Word to the wise

[lynches lumber]

Well Ive had the sawmill for over a month now and have yet to saw the first tree with it. When I went and looked at it I guess I was more concerned about the mechanics of it than the cosmetics. The thing was good and sound, run like a charm, strong hydraulics, cut great. Didnt think to much about it being covered in sawdust and dirty. Its a sawmill. Its suppose to be that way? Got it home and took the pressure washer to it so I could give it a good going over. Found the back of the clamp was pretty rusted. No big deal. Yes big deal. Before it was all over ended up replacing everything on the clamp except the main rail.RUST!! The guys at WM are great but if you need larger parts for an older mill be prepared to wait a couple of weeks for the parts to be made. Figured while I was waiting on the parts for the clamp I would check a few more things. The battery box looked a little rough so figured Id take it of and pretty it up. Not hardly. RUST. Waiting on a battery box kit now. Found out after the fact that the sawmill was owned first by a fellow on the coast.Ugh!  Oh well hopefully if the battery box comes in this week maybe well be eating sawdust next weekend. Buyer be ware.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Welcome to the forum Mate  ;) ;D ;D 8) Just like buying a car you have to look hard before you buy mate it will still be a great mill you will just have to put abit more work into it for a start plus the things you are replacing are only little things to be replacing mate ;)

Regards Chris

[lynches lumber]

Oh yea not a real big expense. It could be alot worse. Just wanted to be sawing now instead of turning wrenches and waiting on parts. Its still a good solid mill. Just needed some things taken care of so they didnt get worse.

[Dale Hatfield]

I wish I would have taking pics of the one I brought home. A line from an old song comes to mind. "Ive seen better looking in the junk yard where in world did ya get that truck".
Its a real nice frame  covered in rust ,surrounded by gutted parts and pieces. Aint nothing money wont fix, as well as blood sweat and beers .
Its no differant than anything used bought sold or traded in.  The dealer expects a certain amount of repair cost to bring to a level of use.
Sometimes our want or excitement to use a new to us tooltoy. Finds us in the dumps about having to make some repairs.

[lynches lumber]

One thing about it, by the time Im through with it Ill know exactly how this thing works. Im going through it from one end to the other. Im no mechanic so it will definitely be a learning experience.

[zopi]

A very good reason to keep a mill washed...keep the sawdust from accumulating....it holds moisture and contains acids...ideal for making rust...

[Jeff]

I suppose if you want to be anal, you can wash your sawmill. People that usually wash their sawmill are people that don't run the sawmill very often. New sawdust it the best way to get rid of old sawdust.

[SwampDonkey]

I think it's also more than just the sawdust in itself. It's hard on iron sitting out in the elements. Some people expect their lawn mowers after being stuck in a snow bank all winter to start right off year after year. ;)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Saw dust on a sawmill? I love it! Money being made!!

I keep a leaf blower next to my saw. About every hour, I just take the blower and blow off the rails, engine, and basically the whole saw. Takes about 15 seconds.

In my opinion, this is a great idea, at least for my mill anyway.

David

[Larry]

That works on a TK to.  Last week I discovered a hydraulic hose rubbing on the log stops after I blew off the mill.  Caught it in time before she rubbed a hole in the line.

[Dan_Shade]

I use a leaf blower and blow off the saw at the end of a job.

I think a wash every few yera may be needed.  I had to scrub off my measuring stick a few weeks ago, it was too grimy to read the numbers  :-)

[T Welsh]

Most of my jobs are in rural areas, I just hook up and go home and let it all blow off on the road. Now mind you this is saw dust, I do knock the bark and heavy stuff off. I get a kick out of tailgaters when I pull out in front of them.they get dusted Tim

[millwright]

If I tried to use the highway to blow off sawdust I would probably end up in the crowbar hotel, the state police here in Wisconsin really frown on that.

[zopi]

I would not say I am anal about it...but I have seen some pretty hammered mills...I wash the little bugger after I tow it...especially on wet or gnasty roads...no scrub...just hose it down...then hit all the external moving doohickeys with wd40 or such...trans oil here and there...

[millwright]

I carry a small portable air tank when sawing offsite, there is usually enough air to blow the whole mill down a couple of times.

[inspectorwoody]

I feel your pain.  ;)

Only I knew what I was getting into.  :D

Rust is a terrible thing and I have spent a lot of time repairing/replacing things just because of rust.

Polished the main rail, mast rails, new power feed chain, mast chains, most of the clamp parts. Replaced some bearings. Few nuts and bolts and the list goes on.

It has been almost a year since I brought it home. Just been a slow process going through everything.

Sure hope the ol' girl cuts some wood when I get done.  :D

It is frustrating but hang in there. 

[lynches lumber]

Yea woody it does keep adding up when youve got one eat up in rust. I started out just going to replace the rusted pin in the back of the log clamp and go ahead and start sawing. Figured to come back to the fixing when i had more time.Well a little over a month later and about $1500 later I'm still waiting on parts and still havent sawed a tree yet. Oh well if was easy everybody would be doing it.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

I give the Mills a good pressure wash every second or third time i use them lust keeps everything clean n tidy and I like my mills looking tidy regardless off the age   ;) ;D 8)  just think if you put all the work into the little things that need done at the start you wont have to worry about geting half way through a job having a breakdown n having downtime when you want to use it  ;) You might as well get the wire wheel,the bead blaster n the spray gun out and give everything a fresh protective coat while you are at it I know I would  ;) ;D

If it was easy everyone would be doing it but then again not every bodies half mad  ;) :D :D ;D ;D 8) 8)

Regards Chris

[Woodchuck53]

The up side of this needed maintenance and repair is that you are learning things you can't really get out of a manual. Enjoy the ride and know it was put back together right.

[Paper Maker]

   When I bought mine I had a bad case of tunnel vision. I was tired of looking and bought mine mostly because it was close to home. It seamed like every time I tried to run the saw something would go wrong. Most of the hydraulic hoses were rotton. All together I've replaced 10 of those. One of my wheels was bent and had to have both of them ground. I've had a host of other issues as well. But in the process of fixing things I know my mill inside and out. So at the end of the day all is not bad. 

[Larry]

When restoring a rust bucket the biggest labor saver is a electrolysis tank.  Take the rusty part, throw it in the tank and a day or so later the rust is gone.

Save the scraping and wire brushes for the frame.

[T Welsh]

A half a bottle of WD40 and she looks new. had trouble with feed controller yesterday, kept tripping breaker after every other cut. got home and took front panel off and it was a lose connection on breaker,crimped it back tight and a little petrolium jelly on all connections  and then got the air hose out and got to all nooks and crannies and she,s good to  go. every so often she get all panels ripped off of her and gets a good going over and anything I see bad gets fixed. last year I had to relevel the bed and tore it all apart, snapped 3 bolts and put it all back together with anti seize everywhere. a little PM goes a long way. Tim

[ladylake]

When restoring a rust bucket the biggest labor saver is a electrolysis tank.  Take the rusty part, throw it in the tank and a day or so later the rust is gone.

Save the scraping and wire brushes for the frame.

Or muratic acid will do the job in minutes but is some nasty stuff.    Steve

[lynches lumber]

Ive used a product for years that works good. Its put out by permatex. Called a rust dissolving gel. Contains phophorous acid and a few other things I cant pronounce. For large pieces just paint it on, let it set a little while then rinse. Repeat for heavily rusted pieces. Small pieces I just put em in a container and let em soak a little while.

[Tom L]

Gday

I give the Mills a good pressure wash every second or third time i use them lust keeps everything clean n tidy and I like my mills looking tidy regardless off the age   ;) ;D 8)  just think if you put all the work into the little things that need done at the start you wont have to worry about geting half way through a job having a breakdown n having downtime when you want to use it  ;) You might as well get the wire wheel,the bead blaster n the spray gun out and give everything a fresh protective coat while you are at it I know I would  ;) ;D

If it was easy everyone would be doing it but then again not every bodies half mad  ;) :D :D ;D ;D 8) 8)

Regards Chris

I agree

I think it can be said that any successful business, that you may come in contact with , will have it's equipment well maintained and looking good at all times, it is a sign of efficiency and success.

it is when you walk into a business,and there are tools laying all around, machines look dirty, not properly maintained, that is when you should look elsewhere. chances are you will not get a good finished product
most times you can tell what you are in for by just walking into a business and briefly walking around and looking. If it is dirty and not well maintained it is managed wrong.