How do I stop the "Wave"?

MotorSeven · May 30, 2009, 08:20:10 AM

I owed the neighbor a favor & he needed some lumber to finish a shooting house for his 600 yrd range. I sawed up some free logs into 2x6's & 1x6's. Most was Poplar(reeeealy like sawing poplar 8)), and the other log was Pine(we call it Jack pine....not white). Well, I kept getting a wave in the pine, even when edging I had waves as much as 1/4". I was using plain water. The poplar sawed perfect, so why the wave in the pine....not good enough lube, dull blade, tension too low or high.........operator error?
Sorry for the rookie questions, but I am sure to have more as the sawdust flys......

RD

DanG · May 30, 2009, 08:42:38 AM

Could be any or all of the suggestions you gave yourself, but my first guess would be pitch buildup on the blade. Pine is tough to saw. There is such a vast difference in the hardness between the early wood and late wood, the saw trys to follow the grain. It takes a really sharp blade. Sawing parallel to the pith instead of the bark might help too. Even a circle mill will try to follow the grain, especially on those with wide growth rings.

MotorSeven · May 30, 2009, 08:58:30 AM

Ok, I'll try a fresh blade and some Dawn dish soap in the water tank next time. I have to say that the Woodbug CSM cut that stuff perfect every time.
Hmm, so there is a reason Poplar is pop{u}lar......

RD

MotorSeven · May 30, 2009, 09:03:38 AM

Oh and one more thing. I am going to order a Logrite for turning on the mill. Peavy or Cant? and I'm 6'4" so I am thinking 60"er?.

Ok that was two more things.....

RD

peterduncan · May 30, 2009, 09:50:33 AM

I have had the same problems, but with Spruce. The wood is so soft at first and then it hits an area that tough as steel particularly in the knots. The blade "panics" and wants to run away. We have used cooks blades with pinesol and a slower rate of cut. It minimizes it but doesn't alleviate it. We have to after- saw and plane

beenthere · May 30, 2009, 10:17:14 AM

Quote from: MotorSeven on May 30, 2009, 08:58:30 AM
...........
Hmm, so there is a reason Poplar is pop{u}lar......

RD

Havta remember that one. :D :D :D

John Bartley · May 30, 2009, 10:35:52 AM

The problem is likely the set of the teeth.

For softer woods like Pine, Spruce, Poplar, Basswood (especially when they're knotty), my bandsaw likes to have a set in the 0.028" to 0.030". That's on a 0.042" x 1.25" saw band. For hardwoods like Maple, Ash and Oak, I can saw with as little as 0.020" of set. In Pine etc, no matter how sharp and clean the band is I get waves with a narrow set. With a wide set it doesn't matter how dull or dirty the band is, it cuts straight (just slower and harder).

cheers

John

nas · May 30, 2009, 11:34:35 AM

Quote from: MotorSeven on May 30, 2009, 09:03:38 AM
Oh and one more thing. I am going to order a Logrite for turning on the mill. Peavy or Cant? and I'm 6'4" so I am thinking 60"er?.

Ok that was two more things.....

RD

Order both, find out which one you like better, then give the other one to me!

8)

ladylake · May 30, 2009, 03:49:14 PM

More set like mentioned and give some 4* hook blades a try, when I saw tough wood thats all I use. Steve

thecfarm · May 30, 2009, 04:00:10 PM

I like the peavey,with the point.You can pry logs apart with it and stick it in the ground so you don't have to bend over to pick it up.But this is what I grew up with.Others like the cantdog.

moonhill · May 31, 2009, 07:03:47 AM

I agree with the suggestion of proper set. Try a new band with more set and it should be fine in the pine. Soft wood releases tension in the cell structure and you get a larger chip than hard wood, or something like that, it is obviously larger and you need a bigger path to clear out the sawdust. Also the wider the log/cant the more set is needed. Poplar is an odd hard wood it almost acts like soft wood, unlike oak or maple.

DanG also had an interesting point with sawing parallel to the pith not the bark, there could be something there.

Tim

wdncno · May 31, 2009, 10:59:43 AM

You might check your track rollers. Sometimes sawdust or the stringy underbark will get stuck in the grooves and put the wheels out of round and that will give you the "wave". An eighth inch of gunk in the groove of a 3" wheel will give you a rise about evey 9".

G-sawing · May 31, 2009, 12:15:42 PM

I use diesel for coolant, it cuts the tar well. If coolant was the problem it would wave all down the log. I think check your guide rolller if you have them, perfectly flat with bed. Set is a big one, on pine I try to use .025 to.027 also go very slow on entering wood. My guess is the wave was at the begining foot of the cut??? Give your blade a chance to stablize a second or two, you can tell from the dust out when it is really getting a hold, then go on with it. My experpienrce is if you enter pine slow once blade stablizes you can cut the rest almost fat enough to drag down the motor. Some pine is tough if the grain is tight.

MotorSeven · May 31, 2009, 02:56:41 PM

Y'all rock! I am going to copy this & keep it for the next pine log. I have a 16" 20'er 2 miles down the road I need to go get, and a ton of them on my property that need cutting. Every time we get a really good wind storm, it looks like pick-up-sticks where the beetle killed and the good ones slam into everything on the way down. Most of mine are 20"+ since the logger in 1998 left them all, only taking the "good stuff". My poplar is almost ready for harvest, so I do have plenty of timber for the house.

RD

ladylake · May 31, 2009, 03:14:45 PM

Are these pine logs real dry? If so run a lot of set, I've found that the blades that might have overset a little work the best in dry pine. Steve

pineywoods · May 31, 2009, 07:25:23 PM

ditto what ladylake said. Above all else, you need lots of set. I saw mostly pine on my manual woodmizer, and I run as much as 30 thous set. Even when the blade gets dull, it will still saw reasonably straight if you have plenty of set. lesson learned the hard way, don't go adjusting on the mill until you are absolutely positively certain the blade is not the problem...

Warren · May 31, 2009, 09:19:16 PM

I have a peavey and a cant hook. I prefer the peavey for the same reasons as thecfarm.

park ranger · June 01, 2009, 02:12:11 AM

I bet if you look at your blade you can see the pitch that is making it wave. I've used the water drip on the woodmizer I have and water doesn't cut the pitch like a solvent like diesel. I cut a old growth western red cedar today, just slabbed it into 3/4" so a lot of the boards were at least 2' (guides out all the way). I used get this...my dirty paint thinner (varnish) out of a spay bottle. Every so often I give a couple squirts. To cut the log I probably used 1/3 of my spray bottle if that. It's better I run my backhoe on diesel than the thinner :

ladylake · June 01, 2009, 05:02:59 AM

A blade built up with pitch will wave with any kind of wood. Cutting dry pine a blade with too little set and perfectly clean will wave and if you haven't tried 4* or 7* hook you should. I run 4* most of the time but buy my blades with 10* and just run them in easy to saw wood then sharpen at 4*. Steve

bandmiller2 · June 01, 2009, 05:49:52 AM

RD,I have and use boath peavy and canthook,usally use a cant hook to turn cants on the mill[surprise] and the peavy to move logs around,but they will pinch hit for each outher.Sometimes the point on the peavy gives you a pry point to move things around on the mill.Have either just long enough to do the task, nothing more agrivating than a long tool and a low roof.You should have boath, peavy longer.Frank C.