CUT THE CRAP: Pine!

[SawyerTed]

+1 on using 4° blades.  I usually bump up my set a bit to .027-.030. My experience is the 7/39 blades dull quicker.  I've had mixed performance out of 10° blades on hard knots and no longer use them at all.

[caveman]

Richhiway, boards like yours led us to questioning our ability to saw and to searching for answers.  Some logs do not conform.

Doc, I sawed some longleaf this morning.  A few tips that I have picked up from some of the pros here.
-4° 1.5" blades or regular 7° 1.5" blades (my preference most of the time but the guy who sharpens for us resharpens to 4°).  I know several swear by the turbo's but we found no joy on sappy pine with them and got mixed results on a 7/47 (some dead flat and some wavy gravy).
-Small end first
-Diesel for lube (save the spindle lube for stuff other than live oak or longleaf pine)
-Tight blade-We sort of use @Peter Drouin 's method (usually stop tensioning when I think it is around 3500 lbs.
-1/4" down pressure
-Clean blade before and during each cut as needed
-We don't sharpen so the set is determined by Earl, our blade sharpener and guru.
-If you are able, let the bark start to slip and they usually are not as "pitchy"


I sawed some 2x10's this morning on a blade that was used the last time we sawed to saw up five red oak logs.  I should have changed it before sawing but it cut pretty flat on the three longleaf logs.


 

[doc henderson]

yeah i remember getting lucky like that once.   :D  more often than i care to admit.!  thanks!

[Bruno of NH]

I run my blade tension at 3,000 lbs on my lt40 wide 
Sometimes a tad higher with 
The Ripper 37's in 7° they like more psi

[doc henderson]

so i went to help my cousin mike at his lake house.  I took him 12  8 x 20 concrete wire mats, and helped him make and install face frames for bar cabinets we made last winter.  guess what he had for me?  that's right, 3 pine logs 18 feet long.  again my daughter and wood/log model.

[hamish]

Try 13 degree bands or just increase your set to about 0.029.
Its only pine, not some exotic wood barely known to mankind.

[Banjo picker]

Since your blade and wheels are clean I would also say increase the set.  Tim

[Ljohnsaw]

 
Yes knots in pine can get you nice boards! I can cut all day perfect then this.
A new blade and go slow works for me. I cut pine with 10's but I am going to turbo 7's as I replace them.
Hardwood and trouble wood I use 4's. The blade tension on the LT 40 is 2300.

I was just cutting some pine (white fir) and got the same results at the start of the logs.  I thought I was the only one getting these results. :-\ Basically, I lot the first 2 feet so my 16' mess dropped to 14' of really nice 2x10's.

[hersnsh#590]

LL, Reply # 23:  Steve, when you say "guide arm is extended" do you mean extended as for  small narrow cuts/logs or extended for large cuts?  I have a TK 1600, and think your comment may be  helpful.

Thanks
Dale

[Larry]

Dale, you might want to take a peek at this thread for guide arm modifications.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=79316.msg1204358#msg1204358

Almost 6 years later and its still working perfect.  1/4" down pressure no problem.

[ladylake]

LL, Reply # 23:  Steve, when you say "guide arm is extended" do you mean extended as for  small narrow cuts/logs or extended for large cuts?  I have a TK 1600, and think your comment may be  helpful.

Thanks
Dale

When extended for small cuts.  Larry has some nice pics in the link above.  That 1/4" down pressure is real important to cut straight.  That's the first adjustment I made when I got my mill back in 2002.  Steve

[doc henderson]

so do you maintain the 1/8th inches in front of the guide wheels (I assume yes)  and does it mess with your set works more than just the machine thinks it is leaving a 1 inch board on the deck, and now it will be 7/8th.

[ladylake]

 You'll get way better blade life with the flanges set 1/4 back.  You might get by with 1/8 " back if you saw slow with a higher hook angle not pushing the blade back much. I think on your TK2000 you put the blade above the deck 1" then hit set home, I'm not sure about that as I haven't run my brothers TK 2000 in a while.   Steve

[boonesyard]

I do.  Many years ago, when I was being shown some techniques on my mill from one of Woodmizer's top competition Sawyers, and the first thing he did was go way back in his truck and pull out a jug of the spindle cleaner and add it to the water.  He said it was the best he'd used, better even than the WM factory stuff.

I've been using it ever since, and even tried some of the experimental stuff from Lubie Lube, who makes many commercial variations of band cleaner, even the WM lube, and the Cotton Picker Spindle Cleaner still is the best for me and I cut about 20 different species.  It's designed to clean the vegetable matter and dirt from high dollar cotton pickers, so it does the same for bandsaw bands.  It's a water soluble oil emulsion

YH,
Do you order your spindle cleaner on line? if so, where? Not a lot of cotton pickers up here in these parts, maybe I should be lookin at sugar beet lube  :D.

[trapper]

https://qualityfarmsupply.com/    search  picksmart    is where i just ordered from.  Apears to be best price with shipping.   4 gallon min.   I ordered 8, same cost for shiping.

[alan gage]

https://qualityfarmsupply.com/    search  picksmart    is where i just ordered from.  Apears to be best price with shipping.   4 gallon min.   I ordered 8, same cost for shiping.

I got some from there too. No complaints but I'm pretty sure this isn't the same thing Yellowhammer is talking about. Doesn't look or act the same as he describes it. I did find it worked better than water but I had better luck using it full strength rather than diluting with water. I can't remember what the instructions said.
Alan

[doc henderson]

so doing better.  cleaned everything up and readjusted to 1/4 inch down pressure.  I can only go to about 1500 psi, and after that the spring is compressed and the increase per turn goes up 3x as fast.  would prob. break more blades with the spring having no reserve.  I changed to a 7° double hard (just tempered further down on the tooth).  It cut locust with no problem, and pine nice and strait.  it was a better log though as well.  fewer branches ect.  also made some boards to span across two jacks.  thought about pulling all the feet of the jacks to the center in a big X pattern to decreased the sway you get when stating and stopping the carriage.  (momentum and inertia).  I also was reminded that the leading edge of my drive side roller has been rounder over a bit, so I am replacing these.  Had a conversation with Matt, and will try adding more set to a blade for pine.  the fix they made is to put a nylon screw through the movable roller guide bracket.  will try more stuff.  thanks all! ;)



 


 


 

[ladylake]

 I'd fix the adjustable guide like Larry did,  a plastic screw might not last good.  Sounds like its doing better sawing, you sure don't want to run the spring tight as it would have no give , It should be 1 7/8" when tensioned  .  Steve

[doc henderson]

Matt said that some are running at a tension of 1,000psi with good results.  not to go above 1400psi.  I think the 7° and being sharp made a lot of difference.  I may try the screw to see if that helps and spend more time on the fab of the ultimate mod later.  thanks again for all the help.  

[Walnut Beast]

Dale, you might want to take a peek at this thread for guide arm modifications.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=79316.msg1204358#msg1204358

Almost 6 years later and its still working perfect.  1/4" down pressure no problem.

Larry that modification you made looks first class and sounds like it really helped.(can you get a picture of it on your mill 👍)

[doc henderson]

what is the type material used for the low friction inserts?

[Walnut Beast]

Pretty sure it's UHMW Polyethylene. Larry will probably chime in when he gets on.  For the details and dimensions 

[Walnut Beast]

Looks like you got a little shade to work in Doc. It's been pretty hot 🥵 lately 

[Larry]

It probably was UHMW but my memory is not good.

I did my mod first and than I think GMM came up with the nylon bolt mod.  Ladylake was probably also involved.  After kicking it around for a while we decided the nylon bolt was quick, cheap, and solved the problem of down pressure.  My solution went a step further and also takes out arm vibration.  With a sharp blade, I sometimes get cuts where its near impossible to see any marks from the blade. 

Hard to get the camera in for a shot.





And since a walnut log sneaked into the picture figured I take a picture of the whole thing just for the WB.  37" across the crotch.  I'll have to trim a little there and 1" needs to come off the branch stub on the left.  I imagine the carriage will be rubbing when I make the cut. 

Its tomorrows breakfast and will be all 9/4 live edge.  It was on the stump yesterday morning.

 

[doc henderson]

had a helper today cutting another pine log.  lots of branches and had small waves but ok.  prob. was time for a new blade.  



 


 

the nylon nut was too thick and too much down pressure.


 

took off the nut on the top, and just went with a stainless bolt and wing nut to lock, with min. pressure to remove the vibration and stablize the blade height.



 

blade stayed clean



 

a nice 12 x 12 inch beam, 17 feet long.  I have new roller guides on order, and new belts for the drive wheels.  mine are flat.