Wood is Smoking Blades

[mesquite buckeye]

The water really seems to help. When we cut dry mesquite (really hard) and use lots of water, the blades last 4 or 5 times as long. You have to balance between sawmud accumulation and blade life to get the most out of it.

[Pitch]

I did a bit more research and it's possible that the wood is guatambu or Brazillian Maple as they call it in the wood flooring industry.   

The Stellite Tip blade I ordered from Woodmizer hasn't shown up yet?  There customer service hasn't been doing me any favors.

If that doesn't work I'll try a four degree blade and run water.

[mesquite buckeye]

good luck

[learner]

I haven't run into anything That hard yet but I Have been considering a metal cutting blade just in case.  I wrote one manufacturer but they haven't answered me.  The blades cost around $80 but for really hard woods I'm considering trying them Once.

[5quarter]

guatambu is not quite as hard as hickory. LeeB has it right. you need 2-3 tpi to saw that stuff, especially since its probably been kiln dried. I doubt the wood is abrasive, as you had no trouble with your planer. another possibility is that the wood may contain resins that were hardened in the kiln and adding to your trouble. If you can post pictures, we'd love to see what you're up to.  ;)

[mikeb1079]

I haven't run into anything That hard yet but I Have been considering a metal cutting blade just in case

i don't know if that would work.  yes metal bands are made to cut steel but at a much much slower speed than your wood mill.  if you try to run a metal band on a wood mill i would think that you'd just start to burn wood and overheat almost immediately.  if you run into crazy hard wood i would think stellite is a smarter idea.
cheers

ps there was a post a while back from a member who was sawing tropical hardwoods and swore by the munkforssager bands.

[ohsoloco]

Since it's only one piece you're trying to cut, could you try the trick some guys use when resawing on a shop bandsaw and use either the table saw or a hand held circular saw to rip a kerf down each edge of the board?  It would greatly reduce the amount of wood that you would need to cut. 

[dboyt]

Learner, I assume you mean the bi-metal or cobaltized blades designed for cutting through nails in wood?  I've had good luck with them on nails and wire, and they cut wood as cleanly as standard blades do.  They should last longer in hard wood, and I'll be interested in hearing how they work for you.  You're right, though.  They are pricy!

[harrymontana]

the solutions are only:
- Stellite Tips
- correct angle of the teeth
- correct U or V form of the teeth
- contantly spraying water on your blade
it can also get stuck just because your engine is to little power, you need to go slow and with a high revolution.

Anyway, where you buy your Stellite Tips, this should be a specialist and he must be able to tell you which angle, etc etc is good for getting trhu your wood. Stellite Tips only is not THE solution for just any kind of hardwood, angles are TOO!

[5quarter]

CRTreedude (member) has a Baker saw I think. He's in Costa Rica and cuts Pilon, which is about as hard and heavy as wood gets. maybe he'll chime in with what type of blade he's sawing it with.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Nahh, Pilon (pee lone) is not that hard.   Sounds like he has a board of Ipe (eepay). Here, we call it Tamarindo. We also have Corteza and leche Amarillo. Ipe is flooring wood, sometimes called Brazilian Cherry, depending on who is selling it.

I saw the hard stuff with my Peterson swing blade mill with carbide tipped blades, without much trouble.

I don't like to speak for others, but, I believe the treedude is using a carbide tipped band blade, costing around $100.00 each or so, BUT, I could be off a little.

We used to saw some tropical wood on our oversized Woodmizer, using Munksforsager blades. Had one chunk that the blade constantly chattered in, and we went slow. Never had a board we couldn't cut, and never dulled a good blade in 8". We sharpened at 10° or so on the bandmill.

If that board is a dark brown, it's probably Ipe or whatever it's called in your part of the world. I'm presently converting the Peterson to a wide bandmill, so, in a couple months, I can tell you about my luck sawing Tamarindo and Corteza wide table slabs.  I really don't expect much of a problem, but, mine won't be dried like yours.

I occasionally do cut dry tamarindo with my 2½" Skil Saw. It will definitely burn and dull the blades if I don't go slow and back out occasionally to clear the sawdust out of the kerf.

[learner]

Learner, I assume you mean the bi-metal or cobaltized blades designed for cutting through nails in wood?  I've had good luck with them on nails and wire, and they cut wood as cleanly as standard blades do.  They should last longer in hard wood, and I'll be interested in hearing how they work for you.  You're right, though.  They are pricy!

Yessir, that's what I meant.  I should have been clearer on that.  When it comes to cutting metal, out come the 12" metal cutting saw and the torch!  ;D

[5quarter]

Fla._Deadheader... that's right. it must have been Corteza that i was thinking of...like a billet of steel. although Pilon is only marginally harder than hickory, it's probably what you guys would call softwood down there in paradise.  ;)

[Pitch]

The S-Tip blade from Woodmizer finally showed up on Saturday.  This morning I was able to get it on the mill and it split that board in two perfectly.  I didn't put anything on the blade.

Thank you to everybody for the feedback.  I'll be ordering some of the 4 degree blades to have on hand. 

[beenthere]

Pitch
That is good to hear.

[learner]

That's Great Pitch!  I spoke to a Woodmizer blade specialist today and found out that we are using the Wrong blades for the wood we are sawing.  Two sample blades on the way that should Greatly improve our production.  You never know unless you ask.  Glad you asked and got the right answers.  Saw On!

[mesquite buckeye]

cool :D