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blade tension on WM

Started by petefrom bearswamp, June 07, 2018, 07:47:21 AM

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petefrom bearswamp

What Blade tension do you fellows use?
I saw the goat posting 3800, but my gauge only goes to 3000 and i stay in the orange range.
I use .045 blades.
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

GAB

Pete:
I took the W-M supplied oil filled pressure gage (0 to 3000) and stored it in the box the 0 - 5000 replacement gage came in.
Depending on what I'm trying to saw will depend on where I set the blade tension.
For Colorado blue spruce at least 4000 psi on the gage.
For white cedar closer to 3000 psi.
I"m using B375 blades.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Remle

Pete
I'm with you.  The additional stress on bearing, belts and shortening blade life? It's not worth cost in the long run to go above the manufactures spec's. Guys with larger mills built with heavier components may be able to use more tension. I run in the orange and add some tension when it drops into the yellow.

Dave Shepard

Who says all that is happening? WM told me to bury the needle when they delivered my mill in 2008. Now, they supply a 4000 psi gauge. If I don't run 3000 psi plus, I can see the difference. There ate many people here running that psi with no problem. I think Peter Drouin has over 5000 hours with no trouble. The way it was explained to me by WM is that their understanding of blade tension has changed dramatically, and that the previous recommendations were inaccurate. 3000 IS the manufacturer's spec.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

MobileSawMilSlo

Hi guys

I you sure, that you would tension blade to 3000 psi or even more? I do not know how it is in USA, but 3000 psi is 200 bars.

By WM spec here in Europe we tension the blade between 70-80 bars (1000psi - 1400psi). I tension it a little bit more about 100 bars (1500 psi).

I am attaching tension gauge on my WM LT (year 2016) for reference.



 
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Dave Shepard

That is not an LT30/40/50 mill, which is what the OP has. What mill do you have?
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

MobileSawMilSlo

This is LT20 which is between LT35 and LT40 you have in USA



 
Woodmizer LT20 mobile and TTP-600 Premium Plus
DAJK - all sawing equipment in one place

Jim_Rogers

Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 07, 2018, 11:06:22 AM
 I think Peter Drouin has over 5000 hours with no trouble.
I don't want to say that his methods are wrong but his drive side bearing are all worn out.
Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Southside

So the LT 20 is between a 35 and 40, must be a metric conversion for sawmill model numbers!!  :D
Franklin buncher and skidder
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Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
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ladylake

Quote from: Jim_Rogers on June 07, 2018, 02:44:54 PM
Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 07, 2018, 11:06:22 AM
I think Peter Drouin has over 5000 hours with no trouble.
I don't want to say that his methods are wrong but his drive side bearing are all worn out.
Jim Rogers

  Common sense says the more pressure on bearings the faster they will fail, sure you can cover up other problems by cranking up the tension but its not the right way and bands are going to break sooner with too much tension.   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

Dave Shepard

Sure, but who gets to decide what is too much tension? 3000 isn't much more than what WM was recommending for .045's 30 years ago. It's only a slight increase, endorsed by WM, not 3 or 4 times more tension. 
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Chuck White

Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 07, 2018, 11:06:22 AM
Who says all that is happening? WM told me to bury the needle when they delivered my mill in 2008. Now, they supply a 4000 psi gauge. If I don't run 3000 psi plus, I can see the difference. There ate many people here running that psi with no problem. I think Peter Drouin has over 5000 hours with no trouble. The way it was explained to me by WM is that their understanding of blade tension has changed dramatically, and that the previous recommendations were inaccurate. 3000 IS the manufacturer's spec.
~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!

Chuck White

Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 07, 2018, 11:06:22 AM
Who says all that is happening? WM told me to bury the needle when they delivered my mill in 2008. Now, they supply a 4000 psi gauge. If I don't run 3000 psi plus, I can see the difference. There ate many people here running that psi with no problem. I think Peter Drouin has over 5000 hours with no trouble. The way it was explained to me by WM is that their understanding of blade tension has changed dramatically, and that the previous recommendations were inaccurate. 3000 IS the manufacturer's spec.
Keep in mind that Wood-Mizer sells new belts and new bearings!
C'mon guys your tension doesn't really need to be that high, does it?
I keep my gage in the orange!
~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!

PA_Walnut

My mill has a note on it saying that it should be between 2800-3000. (a 2017 Lt40 wide).

I have note that if I crank it up to about 32-3500, it does better on wide cuts. The difference is only about 1/4 crank of the handle.

I've also noted that the mechanism works MUCH better when kept well cleaned and greased.
I own my own small piece of the world on an 8 acre plot on the side of a mountain with walnut, hickory, ash and spruce.
LT40HD Wide 35HP Diesel
Peterson Dedicated Wide Slabber
Kubota M62 Tractor/Backhoe
WoodMizer KD250 Kiln
Northland 800 Kiln

Peter Drouin

All I have to say I work my stuff as hard as I work. My drive side does have a clunk in it.  :D :D
But it cuts good and not through the band off the mill. Been like that for a year +. I'll put the new one in maybe later this year.


 

My blades last a long time too.
Don't be afraid run the mill to the edge.


 
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

Magicman

The Wood-Mizer serviceman told me to run mine at six o'clock.  I do.
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

MartyParsons

Hello,
  Blade strain is the proper term. ( how much the blade stretches when it is tightened) I keep a tool in the truck for mills that I am not sure about. WM mills I have worked with them and understand what is needed. If there is an issue or a non WM mill I check the strain on the blade. As you can see the EU mills are a different design tensioner on his LT20. Not sure about where that gauge would read. The bearings we have not seen and increase failure rate with adding tension to the blade. It does flatten the belts a little more but I have not seen a real issue with the belts or no complaints. The early LT30 LT40 mills and the smaller LT10,15 28 and 35 mills do have a small bearing on the idle side and drive side. They also have been good with bearing life with a higher blade strain. These mills you just set the tension to the indicator and saw wood, you can not see the blade tension change as you would with the hydraulic system on the 40 series. The plastic block adjust the tension as needed.
So long story short. Increase the blade tension as you feel necessary. I usually run the blade above 3000. WM did change the blade tension gauge and there is no longer colors on the gauge to indicate proper tension.

Hope this helps.

Marty
"A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

Dave Shepard

The only reason anyone thinks 3000 is too high is because WM used to have a little color chart on the old gauges. If it weren't for that, none of us outside of WM Research and Development would even have a clue as to what the tension should be. I definitely see a difference if my tension drops below 3000. To those that say WM is trying to sell more parts, that's asinine. Why would WM compromise their repuation too sell a few parts? They are too busy building new mills to want to build more replacement parts. 
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

CX3

Obviously this is orange country but this has me thinking about my timber king b20?? They say about 1300 psi for it. Is there that much difference in the mills or can I crank mine up too?
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

Dave Shepard

 Not apples to apples. As Marty Parsons mentioned, a strain gauge is the best way too see what is really happening. I've heard of clamping a set of calipers to a band and then tensioning, and then converting the amount of stretch into psi.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

ladylake

Quote from: CX3 on June 08, 2018, 11:05:21 AM
Obviously this is orange country but this has me thinking about my timber king b20?? They say about 1300 psi for it. Is there that much difference in the mills or can I crank mine up too?

 I tried that once, started breaking bands fast so back to normal.  No problem cutting with the right tension.  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

petefrom bearswamp

Thanks for all the input.
I was sawing some 20" plus Norway spruce several years ago producing wavy lumber.
Dave Scott at WM Hannibal suggested .055 blades with the tension cranked all the way up on the gauge.
Still made wavy boards and after a while i heard a loud bang and the tension dropped significantly on the gauge.
The drive side belt was squashed to the steel.
I t was a moderately used b57.
I'm going to try the 6 o'clock method that Lynn uses.
BTW I hate Norway spruce.
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

Chuck White

Best way I've found to saw Spruce is "more set and reduce feed speed", works for me!
~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!

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