Question for the big band operators 6"+

[FeltzE]

Granted, my question has too many variables to be truely accurate.

How many BF do you run between blade change/sharpening

How many hours between blade change/sharpening?

What size blades are you running?

What is the kerf?

[Magicman]

Your first statement is correct.    500-1500 bf, 4-8 hours, 1¼" 10°, 1/8".

[Jeff]

We had an old 6" band resaw we used for center splitting lumber.  It didn't have to deal with the dulling agents you find on a saw cutting logs normally but I can assure you that those bands get dull just as quick as a typical 1.5" band if you saw anything with dirt on it.  I can't really give you a boardfoot number as lineal feet is a more accurate term when used in a center splitting or resawing operation.

[Magicman]

OK, Looking back I see that I read your post and immediately forgot the thread title.  6"+ 

My bad......  :-[

[dgdrls]

In my limited experience with bands
you will get more miles per band if you de-bark
your logs or have a de-barking head leading the band,

This helps no matter what band you run,

DGDrls

[justallan1]

You pretty much answered your own question, FeltzE.
I ran a re-saws for cut-up mills and it all depended on what you were doing, species of wood, age of wood, facia versus splitting something, the face that you are striving to get, Etc.
The office always scheduled for the least number of change-ups possible. Other than that we ran them until we couldn't.
Allan

[Satamax]

Here's numbers i've had from a local sawyer, the main guy i get my wood cut by.

spruce, you can get between 2 and 4 cubic metres in planks, don't know if it's 1 inchers or thicker.

He reckons that in our local larch, he can't get more than two cubic M.

And iirc, he said About 1 cubic m for the hardwoods usualy ash, beech and sometimes oak here.

That's per band, and he's got something like a 8 incher. I never measured his blades. He's got a big debarker which peels off the bark. His saw can cut about 43' long.

[FeltzE]

My question is one more of curiosity than true comparison data.  I know the "big bands" often run carbide tips, or are swaged.

I could only imagine how often the blades aer removed and replaced for service, but from what I've picked up I believe it may be 2 or more times in an 8 hr shift. Running debarked saw logs on the main headrig.

Maybe sometime I can scrounge up a big mill tour ... that would be really neat.

[Satamax]

Hi Feltze, over here, most of the people run stelitte tipped blades. I don't think carbide is a good option for soft woods. Usualy, here the toughest they cut on a regular basis is larch. And the main prob is gumming. Carbide teeths get micro chips on the cutting edge if the rake angle is too acute. But you're right to assume one change at mid day, one change at the end of the day. I've spoken extendedely with my sawyer, untill he discovered what i had in mind  ;D

[sawsmith]

Most of the mill's i deal with that use a band as their headrig will usually run about 4-5 hrs. per band and saw about 8000 ft. with that band. If they use a circle saw for a headrig and a band for a resaw they can usually run 6-8 hrs. and saw 15000-20000 ft with it.

[mad murdock]

I think Hull-Oakes lumber (down in Apline OR) run their main saw (double cut band) 2-3 hrs and change out bands. Bd ftage would be hard to say, except it is a lot per hr! They don't cut anything under 35"" typically, and they do cuts as long as 80' plus.  One of the last big band mills on the left coast, and steam powered to boot.