Feed rate control help

[ladylake]

Bruno,

How is it any sawmill manufacturer's fault if the part is hung up in transit with UPS?

Ron

This thread was started on Dec 22.  Not 3 days ago.  Steve

To be fair, the thread was started but the problem wasn't known to be the h bridge until later. Then it was Christmas/ new years week... The worst week of the year to try to purchase anything. Not sure what happened with wm Indy (never saw anything about why Bruno never did get the part from them... Maybe I missed it) but the part wasn't actually ordered from wm ny until about a week or so ago. Since then all the edit was UPS's fault. So Ron's statement is valid.

I sure  wouldn't put all of the blame on the shipping company, not even close.   Sounded to me like WM shipped the wrong part 3 times.   Really hard to believe that all of the blame is getting shifted over to the shipping company.  Lets keep the facts straight and fair.  .  Bruno figured out it was the H bridge on Dec 28 if you want to look back to be fair. Steve

[Bruno of NH]

I'm not blaming anything on UPS
They have the best service in my area
I get lots of deliveries every week from them because I can't drive that far
I order lots on line the UPS driver has become a good friend with Smiley and my help and I

[Magicman]

It was the h bridge  I got it today around 1:00  And the mill is up running

This is the statement that I was anxious to hear. 

[ladylake]

A few years ago I built a fully hydraulic bed for my mill. After reading about all of the issues with 12vdc on the forum, I decided to power my hydraulics with a stand alone engine driven power unit. So far Im happy with that decision. It's kind of a pain having the added noise of 2 engines running when milling but I think worth the sacrifice.

I like the small engine  driven hyd pump, really reliable and I can hear the load when sawing.  I run mine about half speed.   Steve

[fluidpowerpro]

Ya, the pump I used on mine puts out 4 gpm at 3600 rpm. I run the engine about 1/4 throttle and still have plenty of speed on all of my functions.

[moodnacreek]

It is a fact that that your stuff will only fail when it is very cold or very hot and on Friday before a holiday weekend.

[stavebuyer]

What causes the H-Bridge to fail is a poor ground. That can be the H-Bridge ground wire in the control box becoming loose or paint under the star washer that is supposed to ground it. If the control box is ok, then check the copper contact strip, adjustment of the hot contact assembly on the power strip, and the brass ground button underneath the mill as well as the condition of the bottom rail. Has to be good connections on both the positive and negative circuits or the amps will fry the H-bridge seeking ground. 

[barbender]

A mechanical bind, whether from a bad cam follower, feed sprocket bearing, or other things will overload your drive system and smoke an H bridge as well. Yes, I learned this the hard way😊

[stavebuyer]

I had a love-hate relationship with my Wood-Mizers. The DC motors for every function cause issues. On the plus side the setworks and de-barker are unparalleled. 

I'd recommend that you keep your current mill and put a spare H-bridge on the shelf. Next to it add an alternator, and replacement motors for your up-down and forward drive. Those are the main proprietary things that will shut you down and they will all eventually wear out and need rebuilding or replacement. The de-barker, lubemizer, etc you can get by for a day or two without if you're waiting on parts. 

You just built a nice shed, so I assume you plan on sawing where you are. Add external hydraulics. It will save a lot of headaches and increase your log handling speed as well as give you the ability to add a log deck and green chain down the road. Thats where your big increases in productivity can be gained for relatively small cost.

[Magicman]

The hydraulic power strip and it's associated grounds affect the hydraulics only.  They are nowhere in the H bridge circuit which only controls the power feed motor.  They are two completely different electrical circuits.

[Walnut Beast]

A few years ago I built a fully hydraulic bed for my mill. After reading about all of the issues with 12vdc on the forum, I decided to power my hydraulics with a stand alone engine driven power unit. So far Im happy with that decision. It's kind of a pain having the added noise of 2 engines running when milling but I think worth the sacrifice.

I like the small engine  driven hyd pump, really reliable and I can hear the load when sawing.  I run mine about half speed.   Steve

When it was below zero with the hydraulic mill outside and the wind howling I fired it up,  let things warm up and she purred like a kitten 🐱.

[stavebuyer]

Common ground.

[Magicman]

I wasn't dismissing the requirement for a good solid ground which is probably the most overlooked portion of an electrical circuit. 

I was pointing out that the H bridge circuit is all within the control box and battery box whereas the hydraulic circuit also transfers to the sawmill frame and hydraulic box via the power strip and sliding bottom rail ground contact.  Yes, common ground at the battery but otherwise two completely different circuits.  An intermittent hydraulic circuit would no effect on the H bridge circuit.

[Bruno of NH]

Man does if fell good to be back sawing again
In a shed for the first time as well
With 2 snow storms on the way 

[barbender]

Sunshine finally I hope, Bruno!

[Stephen1]

Bruno, Have you followed up on WM on the poor service? They taped the conversations you had with them and management needs to hear them and respond. 

[Magicman]

Man does if fell good to be back sawing again In a shed for the first time as well With 2 snow storms on the way 

No matter whether it snows or not, you have let the sunshine in and brightened all of us with your good news. 

[richhiway]

Very Happy to see you have the mill going. Lucky Wood Mizer diagnosed it correctly.
I started working on my neighbors garbage trucks when I was 12 years old,went to school for mechanics,ran a garage for over 20 yrs. I have been Superintendent of Highways for 21 years and we maintain over 50 vehicles and equipment from weedwackers to large machinery.

What I know is that every single thing we use from a screwdriver to a D-8 dozer will wear and eventually breakdown. Regardless of brand. The best you can do is take good care of it,don't abuse it and hope for the best. Never get stressed over it. Just do your best and work through it. No piece of machinery is worth your health. It is hard to take in and process what has happened over the last few years, companies are short handed or have untrained help, it seems like everything is a struggle. It is especially frustrating if you are the kind of person that goes above and beyond for your customers. It easy to get frustrated when a company you deal with does not reciprocate. Most things we use today offer high productivity and are extremely reliable. But they can all be a pain when things go bad. Think ahead and stock the parts you may need and replace wear parts before they fail.

One thing besides grounds to watch out for with electrical problems is your battery. When they start to get weak or have a bad cell they overwork the alternator and can cause voltage spikes. Running electric motors and especially on hydraulics is a high load and puts a lot of demand on the system.You want to change your hydraulic fluids regularly. In cold temps you also may want a synthetic fluid. 
Many years ago I sent a 1956 Oldsmobile camshaft to a company in California to be reground as none were available anywhere.
Long story short they misplaced it. I searched the country for one used or new with no luck. (pre internet, so phone calls to hundreds of parts houses and junkyards.) Three months later they called me, they found it. The guy that owned the car called evey week. Any way I never worried about getting parts after that episode! Sometimes you are just a victim of circumstance.

[Stephen1]

And I would add to that, we have a different generation working in these companies compared to years ago, even a few years ago. My 1st 7 few years dealing with WM Canada, the phone was always answered by a human, I did not even know they had an answering machine. Then the General Manager passed and in came the new GM with different ideals and directions. Then along comes Covid and working from home, staff leaving and trying to hire new people, and not just replacements but more staff as more people bought sawmills and started using the ones they had sitting in their backyards more, and the ones that knew what they were doing started producing more ...... used more parts, needed more help, broke down more...the list goes on and on. 
Do not get carried away by the doomsayers, things will eventually return to normal, stuff does break and staff will find the groove to enjoy their jobs....

[Magicman]

My thoughts also and very well stated Sir ^^^^^

[will49766]

  I have to say I had a bad experience talking with a tech at WoodMizer myself.  I didn't want to say anything on here about it back then for fear of what people might say...   But I see now that I am not the only one to get treated this way.  I even had issues with a sales person when ordering my mill so I asked to get moved over to someone else.  Just before the scheduled pick-up of my mill, a technician lost control of the unit when it was being towed into the bay there in Indy.  It went rolling down the hill there just outside the bay after slipping off the forklift ball.  They had to replace the entire head and resting pin to fix it.  Made me a little uneasy to say the least and with me being totally new to the machine it took me a while to figure out it wasn't properly aligned when I got it home.  When I spoke with the tech over the phone about my issues he quite rudely told me it wasn't a planer...lol   He just did not believe me when I told him that the technician on the floor had accidentally damaged my mill to that extent.  You guys ended up helping me figure out my issues.  After doing an alignment by the book, which was a great experience, it pretty much solved my problems. My mill is only used for hobby purposes at this point though.

[Peter Drouin]

How things going with the new parts?
What a winter, not bad sawing with 40° days. 
Had a good customer call and want 320' of 2x10 stock for a job. Going to look to see what I have, might have to cut some for him. 40s today I think. Been so long as not being out there, I don't know what I have in stock.  :D

[Bruno of NH]

It's going good
You can't have a better winter for sawing
Except last Friday and Saturday 
Sawing dunage for a week 
Ash , oak and black locust.