THE GOAT DID IT! A brand spanking NEW WOODMIZER!

[4x4American]

Then our debarkers turn in unison

[Peter Drouin]

You would think Wood Mizer would see the problem and have that plate on the mill when you get it.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Is that photo after tightening it up?  I thought the washer tightened against the blade. And why doesnt it need the flat spot in the arbor hole?

[Peter Drouin]

How many hrs on the mill when it rejen?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

How many hrs on the mill when it rejen?

26

[Peter Drouin]

Thanks for the Info.

[caveman]

David,
How about an update on your wide headed mill?  How many hours are on the clock?  Does it do everything as well as you had hoped when you kerpluncked the cash on it?  In wide cuts in hardwood do the 4° or the 7° do better?  How significant is the increase in the diesel power over the gas engine you had previously? Does the lubemizer keep your blade appreciably cleaner than a drip tube? Any other observations are welcome too.

I have found myself looking at the wood-mizer site and also checking sawmill exchange among other sources more often lately.  This usually ends with me sliding further down that steep slope.

P.S.  has your ankle pastern completely healed?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

David,
How about an update on your wide headed mill?  How many hours are on the clock?  Does it do everything as well as you had hoped when you kerpluncked the cash on it?  In wide cuts in hardwood do the 4° or the 7° do better?  How significant is the increase in the diesel power over the gas engine you had previously? Does the lubemizer keep your blade appreciably cleaner than a drip tube? Any other observations are welcome too.

I have found myself looking at the wood-mizer site and also checking sawmill exchange among other sources more often lately.  This usually ends with me sliding further down that steep slope.

P.S.  has your ankle pastern completely healed?

Q. How about an update on the mill?
A. It took getting used to. One thing was the debarker. There is a learning curve to it.
  The other thing is the guide arm goes out farther and you have to be more aware of what it
  may bump / hit / or destroy.

Q. How many hours on the clock?
A. 326
Q. Does it do everything you had hoped?
A. The mill is a beast once you get used to it. It really felt different when i first started sawing
  but now I'm comfortable with it.
  The Tier 4 Yanmar engine is a whole different ball game.
  A lot of times when I saw though a log or cant and come out the other side.....sometimes
  I turn the blade off. As the rpm's drop as it is suppose to, a sensor does not stop the rpm's
  to an idle state. The rpm's will keep falling until until the engine just shuts down.
  Then you have to restart the engine. To prevent this I just keep the engine running.
  When it first started it I called Woodmizer and spoke with Chris Barnes at extension 1603.
  This was on August 21st. 2018.
  Chris was not able to help me with my problem and no one else there could either.
  Chris said he would have someone from Yanmar call me and to this day....noone one has called
  me back. Going through what I went through with the Kohler, I am not documenting
  everthing.
Q. In wide cuts to the 4 degree or Turbo 7 blade work best?
A. As far as having the power and rpm's I now have, I am using nothing but Turbo 7 blades.
  Using a T-7 blade sawing a 34 inch wide slab I still saw slower than I would sawing a 10 inch
  wide slab.
  This is one thing you really have to get used to using the T-7 blades. Believe it or not,
  sometimes you will get waves in some species by sawing to slowly. Speed up and the waves
  go away and the cut is smoother. Again, another learning curve.
  When a 4 degree gets dull.....it will start to saw waves. From my experience when a T-7 gets
  dull it happens all at once. Your sawing fine and all of a sudden it dives.
  Most of the T-7 blades that break with me is always in Cedar.
Q. How significant is the increase in the diesel power over the gas engine you had previously?
A. The increase on power with the diesel vs.gas is a must sawing 34 inch wide slabs.
  I burn more diesel than I do gas though. Plus the diesel has a dash board giving me
  temperatures, percentages, maintenance times and voltages that every engine including
  including gas engines should have.
  The engine knows when to re-gen. Let it do it and keep on sawing but DO NOT turn the
  the blade off during re-gin.....keep the rpm's going. It take about 30 minutes to re-gen.
Q. Does the lubemizer keep your blade appreciably cleaner than a drip tube?
A. When I ordered the mill, lubemizer was suppose to be on it but was left off by mistake.
  I saved myself $600 by keeping the drip tube.
  I honestly with out a doubt love the drip system better than the lubemizer.
  I don't have to worry about a water pump going out or a check valve freezing and cracking
  or nozzles stopping up from trash.
  The Lubemizer nozzle is installed on the high performance blade guides. I didn't get them
  either. Without the HP Blade guides I get a little wider cut.

Q. What have I had to fix that is under warranty?
A. Key switch went out....had a short. Woodmizer sent me a new one.
  The thin metal blade guide located beside the blade roller that stops the blade from going up
  and down to far if the blade rises or dives to far was destroyed. I also lost the blade guide  
  roller. this was caused by a 170 inch blade under 3500 PSI breaking.
  When the blade broke it took parts with it.
Q. What is the most important thing to watch for when you get a Wide head diesel?
A. EVERY NUT, BOLT AND BELT! With this much vibration something is gonna loosen up
  when your mill is getting broken in. Its nobodies body fault....this happens with all equipment.
  I had to re adjust the tightness on the blade guide arm due to it about to shake off.
  I had to re adjust the idle blade wheel due to my blade jumping off forward.
  Nothing to it.
  DO NOT let the debarker get away from you and slam it into a log. The shaft pin will shear off
  that holds the small pulley on under the motor that controls the debarker in and out path.
  I've done it twice and I keep pins in stock. 3/8 x 1-1/2.
  When servicing I use Yanmar filters and Rotella Oil. I do not use any additives.
  Keep the radiator and air filter clean and keep the mill clean and ATF it where needed and
  grease it.

  I highly recommend getting a Wide head.
 
 
 

[caveman]

Thank you for the thorough review.  I hope that you are enjoying being retired.  We had an offer on our mill today but it was a little low.  Everything we have is for sale but not on sale.  

If we do sell it we will have to get another soon.  If we buy a new mill it will definitely have a wide head.  Being able to saw 34" wide slabs would give us an edge. We have logs piled everywhere, the pond is full of logs too and I have recently begun getting 100-125 year old longleaf pines from an area near where I work where they are clearing paths for subdivision roads.  Some of these trees will yield four 16' logs ( that is good wood for this part of Fla.).