3-4 feet into a cut when I decided back stops, clamp would be in the way

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Just to make you feel good, I won't tell what happens when I hit the wrong lever while sawing.  It only happens once. :-[

Please post pics.  ;D  smiley_curtain_peek

I think Larry's answer is "Pictures? What pictures? Remember, no pictures, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!"

Herb

[Magicman]

Since there will be times when you do need to back a blade out or remove a broken band, you always need to have an assortment of wedges, a hatchet, and a section of broken blade.  In time you will need them all.   ;D

[customsawyer]

I use the jumper cables on the battery of the mill. There is less chance of frying a fuse this way.

[Tee]

Seems to be a lot of folks that just jumper the hyd. system. If the bottom of the log is still an uncut surface, (unstable) I guess there is a chance of it moving enough to possibly break the blade when it's unclamped...?

[Magicman]

No you will not break the blade, but the log could move slightly causing the new cut to not quite align with the previous partial cut. 

[kelLOGg]

I don't have a WM so this response may not apply but I have at times seen that if I continue sawing I will hit a squaring arm or clamp. So, I stop the engine loosen a clamp a tad, lower the squaring arm(s), re-tighten the clamps, start the engine and continue sawing. I rarely have to back a blade out and dread it when I do because it is a PITA.

Bob

[YellowHammer]

Backing a blade out is a useful tecnique to be learned for a new sawyer because you will need to do it occasionally for several reasons and usually in front of other people. It's also a lot better to do it if in doubt before you hit something as opposed to after.
I disengage the blade because I've found backing out with the blade running will usually throw the blade making things a lot worse in a hurry.
After the band has stopped spinning I crank the blade tension all the way up to try to lock the blade on the band wheels and gently bump the reverse feed and see if the blade wants to move backward.  If so I just keep bumping it back until its clear, in a slow controlled  manner. If it looks like its hanging, you will see the band flex, stop, then drive a wedge to open the kerf and back it out then. Sometimes its just as easy to push the head and back it out by hand.  I always keep a hatchet and a couple wedges nearby.  Once you get the hang of it, it's no real sweat.
Have fun sawing

YH

[Slabs]

One more from der klugemeister.

Have someone hold the clamp lever down and take a pry bar and move the clamp back just far enough to relieve the pressure on the cant.  Have that person hold the turner lever down and use a BIG wrench to move the back stops down just enough to clear.

Opening the hydraulic valve in the desired direction will allow the cylinder to traverse in the desired direction while applied force will force the fluid from the cylinder back into the reservoir.  Try it with a log on the loader with the head away from the copper bar.  I've done it many times with the loader full of flitches that will hit the head and after passing the contact bar

The jumper battery and cables will work well if they're available.  Take to cover off the hydraulic unit and calmp the positive cable onto the solenoid nut on the battery side.  Hydraulics will work normally and fuse will be bypassed.

[danreed76]

I just keep some plastic felling wedges handy at the mill. Stop the blade, open the kerf a bit, and back out.  Readjust and start over.  Seems since I've started keeping the wedges on hand more, I've ended up needing them less.   

Best advice I've seen yet is tho sight the blade when you're running close to the stops or the clamp... that way you have good reason to kick yourself when you hit something.

Dan

[moandrich]

I keep plastic wedges on hand.  Works like a charm.

[Brucer]

I would just get a bimetal blade and in the future if there's a stop in your way, just keep going trim it down some.   :D

Tried it, doesn't work >:(.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Once in a while it's best just to cut the blade. 

[Sixacresand]

The LT10 uses drop in log stops.  I cut several wooden log stops, but still have yo use the steel ones while turning big logs.  But not too long ago, I had the wooden log stops in place and ran the blade into the log clamp.  Most of ya'll never get "tired stupid" like me. 

[rmack]

There must be a fairly easy way to step the return speed down to a crawl for those rare occasions. 

Isn't the motor speed a function of voltage?

[thecfarm]

Now I know why my ears were burning.  ;D  Snowing out and looking at a few posts that I THINK I don't have much to offer. And than I see where Poston tired to slip in them g...s.  Just can not trust that guy at all.  ;D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

 smiley_curtain_peek

[isawlogs]

 He tried to slip one by but I caught him red handed.....

[Chuck White]

I've done just as you did several times Tee!

It works, in a pinch, most of us would have a chainsaw with us on sawjobs, so you can always make a wedge out of a chunk of slabwood.

[Brucer]

Isn't the motor speed a function of voltage?

Yes, it is. Unfortunately so is motor torque. If you reduce the voltage very much you won't be able to move the head. The preferred method is to power the motor with short, full voltage pulses. Vary the width of the pulse (the "on" time) to change the speed. It's called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and it's how Wood-Mizer controls the forward speed. If you move the head forward with the engine off, you'll hear a whine from the control panel; that's the PWM control unit sending out pulses.

The carriage control switch is wired to feed the drive motor from the controller when the head moves forward, and bypass the controller completely when the head moves in reverse.

Theoretically you could re-wire the controls so the PWM unit is used for both forward and backward operation. You would have to be vary careful to reverse the voltage on the output of the controller. If you reverse the polarity on the input you'll toast the unit.

[rmack]

Bruce, what about installing a separate PWM for the reverse travel? are they pricey?

would it be possible to just have one with two settings, available via toggle switch rather than having a rheostat?

Btw, never had grits, never even seen them, except in pictures. It would take something real special to wean me off potatoes.

[Ga Mtn Man]

I couldn't help myself...it was the  .

Just to make you feel good, I won't tell what happens when I hit the wrong lever while sawing.  It only happens once. :-[

...I WISH! :(

[Brucer]

Bruce, what about installing a separate PWM for the reverse travel? are they pricey?

The basic circuit is pretty simple and the parts are cheap. I've made them to control small hobby motors. When you have to control a high-current motor like the carriage drive on a mill it gets more expensive. The PWM circuit is the same but you need some pretty hefty semiconductors at the outputs to handle the motor current. In fact, you'd want to be sure you could handle a stalled drive motor for half a minute or so.

Wood-Mizer's controller has a lot of extra features for diagnosing faults and for protecting the circuit from overloads and so on. That adds to the price.

There's also a PWM unit in the WM sharpener to control the cam motor. It's simpler but I'm pretty sure it couldn't handle the current.

would it be possible to just have one with two settings, available via toggle switch rather than having a rheostat?

It would be easy to do with a toggle switch or even just a push button. The PWM circuit wouldn't change at all. The potentiometer just varies the resistance at the circuit inputs, so any other scheme to change the resistance would work.

[kelLOGg]

I got my PWM unit at MidwestMotionProducts and thy are pricey ~180$. After 7 years I accidently reversed the input leads and like Brucer said, I fried the unit.  :( >:( .When I installed the 2nd one I protected the input with a diode. It robs a couple of volts from the output but I use 24 VDC so it doesn't make a noticeable difference.
Bob