lubicating the blade

[Arkyrick]

I always run water on my blades while sawing is that the norm? When I get pitch build up I touch the blade carefully with a brush full of diesel and it cleans it right up. I always have been afraid to dry cut, after all thats why WM put a water tank on the saw right?

[Kbeitz]

I can't say how much better it is using lube, but I so far have
never used any. Only dry cut. Once or twice I put a brush full
of diesel on my blade and I did not see a difference, so I quit.

[WV Sawmiller]

ARick,

   I think the idea of the lube tank is to have the "option" to use it as needed. I do not normally use mine when cutting poplar but use it extensively when cutting pine and ash. I have not tried the diesel trick yet but may as I recently bought a used JD tractor and first piece of diesel equipment on my place so now diesel is readily available.

   Water will help keep the blade cool. Other additives will help cut sap. Try both and adjust as needed based on what you are cutting and your experience dictates.

[bandmiller2]

For a couple of years I operated a WM-70 with absolutely no lube of any kind and had no problems or buildup on the band. Frank C.

[Peter Drouin]

Only water for one cut to clean the blade. I cut dry 99% of the time.  In the winter I use straight windshield washer fluid. ;D

[Arkyrick]

Wow I had no idea that you can cut dry and I've been cutting for 10 years I appreciate your responses, I will try cutting some of my soft woods dry, I really don't see how one could cut hard woods dry Opinions?

[Peter Drouin]

You have a lt15 I know, But, don't cut too slow. That will gum up the blade in pine.

[DPatton]

I have typically always run water with detergents like Zep degreaser concentrate, Pine-Sol and even some generic liquid dishwasher detergent I brought home one time that my wife wouldn't use in our dishwasher  ;D. At any rate they all seem to provide some level of cooling and lubrication. It also reduces blade and guide roller noise on my machine.

In pine or other logs with a lot of pitch I have to run some type of lube / degreaser to keep buildup off of my blades and the band wheel belts too. After reading several posts about the pros and cons of water / diesel lube on this site and because of the cold January temps the last couple of days I spent cutting, I finally broke down and tried some diesel. I can say I was impressed with how it kept my blade quite and clean. I was also happy that it didn't cause the dust discharge chute to clog up due to the damp sawdust  .The biggest bonus was the very limited amount of product I actually used. Only a single drip on the blade about every 3 to 5 seconds was all that was needed even in pine logs heavy with pitch 8) 8) 8).

Now I'm not saying that I'm going to make the switch to always using diesel because I don't like being responsible for dripping diesel everywhere I set up my machine. I'm also waiting to see if using diesel significantly shortens my bandwheel belt life. But I sure did like the way it worked for me when I used it.

[highleadtimber16]

I can't saw without water, my cedar is old and dry. My blades get way too hot without fluid. I can go through 10 jugs in one day.

[Sixacresand]

Like DPatton I added diesel to my lube choices to get through some very sappy pine.  Immediately, I could tell there was less strain on the engine, a clean blade and no wavy cuts.  Used a manual oil pump can connected with a neoprene tube tee ed into the regular lube line. 

[Magicman]

I always run water/Cascade.  Probably 90%+ of what I saw is SYP.  If I start to get any indication of blade buildup, I switch the LubeMizer on constant and engage the clutch until the buildup is gone, then back to pulse.

[RPowers]

You have a lt15 I know, But, don't cut too slow. That will gum up the blade in pine.

I have a problem with white oak or hickory gumming up the blade. I know you cut white oak, Peter. I'd like to see a video of how fast you feed through, say 15 or more inches of white oak. I may not have enough belt tension or something but I just can't seem to feed fast enough to not need blade lube on sticky wood like white oak. I run my drive belt and blade tensions over factory suggestion. Blade tension around 33-3500psi (gauge bottomed out) and drive belt around 19lbs

[hopm]

I had always cut dry until recently and i started with a mix of water, diesel, pinesol throwed together in  a homemade lube tank. There is enough agitation to keep everything stirred up to some degree and I can tell a difference in cutting and how long blades last. My mill is a small, low powered, manual mill and it is easy for me to recognize small differences.

[Peter Drouin]

You have a lt15 I know, But, don't cut too slow. That will gum up the blade in pine.

I have a problem with white oak or hickory gumming up the blade. I know you cut white oak, Peter. I'd like to see a video of how fast you feed through, say 15 or more inches of white oak. I may not have enough belt tension or something but I just can't seem to feed fast enough to not need blade lube on sticky wood like white oak. I run my drive belt and blade tensions over factory suggestion. Blade tension around 33-3500psi (gauge bottomed out) and drive belt around 19lbs

I cut as fast as the motor will let me cut. I have never done a video  ;D
When I stop the blade in the cut from the feed and the belt smoking, I went too fast. :D
With some logs you have to use lube for a cut or two. I don't like lube all over the lumber.
Do not over tighten the belt, I put mine where WM wants me to. But the blade is tight.


 
I will see about the video.

[kelLOGg]

I used to cut dry but eventually I would cut a species that would give buildup. I modified Cooks diesel wipe to clean top and bottom of blade and since I can generally cut w/o worrying about buildup. My blade never gets warm, even when I used no lube, I think because 1) sawing rate and 2) crowned steel wheels that give good thermal contact with the band.
Bob

[Chuck White]

I have always used water (full tank) and a cup of liquid dish soap, usually Dawn with good results.

IMHO too little lube can be as bad as too much lube!

I cut mostly White Pine and Hemlock, with a little hardwood thrown in here and there!

EDIT:  I forgot to add, I also put in a cup of PineSol.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I cut mostly hardwoods and I almost never use lube anymore.
When I cut pine I use water with dawn.

No problems but I'm not high production either.

Jon

[Joe Hillmann]

With the logs I cut(mostly pine) I don't think I would be able to make more than a few cuts if I didn't use a lube of some kind.  I originally started out with water with lots of soap I would go though maybe 10 gallons for a day of cutting.  Then I went to straight pine-sol the bottle lasted a couple days.  After that I switched to heating oil.  In a full day of cutting I may go through 1/2 gallon but usually less than a quart.  I have since switched to diesel.  It works the same as heating oil but easier to get in small amounts.  I have it set up so it wipes on to the inside/top of the blade.  It used to also wipe on the bottom/outside but I don't think that made much difference.  With diesel I use a couple drops per cut.

[redprospector]

I used to cut dry but eventually I would cut a species that would give buildup. I modified Cooks diesel wipe to clean top and bottom of blade and since I can generally cut w/o worrying about buildup. My blade never gets warm, even when I used no lube, I think because 1) sawing rate and 2) crowned steel wheels that give good thermal contact with the band.
Bob

How about a picture of that modified Cooks diesel wipe.

[4x4American]

I think I use too much water, I was cutting dry, but then I put on the HP guides, and the movable side would get packed with sawdust so to clean it what I would do is put the lube on full blast at the end of the cut and move it in and out and you could see all the wet sawdust falling out and I did that every cut and then I'd be out of water in a hurry and have a big mess.  But now I took that thing off and I'm only lubemizing when the blade gets talkative

[kelLOGg]

Redprospector, There was an existing thread on this topic so I dug it up.
Bob

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,58022.msg843717.html#msg843717

[Magicman]

I brush mine off at the beginning of each log.

[YellowHammer]

When I had a drip system, more fluid lube would bounce off the band than would actually be used for cleaning and lubrication.  When I added the lubmizer, I was able to use much less fluid.  When I installed the high performance blade guides, I noticed immedialty that the tight clearances of the blocks would scrub the band clean, so again, I was able to reduce the amount of lube.  However, I didn't like the way the HP guides would block sawdust from my dust collector, so I opened up the gap in the top side, lost the scrubbing action, and the top of the band gets build up again, so I use lube. 

My point is that I have tried many different combinations, and hardware setup will definately affect pitch buildup.  On the other hand what's it really matter? if a specific mill configuration requires it, use it, if it doesn't, don't....water with a little bit soap or whatever added to it is the cheapest part of sawing.

[Joe Hillmann]

What you use to keep your blade clean also depends on how far north you are.  Here diesel works most of the time but if you get a cold snap or if you buy some in early winter and don't use it until late winter it can gel on you.

[Andries]

What you use to keep your blade clean also depends on how far north you are. . . .

And a little further North, we use windshield washer fluid.
Buy it by the barrel to save: $0.68 per litre.
Not as strong as I use to be, made friends with a grapple.