Finally got back to milling some logs this weekend. In the middle of a big butt log the blade took a dive.
Turns out I hit a couple of nails. One of my spectators (can't believe how people like to watch a sawmill go back and forth) who has some milling experience mentioned that I may as well throw those blades out. When he has hit nails the blade needed so much sharpening they broke the next time he used them.
Seems a bit over the top, any thoughts. I'm sure a couple of you on the forum have tried to saw through a nail at least once. Thanks,
Pretty much the case in my opinion as well. Now depending on the damage blades can be salvaged, however, my experience has been I keep putting them back and seldom use them, for the simple reason bout every log is critical. If you have some logs, maybe short ones that will make utility pupose blocking, damaged blades might be worth keeping around, I bet you would rather have a good blade and keep moving on, wrestling matches just are'nt much fun on the mill. david
Quote from: ValleyGuy on April 08, 2013, 09:36:13 PM
Turns out I hit a couple of nails. One of my spectators (can't believe how people like to watch a sawmill go back and forth) who has some milling experience mentioned that I may as well throw those blades out. When he has hit nails the blade needed so much sharpening they broke the next time he used them.
Seems a bit over the top, any thoughts. I'm sure a couple of you on the forum have tried to saw through a nail at least once. Thanks,
Yeah, nails, bolts, railroad spikes, bullets, ceramic insulators,
dry wall screws, fence wire, parts of the mill
Some truth to that advice. I usually repair the blades, but they frequently do break pre-maturely
Wow ! I just did my first portable mill job ,had a nice 12' hard maple on the deck sawed some awsome boards ! 1 cut away from the pith the guy tailing looks over and makes a waveing patern with his hand ..Hmmmm Next cut is the pith dead center I crank up my lube and dive in .... no realy I dive in ! crap ! luckily I could back out of the cut . Here's the thing I watch my blade tension guage when I make each pass I noticed the tension drop on that last cut ,still in range I had 1 cut left I went for it . Nope ! wrong move ! we pulled the 2" thick board off and inspected it to find fence wire {I think} right at the end of were the log was cut ! Long story short the customer agreed to pay for bands if I hit metal ,near as I could tell the set got nocked out of the bottom side but the band got hot ! I told him it was junk.
The only time (twice) that I ruined a blade by hitting metal, it was a sheetrock screw both times!
A single nail shouldn't ruin a blade, it will cause it to need resharpening and setting.
Now a cluster of nails, as in one of Magic Mans pics will ruin a blade in a hurry!
Quite a few sawyers will require the customer to pay for a replacement blade anytime the blade hits metal in their log!
I have only twice had the customer pay for a replacement blade, usually it's $5.00 - $10.00 per occurance!
I am among the "hit and pay" sawyers. If I hit metal, etc. the cost to the customer is $25, which is agreed upon before sawing begins.
I use ReSharp and have no way of determining whether the blade is completely ruined or not. In my last box of blades the "nail" blade was rejected and not sharpened.
Well there are nails, and then there are NAILS :D
How many, how big, how hard, what angle you hit them on? So the damage may be anything from barely noticeable, to needs a re-sharp, to a heap of teeth missing (throw it away).
If you state up front that it's $25 when you hit metal, you can always cut the customer a break if the blade is salvageable, or if it's pretty much worn out and ready for the scrap heap anyway. Easier to give a discount vs adding an extra charge.
Ian
I hit 8 nails and some fence wire last weekend in one log.Some were deep,it was a very old heart pine.I sharpened and reset 4 times to get through that log.The band has one tooth that's about gone causing a small ridge but the band cut's great.I wont use it for wall paneling but for structural material it's fine.The mark was on the under side of the board so i knew it was a damaged tooth on the inside of the band.
I like to use the blades that have had nail strikes, on logs that I know have metal. When you sharpen the blade and it still has teeth messed up it will leave grooves in the lumber but if it is set right it should still cut strait.
Quote from: Chuck White on April 08, 2013, 10:21:36 PM
The only time (twice) that I ruined a blade by hitting metal, it was a sheetrock screw both times!
A single nail shouldn't ruin a blade, it will cause it to need resharpening and setting.
Now a cluster of nails, as in one of Magic Mans pics will ruin a blade in a hurry!
Quite a few sawyers will require the customer to pay for a replacement blade anytime the blade hits metal in their log!
I have only twice had the customer pay for a replacement blade, usually it's $5.00 - $10.00 per occurance!
Same experience, except i was the customer,
DGDrls
Quote from: slider on April 09, 2013, 05:10:57 AM
I hit 8 nails and some fence wire last weekend in one log.Some were deep,it was a very old heart pine.I sharpened and reset 4 times to get through that log.The band has one tooth that's about gone causing a small ridge but the band cut's great.I wont use it for wall paneling but for structural material it's fine.The mark was on the under side of the board so i knew it was a damaged tooth on the inside of the band.
When this happens, the best thing I've found is to hold the blade against some heavy metal and strike the offending tooth with the hammer and it will flatten out like a raker and won't bother anymore!
I always let the customer know what the cost will be if the blade is ruined.
Common nails if hit at a near right angle are usally not the death of a band.If the band runs on a nail parallel its more serious and requires more work to set it right.Anything large or hard like drywall screws will pretty much lunch a band.Many times if metal is hit the band will dive and get kinked when you remove it.Case by case. Frank C.
Thanks for all the advice. Took a close look at the blades and no missing teeth just really dull. I'll try sharpening them and keep them separate and see how they last.
Sounds like I should invest in a metal detector. How deep will they detect nails? This one was near the centre of a 27" diameter log. Teach me to check the log's history next time.
Marc