Blade longevity

[logs2lumber]

Well lets start with the basics. I have a LT40 SH with 51 cat. I use the standard blades from woodmizer and these are new blades. I notice that i use alot of blades during a day of sawing. Recently i was sawin on the road about 1.5 hr away from my home but i had plenty blades sawing only cedar and pine. no nails or rocks clean logs but heck i think i used 3 blades in one day is that normal and i was cuting 5/4 lumber and pine was framing. i also noticed some lumber was getting really wavy i know its rough cut but i like to give the best product. What are some feed backs on yalls blade usage

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

You did not mention the degree of the blade you were using.

Personally, I use 4 degree blades ONLY.
I have a debarked also.
My PSI is set around 2800 - 3000

Generally I use 2 blades a day....one in the morning and finish the day with a new one I put on after lunch.
But using 3 blades a day is not really uncommon.

[Bruno of NH]

I don't get near the blade life as some on the FF do .
I have a manual mill and no debarker but peal bark when I can .

[logs2lumber]

Postonlt40hd

The blades are 10 degree blades  1 1/4    7/8 tooth space  I used the debarker all day just was wondering if that was normal or am i just over reaching

[ladylake]

   
You should be asking how many bf per blade, I most times change mine every 2 hours 600 to 700 bf cutting hardwood ( cutting straight or not) , I have cut longer cutting clean softwood  and cutting big dried out white oak they only cut straight for 1 hour.  When you see 1 cut that's wavy put a new blade on no matter how long its been on. If you do custom sawing you wont get a good reputation cutting wavy lumber.  Steve

[Peter Drouin]

Wavy lumber is a dull blade. I have the same mill. Some day I am going through 5,6. Blades a day.

[Magicman]

You mention Cedar which is probably the most abrasive species that I regularly saw.  I usually saw 5-700 bf per blade.

For whatever reason sawing SYP, I have sawn 2500 bf one day with one blade and then had to use 3-4 the next.  As Poston mentioned, knotty pine will sometimes turn a sharp 10° blade so I keep a stash of 4°.

[Bruno of NH]

I have learned no matter how long the band has been on, if the cut starts to wave change the band or try a differnt degree
Just my 2 cents

[petefrom bearswamp]

I am using 7 degree 35  and 7 degree turbo as well as some 10 degree blades that i redid at 7 degrees on my old drag sharpener.
They all work better for me in Hemlock with The best being the turbo, then the older 7 degree the my home made ones.
I also have a few .055 blades done by re sharp but am not in love with them.
My blade life as regards time is about 3- 4 hrs in fairly clean stuff using the debarker.

[Chuck White]

I usually go through 2 bands in a day, somewhere in between averaging 800-1,000 bf per band.

I have always used the .045, 10° Double-Hard bands and have had good luck with them.

I don't use a different hook angle very often, but I do have 2 in my blade box that I have sharpened to 8°, they seem to do hardwoods a little easier and smoother.

Mostly, I saw Hemlock and White Pine with a little hardwood thrown in, here and there.

[ncsawyer]

I agree with the others that have said that 3 blades per day is not all that excessive.  I cut mostly SYP, and just like MM, I have cut all on one blade.  Then there maybe days where I will use 3 to 4 blades in very similar sawing conditions.  I use 4 degree blades on everything. 

It will also make a difference on the size logs you are cutting.  A 8 inch second cut (not butt cut) is more forgiving than a 28 inch butt cut log.  In my experience, a blade that is getting dull is more likely to cut a smaller log than a larger log with good results,

[Magicman]

Technically speaking the closer you get to perpendicular the more scrubbing and less actually slicing the blade is doing.  Not a big deal, but my blade life is always a bit less with 4° blades. 

[logs2lumber]

 Thanks to all for the input. I think i am going to try a different degree and see if its any better. magic i thought the same about the cedar being abrasive but in all i guess for 2 days sawing now i look back i really didnt use alot. Even though i damaged one myself the sqaure arm somehow ran out in front of me like a deer  :D. i only caught the top of it  ;D.

[Brad_bb]

I've experienced some wavy cuts in very hard wood (Osage, Ash) with 7 degree blades.  Talking to woodmizer rep on the phone I mentioned it and he suggested 1. have you checked your drive belt tension?  Nope.  2. I have an LT15 with 19hp Kohler.  He suggested that the higher number degree blades take more HP to push.  He suggested 4 degree for the smaller mills.  I thought I didn't have any sharp 4 degree left, but we sorted though the dull bands and found 2 new 4 degree.  Put one on and it sawed the osage flat.  I haven't checked drive belt tension yet though.  It makes sense, if a higher degree blade is more aggressive and takes a bigger bite, you'd need more power to push it through.  Boxed up and sent my 4 degrees for resharp.

By the way, if you're using woodmizer bands, get the checking too they have to check what degree a band is.  I never could tell visually, but it's easy with the tool and it's not expensive.

[Kbeitz]

Today for the very first time I used a new blade.
I have been using junkyard blades from day one.
I was very disappointed. I wanted to order some 7 degree and some 4 degree blades.
I talked to Kasco where I got my blades from and they thought I would only need 7 degrees.
My first log was my first locust tree I ever cut. I started out with a junkyard blade and made
one cut and my blade broke. The first cut was flat with no problems.
So I replaced the broken blade and put on one of my new 7 degree blades. It was awful.
Waves like you never seen. So I shut down the mill and put on new drive belts.
It still sawed awful. Then I loaded a poplar and tried sawing that. It did OK but I
was wishing I had some more junkyard blades. So I think my mill needs 4 degree blades.

[5quarter]

Kbeitz...I'm assuming Black Locust? I don't know any one who enjoys sawing black locust. hard on blades; hard on saw; hard on back. :-\  4° will cut straighter and with less chatter but a little slower. but the 7° should  have done better than what you describe. Personally, I think you're tension was too low. WM bands in general run best at the recommended tension (+/- 2400 psi) or higher. Also, They are designed to saw fast so try increasing your feed speed. By contrast, Suffolk Machinery recommends their blades be run at a much lower tension to get optimal performance. Although blades all look pretty much the same, they are not. You may have to adjust your setup a little,  but once you have it dialed in, you'll be golden. ;)

[Kbeitz]

Tension was dead on. Unless my indicators off.



 

[5quarter]

I'm sure the indicator's fine. So if your blade is level to the bunks, your belts aren't slipping and the set and sharp are good on the band, then the blade is likely heating up in the cut. A slow feed rate can sometimes cause sawdust to pack the gullet and you get excessive spillage in the cut, which will cause the blade to heat up and momentarily lose tension while in the cut. If you have the ponies, try increasing your feed speed. really push it. Hopefully that will fix the trouble.
   If it doesn't, double check that your guides are not taking a little set out of the inside teeth. Also, Black locust has some thick nasty bark that can trap alot of sand, rock and grit. The 7/39 has a steep back angle and does not play well with gritty logs.

[OlJarhead]

If I have a sharp band I get wavy cuts I check drive belt tension.  A loose drivebelt will cause wavy cuts too

[Kbeitz]

If I have a sharp band I get wavy cuts I check drive belt tension.  A loose drivebelt will cause wavy cuts too

Thats the first thing i did. I even put on new ones...

[JB Griffin]

The only black locust I ever cut was cut 20-30 years ago and laid on the ground for that long. I used 8° Super Sharps and cut it DEAD FLAT with no trouble and quarter sawed it to boot. That was with my lt40 hyd with the 33hp Kubota.