I have a new 130 woodland mill sawmill. I have used it to saw about a dozen logs. when I sawed a dirty log and my band got dull I decided to change it out for a new one. After I changed bands and sawed about 2 or 3 logs the band started coming off. I adjusted the tracking over and over and over, etc. (you get the Idea) I have gone through 4 blades now and they either pop off or break in two. I have had to quit twice and walk away due to frustration. It seems like the design on this mill is not quite right. The tracking adjustment is driving me crazy.
I might add that I used to have the woodland mills 126 mill. I did not have this problem with that mill.
Anyone have some suggestions?
That's annoying for sure. Sounds like you're familiar with the operation and adjustment so maybe there's a defect. Since you've owned the 126 you've probably dealt with support at Woodland Mills so you'll probably want to call them first thing in morning to see what they say.
There are some 130 owners on here and none of them have complained about the problem you're having. Maybe they'll have some insight though. I have the 126 and had no real issues with tracking or anything else, so I'm not much help with 130 specifically. They are always helpful at headquarters when I need something.
I did get some Lennox blades that weren't welded straight and they were hard to track, although they would finally track. Four blades bad blades iin a row is hard to imagine though.
It kind of sounds like something gave up in the tracking or tensioning department. Did you check the wheel to wheel alignment with a straight edge?
By the way, welcome to the Forestry Forum. I hope your next post is a happier one.
Some one on here had the same problem
I think it was some thing to do with a washer needing to be changed to a different style.
Welcome to the FF
Thank you fellows for the quick response. I do plan on a call to Woodland Mills tomorrow.
There was a problem discussed on the forum about washboard cuts on the 126. There was a design change to the tension mechanism. Woodland Mills replaced the urethane washer with a batch of spring washers because of the rapid wear and deformation of the urethane washer. This also solved some of the washboard problems I and a couple others were having.
It's kind of quiet on the forum tonight. That's probably why none of the 130 owners have weighed in on this.
Maybe you got a box of bad blades...
I have the 126 the only time I have trouble wiyh tracking is when I change name brand names on the blades.
The spring washers are a big improvement.
Welcome to the Forum Grandpa Rod
Check out all of the head and wheel mounting bolts to make sure their tight. Steve
To me, it sounds like you might have a wheel bearing gone bad. I have a 126 for over two years and never had a tracking problem. Hope you get that clear up. Keep us informed.
Thanks for all the replays fellows. I talked with the Woodland Mills folks and they gave me some things to try. They are send me a new wheel belt pad. ( the red nylon that goes on the wheel and the band rides on.) This one is supposed to grip the band better. I will keep you posted on the results. I don't want any more punctures through my leather gloves when the bands jump off.
Make sure the belt on the drive wheel sits above the wheel so that the blade rides on the belt and not the metal wheel. That was a problem I had once with my HM126.
> Did you check the wheel to wheel alignment with a straight edge?
+1
Get a steel or aluminum level and lay it across both of the bandwheels about 1/3 of the way between the center and outer edge. Make sure the level touches each of the wheels at each of the 2 outer edges of the wheel. If it does not, your bandwheels are not co-planar. If they are not co-planar, they will break your bands early, and possibly make them jump off the bandwheels -- exactly the symptoms you have. If you don't know how to adjust the planes of the bandwheels, call the Mfr and ask them to walk you through it. Should be fairly easy... just a torque wrench and time.
Did this get resolved?
I just bought the hm 130 and after 4 hours of cutting im having the same ptoblems,my blades jump off the wheel soon as contact with the wood,sometimes they pop soon as they are tensioned,ruined three new blades.i followed all the steps for tracking etc this is really frustrating!!! Seems to me theres a defect in this model!
There's nothing magic about the band staying on; it's just frustrating when the tracking is off. You should be able to roll it by hand and observe where the blade rides. If the blade wanders around when you're turning the wheels by hand, it will definitely do so when that engine starts. The blade guides do not hold the band on -- tracking does.
Have you checked the following? It's a good starting point.
Quote from: esteadle on August 02, 2017, 08:06:13 PM
> Did you check the wheel to wheel alignment with a straight edge?
+1
Get a steel or aluminum level and lay it across both of the bandwheels about 1/3 of the way between the center and outer edge. Make sure the level touches each of the wheels at each of the 2 outer edges of the wheel. If it does not, your bandwheels are not co-planar. If they are not co-planar, they will break your bands early, and possibly make them jump off the bandwheels -- exactly the symptoms you have. If you don't know how to adjust the planes of the bandwheels, call the Mfr and ask them to walk you through it. Should be fairly easy... just a torque wrench and time.
Welcome Novascotia sawmill good see another from up this way. Try using and old blade till you get it to track save the good ones for milling. Rod
I have a hm 130 and had the same problem when I changed the first and second blade. I didn't tension the blade enough when I set the tracking and when I took it to the 25ft/lb. the bladed kept coming off. I haven't had the problem since balancing the wheels under almost full tension.
I am having the same tracking problem with my new 130 mill. I am wondering if you have resolved your issue. I have spoken with Derrick several times over the past week or so about this problem. I have followed the tracking instructions in the manual. I can spin the blade by hand and both blade wheels rotate and keep the blade square to the back of the blade wheels. The only thing that I find puzzling is when you spin the blade backwards and watch the black drive belt in the location of the pulley between the clutch and "left drive wheel" the belt moves to the other side of the pulley. Spin it back in the forward direction it moves back over to the other side. I will take a few photo's to attach if you need them to answer my problem.
My issue was not cleaning the oil from the new blades combined with too much lube.I also roughed up the wheel with the red band with 220 sandpaper after cleaning it. I also spin the blade several times by hand to ensure true tracking before powering it up after blade change.shouldnt matter that your drive belt shifts turning it backwards ,long as its in the final proper position on stattup and stays there. You can try running it at low rpm with no blade and see where the drive belt tracks going in the proper direction.
Welcome to the forum Hawkeye141! I hope you get the tracking problem solved soon.
Hello to all, thanks for the advice. I have contacted Woodland Mill and they were successful in getting the bugs out of the mill. Touch wood it will continue to track well. The help line has been very helpful. I called them the other day to say the raising and lowering mechanism started to stutter while moving. They said that I could loosen the 4 bolts on top of the rails and move the plastic bushing around until it was balanced from the sides of rail. This step has worked well. Cheers
Hawkeye141,welcome to the forum.
I like to ask,what's the plan for the lumber?
Glad to hear the tracking is working better.what did you do to resolve the issue?
I have a friend here in New runswick that had the same problem with his HM130. I went to help him resolve the issue and discovered his torque wrench was way off. The design of that model relies on the exact torque at which time the 2 pulleys are in correct alignment as confirmed by a straight edge laid across the 4 points of contact on the 2 pulleys. His was way out of alignment from the over torquing. Once we got a proper torque wrench and torqued it properly to 25 ft/lbs the blade tracked perfectly and he has no issues since.
Welcome to the forum, GMCguigan. I'm also from New Brunswick, the Moncton area.
This is an older thread, but your method of checking and correcting for tracking is right on. Some of these mills don't seem to take much over torquing to cause the band wheels or mountings to flex enough to cause tracking problems.
I had exact same problem with my brand new (2021) HM122. After having tried everything and not being able to get in touch with Woodland Mills, I adjusted tracking on the driver wheel. Yes, the one with a scary red sticker saying "factory set, do not adjust". Problem solved. Turns out that wheel wasn't properly adjusted at the factory. There were other people on this forum who have encountered the same problem.UPDATE: Woodland Mills finally got back to me. They confirmed I was right to adjust the driver wheel and sent me three new blades to replace the ones I ruined. A rare and admirable example of a company standing behind its products.