WM wide heads

[KWood255]

Same here: my gasifier will take 30" but I went from cutting 24 to 18 for ease of handling. I don't really need the xtra capacity anyway.

Back on subject: definitely go wide, if nothing else you don't have to fight the guides past logs with carbunkles (intended misspelling ) and flares on them.

I'd love to see the details on your gasifier! That's a projects for another day. 

[Sixacresand]

I assume the wide mill owners don't have wave problems while milling width capacity boards.  I have not read of any problems.  

[farmfromkansas]

Do you need to use wider and thicker blade on a wide head?

[Magicman]

The wider apart your blade guides are the more susceptible your blade is to produce a wave when encountering knots, twisted grain, etc. same as with a non-wide.

Proper blade guide alignment, blade selection, sharp & properly set blades, proper drive belt tension, and sawing speed control are all paramount to reduce the possibility of wave problems, again, same as with a non-wide. 

[SawyerTed]

It's real easy to saw too fast and make waves with a wide model when cutting wide cuts.  Once a sawyer gets used to slowing down a bit, flat cuts return. Don't ask how I know... 

It is better to run wider thicker blades generally.  I'm running 1.5" .045 thick blades and get better results than with 1.25" blades. 

[Crossroads]

No regrets on getting the wide head. At the time it was only an $800 upgrade and worth every penny.