Thanks all for all the tips. I have my mill up and running and each day brings a whole new adventure. Today's lesson was a stressed log. blade starts pinching and I have not a clue what to do but shut it down before I cook my blade. I ended up back cutting the board I was cutting just to get it of the log. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/15143/working_mill2.jpg)
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Firebass
Hi
Sounds like you did real good !
reading a log is an art
and after a few hundred hours you will be just fine
until then just keep being safe
Under similar circumstances, although with a different mill, I used long wedges that I made and inserted into the cut.
Make them 3 or 4 feet long so you can reach the log from where you operate.
The wedges really do help. When I am cutting hardwood, I will carry a couple of nail pullers (it is late and I can't remember what the car called, but they are sort of a mini crowbar). I put these in the kerf to keep it from closing up. Also, the pinching generally occurs in the wide dimension. So, I try to cut that first, leaving the narrow dimenision to help hold things in place. For example, if I am cutting 1 x 6 with the 6" being the vertical cut, I will cut the vertical cut first, then as I am cutting the horizontal I'll put the wedges in. It seems to help, but it could just be my imagination :).
Many milling cuts can bind a blade, like splitting the pith on lg. dia. log, or 2" th. or more cut, or wide cuts (especially completing the cut on the big end of a lg. dia. flared butt log)
Warp.
Dry logs can be a cause (always cut as fresh a log as you can)
Hickory , dry white oak and some others, small dia logs, curved logs, can have stress.
If your mill has a blade pressure gage, you'll see the psi. drop off as the blade heats up,, if left uncorrected, the situation will get worse.
If you use a 3/4 space,, try 7/8 (don't know your mill specs)
jim
Another thing you can try is, if you were cutting boards vertically, switch to horizontal,
or vice versa, until you get past the tension wood.
Wedges are helpful. I use the tactic Jim is referring to; that is cutting perpandicular to the stress. In addition, I will usually make as series of cuts in that direction (example, a bunch of vertical grooves) to relieve the stress, then cut the boards free with a horizontal pass or two...however many it takes. I have also run into situations where 2 step cuts of half the desired width/depth have been necessary due to stress.
Captain