Recommendations on where to buy blades?

[MSSawmill]

So dad and I bought a homemade band mill several weeks ago and finally got to put a log on it yesterday. The first cut was great! The second one not so much...
The band was diving into the log, and after a couple blades jumped off, we started checking alignments. The deck and tracks look good and straight and level and the posts are perpendicular. We figured out the wheels had some tilt to them, so we modified the mounts and tweaked that. We put another blade on and tried it again before it got dark, but we had the same outcome.
Since all of the blades are used and they were all sharpened by the previous owner, (who had no real sharpener and didn't even set the teeth), the first thing we want to do is put a new factory-sharpened and set blade to eliminate that variable.
Dad measured the blades this morning, and it looks like they are .035" thick, 1" wide, and 14' long. I see that Cooks has a ton of blades, but they're listed by saw manufacturer. And Woodmizer doesn't have anything in that size on their site.
Any suggestions on where to buy from and/or any pointers on the blades or the mill?

[Ga Mtn Man]

Welcome to the forum MSSawmill!

I little info in your profile regarding your location would be helpful.  Don't worry about what sawmill make the blades are specified for,  just find one that is the correct length for you mill.  Try Menominee Saw.  They are a FF sponsor on the left side of your screen. 

[Solomon]

I buy my blades from Kenna-Saw in Kennasaw Georgia.    They have Munkfor Blades.  They are all I use.
Never had an issue with them.

[Ga Mtn Man]

I've bought blades from them too.  They'll sell you 1 or 100 blades at any length you need.

I used to live in Kennesaw (note spelling ;D) and Kenne-Saw is actually located in White, GA.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, MSSawmill.  Yup, more information about yourself and location might be helpful. 

[MSSawmill]

Welcome to the forum MSSawmill!

I little info in your profile regarding your location would be helpful.  Don't worry about what sawmill make the blades are specified for,  just find one that is the correct length for you mill.  Try Menominee Saw.  They are a FF sponsor on the left side of your screen.

I'll update my profile, but I'm in central Mississippi.

And I'll check out Kenne-Saw. Thanks!

[Solomon]

You're welcomw MSSawmill.  Welcome aboard .   There are some very knowledge sawyers on here who can point you in the right direction.
I have only about five years part time under my belt but guys like Magic Man, Custom Sawyer ,Beenthere  and quite a few others have a wealth of expierence to share with you.

[pineywoods]

Welcome. Don't overlook the need for sharpening/setting. Bandmill blades get dull a lot quicker than you would like..Set up yourself a photo gallery and figure out how to upload pics..We like pics..

[Jeff]

Please check with Menominee Saw to the left, this company IS a long time sponsor and they will do you right.


I've edited the second part of my post on second thought. No sense in being negative.

[ladylake]

 
If your guide will handle it you might want to go to 1-1/4   .042.   Steve

[hackberry jake]

I use Menominee and will continue to use them. They carry a large variety of band manufactures and seem like very knowledgeable people. You can even get two of each to see which brand you like the best. Thats what I did  ;D

[Ga Mtn Man]

I use Menominee and will continue to use them. They carry a large variety of band manufactures and seem like very knowledgeable people. You can even get two of each to see which brand you like the best. Thats what I did  ;D

They would be my first choice too.

[MSSawmill]

If your guide will handle it you might want to go to 1-1/4   .042.   Steve

So other than stiffness, what are the advantages of a wider and thicker blade?

And thanks for the info on Menominee. Trying a few different setups without buying 15 blades each would be nice!

[t f flippo]

MS,welcome to the Forum.Ive only been here a few months and it' a great place.

Been sawing full time for 2 1/2 yrs on a used 2001 Baker.Started with Cooks blades from the seller.
On Cook's advice I changed over to thicker .050 and 1" instead of 7/8 tooth on 1 1/2'' blades.I am very happy with the blades and even happier with their customer service.I sharpen for several friends
who were using a different brand and they've switched over and like the Cooks better.

Most of my blade "problems" were /are alignment and not the blades.I learned early that the blades are either sharp or not.If not nothing will make them saw.

Best of luck,

Tc

[MSSawmill]

Just got off the phone with Terry at Menominee. Extremely nice guy, even when dealing with a sawyer n00b like me! Based on his recommendations and those on this forum, he's shipping me 2 Lennox Woodmaster C blades that are 14'/1.25"/.042" with a 7/8" spacing. He also gave me a few more pointers about various things to check and try.

Hopefully this will clear up our problems and we can get some lumber stacked! Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him how long it would take for shipping, so I don't know when they'll be on hand! I imagine that, weather permitting, one of them will be on the mill that very night! :)

[Magicman]

Did you discuss where to have them sharpened?

[wwsjr]

MSSawmill I sent you a PM. Call me when you can.

[MSSawmill]

Did you discuss where to have them sharpened?

Negative, Magicman. Any suggestions since you're not too far away from me? If the new ones work out, I'm thinking the ones we inherited are probably going to get cut up and used by Dad to learn how to make a Damascus steel knife!

I'm in Raymond, btw, close to Clinton.

wwsjr, I responded. Thanks.

Btw, here's a pic of what the blade is doing right now. It's sort of hard to see, but the cut definitely dives into the log:


 

We also noticed that the blade does not rest against the guide bearings, as you can see here, (I know the design is probably not the best, but we may change that later). Could that be contributing to our "diving" problem?


  

 

[thecfarm]

Might be a sharpening service close to you. I asked at a hardware store. Maybe a member close by can sharpen blades. WM has a reshape but need 10 WM blades to send in at a time. For a small hobby guy like me that is hard to do.

[Banjo picker]

It might be best to hold off on doing very much adjusting untill you get the new blades ....Verify you have a sharp band, properly set...before you assume something is wrong with the mill set up..  It does look like the roller is a little too far off the blade, but sometimes the camera will lie to you....It should have a little space before it contacts the back of the roller bearing untill it gets pressure from the log....I like mine about 1/8 inch or so....
How tight you have the band on the wheels will move the band forward or backward on the wheels as well....Banjo

[Magicman]

It is sorta hard to determine if/how your blade guides are set up and whether you have any needed downward pressure on the blades after they leave the blade drive wheels.  I am also seeing much unsupported blade.

Leon Smith is just South of you and he sharpens blades.  I do not know if he still has the tomato greenhouses or not.  I can maybe find his telephone# if you do not know him.

I passed very close to you on Dry Grove Rd. when I sawed that job recently in Raymond.

[r.man]

MSSawmill in the picture you posted the blade was not sitting against the guide when it was at rest but it might be back against it in the cut. If it does will the teeth still be off the band wheel so it doesn't affect the set or prematurely dull the blade on one side?

[Fla._Deadheader]

 r.man
You have some alignment work to do while waiting for the new bands. Start the mill and IDLE it, the band should run about 1/8" or so from that backer bearing. If it is not, you need to see if the band is running nearly centered on the wheels. If not, start there and adjust.

Looking at the band guides, I don't see anything for adjusting them, especially so the band is EXACTLY parallel to the bunks. THAT is critical. If there is no way to do fine tuning, you need to fix that.

Is the band parallel to the bunks ??, then, is it parallel with the band on the guide rollers ?

There should also be 1/8" or a little more of down pressure from the guide rollers holding the band down. That will help control things also.

EDITED:  r.man, I just didn't pay attention to who made that original post.  : :

Call it Old man's syndrome.  ;D ;D

[r.man]

Deadheader, I was asking the original poster the question but I had it worded oddly, sorry for the confusion. I will modify my previous post so it is clearer.

[MSSawmill]

Wow... lot of good stuff here.

1. The blades are definitely more than 1/8 inch from the backer bearing. Its more like .5" - .75". There is some adjustment there, so I'll try and tweak that.
2. If I moved the band back so it ran against the backer bearings, I'd be running it halfway off the back of the wheel or better, so that would definitely cause the teeth to run on the wheel.
3. What are the bunks? I'm on my tablet, so I'm having trouble getting to the dictionary in the forum. If you mean the table that the log is sitting on, we have verified that is perfectly parallel to those and that the wheels are perfectly perpendicular to them. (That required a cutting torch...)
4. Let me see if I can explain the roller guides... if you are looking at the band from the log side, the band is driven by the wheel in the right. There is a roller under the band at that wheel and one above it. On the left wheel, there is only a roller under the band, (that's what is in the picture in the first page). Then, on the guide, there is a roller on top and a piece of brass underneath it. All 4 rollers have a backer bearing. If that makes sense, (1) is that sufficient and (2) where should that down pressure be applied?

I was hoping I had a picture of the rollers on the drive wheel, but I didn't get any. I'll try to do that in the next day or so...

[Jeff]

Direct link to the dictionary. It has its own domain name, but it is ours.

http://woodopedia.com/

[ladylake]

You would want too move the guide rollers ahead using adjustment or some washers. I like my back support 3/16 to 1/4 behind the band and 1/4" down pressure which gives excellent blade life and straight lumber. Both recomended by Cooks and I've found works the best.   Steve

[Ga Mtn Man]

You need to relocate the guide wheel on the left so that it is on top of the band.  It's never gonna cut straight until you can get down-pressure from both guides.

[thecfarm]

I went to Jeff's link and I wonder if some else is having the same problems. I have Vista on this thing,a desktop When I go the menu bar and look at the FF dictionary I am missing about the last 6 words on each letter. There is no scroll on the right side.  When I go to "c" it does not go below canthook,I cannot see Canter,Cap,capillary and 3 more. But when I go onto Jeff's link there is a scroll and I can see these words.   Just me???  I don't have alot of bars open on the top and bottom. I closed down one on top and made no difference at all. This is the way all the letters are. I missing the last 6 definition of each letter.

[ladylake]

You need to relocate the guide wheel on the left so that it is on top of the band.  It's never gonna cut straight until you can get down-pressure from both guides.

I didn't even notice that, good eye.  That mill will be citting straight soon.   Steve

[Chuck White]

You need to relocate the guide wheel on the left so that it is on top of the band.  It's never gonna cut straight until you can get down-pressure from both guides.

I didn't even notice that, good eye.  That mill will be citting straight soon.   Steve

Funny how, even after we have a lot of saw time, we just don't see the obvious!   :-[  :

If that is a 1-inch blade on the mill in the pic, it does look like the 1¼-inch blades will be perfect!

[Magicman]

Ray, I had noticed the dictionary thing a while back and made mention of the fact that no scroll bar was there.  I forget the answer that I got.

It is nice to see it back on the mobile version.

[Jeff]

I went to Jeff's link and I wonder if some else is having the same problems. I have Vista on this thing,a desktop When I go the menu bar and look at the FF dictionary I am missing about the last 6 words on each letter. There is no scroll on the right side.  When I go to "c" it does not go below canthook,I cannot see Canter,Cap,capillary and 3 more. But when I go onto Jeff's link there is a scroll and I can see these words.   Just me???  I don't have alot of bars open on the top and bottom. I closed down one on top and made no difference at all. This is the way all the letters are. I missing the last 6 definition of each letter.

There is no reason I can think of why you shouldn't be able to see it correctly unless your browser is misbehaving. Try a different browser maybe?.  There is very little content on most pages, and thus, most of the time no reason for having any scroll bars so they just don't show up. That is how browsers work. If no scroll bars, you have all the content in one view. There are only so many returns per page. Are you guys sure you simply are not going to the next page of definitions?  Example: <<    Browsing page 1 of 3    >>   the arrows on each side lead up or down to the next page.

The pages of the dictionary are the most basic form of a website you can get. No hanky panky, no bells and whistles. Just a straight out data return.

[MSSawmill]

Really anxious to get to work on the mill now! We'll have to cut some more holes to move the rollers and either add some adjustment or at least some washers to it. No problems there. Should we upgrade to a different guide setup? One with a bearing in the horizontal plane behind the blade, (if the bearing under the blade is in the vertical plane)?

And that pic is of a 1" blade, so i'm glad to hear that the 1.25 looks like the right choice.

[thecfarm]

Must be my browser. The link that you posted has a scroll bar but none on the FF one. Everything looks EXACTLY the same except for the scroll bar. I understand about the scroll bar,if none there,I have it all.  ;D But with the FF one I don't. I'm missing about 6 definitions on each page. When I use the link one,I can see what I am missing. I use the <> to move from page to page,but I am still missing 6 definitions on each page. I've always wondered about that,but with the link I can prove my browser is misbehaving on me with the FF dictionary,but with the link it works fine.
FF Dictionary                LINK
page 1                         
B.D.T                          B.D.T
Barker                         Bastard saw

page 2
Bearing strength          Bearing strength
Biomass harvesting      Blowdown

Page 3
Blower drive                 Blower drive
Brag load                     British thermal unit

I can not see Browsing Page or suggest term on the bottom of the page on the FF,but I can see it on the Link. you can tell I can not view the last 6.Just want you to see what I see. All set now. It's my browser.   

[Jeff]

You just told me something completely different that you didn't tell me before. You said the link I posted didn't have a scroll bar, not that the forum link didn't. Big difference.  The forum link opens up in a pop up window, the link I posted opens in a normal window.  This may be something I can fix.


EDIT

The forum dictionary link underneath extras has been tweaked and now should have scroll bars appear when needed.

[Finn1903]

Going back to the original post, MS Sawmill said the first cut was great, second cut the blade dove.  First I would check the blade, alignment and down pressure on guide wheels.  Does the blade still dive on a different log with another blade?
I had a similiar issue a few weeks ago.  I milled all day, last log of the day I had a huge dive at the end of the log.  I just aligned my mill the day before, double checked that, no problem.  Checked the blade tension, ok.  Then went for a second cut to see if the dive would go away and half way down I heard zing, and then saw the nail I cut through on the previous pass.  I missed the zing on the first pass because I had my work tunes on.  New blade, no diving. 

[thecfarm]

Now if MSSawmill problem can be fixed as quick as what Jeff did,he'll be all set too.   ;D   Thank you Jeff

[MSSawmill]

Here are some more pics of the guides on the drive wheel side of the mill, just for reference. We definitely have some tweaking to do. Hopefully we'll get blades in today and can play with the mill all day tomorrow.


  

 

[levans]

MSSawmill,
You may want to contact Dan Sawyer, He sent Me three free Woodmaster C blades, I have just started using them but so far I am truly impressed with the way they cut.
Since yours is a home built mill the size could be an issue.  I wish You well with your new to you mill.
levans

[MSSawmill]

Thanks, levans! He's already got some on the way. I had already ordered a couple Woodmaster C blades before he found me.

[roghair]

Make sure you have enough blade tension. When I started with my homemade mill I was afraid to tension it to much, but that caused the blade to dive.

[Hud-Son Forest Equipment]

I knew I would like this thread! Good old Georgia. UGA grad here at Hud-Son Forest!!!! Go Dawgs!!!

[customsawyer]

MS sawmill welcome to the forum.