just "rolled" a half ton maple quarter onto the mill, after the cloud settled, noticed the blade dipped progressivley to a half inch entering the cant, rose progressively to a half inch leaving. this would be allright if i was making siding or a shiplapped floor, but shes a nice clear 20 footer that begs not to be destroyed. please help!
im a gunna go throw a new blade on, and try to wedge the kerf as i go. oh everythin is kosher, guides set and fence tight.
THANKS
redpower,
Use a new blade, make sure your blade tension is correct, check the blade guides to make sure that roller or flange on the guide is no more than 0.020 inches from the back of the blade. Do you have sap build-up on the blade? This will cause your problem. If you are sawing with a large amount of the blade cutting, you should have at least 0.025 inches of set per side. Is there packed sawdust on your boards? If yes, you do not have enough set.
If you're still having trouble after a new blade and everything D._Frederick listed, then also check your main drive belt and make sure it tight as a banjo string. (or as tight as it should be.) If you're not dogging down the engine on a big log, then I'd bet your belt is slippin'.
after i flipped that cant, i noticed the rear of the blade had some resin, and the face of the cant had burnt stripes, do i need to increase the lube? ill check the belt, no packed sawdust. thanks
Burnt stripes! That is an indication that your blade has gotten into something. Check the cant for nails. You don't want them in a planer. If you can't find tramp metal in the wood, look for something on the mill that might be damaging teeth.
It is also an indication that the blade is under a lot of cutting stress. Is the face of the cant humped? You might be trying to cut too hard a piece of wood too fast with an agressive blade. There are a number of things that can cause it.
Usually when the blade rises in the cut and drops off of the end of the cant, it is a set problem or a guide problem. The blade may be riding too far back on the wheels or guides and flattening the set on one side. The blade will want to saw in the direction of the side that retained the set.
When my blade rises in a cut, that indicates that I need a sharper blade. If it hooks the end of the log and pulls the blade off the wheels, I change the blade. :o
i went pretty slow, tom. and the bottom of the cant is 17-16" i dont beleive the set is buggerd, the teeth stay off the wheels, but i never lift the cover and put my eyeball on it while its cutting, so im not that sure. ill check the set. like i said, the first 10 feet of the cant cut like a champ, as i got more twords the end, it kinda made a inverted 's' shape, low, then high. now im wonderin how ill cut that wrecked face smooth?
Get your blade cutting and it will straighten it out. I'de be looking for something "hard" in the log." Check the teeth on your blade and see if you have passed through a bullet or nail. If the teeth aren't damaged or broken you will still find metal from the obstacle welded to the "face" of the tooth. It's hard to fine nails and stuff sometimes. I'd go to where the black streaks started. That would be a good place to start. It could be in the side of the cant rather than in the middle too.
Occasionally we get a black streak or two on the face of a cant. It is rubber from the tires the blade rides on. I found that a hard pine log and fast sawing will make the blade slip a tad and there's the black streak. More water works for us. We actually use quite a bit of water in a day, as much as 15 gallons, when the resin is running as it is right now.
I think Tom has got this one pegged with the clue of "burnt stripes". I had a band that did the same thing one time. Figured I hit tramp metal but couldn't find a darn thing even with my metal detector. Never heard the typical ZING either. Put on a new band and made a few more cuts, flipped the cant and same thing happened but this time found the culprit. 22 caliber jacketed bullets. Apparently with the first band I pulled the bullet out of the log.
Sometimes when I am cutting something like hickory I will get the "burnt" stripping on the log, I have found that most of the time i have a resin build up on the teeth causing them to heat up.
This only seems to happen in hickory or pecan
Most of the time a little extra lube will help, some times I have to change the blade. :)