you can put a smaller diameter spring inside a larger one.Farm equip. dealerships are a good place to look for springs,a long one can be cut. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Stephen1

I had an older Norwood with no tensioner gauge. I would tighten it till it sounded right by tapping it with a wrench, then on here I was told it is the key of 'D' by someone. I then used my sons guitar tuner to tension the blade. It worked out okay. but blades just break, and the 2 hours of cutting is what I was told by WM is when you change out the blade dull or not.
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

mrgraphix

only two hours of cutting before changing blade  oops i probably had six hours on the blade and several hundred board feet.  My wife tells me that this is the thing with building your own stuff you should know how to work on it  :D  But I haven't written the manual yet.  Now that i think about it just before it broke I did hear a ticking sound must have been a crack in the blade.  I probably had cut 400 board feet of oak and cedar when it broke that makes blade cost 4.5 cents per board foot I guess this is not really bad when you look at it this way. 
nothing is better than felling your own trees making your own lumber and then building something with it

hackberry jake

You would have gotten more life out of the blade if you would have pulled it sooner an sharpened it. Running a band around the wheels produces micro-cracks in the gullets. Sharpening them removes the cracks before they grow.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

PineNut

When I got my mill, I started with a box of bands. I rotated through the box and sharpened them as needed. Didn't have any problems with breakage. Then recently, they started breaking. On all of them, I could see where the crack was and then where it just broke. This supports the theory that the band can just go around so many times and then fatigue sets in and they break. That is just part of the game of sawing.

Magicman

Yup Roy, when they break I just smile and put a fresh one on.  It seems like they just sorta retire themselves.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Chuck White

Quote from: Magicman on September 29, 2012, 07:24:14 AM
Yup Roy, when they break I just smile and put a fresh one on.  It seems like they just sorta retire themselves.   ;D

Yes the do MM!

I have about 12-14 retirees hanging on the peg in the garage now!

Just waiting for one of my nephews to make a junk run to the scrap yard and I'll throw them on his pile!

Seems I go through about a box each sawing season.

Then I order another box during my birthday month.

I like to have plenty of new blades on hand.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Magicman

My broken ones are just replaced by WM Resharp.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

thecfarm

I kinda look at my when I take them off the mill and coil them up. I saw a small crack on the last one I took off. I'm just a small time sawyer. I'm looking for the 10,000 bf club.  :D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

Hi thecfarm what kind of blade do you use?
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

thecfarm

I run mostly Timberwolf. I do have one WM double hard in the mix somewheres. Think I'm down to about 8 blades now. I mangled one when I forgot to bring up the head before backing up. I almost always crank up the head,THAN I take off the lumber.That made a racket and than some. Than that crack one I had to throw away. I run into a dog too at full speed. Almost made it through too. That made a racket too. I had it set at 3½ inches and I was cutting 4 inch flitches. For some reason I dropped down to 3 inches to get rid of a bad spot in the board. Just as soon as I heard it,I knew what i had done. My great plan did a blade in.Should of stayed with Plan A in the first place.  ;D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

Hi thecfarm are you going to the open house at WM? maybe you could get some blades :)
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

thecfarm

That's where the last one came from.  ;D  Did not know about the open house this year. when it is?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

sat oct 13 9am to 2 pm I will be there, have to pick up some things I don;t mean to hijack this thread  :D but I do brake blades all the time , they just where out :D
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

thecfarm

Stop by here if you want. I'm on the other side of town. I suppose you will be coming up Rt 4? I'm about 20 minutes out of Livermore Falls when you see the traffic light.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

Ill talk it over with the mrs. our ride home is just under 4 hrs  :)
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

thecfarm

That's a long ride home. Probaly be better if I met you up there to help you spend your money.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

 :D :D  the mrs. says I spend to much now  :D :D :D :D :D well if you go I would like to meet you :)
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Peter Drouin on September 29, 2012, 10:16:44 PM
:D :D  the mrs. says I spend to much now 

Are you seeing my wife?  :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Thank You Sponsors!