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Started by OlJarhead, February 28, 2016, 09:44:12 PM

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Peter Drouin

Sometimes on soft ground the jack on the hitch end will sink and you get a 1/8 space from the cant to the movable bed rail. When I turn the jack I can see the end of the mill go up to meet the cant.
There is a lot of flex in the mill, WM will tell you put most of the lb on the end jacks.
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

OlJarhead

Quote from: Peter Drouin on April 08, 2016, 07:22:02 AM
Sometimes on soft ground the jack on the hitch end will sink and you get a 1/8 space from the cant to the movable bed rail. When I turn the jack I can see the end of the mill go up to meet the cant.
There is a lot of flex in the mill, WM will tell you put most of the lb on the end jacks.

This!  I hadn't thought of that and left the front outrigger on the softer dirt with no shim.  Hadn't adjusted it since placing it originally.

If my first few jobs go well I'm buying a fine adjust for the ends!
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Chuck White

One of the "Gremlins" that can get you when you least expect it, is an outrigger that sticks up above the bunk, just enough to make a difference!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Brucer

I didn't really need the Fast Adjust Outriggers when the new design first came out -- I had a stationary setup. But over the years I started to have exactly the problem that Peter describes. I eventually bought FAO's for the two ends and it's now easy to tweak the height of the mill every spring.

I used to keep several sets of shims of varying thicknesses for leveling the mill. I always placed a 6" x 12" one on the ground to spread the load, then I'd add extra shims as needed. If the mill ended up 1/8" high at one spot, I'd replace a shim with one that was 1/8" smaller. It didn't take long to level the mill if the shims were already cut.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Magicman

With the continuous moving and setting up that portable sawmilling requires, the FAO's are a dream come true. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

4x4American

I wish there was a grease fitting on the FAO's, the rain gets into them and some are awful tight.  Now at the end of the day if it's supposed to rain I shoot some fluid film around the top nut to try and get it in there
Boy, back in my day..

Peter Drouin

A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

Ga Mtn Man

When measuring the blade height to the bunks, use a steel rule(not a tape) and make sure the front of the blade is over the center of each bunk.  Using a Sharpie, I put a mark on the main rail at the rear of the saw carriage to indicate where the blade is centered over each bunk.  This helped a lot when checking and rechecking things when I did a full bed alignment. 
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Chuck White

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on April 09, 2016, 07:58:37 AM
When measuring the blade height to the bunks, use a steel rule(not a tape) and make sure the front of the blade is over the center of each bunk.  Using a Sharpie, I put a mark on the main rail at the rear of the saw carriage to indicate where the blade is centered over each bunk.  This helped a lot when checking and rechecking things when I did a full bed alignment.

I've done that on my mill too.

Sometime it's difficult to get the blade straight above the bunk.

The sharpie mark will last quite a while before it fades out!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

4x4American

Do yous guys does it at 12" or what?  My steel rule only goes to 12" so I do it around 10 or so and that gives me 1/32" scale also.  As for getting the blade centered over the bunk I just set the big speed square on the bunk where I want the blade to be and bring the blade to it.  Works for me in my neck of the bush.
Boy, back in my day..

Magicman

I use an 18" stainless steel rule and I noticed that was what the WM field service guy was using a couple of weeks ago.  17" is more comfortable for me to see and that was also where he was measuring to. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Bandmill Bandit

I sure would miss my Green laser a lot. I am so used to it now that I had forgotten the alignment procedure time burn. I made me a stick the stands on the bed rails. I stole a measuring tape from my wife's sewing room and glued it to the stick.

I set the head to 12 inches on the mill's measure stick, turn on the laser and measure all the bunk rails inside the 10 seconds the laser remains on. Works so nice.

I would dare say that having the laser helps me keep the mill aligned up to snuff be cause its in you face all the time and you notice the little nuances much quicker and keep them corrected. JMHO   

I do the blade to bunk measure process about every 3rd or 4th set up just to be sure.
.
   
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

OlJarhead

Gotta do the bunks tomorrow.  Took some beating today and have a few off a 1/16th.  Figure I'll take some time in the AM when I change out the band and I'll check and raise those which are low and check the band alignment too while I'm at it.  I'll have to use a tape measure as it's what I've got but I see a steel ruler is in the future.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Ga Mtn Man

It should be noted that a "bed alignment" isn't something that needs to be done or even checked on a regular basis.  The manual doesn't even mention it in the maintenance schedule(not that I could find anyway).  Mine was a little off when I bought the mill with 8 hours on it, so I tweaked it and haven't had to touch it in the 2.5 years since.  Now a blade alignment is another matter entirely.

4x4, it doesn't matter what height you use to check the blade.  I use 12" SS rule because that's what I have and it fits in my wrench box along with my blade alignment tool, but as Magicman mentioned, I can see where an 18" rule would put you at a more comfortable height for viewing. 
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

MartyParsons

 Hello,
   I do a lot of service. I say this a lot when doing training. "The only bed rails I ever adjust are the bed the customer changed from the factory". Don't change any bed rail until you measure all of them. Like the others say mark them with a sharpie. Make sure your ruler is not angled. Make sure the chain is pulling up on the saw head. If you grab the outside of the head and pull on it it may change the measurement , just a little. I will measure all from the front and work my way back. I always go back to the first rail and see if there are any changes in my first measurement. It is much easier to move the bed rail up than down.  Make sure the support legs have weight on them, the front and the rear on the main tube are important. Make sure the lock nuts on the adjustment bolts did not vibrate loose. The toe board bed is the most common nut to be loose.
Unless you hooked to the bed rail with the loader forks you most likely do not need to adjust the bed rails! Or you are dropping 4000# logs on the bed.
If you need to adjust more than one bed rail or you moved all the bed rails there is a different method you should use. I use a 24" ruler with a flange on it to make sure it is square to the bed. I always use 18" but the number does not matter.

Did you hear me?   LOL   ;)  Don't touch your bed rails.  :snowball:

Hope this helps.   This is my opinion. LOL

Marty


 

I have been looking to purchase more. They were mady by Stanley. Max Stick?
"A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

Ga Mtn Man

We hear you Marty and value your opinion highly.

Do you have a pic of your "ruler with a flange"?

"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Magicman

Quote from: OlJarhead on April 10, 2016, 12:10:10 AMGotta do the bunks tomorrow.
My eyes popped  :o when I read that.  I just got my "three year" WM field service and none of my rails needed any adjustment and I knew that they wouldn't.  I load and saw some big and heavy logs, two 35 inchers and many 30"+ this past week. 

Please re-read Marty's response above.   :P
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

OlJarhead

Hmmm....maybe it's just my loosely eyeballing a tape measure.  I WILL LEAVE ALONE :D 

Marty you just saved me a ton of time :D  (more than I know).

I did notice the debarker beeper doesn't work now, and a screw holding the handle on the left (facing) band cover is bent and coming out so the handle is loose.  Something else that needs attention but I Can't remember now.

All in all though, I ran the saw a lot and milled a lot of lumber but have much more to do!
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

4x4American

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on April 10, 2016, 08:08:00 AM
We hear you Marty and value your opinion highly.

Do you have a pic of your "ruler with a flange"?


He does it's in the thread called....ummm...the sawmill alignment one or whatever.  I'll try to find it but I'm not a fancy pants computer searcher so it might take a while
Boy, back in my day..

Bandmill Bandit

Actually I don't touch the bed rails and haven't since new.

With the laser on my mill what I watch for is that a heavy cant doesn't cause a slight shift of the laser mounting ball. It doesn't happen very often but I have had to correct it a couple of times in the 3 years since I installed it. I takes about 5 minutes to correct.
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Brucer

Quote from: OlJarhead on April 10, 2016, 09:30:22 AM
...maybe it's just my loosely eyeballing a tape measure.  I WILL LEAVE ALONE :D 

When you're checking the bed alignment, consistency is essential.

There are several tiny variations when you measure that can add up to a significant error. If your measuring device is tilted a little to one side, or a little to front and back, it will give you a high reading. If you measure to a different part of the blade your reading could be high or low. Even the thickness of the line on your tape or scale can throw you off. The hook on the end of a tape measure can give you a low reading if the tape is tilted. If you lowered the head to measuring height (instead of raising it), there may be a small amount of slack in the support system which will be taken out by the vibration of rolling the carriage along the track.

A rigid scale eliminates some of the variables. If you have some means of holding the scale absolutely vertical (in both directions) that will eliminate more variables. Measuring up to the bottom of the same downward-set tooth will eliminate another variable. Having the tooth directly over the centre of the bed rail improves things even more.

I use a waterproof Sharpie to mark the point on the bed rail I'm measuring to, and to mark the two target teeth as well. I also put permanent marks on the main structural tube with a paint stick. When the front edge of the front bearing cover is directly beside the mark, the blade is directly above the centre of the bed rail. The paint will slowly wear off, so I refresh it every couple of weeks.

I check all the rails at the start of each season (especially since the ground will frost heave in the spring, and I've got two extensions attached). At 2500 hours I've had to do only two complete mill alignments, and I've only had to tweak a couple of bed rails during those setups.

One thing to check fairly often is whether or not any of the lock nuts on the vertical adjusting screws are loose. If you can turn the nut without a wrench then it's quite possible that rail may need adjustment.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Magicman

I do not make any measurements with a tape measure.  The blade guides are checked/adjusted like this:


 
Or like this:


    
They are all done with an 18" stainless steel rule.


 
The side supports are checked with two sections of square aluminum tubing and an accurate square.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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