junk sticking to my blade

[paul case]

sawin green oak we have a lot of sap from post and white oak sticking to the blade of our cut off saw. for the most part the diesel drip keeps this off the bandsaw.
yesterday i was cutting a 36'' green red oak log and started with a new band. 10' log . i cut 1 slab and 2- 4'' slabs then rolled it 1/4 and cut slab and 1 - 4'' slab turned  again 1/4 and cut 1 slab and 3 more cuts to split it up and my blade seemed to be getting dull.kinda early i thought. took it off. the inside was clean but the outside had sap stuck to it. sharpened it up and spent about as long scrapeing the sap off and was back to cutting. cut good . i just cant believe that it would dull after only 9 cuts on a 10' log. anyone else have touble with sap on the outside of the blade? never have had any trouble with red oak before, maybe this is a time of the year that this is a problem?
another blade question. after i have sharpened a band serveral times i notice it begins to cut up when it enters the log and falls off when it comes out. sometimes as much as 1/4''.is this a lack of set? anyone else having the same thing?   pc

[Tom]

The first is usually a matter of losing the set on one side of the band.   If the aggressive tooth is on the top, the band cuts upwards until the blade tension or guide overcomes that tendency.   It can be caused by too much hook also.  It's generally a set problem.

The second problem is usually a lack of set and the creation of too small of a kerf.   The sawdust is adhering because of heat generated by friction in the kerf and sticking because there is no lubricant on the outside of the band and centrifugal force isn't enough to throw it off.

These are the kinds of problems that are generally seen when you sharpen without setting.  Every sharpening will cost you a thousandth, or more, in set.

[kelLOGg]

I lube both sides of the blade on both sides of the log with a diesel wipe because I have seen sap stick to the bottom, too.

Concerning heat buildup on the band, I have never encountered it, even after hours of sawing. I attribute this to 2 things: 1) I have only a 16HP engine so sawing is slow and, 2) the MP32 has crowned steel wheels which provide fairly good heat exchange compared to a rubber tired wheel. After sawing I cannot feel any difference in band temperature and ambient.

Bob

[Tom]

Bob,
You probably wouldn't feel the heat that causes gumming, though you might.  It  happens inside of the log and cools enough to stick the sap to the blade before centrifugal force can sling it off.

[sigidi]

I know it's not a band mill, if I get build up on my mill, I get a bit on the bottom face of the Lucas blade. More often than not they are clean as I run water with a squirt of dishwashing liquid all the time. Each sharpen or at the end of each day I spray a bit of that aerosol kitchen oil on the blade, it's not really needed but I figure it helps to keep surface rust off the blades - just cause I can  ;D ;)

[VT-Woodchuck]

I've been cutting White Pine that I fell in April. I put a couple oz. of Simple Green in the water - seems to work very well. Blade is clean and so are the belts.

[customsawyer]

The blade might be developing a crown in it. Take a utility knife blade and hold it on the blade from the bottom of the gullet to the back of the blade and see if how much clearance there is in the middle of the knife blade. This can be done on the inside of the blade or the outside if you are on the outside than you will develop some clearance on the two edges of the blade. A blade can develop this from the band wheels or from the leading edge of the blade becomes longer than the back of the blade which means you will have to roll the blade to lengthen the back for the blade to match.