I purchased a Baker 3650E and it was delivered in August of last year. Took awhile to get it set up and running. Have sawn 10,000 bf or so and I'm ready to pull my hair out. Have tried every suggestion Baker can think of and have broken nearly every band put on the mill. The bands are getting stress cracks in the gullets and break after sawing 400 or 500 bf. We have set the lead dead level, tension is set at 1,650 psi, set the guides and set tracking with gullets flush with the front of the band wheels.
This weekend while in the mill I was looking at a broken band I noticed the crown of the wheel is tracking closer to the gullet than the back of the blade. So I called Baker this morning and questioned the tracking not centering the crown of the wheel with the center of the band between the gullet and the back of the band. I believe they are as lost as I am as to why the mill is breaking so many bands. But was told to give it a try and center the band with the crown of the band wheels. I am running 1.5" bands and the band wheels are 1" thick, so this will cause the tracking to run farther forward than recommended by Baker in the manual.
Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
My Cook MP32 also has crowned wheels where the crown is not centered on the wheel but a little forward. Regardless of where the crown is, I adjust the tracking so that the gullet is even with the edge of the wheel so no part of the tooth contacts the wheel. As I understand it, if these conditions are met it doesn't matter where the middle of the band is. My wheels are 1" thick and bands are 1.25"
With 1.5" bands on a 1" wheel you may have too much band hanging off the wheel.
Pics of your wheels/bands might be helpful to someone with a Baker.
Bob
Could your tensioner be giving you false readings ?
How far behind the band are the supports. Too close you will break bands fast with a high powered mill. What kind of bands are you using and have you tried a different brand. I run Simonds which normally take a lot of sharpening but one time got a bad batch where every one broke after the 1st sharpening. Steve
I would guess that it's an issue with the guide rollers. Secondly, could be one or both of the band wheels tilted off a bit.
I'll be in Rehobeth for a (ridiculously small, but they're willing to pay) job Friday morning. If you'll be around sometime after noon on Friday I could swing by and have a look.
Cruiser, I would try less tension on the bands. If you level the mill are the band wheels vertical, not pitched in or out. I would adjust the toe of the band wheels its kinda like adjusting a sanding belt on a sander. You've tried what they say with no results you must think outside the box. Frank c.
Hi tmbcruiser,
The Baker website has a list of Owners Manuals,
I found the following under the 3640e manual,
"Check band blade tracking. A 1-1/4" blade should be flush with the back of the wheels; a 1-1/2" or 2" blade should be centered on the wheels with the gullet flush or no more than 1/32" past the front face of the wheels."
Do the bands break in both soft and hardwood?
What tooth set are you running?
What angle tooth?
I'm certain you'll get it sawing right.
D
We thought about the tensioner and it seems to take about the right number of strokes on the hydraulics to get the correct tension. Tried backing down on the tension and got waves in the cut. I am running Kasco bands 1.5", 7 degree, first thought was bad batch of bands. So called Kasco they were great sent out new batch of bands pronto. Didn't help so I don't believe it is the bands. Will call them tomorrow to discuss the problem and their thoughts.
I have followed the tuning process with maximum care. Set the blade lead dead level so wheels should not be tilted. Set tracking flush to the gullets for a while then set it 1/32" past the face of the wheels as the manual directs. Still breaking bands. Spoke to Baker today and they have been putting every effort into trying to figure this problem out. The one thing that puzzles me is Baker didn't list 1" wheels as part of their usual width. I am beginning to believe the 1" wheel is to narrow to run the 1.5" band with the setting recommended in the manual.
Delaware Jack any help would be greatly appreciated. I usually am in the mill on Friday afternoon. Will pm you my cell number. Sorry to hear you won't be able to make it to Delaware Joe's fishing trip.
Thank you everyone for the replies. Any experience with 1" wheels and 1.5" bands would be helpful.
Just throwing things out, but what does Baker usually run for a band wheel width as well as band width, thickness of band, and even what brand/model? Since this has been going on for awhile, and they are out of answers and also their comfort zone, I would try to reconfigure the mill to their standard configuration, and maybe then the eureka light will come on. Reduce the number of unknowns and variables. This would include getting away from the 1" wheel if they have a different one.
Put a clamp somewhere on your mill so it just touches your band wheels.
Spin your band wheels and look to see if one is egg shaped. It should touch
the clamp all the way around with no gaps.
Your bandwheels might not be co-planar. I wrote a post about this here:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,94149.msg1452105.html#msg1452105