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blade tracking on lt 40

Started by kev, July 18, 2009, 06:02:34 PM

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kev

blade seems to be running in further on the drive side wheel than the idle side manual says in order to bring drive side out ther are jams nuts in there on the drive side which can be adjusted can see them fine but not sure how you would get at them with a wrench to adjust anyone done this adjustment. what is the secret to get at these nuts

pineywoods

Kev the best way to get at those nuts is with a crow-foot wrench. It's a short open end wrench that fits on the end of socket extension. I would ask a question, if the tracking was OK and then changed, what changed to alter the tracking?
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Tom

The adjustment of the drive-side wheel is nothing required very often.  I would check the guides and see if they are causing the band to ride back further.  Then I would consider a new belt/tire on the wheel to get it to track in the center.  I might also adjust the idle-side to see if it will balance the band on the two wheels.

I did the adjustment on my 1990 mill twice.  Once after installing the "new" oil encased bearings and once later for a reason I can't remember.  It wasn't difficult, as I recall, but was still a knuckle buster.

If you do end up doing it, don't go haywire with the adustment.  Just a little makes a big change.  I'd work with 1/8 to 1/16 revolution increments.  Also, release your guides, use a new band and new tire/belts before you make any major bandwheel adjustments.

kev

i bought the mill used 5 yesrs ago was always a little out of tracking but it just kept getting alittle worse i would say it should come out about a 1/4 inch roughly.is this common as things wear.or is there another problem checked for play in bearing found very little.

Tom

The most important thing is that the teeth don't ride on the belt.  That will flatten the set on the inside of the band. It's important when the band is running unloaded, but is also important when the band is in the cut and being pushed back against the flanges of the guides.

I would shoot for the gullets to hang off of the front of the wheel when under load.  They don't have to hang off much, but take into consideration that the band will narrow as it's sharpened. There might even be a measurement in the book, I don't think I ever found it.

If the band isn't riding on the belts and the cut is good, don't try to "fix" it.  :D


Tom

Secretary Tom is copying from the book.  :D

The blade pulleys should be adjusted so that the gullet of the blade rides even with the front edge of the pulleys.  Do not let the teeth ride on the wheels.


Adjustment of the idle side wheel is made with the cant control.  (the lever to the right of the tension handle)
Start engine and pull lightly on the clutch handle to rotate the blade until it locates itself.  If the blade is too far forward, turn the cant control counter clockwise; too far back, turn cant control clockwise.  Some adjustment in blade tension may be necessary to compensate for adjustments of the cant control.

The drive-side blade pulley will typically not have to be adjusted; however, the adjustment is available.  As you look at the drive shaft from the side, the bolts holding the right pillow block (back when there were pillow blocks) in position have jam nuts on either side of the mounting plate.  If the blade is running too far to the front of the drive-side blade pulley, the jam nuts need to be turned toward the head of the bolts.  If the blade is too far back, the nuts should be turned away from the head of the bolts.

I think that common sense might show how to move the shaft with the newer enclosed oil encased bearing.

woodmills1

on my LT40 I adjusted it once, because it was out of adjustment when I bought it.  Never did it again.  I would do it but make sure all of the other things mentionted were right.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

backwoods sawyer

I bought my mill used as well. The tracking was allover the place on it, I changed the idler bearing and the tracking settled down, but I still had the same problem that you are describing. What I found on the drive side was that the nut on the backside that was welded in place had broken the welds. If you raise the head up and block it in place then remove the up down motor the nut is accessible from below as are the adjuster bolts. As Tom mentioned make small adjustments spin the saw at full speed and check the tracking again. It is a slow process, however once it is set correctly and tightened back down the minor adjustments that will be needed over time can be done from the idler side. After realigning the drive wheel my blade life increased, feed speeds increased, and the over all performance of the saw was substantially improved. Take the time to get it right, and you will be glad that you did.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

MartyParsons

Checking tracking and adjusting tracking  notes:
1. When checking drive wheel bearings always remove tension from bearing, when disengauged the brake will hold the bearing and not show bearing wear. The drive wheel should turn free when checking for play
2. There have been changes through the years ( revisions) for WM drive bearing tracking adjustments. ( LT70 is a different procedure) The latest revisions or years are the easiest to adjust. The owners manual will show you the adjustment procedure.
3. You want to move the wheel ( Think of moving the wheel just above the sawdust chute) the direction you want the band to move. Standing looking at the wheel from the cover side, the blades is tracking back over the wheel or belt you need to tilt the wheel towards the idle side. This will move the blade out. Reverse procedure if the blade is out over the wheel.
4. Band tension will change tracking of the blade.

Hope this helps.

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

kev

marty everything seems to be tight what would cause this to move so little.normal wear?

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