Sawmill Maintenance/Repairs

[Magicman]

I wondered about a Topic for general routine maintenance?  Usual and unusual stuff that may help someone else along their sawmilling way.

Yesterday when I shut the sawmill engine off I heard a strange noise that certainly was not supposed to be.  My customer then listened and said that it was coming from the alternator so...


 
This morning I pulled the alternator and sure enough, the fan had lost it's grip and was freewheeling on the shaft.  A quick trip to the alternator shop and...


 $20 and I was up and running again.  

Next my blade guide tray was....


 Badly rusted.  You can see my hand through the hole so....


 
I fabricated a piece of metal to cover the rusted area.


 
A one inch and a 2 inch fender washer covered most of the hole.  The screws got nubbed off and the underside got a good spraying with bed liner like the topside.

So what have you fixed??

[scsmith42]

"So what have you fixed??"

How much time do you have to discuss this?  :D :D :D

I don't see how anyone could own a sawmill w/o being able to do mechanical and welding work.  

Earlier today I worked on one of the support legs on Tom.  It had bent and had to be heated up, straightened out, and welded a new brace inside the 2x4 rectangular tubing.  After that we re-leveled the entire mill and then re-adjusted the band alignments.  Also had the solenoid shut down go bad on the Kubota diesel and ordered a new one.  And the guard on the guide arm had started vibrating against the blade and knocking it out of set.

Hydraulic hoses are always providing a challenge, and right now I need to rebuild the three cylinders for the fence but I'm not able to source the kits from Prince or Baker.  I'll probably have to set a couple of down days, take apart one cylinder and go to Cat to see if they can make me a parts kit for the repair.  In the past year I've rebuilt all the other cylinders on the mill.

Front seal has been replaced along with a fan blade last year, along with some of the flexible track for the hydraulic hoses, and last month I replaced most of the connectors for the electronic solenoid valves on the setworks.  That reminds me, the mounting post for the debarker hydraulic cylinder needs welding....

Every day is a new adventure...  

[caveman]

That is not a bad price to be back in the saw seat.

When I removed the blade after sawing on Monday, I saw a oil fill line I never noticed before. I did not see anywhere to put oil or even check it near the sticker.  Please provide me some guidance on this.


This is on the drive side behind the blade wheel.

[Bruno of NH]

Every morning we go through a check list .
It doesn't hurt to put your eyes on everything, just to make sure. 
The winter can be tough on the mill.

[Magicman]

Please provide me some guidance on this.

If that is where the sight tube on the cylindrical bearing should be then it is ultra serious.  Obviously your mill is different from mine, but the label is the same.  My sight tube is behind the cover that is beneath the fuel & lube jugs.  I thought that surely I had a picture but no can find one.

You should be able to find it in your operator's manual.

[Magicman]

How much time do you have to discuss this?

You are correct Scott, but I was thinking this morning about how much routine stuff that we do that just might help someone else.

Maybe having a maintenance topic is a good idea?  If not it will simply die.

[Magicman]

I saw a oil fill line I never noticed before.

Here is a picture of mine from my service/operator's manual:


 
Yours must be set up different from mine.  If this housing runs dry the results would be ultra serious.  Your sight tube must be behind that cover.  ??

[WV Sawmiller]

Lynn.

   What did you have to do with the alternator? I missed that? Did you replace it or repair or just replace  a missing bolt or such?

    My engine still just has the oil dip stick. I just did the 50 hour maintenance and also changed the oil and replaced the oil, air and fuel filter. My big problem now is just being able to see the oil on the stick because it is so clear.

   The 50 hour service is great and I am anal about doing them because the checklist makes me open up and check things I forget to do daily. My biggest oversight is probably to clean the air prefilter and I was embarrassed at myself last week when I saw how dirty it was. I have an extra foam pre-filter and need to remember to clean and oil it and just swap them out after every few hours running.

   I had one grease Zerk pop out and I replaced it with a screw in type but drilled the hole too big and kept losing them so I tried replacing it with a bigger one and drilled it too big and can only get a couple of threads to bite and that does not hold under pressure of the grease gun so I and going to try threading it what I can and see if JB weld will help hold it in place.

[Magicman]

Sorry Howard, I see that I neglected to say that the alternator shop removed the pulley and replaced the fan.  There was a fairly large chip/corner gone from one fin on the old fan so I suspect that a flying chunk of wood somehow got to the alternator which caused the fan to separated from the collar that fits over the shaft.

[Magicman]

see if JB weld will help hold it in place

I would use Brakekleen, etc. to get it squeaky clean before attempting JB.

[moosehunter]

@caveman ;
If you are just finding that you should pull the hose, drain and change the fluid and put a new sight tube hose on it.
My hose was stained and made it look like the fluid was full when in fact it ran dry and ruined the bearing assembly. I don't remember how much it costs for the bearing assembly but the oil and tube is WAY cheaper.
mh

[DWyatt]

That is not a bad price to be back in the saw seat.

When I removed the blade after sawing on Monday, I saw a oil fill line I never noticed before. I did not see anywhere to put oil or even check it near the sticker.  Please provide me some guidance on this.


This is on the drive side behind the blade wheel.

I believe my mill has this same sticker. It seems confusing, until you shine a flashlight through the hole where that bolt is sticking out. You should be able to see the main bearing tube that @Magicman is talking about. I think it's a way to quickly check the tube without opening up the side cover. The sticker may not help a lot to be able to gauge the level of fluid in the tube, but it does remind you to check.

[caveman]

I appreciate the education.  Somehow, we missed this.  Generally, we are meticulous about keeping machinery clean, lubed and ready to run.  

[Magicman]

It makes sense to be able to see the sight tube without removing a cover and the sticker showing what the level should be.  This looks like something that was probably added to later sawmill revisions.

We can all learn something.  :P

[scsmith42]

How much time do you have to discuss this?

You are correct Scott, but I was thinking this morning about how much routine stuff that we do that just might help someone else.

Maybe having a maintenance topic is a good idea?  If not it will simply die.

Ah, thanks for the e clarification.  In my mind I confused "maintenance" with "repair"
One of the things that we do is use a leaf blower to blow out the mill at the end of every day's milling.  That helps to keep potential issues visible.  

[Magicman]

In my mind I confused "maintenance" with "repair"

So do I.  I need to edit the topic title to cover both.  My opening post was certainly about repairs which was my intention.

[firefighter ontheside]

This thread is a good reminder for me that I should do some routine maint to my mill.  I put a new motor on it in 2020.  It is due for an oil change and fuel filter.  Also, I noticed that the 90 that comes out of my exhaust is cracked, so it needs to be changed or welded.  I will pull it off and see what needs to be done.

[tmbrcruiser]

Two must do's blow off the sawdust after sawing and keep a record written down of the time between grease jobs.

[tacks Y]

I use the hour meter for set the grease schedule, every 10 hours. Not perfect but there is idle time on all machines. And easy when it rolls over its time.

[Dan_Shade]

Speaking of grease, do any of you have a method of removing broken press in grease fittings? 

[SawyerTed]

It's much easier to diagnose problems if things are kept clean as I go along.  I agree with periodic cleanup during the day and at the end of the day.

Twice a year I usually would pressure wash the mill, afterwards it would get greased, oil change, new plugs, air filter and ATF on the chains.  It would get a dose of Seafoam in the gas tank. 

Usually before winter I would check the battery, clean the posts and check the cables.  At that time I would check the bottom rail contact. 

Seemed like alternator belts had a way of reminding me they don't last forever.  The drive belt replacement usually came due to sawyer error (like knocking the blade off when jogging back for the next cut) or broken blades. 

[Magicman]

Speaking of grease, do any of you have a method of removing broken press in grease fittings?

I would heat if first to maybe soften a clog.  A sharp upward rap with a chisel should dislodge it.

[beenthere]

Drill bit may dislodge the broken zerk

[Dan_Shade]

It's broke off at the surface, I thought it was threaded, an easy out just spins it in the hole... 

[beenthere]

Picture?