Gumming Up Saw Milling Pine

[woodweasel]

 So a lady called and said the recent storms we had in Central Texas blew a tall pine tree on her house. After someone cut it into it 8' sections, I went to take a lookey see.The logs were on a hill and I would not be able to roll them onto the mill, plus I could not get my mill in her driveway. So I threw her a price which I thought was on the pricey side to pick up logs. Didn't think she would go for it. I had a buddy down the road who had a tractor, which I thought would help me. She jumped on it. So,,,, my buddy was in the hospital and I had to go get my tractor, load logs,take home, unload, then come back to p/u tractor. When I got them home the FUN began.I used EXTRA DAWN,but blades,drive belts,guides kept gumming up. Didnt want to use diesel. What a Admin language edit SHOW! Added more Dawn, didnt help, increased flow, didnt help. Wavy cuts!Changed blades several times. Sticky Admin language edit all over the place.!Lost my ass on this one. Had to soak blades, replace belts, pressure wash entire LT40. What do u EAST TEXAS FELLOWS who cut pine on a regular basic do and use? So,,, she was very happy with the job and said she would have paid Double. :D :D ;D ;D  

[doc henderson]

I have also added pine-sol to my lube tank along with the dawn.  more of a solvent.  wonder if time of year cut had anything to do with the generous amount of sticky stuff you had?  @GeneWengert-WoodDoc 

[A-z farmer]

Wood weasel
I am not from Texas but from eastern New York .
I have the same problem when milling eastern white pine with all the pitch going every where.
What I use now is cotton spindle lubricant and pinesol mixed with water.I also use a bottle with a hole drilled into it filled with kerosene to put on the blade after each cut .it does not take much to cut pitch off of the blade each time.
As far as your pine pitch on your mill and gloves it will give you a better grip .
The pine pitch lasts on the lumber until it gets to a high temperature to set it .
I know this does not help you now but this is what I have learned from the members on here.
Zeke

[E-Tex]

Darrel  -  I mill a good deal of pine here in east texas.   it may be over kill but i put dawn, pinesol, and a heavy dose of Spindle lube in my tanks.  and I turn turn the flow up pretty heavy.  THEN, if needed, i squirt a little diesel on the blade when engaged.   Works for me but i do watch it close.  

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Within the four species that make up what is commonly called southern pine, the amount of sap or resin or pitch can vary.  Loblolly has the least; longleaf has more.

Yard trees, because they are often injured by mowers, kids pounding nails, etc. will have more.

The amount does not vary by season, but it flows more in the spring.

The hotter the blade, the more is deposited on a blade.  Maybe try adding ice to the lube so that the lube cools.  It is the heat that expands the blade and makes wavy cuts.  So, I do wonder what adjustment needs more adjusting to avoid heating the blade.  The lack of clearance for the blade also promotes heating...we swage the teeth (sometimes called set) in order to cut a path wider than the blade itself.  We use different amount of swage in winter with "frozen" logs than the rest of the year.

[Woodpecker52]

Diesel works, blue dawn and pinesol work.  Brushes mounted near wheel belts and you will never scrape another belt.

[Escavader]

I use the windsheild washer the lt 15 calls for with good results .i moved my tank where i could reach it ,so i shut it off Fter each cut and give it a good trickle when its cutting.saw mostly green pine

[woodweasel]

woodpecker52,
   you have any pictures of the mounted brushes?

[John Bartley]

I have always used the same mixture :

5 gals of water / 1/3 cup any detergent / 1/3 cup any soluble machining oil, then mix well.  During freezing temps I dilute that mixture 50/50 with windshield washer fluid until that freezes, then I quit milling.

I always found that Pine (I sawed Eastern White and Red) is bad for pitch and waves.  The pitch is an issue, but I was able to get rid of waves (and the gumming got way less) by increasing the set on my bands to about 0.030" from the standard 0.021" that they come with.

cheers

[Florida boy]

I had problems for a while till I started using one bottle of pinesol per tank. Also let the blade run between cuts helps to keep em clean. Also I've run dry or little lube at times too much lube can make it worst at times

[Woodpecker52]

wood weasel they are just shoe fine horsehair bristle brushes cut and glued. But I swear before them I had to clean belts after 2 logs but since putting them on I have cut over 200 logs and not scraped a belt yet.

 

 

 

[kelLOGg]

I like that brush idea. I have crowned steel wheels but occasionally I get bits of sawdust on them which I don't think cause a problem but I would like them gone. I think I'll try it.

I got gummed up, too milling old heart pine year ago so I did this:
Anatomy of my double 2-sided blade oiler in Sawmills and Milling

[Stephen1]

I saw a lot of EWP and I find the new blades need no lube. Once I start using resharpened blades I need lube, pinesol and water add the Windshield washer fluid for the winter. Some logs are worse than others, probably what I Gene says about the damaged trees.I do saw a lot of yard trees as that is my Target market. Recaliming those trees , they are taking down to build a new home/cottage here in Muskoka

[YellowHammer]

A good dose of Cotton Spindle Cleaner (water/oil emulsion) will oil a blade and generally keep it slick and clean.  Pine Sol (Pine Solvent) works good on pine, and I add some to my Spindle cleaner.  

Diesel will work, also, but I only use it in extreme situations, because of the smell.  However, I like to dial the Lubemizer way back, to only get a couple or so shots of diesel per cut, so its not too bad.

If you want to see what works, run an experiment.  Get some pine sap on your hand and try to remove it using a variety of products, and what works will be what you could run in your tank.  

[woodweasel]

Woodpecker52
                      Thats a great ideal. Gonna try that.   THANKS 8) 8)

[Mt406]

I cut 99% pine and fir. 
I use diesel drip one drop every 5 seconds sometimes a little less.
I mounted a small gas tank off a mower shut valve to a needle valve to control flow rate then to copper pipe 1/8 I used hose clamps to hold to blade idler arm and a piece felt as wiper.
This works for my operations the bug killed pine has a lot of sap the first inch or two.
Blades come off clean and ready to sharpen. I have not had any complaints about any smell.
If you wanted some pics of the system I could post.

This is my two cents worth I know diesel is controversial subject.

Scott

[thecfarm]

Just sawing framing lumber the diesel drip and I said drip,once every 2-3-4 seconds should be fine.
The conflict comes from what some feel they need a steady stream,like water,to do the same job. And some sawmills manuals says not to use it. I was told to use it. :P But at only a slow drip, And I do mean slow and drip. Yes,with my manual mill there is a big difference in the amount of lumber I have sawed. Some of you guys saw in a day,what I do in a week. But I do the saw a little and build a little.

[esteadle]

My formula for pitchy-pine is lots of water and letting the blade "run" for 20 seconds after each cut. 

Occasionally, I'll mix in a 1/2 cup of PineSol to 1 gallon of water, but I don't like to do this these days as the areated / misted Pine Sol seems to affect my breathing. 

Agree with the earlier comment that new blades are better. Once some pits and scale develop on a blade, those pores seem to make the pitch stick better to it. 

Also, as was also mentioned, some extra set on the blades helps to keep the lumber straight and true. I set my blades at .21 - .25 normally, but will push out to .30 or even .35 if I'm going to be cutting white pine or spruce early in the season.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I have been sawing a bit of white pine lately.

What works for me (manual mill) is to get setup for the cut.
Spin up the blade and using a squirt bottle apply a shot or 2 of diesel directly to the blade just before I enter the cut. That's all it takes. The blade and rollers stay clean and the blade doesn't get hot.

Now for all the sticky sap that gets on the handles of everything I use WD-40. Takes it right off.

Also I stopped using a tape measure on these logs and am using the old folding type. Again, clean up with WD-40. I made a mess of one tape measure.

On my hands, arms, face, wherever I get sap, and it gets everywhere! I use baby oil, it leaves my skin so soft and smooth. ;D