Mill head Cutting speed

[opticsguy]

Cutting Maple slabs on mill last evening, very slow going, tough tree and possibly the blade might be getting dull.   I estimated about 5 seconds per inch cutting speed on a 20"+ maple slab. This was slow going (one minute per foot) and am quite sure if I started to push the cut rate, the blade would become stressed and broken.  Even with a new and sharp blade, my cutting speed is supposedly less than a higher power machine.

This has got me thinking about my manual mill and my cutting speed.  A friend always comments my mill is slow compared to the auto-feed hydraulic mills.  So, how can any machine, even with a 1,000 hp, the SAME blade and the same wood cut faster than my mill without destroying blades?  

Thank you for your reply.

[Southside]

Well, there is a bit more to it than that.  First - what are you using for a band profile?  The harder and drier the wood the less hook you want to the band, so a 4 deg will do a lot better than a 13 degree - presuming you have the HP to pull that 4 degree band through the wood of course.  

It does sound like your band may be dull, can you put on a new one and cut in the same log to see if there is an improvement?  

As far as a larger mill, the speed also comes from the fact it is running a wider, thicker kerf band which is at a much higher tension, using deeper gullets in the band which remove the chips more efficiently, all of that takes energy, thus the higher HP.  You could not run a 1.25" 0.45 band on a 6' head rig - at least not for very long without the band falling apart.  

[DPatton]

Your correct in that your cut rate should be much faster then what you are claiming. You need to ask yourself what is slowing down your cut rate. Is it a dull or bad band? try a brand spanking new band. Is the band on correct? check to see that the band has not been turned inside out or on backwards ( hey I know, but it happens). are you loosing horsepower? does the engine bog down in RPM's during a cut at this rate? is your engine RPM's set correctly for the mill? are your drive belts slipping or does your band speed drop in the cut? The list goes on but those are the things you need to start looking for. Even though you mill is manual I think it should be capable of a much better cut rate. At that rate you are likely overheating the band too. is the band gummed up? are you running lube and what lube are you running? The answer is there you just have to find it. Remember your feedback will help the members help you find and fix the problem. Good Luck and keep us posted.  

[ladylake]

 Sounds like you're having trouble with blades breaking when you feed faster. I think your mill has little bearings behind the blade or maybe a flanged roller guide. The fastest way to break blades is to have the back support set to close to the back of the band.  If you want your blades to last good set the back support at least 1/4" behind the blade.  Measure it, no guessing.  Steve