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Recommendations on where to buy blades?

Started by MSSawmill, April 08, 2013, 09:58:49 AM

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MSSawmill

So dad and I bought a homemade band mill several weeks ago and finally got to put a log on it yesterday. The first cut was great! The second one not so much...
The band was diving into the log, and after a couple blades jumped off, we started checking alignments. The deck and tracks look good and straight and level and the posts are perpendicular. We figured out the wheels had some tilt to them, so we modified the mounts and tweaked that. We put another blade on and tried it again before it got dark, but we had the same outcome.
Since all of the blades are used and they were all sharpened by the previous owner, (who had no real sharpener and didn't even set the teeth), the first thing we want to do is put a new factory-sharpened and set blade to eliminate that variable.
Dad measured the blades this morning, and it looks like they are .035" thick, 1" wide, and 14' long. I see that Cooks has a ton of blades, but they're listed by saw manufacturer. And Woodmizer doesn't have anything in that size on their site.
Any suggestions on where to buy from and/or any pointers on the blades or the mill?
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

Ga Mtn Man

Welcome to the forum MSSawmill!

I little info in your profile regarding your location would be helpful.  Don't worry about what sawmill make the blades are specified for,  just find one that is the correct length for you mill.  Try Menominee Saw.  They are a FF sponsor on the left side of your screen. 
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Solomon

I buy my blades from Kenna-Saw in Kennasaw Georgia.    They have Munkfor Blades.  They are all I use.
Never had an issue with them.
Time and Money,  If you have the one, you rarely have the other.

The Path to Salvation is narrow, and the path to damnnation is wide.

Ga Mtn Man

I've bought blades from them too.  They'll sell you 1 or 100 blades at any length you need.

I used to live in Kennesaw (note spelling ;D) and Kenne-Saw is actually located in White, GA. :)
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, MSSawmill.  Yup, more information about yourself and location might be helpful.  :)
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

MSSawmill

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on April 08, 2013, 10:07:51 AM
Welcome to the forum MSSawmill!

I little info in your profile regarding your location would be helpful.  Don't worry about what sawmill make the blades are specified for,  just find one that is the correct length for you mill.  Try Menominee Saw.  They are a FF sponsor on the left side of your screen.
I'll update my profile, but I'm in central Mississippi.

And I'll check out Kenne-Saw. Thanks!
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

Solomon

You're welcomw MSSawmill.  Welcome aboard .   There are some very knowledge sawyers on here who can point you in the right direction.
I have only about five years part time under my belt but guys like Magic Man, Custom Sawyer ,Beenthere  and quite a few others have a wealth of expierence to share with you.
Time and Money,  If you have the one, you rarely have the other.

The Path to Salvation is narrow, and the path to damnnation is wide.

pineywoods

Welcome. Don't overlook the need for sharpening/setting. Bandmill blades get dull a lot quicker than you would like..Set up yourself a photo gallery and figure out how to upload pics..We like pics..
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Jeff

Please check with Menominee Saw to the left, this company IS a long time sponsor and they will do you right.


I've edited the second part of my post on second thought. No sense in being negative.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

ladylake

 
If your guide will handle it you might want to go to 1-1/4   .042.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

hackberry jake

I use Menominee and will continue to use them. They carry a large variety of band manufactures and seem like very knowledgeable people. You can even get two of each to see which brand you like the best. Thats what I did  ;D
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.

Ga Mtn Man

Quote from: hackberry jake on April 08, 2013, 12:33:41 PM
I use Menominee and will continue to use them. They carry a large variety of band manufactures and seem like very knowledgeable people. You can even get two of each to see which brand you like the best. Thats what I did  ;D

They would be my first choice too. :)
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

MSSawmill

Quote from: ladylake on April 08, 2013, 11:34:43 AM

If your guide will handle it you might want to go to 1-1/4   .042.   Steve
So other than stiffness, what are the advantages of a wider and thicker blade?

And thanks for the info on Menominee. Trying a few different setups without buying 15 blades each would be nice!
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

t f flippo

MS,welcome to the Forum.Ive only been here a few months and it' a great place.

Been sawing full time for 2 1/2 yrs on a used 2001 Baker.Started with Cooks blades from the seller.
On Cook's advice I changed over to thicker .050 and 1" instead of 7/8 tooth on 1 1/2'' blades.I am very happy with the blades and even happier with their customer service.I sharpen for several friends
who were using a different brand and they've switched over and like the Cooks better.

Most of my blade "problems" were /are alignment and not the blades.I learned early that the blades are either sharp or not.If not nothing will make them saw.

Best of luck,

Tc

MSSawmill

Just got off the phone with Terry at Menominee. Extremely nice guy, even when dealing with a sawyer n00b like me! Based on his recommendations and those on this forum, he's shipping me 2 Lennox Woodmaster C blades that are 14'/1.25"/.042" with a 7/8" spacing. He also gave me a few more pointers about various things to check and try.

Hopefully this will clear up our problems and we can get some lumber stacked! Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him how long it would take for shipping, so I don't know when they'll be on hand! I imagine that, weather permitting, one of them will be on the mill that very night! :)
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

Magicman

Did you discuss where to have them sharpened?
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

wwsjr

MSSawmill I sent you a PM. Call me when you can.
Retired US Army, Full Time Sawyer since 2001. 2013 LT40HD Super with 25HP 3 Phase, Command Control with Accuset2. ED26 WM Edger, Ford 3930 w/FEL, Prentice Log Loader. Stihl 311, 170 & Logrite Canthooks. WM Million BF Club Member.

MSSawmill

Quote from: Magicman on April 10, 2013, 05:12:35 PM
Did you discuss where to have them sharpened?

Negative, Magicman. Any suggestions since you're not too far away from me? If the new ones work out, I'm thinking the ones we inherited are probably going to get cut up and used by Dad to learn how to make a Damascus steel knife!

I'm in Raymond, btw, close to Clinton.

wwsjr, I responded. Thanks.

Btw, here's a pic of what the blade is doing right now. It's sort of hard to see, but the cut definitely dives into the log:


 

We also noticed that the blade does not rest against the guide bearings, as you can see here, (I know the design is probably not the best, but we may change that later). Could that be contributing to our "diving" problem?


  

 
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

thecfarm

Might be a sharpening service close to you. I asked at a hardware store. Maybe a member close by can sharpen blades. WM has a reshape but need 10 WM blades to send in at a time. For a small hobby guy like me that is hard to do.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Banjo picker

It might be best to hold off on doing very much adjusting untill you get the new blades ....Verify you have a sharp band, properly set...before you assume something is wrong with the mill set up..  It does look like the roller is a little too far off the blade, but sometimes the camera will lie to you....It should have a little space before it contacts the back of the roller bearing untill it gets pressure from the log....I like mine about 1/8 inch or so....
How tight you have the band on the wheels will move the band forward or backward on the wheels as well....Banjo
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Magicman

It is sorta hard to determine if/how your blade guides are set up and whether you have any needed downward pressure on the blades after they leave the blade drive wheels.  I am also seeing much unsupported blade.

Leon Smith is just South of you and he sharpens blades.  I do not know if he still has the tomato greenhouses or not.  I can maybe find his telephone# if you do not know him.

I passed very close to you on Dry Grove Rd. when I sawed that job recently in Raymond.
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

r.man

MSSawmill in the picture you posted the blade was not sitting against the guide when it was at rest but it might be back against it in the cut. If it does will the teeth still be off the band wheel so it doesn't affect the set or prematurely dull the blade on one side?
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

Fla._Deadheader

 r.man
You have some alignment work to do while waiting for the new bands. Start the mill and IDLE it, the band should run about 1/8" or so from that backer bearing. If it is not, you need to see if the band is running nearly centered on the wheels. If not, start there and adjust.

Looking at the band guides, I don't see anything for adjusting them, especially so the band is EXACTLY parallel to the bunks. THAT is critical. If there is no way to do fine tuning, you need to fix that.

Is the band parallel to the bunks ??, then, is it parallel with the band on the guide rollers ?

There should also be 1/8" or a little more of down pressure from the guide rollers holding the band down. That will help control things also.

EDITED:  r.man, I just didn't pay attention to who made that original post.  ::) ::)

Call it Old man's syndrome.  ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

r.man

Deadheader, I was asking the original poster the question but I had it worded oddly, sorry for the confusion. I will modify my previous post so it is clearer.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

MSSawmill

Wow... lot of good stuff here.

1. The blades are definitely more than 1/8 inch from the backer bearing. Its more like .5" - .75". There is some adjustment there, so I'll try and tweak that.
2. If I moved the band back so it ran against the backer bearings, I'd be running it halfway off the back of the wheel or better, so that would definitely cause the teeth to run on the wheel.
3. What are the bunks? I'm on my tablet, so I'm having trouble getting to the dictionary in the forum. If you mean the table that the log is sitting on, we have verified that is perfectly parallel to those and that the wheels are perfectly perpendicular to them. (That required a cutting torch...)
4. Let me see if I can explain the roller guides... if you are looking at the band from the log side, the band is driven by the wheel in the right. There is a roller under the band at that wheel and one above it. On the left wheel, there is only a roller under the band, (that's what is in the picture in the first page). Then, on the guide, there is a roller on top and a piece of brass underneath it. All 4 rollers have a backer bearing. If that makes sense, (1) is that sufficient and (2) where should that down pressure be applied?

I was hoping I had a picture of the rollers on the drive wheel, but I didn't get any. I'll try to do that in the next day or so...
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

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