Side Support Rollers on LT 40 ??

[richhiway]

The LT 40 I just bought has a manual log deck. The manual log turner works better then I thought it would. My side supports do not have the rollers on them and the cant sometimes gets hung up on the side support when you turn it. Why do some mills have the rollers and some do not?Are the rollers only for hydraulic turners?   I'd order a set if they will work with the manual log turner. Are they just a standard bearing with a bolt I can get at a auto parts store? Thanks.
Rich

[Magicman]

The rollers are a option and it doesn't matter whether they are bearings or just solid rollers.  The simplest thing is to get a couple of two foot (or longer) sticks of pipe that will slide over the side supports. 

[Southside]

I completely agree with Magicmans advice there - the pipe sleeve will give you better leverage and less opportunity to roll one over onto the wrong side of the mill.  To answer your question the rollers are a solid wheel with a bolt through it - experience taught me to replace the bolt with a carriage bolt but that is a different story.  I don't think you would want a bearing there as it would be constantly exposed to the elements and un-even lateral stress so it would fail pretty quickly.  A bushing would be better than a bearing but the plain old rollers work just fine.  

One last point - the rollers do make for a larger target for you to hit with the band when sawing and are higher.  Both additional reasons to go with pipe sleeves.  

[Woodpecker52]

I do not think that pipe additions to the side supports are necessary, I think woodmizer has it figured out already what is right.  The addition of rollers allows the log to kick  forward and off of the supports very easily and with a whole lot of less effort.  I actually made mine with rollers from 3 old floor jacks but the ones that woodmizer sells are fine.  If I had added pipe additions then that is just one more thing to remove or forget to remove and they would interfere with bunks etc. etc. I think that they should just make them standard equipment on all their  mills.  I saw cypress large cypress most with bumps and odd shapes swell butts and the rollers have been a blessing.

[Magicman]

I respectfully disagree Sir.  I have rollers and they certainly serve their purpose.  They are fine for the great majority of logs and I too saw many Cypress & ERC logs with their flutes.  The pipe is slid over the manual side supports (no rollers) to make that sometimes one turn on a stubborn log.  It's just another tool to make life simpler when needed and there is no way that they would ever be left on after turning.

[Jim_Rogers]

I have rollers and I have pipe, and I use both.

Jim Rogers

[Southside]

and there is no way that they would ever be left on after turning.

Well, if they were left on a guy would only make that mistake once.  :D

[Magicman]

If a sawyer could not see a couple of 2' sections of pipe sticking up his first mistake is sawing.  :D

[richhiway]

Thanks. I think I'll try some pipe. 

[Magicman]

Probably the worst offenders that I deal with are logs with rot/decay and the side supports sorta dig into the soft log.  


 


 
In that instance, you may not need but one pipe and then only for one short turn.  A section of pipe is seldom used but a valuable tool when needed.

[Woodpecker52]

I see your point about the pipes from the pictures it looks like the Lt 28's and up only have two side supports. The lt15 which is manual had 5 and I put rollers on all.  Until I did I had problems with log roll overhang, the rollers solved my problem.  If I were to add pipes to my side supports then I would have to push the logs by hand forward to free the log from against the pipes and at my age its just to hard to do very often.  I leave the supports up till I start dropping below 11 inches and then move them down gradually at an angle  and by last face cut they are secured down.  I did paint the last four inches and rollers as well as the bunk end squares royal blue so they  stand out in all that orange, but then again I am manually pushing and looking down at the blade.  I have not had the pleasure of sawing into metal yet (knock on wood)!!!

[YellowHammer]

The rollers work, they can be made to fit any mill, I even installed them on my old LT15.  Most backstops have the holes for the bearing bolt pre drilled already.    

The pipe extensions work also.

[Chuck White]

I've noticed a couple of times, it seems that in some of the responses, the poster is thinking the pipe will STAY on the side supports, NOT so, they are only on the side support while turning the log, then removed!

They are used to prevent the log from hanging up on the top of the side support, and that's all!  Just sayin'!

[Sixacresand]

Slip on pipes work well for a irregular log that wants to "climb" the back supports when turned.  Sometimes a short wide board stood up between the log and back stop will get you by.

[Woodpecker52]

My problem is when loading some of the non cant cut boards back on the bunks for edging there is sometimes little support from the angled side supports. At the front I added extra pipes with wood clamp slides and welded extra extensions  to the face to raise them to the height of the back bunk squares.  This will give me about 1 inch of clamp to the bottom of the cant and is safely below the blade.  The back side is where the blade wants to angle off.  On the hydraulic mills are the heights of the side supports adjustable?  Do any use pipe here shorter pieces?  

[Woodpecker52]

I misspoke I meant to say boards angle off the back not blade.

[Magicman]

I do not see how pipe extensions would be any value when edging.  They are loose fitting and would not be square.

Often a 2X4, etc can be used between the flitches and the clamp and/or the side supports to stabilize them.

[Woodpecker52]

I'll try a 2x4 tomorrow.  Had the same problem today loaded up a bunch of slab boards to cut stickers and half way down the cut the blades starts  bowing them out.  I just stopped cutting and removed them to dangerous.   The  back  supports just are not up to snuff for this even angled down.  May have to do like you say and sacrifice a  cant for stickers, still wondering  that on the last inside  board  of the cant the blade will want to pull it out.

[beav]

Leave a can't on the mill and stack the boards up against it. The can't will keep the boards straight & square. Cut down through the cant  too iffen ya wanna. This is the usual way to edge boards also

[Magicman]

The blade should have minimal pulling effect on anything that it is sawing.  If the blade is pulling or bowing the flitches out it sound dull to me.