Hello everyone, It's time to start making lumber again and I have a question. In getting the alignments done on the sawhead we've noticed the roller guide on the blade guide arm does not seem to contact the blade that much. It turns when in the cut and the more closed the guide arm is, the more contact it makes. We've checked the tilt on the head as well the height of the blade guide arm to the bunk and it is running true open or closed. The manual calls for 1/4" of blade deflection and we've got that, but there is no more room in the adjuster to lower the guide rollers.
We just started sawing but, so far, the lumber coming off the mill is true and consistent from one end to another all the way down to the bottom board.
Has anyone else had this experience and if so what are your thoughts?
Thanks,
Mike
I had the same condition a few years back....never did figure it...when I changed guides, it went away....perhaps try changing those little bearings in the guides....or just say to heck with it and cut nice strait boards(thats what I did):D
Blade guide arm alignment is critical to keeping those nice, square cants and cuts.
There is a document called the Factory Alignment Procedure. It is so well written and illustrated that we keep them on hand for customers. The local printer puts a clear plastic cover on them so they will survive more wear and tear and can travel with the mill.
Here is a page that may be helpful: (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/29548/Blade_Guide_Arm_Drawing.PNG)
If you want a printed copy, just phone me at 907.360.2497.
I highly recommend having one on hand.
Parker
Bear in mind that this is a very touchy adjustment. Too loose, and it isn't adjusted. Too tight, and you will break shear pins in the drive sprocket (if so equipped.) You should not be able to wiggle the arm either horizontally or vertically by hand with no pressure on it, but should be able to push the arm in and out with a fair amount of force by hand. Not a real easy adjustment to make, but still an important one.
Lots can be said about this, I ran with an 1/8th in deflection for years, (til I was chastised by an ole timer) ;D cuts were always spot on, not counting reactive logs of course. This said, the directions for correctly aligning the setting is to long for a post. It is easy but just takes a metal scale, and some patience. Once done you will be in, and glad of it.
The fact that your roller makes better contact when you move the arm indicates that your blade guide arm isn't aligned properly. The information that prittgers supplied is also in your user manual.
If you've run out of adjustment room on anything, you probably need to go through the complete alignment procedure. There's a lot to it but it's usually worth it in the long run.
We should all back up a step and remember that step 1 is to take the blade guides off and make the blade parallel to the bed. Then set them for 1/4 inch deflection. Then adjust the blade guide arm.
Let us all know if that works!
We're pretty diligent about keeping the mill aligned and everything mentioned here has already been done. We've checked the blade height to the deck, the head tilt, and the alignment of the blade guide arm. I guess we'll have to go back over the whole thing from scratch again and see if we missed something. Thank you for your help folks. I'll report back once we discover what we're doing wrong.
Quote from: prittgers on May 20, 2015, 12:28:21 AM
We should all back up a step and remember that step 1 is to take the blade guides off and make the blade parallel to the bed. Then set them for 1/4 inch deflection. Then adjust the blade guide arm.
Let us all know if that works!
Some might not know what
¼" deflection means, but it simply means adjust your blade guide rollers so that the bottom of the rollers are ¼" lower than the bottom of the band wheels.
Delvis--just replaced my outer roller bearing/assembly yesterday, after 500 hrs on my LT40.. Bearing was shot (due to water from lube?) and I only noticed because roller was, like yours, intermittently in contact with the blade. Needed the whole assembly because the stainless set screws had permanently rusted in (due to water from the lube tube--spray WD 40 everyday, Rob!!!). My cuts were only sometimes off by 1/16th to 1/8th on outer side because of the play in the roller/bearing (inner roller spins freely and has no play) but I thought it was because of tension in the wood. Took me about an hour of playing around with the various adjustment but she cuts straight and true now ;D and only cost me $ 110 with shipping :( . Hope this helps and good luck with your investigation. All the best, Rob.
When you say there's no more room to adjust the guide rollers are you talking about the rollers that the guide arm runs in, or are you talking about the roller that contacts the band?