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WM log milling speed

Started by wolf nemeth, July 25, 2014, 08:15:31 PM

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wolf nemeth

Hi All!  I read the recent thread of the suspect blade guide roller and/or bearing with some interest, because the logs I sawed yesterday (all ERC) had that distinctive look of a misbehaving bandsaw blade....and I had just  replaced the guide bearings before commencing to mill.
    My  only issue with replacing the  bearings was getting that circlip out of the roller groove.  I wrapped each roller in a rag and put it in the vice with just enough pressure to keep it steady while I pried out the circlips.  Do you think it;s possible that I  deformed the roller/s?
  But I digress..... I was wondering if perhaps, with my limited milling experience,  I was simply not moving the  rig through the cants at the right speed.  So I tried slow and slower. . The blade did not dive, and the wood was not wavy, but the  teeth lines across each board were every 1/4 inch.  So on my  final log I pushed the rig  a lot faster (about  40 seconds on a 12x12 xten foot cant)  and there seemed to be less teeth marks. Not none, just less.  what;s the correct speed, more or less?
   So i could use some advice  from you guys with years of experience in  milling and fixing. Am willing to buy new rollers, but prefer to think it's something else....
If you  don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else!

drobertson

this is a tricky one,  you may have, and then again it could be the blade,, hard to believe you deformed the wheel, but anything is possible I suppose.  I move through pretty quick now, did go slow for a while, but have learned that speed is your friend if the hp is available.  Experience is the best teacher, not advice, work as quick as you can through the logs and make mental notes as you go,  bout all I can suggest,,
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,

thechknhwk

In my experience, when you hear the governor start kicking in and the engine is bearing down, the head will start to shake a little bit then that is the max speed as long as the band is retaining its speed and not diving or rising.

leroy in kansas

If the bearings went back in the rollers without difficulty, they are OK 

YoungStump

My guess would be your band has a tooth (or teeth) that is dull or out of set, this leaves a mark every time that tooth comes around. This would explain why you had more tooth marks when you went slower because that tooth was coming around more often than when you sped up the feed. First thing I'd do is put on a fresh band and see if it goes away.
Echo Enterprises 45HD2 production series band mill, Cook's Edger, sawing mostly pallet cants, rr ties, and grade lumber.

ladylake


I'd agree with Youngstump.   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

redbeard

There is a zing sound for me, when I can't hear it my blade is not  perfectly level. I will slow down till I hear that Zing. Love that sound.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

backwoods sawyer

Watch for a good stream of sawdust with no waves in the cut and listen to the saw and motor. If the motor is running free of load you are going to slow.

Little Jo took a bit to catch onto all the sounds to listen to, so for a while I would sneek in and inch up the feed rate ever so often when she was sawing and go on about the rest of my work.

Watch, listen and Make saw dust ;D
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

Bluejay27

How many HP is your mill? With 40HP diesel, I get waves before the engine starts to struggle. Personally, I listen to the blade guides, which should make a fairly consistent metal-on-metal sound (zing?). If my mill ever gets a lot quieter, I know I'm going too fast, although even slight changes in noise indicate some waviness.

I should mention that I'm running slightly high blade deflection from the guides (extra 1/16"?). Even with the blade tension on, you can turn your guides against the blade. If the effort feels inconsistent as you rotate a guide, it might be deformed. Also, inconsistent resistance between the two guides might indicate low deflection on one. I was getting waviness only on the inside and that guide felt much easier to turn. I should warn you though that the adjustment bolts for deflection are a real pain if they get seized up. It's about 1" of fine threads, so my only choice was a drill and tap. I'm talking about a 16 year old mill that I've only had for a year, but I keep wishing each Wood-Mizer was built with a can of anti-seize.

I don't know about ERC, but in pine and red oak 12" wide, I'm at around 1.5 to 2 seconds per foot.

If you go too slow, the blade re-cuts the wood and leaves scratches. I'm not sure why this happens, but my guess is the blade can vibrate when it isn't dampened enough by the wood it is cutting. Sometimes I notice it and even a washboard pattern as I speed up entering the log, especially if I start moving from point blank.

It could be a dulled tooth or excessive set on one tooth, especially if you nick a small nail, but I know from sharpening for someone else that when he had similar complaints, it was just that he was cutting too slow. But that was an LT15 going from frozen hemlock to pine, so slow takes on a whole new meaning.

Going on the advice of others, see if a new blade fixes it, and experience is best. Keeping track of stuff like cut rate helps you tell when something is wrong. I start counting Mississippi's as I cut to check my feed rate and have a book scribbled with blade sets, mill hours, and log tick marks.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

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