Why Did I Do It

[Rhodemont]

Have had a big 17ft long red oak log sitting since last fall when the tree went down.  Milled the bottom clear log  a couple of months ago and it was nice.  This was 2nd up so had a lot of big knots.  Figured I would mill it into 2x6 fence boards for around paddocks that get worked hard by the horses.   It should not have taken too long to mill before it got too hot.  Man, this thing made my LT35HD grown like I have never heard.  Actually stopped the band and feed a couple times entering some of those knots.  Checked drive belt tension, feed belt tension, blade belts all seemed pretty good so I stubbornly kept at it.   Took several hours and was hot by time to move /stack the boards.  Actually I shifted to 4x4s after getting to a 12x12 cant.  Would have gone a lot better and faster if I had cut the log to a pair of 8'6" rather than running the 17 ft and having to handle those heavy lengths.

[WV Sawmiller]

  What is the hook angle on blades you are using? If not 4 degree I'd first try that.

[Rhodemont]

4 deg is my go to band for oak (except for the magic box of 10 deg I still have some).  The 4 deg is still on the mill, feels sharp and looks good but I have been fooled before.  I will leave it on for the next nice clear log to verify.

[Machinebuilder]

I by no means know what I am talking about, but all I have been sawing is red oak.

Having an lower powered manual mill, and using the 4 degree Woodmizer blades. I can really tell when they are getting dull.
it is much harder to crank the mill through, the rope slips on the pulley, and there are some interesting groaning sounds.

When I put a new blade on it's like a completely different mill, I control the feed by listening to the engine speed.

Unfortunately I have killed several of my blades before they got that dull.

The dull blades don't look that bad and will still slice skin quickly.

[YellowHammer]

Big, knotty logs are a challenge.

I've not run an LT35, but with my other LT's, if the band hangs and stops running, and the engine doesn't die, the band is too loose.  

I'm not saying that's its a good idea to feed until you stall the band and thus stall the engine, that'a a bad situation.

I'm just saying, if I feed too fast, I can stall the engine, even on my LT-70, which isn't a good idea at all, but it does mean I'm using all the HP the engine has to give me.

Once a drive belt has slipped a bit, it will lose its grip and need to be retightened immediately.  When I'm sawing, if I ever heal the belt squall, (southern term), then its slipping, and I will stop and tighten it up.  I use the WM belt tension gauge.

[kevin5055]

Having an lower powered manual mill, and using the 4 degree Woodmizer blades. I can really tell when they are getting dull.

Have you tried the 747's in red oak?  If so, how do they compare?  I ordered a mill along with some 747's, but was debating the 4 degrees at the time.  I have about 90% red oak with the last 10% being hickory, white oak, and pin oak. 

Thanks!

[Machinebuilder]

Having an lower powered manual mill, and using the 4 degree Woodmizer blades. I can really tell when they are getting dull.

Have you tried the 747's in red oak?  If so, how do they compare?  I ordered a mill along with some 747's, but was debating the 4 degrees at the time.  I have about 90% red oak with the last 10% being hickory, white oak, and pin oak.

Thanks!

I have only had the mill a couple months. between the time fixing things on it and life I have only gone through about 5 blades, mostly killed from hitting things.

I got about 6 blades with the mill but they are all unknown, and the one that was on it cut badly.

the recommendations from this forum was to use the 4 degree blades because of the lower horsepower.
I plan to order another box of them soon and then look into resharpening services.