set on new WM blade

[coppolajc10]

Sawed a silver maple the other day into 5/4 boards, 15" wide.  Here's a few pics of the log on my mill:



 


 


 


 

Used WM double hard blade, 10°, .045 as recommended by WM for 30 HP.  Feed rate had to be adjusted to a crawl, cut nice, just really slow :(.  Checked set, which ranged from .042 to none and everything in between.  Would this set cause the feed rate to be real slow?  Anyone know the recommended set for hardwoods for these WM blades?  Thanks, Jake

[BBTom]

set on a .045 blade should be around .023.  Some like a little more, some like a little less.  Dry soft maple is sometimes a bear to cut,  The sawdust is like a fine grit and likes to slip out of the gullet and heat up the blade. I haven't had any problems with fresh cut soft maple.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

At 15 inches wide and sawing Maple.......sometimes its a slow process to get good boards.
Your boards look absolutely perfect. Good job and very nice pics.

[hamish]

Almost all factory set is between 18-22 degrees per side.  If your set was that far off it would have cut terribly.
A dull band with proper set will still cut, just slower.

How were you measuring your set?

[drobertson]

I have to believe, if you are getting flow(like) dust, maybe seemly packed on, then the feed is too slow.
the dust I believe should be a bit course, as described to me as the difference between corn meal and fine ground wheat flour. It has proven to be true.  speed up as hp allows you to and make sure your alignment allows for such a feed.  Alignment is a bit critical in all aspects of faster sawing with great results.  A bit of challenge, but well worth the  trials to get it right.  Horse power is critical, as is the feed rate through the log.

[coppolajc10]

set on a .045 blade should be around .023.  Some like a little more, some like a little less.  Dry soft maple is sometimes a bear to cut,  The sawdust is like a fine grit and likes to slip out of the gullet and heat up the blade. I haven't had any problems with fresh cut soft maple.

Thanks bbtom, you described my experience well  , but I often checked blade and was relatively cool.

[coppolajc10]

At 15 inches wide and sawing Maple.......sometimes its a slow process to get good boards.
Your boards look absolutely perfect. Good job and very nice pics.

Thank you  8)

[coppolajc10]

Almost all factory set is between 18-22 degrees per side.  If your set was that far off it would have cut terribly.
A dull band with proper set will still cut, just slower.

How were you measuring your set?

Thanks hamish, used a digital micrometer subtracting .045 thickness.  I could see the set discrepancies with naked eye, or I thought I could

[coppolajc10]

Hamish, I at least thought many of the teeth had a lot of set by eyeballing, those are the ones measuring 'round .043 or so.

[coppolajc10]

speed up as hp allows you to and make sure your alignment allows for such a feed.

Drobs, thanks, I couldn't increase speed without engine bogging way down, had to basically go as slow as I could.  Haven't noticed any alignment issues anything in particular?  Thanks again.

[barbender]

Forgive me if I am stating the obvious, but every third tooth is a raker and has no set. There should be one tooth set left, one right, and a raker.

[bandmiller2]

Coppa 10, when most of us measure set its one side from the band body on that side usally around .020 thousands of an inch. Your doing it right if you carefully use calipers and subtract the width of the band. It seems you loose set on the inside teeth first. Nothing wrong with the cuts you've made, you feed as fast as your power will allow, wide cuts and hard wood require you to slow down. I use a dial indicator with a flat anvil mounted in a small metal block I hold agenst the band to check set. Frank C.