This question is for the guys who use diesel fuel, for blade lube. I'm thinking about going this route, but I'm curious if it leaves stains or discoloring on the finished board. I know a few commercial sawyers that use it all the time, so I'm guessing the answer is no. :new_year:
I would NEVER use straight diesel for lube.
Cost to much
Makes your belts wear fast......a lot of diesel will make the belts mushy.
May not be good for your lubemizer sprayer motor and the "0" rings. But disregard this is you have a gravity fed drip lube.
I ONLY add liquid soap to my water and have a spray bottle on hand full of diesel.
If my blade build ups....spray to clean with diesel, wash it off with the lube spray and keep sawing.
I have NEVER had diesel fuel show up on my lumber.
I remember in Scout camp we used diesel on the wood in the campfire to make it burn. So, be careful.
manual lt30 use it on a foam paint brush when build up becomes excessive and when I shut mill off to prevent blade rusting, Just a hobby sawyer
Quote from: reswire on January 06, 2016, 09:28:59 PM
This question is for the guys who use diesel fuel, for blade lube. I'm thinking about going this route, but I'm curious if it leaves stains or discoloring on the finished board. I know a few commercial sawyers that use it all the time, so I'm guessing the answer is no. :new_year:
I have used diesel strait for the last 10 years with my lubmizer which had to be modified as POSTONLT40HD said the stock pump wont take petrolium products. I have my lubmizer at a lower setting and the 5 gallon tank of diesel lasts about 60 hours or more. I cut mainly western red cedar and sitka spruce which seems to soak the minute diesel spray without any stain or smell. I cant comment on hardwoods as I dont cut much of that but Im thinking hardwood would(thats a mouthful :D)be less forgiving.....
I've used straight diesel for quite a while now with no adverse effects. But my mill is home made. I don't know about the lubemizer, I used a universal windshield washer pump. I give it a squirt at the end of each cut, blades stay clean, and no stain or smell that I can detect on the lumber. I use just a little over a quart of diesel a day, so at say $2.25 a gallon that's about $0.56 a day for blade lube. If there's a difference in belt life, I haven't noticed it. But if you use a constant drip, or flood the blade it might make a difference.
I cut mostly Pine and Fir, but I have cut some Gamble Oak, Aspen, Walnut, and Pecan with good results.
This is my experience, your mileage may vary. :o
Someone used vegetable oil .
I use it a wipe and have never gotten stain or smell. (Check my gallery for pics). My main customers are wood workers and have never gotten a complaint. One customer, in fact, had me saw reclaimed warehouse beams which he sold to architects and builders at a shocking price. Don't use it as a drip as those with water lube do - that would be a different story.
Bob
Straight diesel in a drip. No problems with belts or wood. Mostly SYP.
Water in the summer, diesel in the winter about a drop every 2 to 3 seconds keeps the blade cleaner than a lot of water. 3 gallons last a long time, way cheaper than running washer fluid and still freezing up. Steve
I have no idea about finished lumber. I have seen the way WM use water and it's a BIG diffeant than the way I use diesel. I use half bar and a chain oil and diesel for a lube,mixed half and half. And the next part is VERY important. Just a drip once every 2-3 seconds. And I mean a drip every 2-3 seconds. Most of you guys saw more in a week than I do all year. So I have no idea about the belts. Mine are still fine after 10 years. I have not noticed any spots on the lumber that I saw. But I do not make furniture,meaning I don't use a finish on my wood,so I have no idea if it would bother the finished product or not.
I've not tried, but also have considered. Regarding belts and diesel wear, has anyone tried the urethane belts from timber wolf? http://timberwolfbandmillblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=BMX-18.75
their site says "highly resistant to blade lubricants" (btw, can only use this belt on idle side).
Maybe I will try some diesel tomorrow. reswire - were you thinking of straight diesel or diesel/bar oil mix? any suggestions as to one or the other from anyone? and to ladylake (or others with b20 using diesel) - do you use the standard b20 lube tank and system from TK for the diesel or a different one? Thanks, Jake.
I use straight diesel as lube with no problems. It was recommended by Cooks. My mill has steel band wheels, and after I got the diesel adjusted correctly I have had no issues with it on the boards or making my clothes smell.
We keep a spray bottle of diesel on the mill. If the blade starts to get buildup I'll hit it with one or two squirts while it's running and that usually clears it up pretty good. Haven't had any issues other than spray bottles don't seem to last as well as I'd like.
Best bottles I found that hold up is the ones made for spraying WD-40 that you buy by the Gallon.
Comes in gt. size.
When Red Clay Hound had the LT15, we used water + detergent most of the time, but I got my hands on a few large, pitch-soaked white pine logs that absolutely refused to be sawed due to pitch buildup. I switched to diesel, and the blades stayed clean and I got perfect cuts even in knotty, pitchy, 16"-wide wood. We continued to use diesel for a while, but it eventually ruined the drip lines and the O-rings in the lube container, so we replaced them and resorted to diesel only when necessary. Red Clay has the LT40 now, and I don't think that he ever runs diesel any more.
Quote from: uler3161 on January 07, 2016, 12:08:14 PM
We keep a spray bottle of diesel on the mill. If the blade starts to get buildup I'll hit it with one or two squirts while it's running and that usually clears it up pretty good. Haven't had any issues other than spray bottles don't seem to last as well as I'd like.
smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup
I use 50/50 diesel and bar oil in spray bottle as needed .
Bruno
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice.
I've been cutting a lot of pine lately, and the pitch build up has driven me crazy! I usually run detergent in the lube system, but it just wasn't doing the job. A good friend recommended using diesel, to see if it would make any difference. It didn't take long before the cuts were straight, and the finish on the board was improved. My buddy worked in a large commercial band mill company, and he said that was all they used for blade lube. He did warn me about diesel/dust buildup, and how it has caused commercial mill operations to go up in flames rather quickly..
My only concern, was the damage it might do to finished wood products. However, I suppose most woodworkers plane and sand enough to take care of that!
Quote from: reswire on January 07, 2016, 10:26:32 PM
My only concern, was the damage it might do to finished wood products. However, I suppose most woodworkers plane and sand enough to take care of that!
Don't bet on planing and sanding to get rid of oil on lumber. I keep all petroleum products AWAY from my bench and table slabs. :)
That's yet another great use for brake clean! lol
I had a bad problem with pitch building on the blade when sawing big syp logs rich with sap. I was using soap/water (gravity drip setup) and it wasn't cutting it no matter how much I flooded the blade. So, I switched to straight diesel fuel and it solved the problem but created another....It made my belts really slick and I started throwing my blade. I have since switched back to soap/water.
Deese
Try running less diesel, a drop every 2 or 3 seconds is usually enough. Also I find when I saw all summer with water and switch to diesel if the blades come off when engaging the clutch new belts will cure that problem as the old ones were pretty rounded off. Steve
Quote from: uler3161 on January 07, 2016, 12:08:14 PM
We keep a spray bottle of diesel on the mill. If the blade starts to get buildup I'll hit it with one or two squirts while it's running and that usually clears it up pretty good. Haven't had any issues other than spray bottles don't seem to last as well as I'd like.
ME TOO
I use a spray bottle as and when its needed also.
No known problems so far.
I would think that if petroleum products caused problems the chainsaw millers would know all about it.
I concure with poston , I use straight diesel for lube, however, I have a Logmaster LM4 wich has no rubber bandwheel tires just steel on steel.
This was a big selling point for me and was a large part of my decision to buy a Logmaster.
Using diesel will eliminate any and all problems with sap and pitch and the saw cuts like a dream.
But... if you're running a machine with any type of rubber, silicone, or other petroleum product made bandwheel tire, you need to avoid any type of petroleum based lubricant for the obvious reason. It will disolve your tires!
I hope this has been of educational benefit to you. :P
Solomon I respectfully disagree.I have used diesel only for over a year now and on a LT 70 with rubber belts with no problems.I saw mostly pine so pitch build up is a big issue.I turn the lubmizer down so i get about one shot every 6 to 8 seconds.With cypress or popular water and soap are fine but heart pine is much more difficult.
But some belts or tires are not rubber but made from urethane .
50/50 diesel and bar oil for many years from a spray bottle, local HDW store has old style metal lube cans
Quote from: woodmills1 on January 11, 2016, 07:00:21 PM
50/50 diesel and bar oil for many years from a spray bottle, local HDW store has old style metal lube cans
X2 works great
I don't run diesel on my mill, but used to run it on the mill I learned on. That's all that was used, and never had any break down of the belts. I did have a transfer tank in my pickup once, and the rubber bed liner grew about eight inches after getting soaked in diesel. :D
I reluctantly made the switch to diesel about 50 hours ago, when my lubemizer froze for the second time... I saw lots of pine, plenty that's pitchy, and some heart pine resaw jobs that were nearly impossible... All I could say, is that I wish I would have done it a LONG time ago...I tried the spray bottle method, but required frequent stops and tending to, doesn't take long, but time adds up, and time is $$$. You just need to watch how much you use, that's all, like others have said. If you run it as liberally as water, you likely will have problems.... And you don't need nearly as much...my 5 gallon jug is now empty...after 50 hours of sawing...
I use a 50/50 mix of bar oil and diesel as well with a drip every couple of seconds. I have sawn mostly white pine and haven't had too much trouble with pitch build up, but I do notice the blade is a lot noisier when I run less or run out of lube. My wheels are rubber and I assume the extra noise is coming from the blade on the roller guides...
I don't have a bandmill yet but I do build furniture, and it's a pretty routine thing to wipe down unfinished boards with mineral spirits for various reasons, and it dries pretty fast, so I seriously doubt diesel fuel in the amounts I hear people talking about here, is going to harm a thing.