Useful sawmill mods

[Chromazome]

added a bit of info is that better

[4x4American]

That's a much a more better!

[landscraper]

I usually grease my drum switches every 50 hours, but sometimes I'll go a little over if I'm in the middle of a sawjob.

I read this thread a few weeks back and checked the maintenance schedule for my LT35 and lo and behold there is no mention that I could find for drum switch maintenance.  I put it on my list of things I should do on my next service interval, just in case.

Then today, out of the blue, she got all herky-jerky in forward, but not reverse.  Chain and rails clean and ATF'ed, check.  No bark in in the drive sprocket, check.  Not hung up on a log, check.  Brand new hot battery, check.  Wires to the feed motor tight, check.  Drive belt and pulleys tight, check.  Follower bearings rolling smooth, check.

Opened the control panel figuring it was going to be electrical, and it was ................... kind of.

I don't know if you all have stink bugs up north, but they are like a plague of locusts around here.  They get into everything, and I mean everything.  I have gotten them out of everything from carburetors to carpet knives.  It's gotten warm for the last few days and there must have been a hatch,because they were inside the control panel by the hundreds, and some guts and gizzards were in the drum switch contacts causing intermittent contact in forward.  I blew them out with air, cleaned and lubed the switch, checked the indicator lights on the circuit board and I was back in business.  No metal shavings btw, just bug intestines.  I'm guessing they crawled up through the wire loom.

I was going to take a picture of the bug-pocalypse but the volume button was on the wrong side.

[4x4American]

stink bugs stink!  We have em in ny..
did you check the maintainence calendar?

[Bandmill Bandit]

Here are a few pics of my latest mods. The mill started out life as a LT40G28 manual but has since grown a bit. The latest mods are 3rd hydraulic toe board, dual hydraulic pumps, 2nd battery, 2nd contact strip, and external DC power.

Hi Doug

What are the chances you'd have the WM part numbers for that battery box and related parts?

[DGK]

Hi BB, the box that is holding the battery is the hydraulic pump box that came with the bolt-on log loader kit. Sorry, but I don't have a part-number for it. I am sure Gary in Salmon Arm would be able to find it. I have a class 31 size battery in there with room to spare.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Chromazome.   

[Dave Shepard]

My micro switch wasn't working this morning, so I wired in a toggle switch I had around. I didn't want to just leave it dangling, and was considering poking a hole in the hydraulic box somewhere, when I noticed a plastic plug on the front of the box. I think it might be for the log deck option. Anyway, it made a great place to put the switch temporarily. I'm working on a battery to run the hydraulics when I need to unclamp at the other end. It's wired in directly now, but I have a master switch that will fit a hole discretely on the box that is under the rail. You would have to get down on the ground to see it. It's really handy to be able to unclamp and bring the last two boards back with the dragback. Pics when I get it done.



 

[Dave Shepard]

My sprocket on the blade guide motor has gotten to the point where I can push the roll pin in by hand. They don't stay in long. I was going to wrap the sprocket with electrical tape, but I found a piece of fine welding wire and ran it through the middle of the pin.. That should hold it until I can get an updated sprocket.



 

[Kbeitz]

My sprocket on the blade guide motor has gotten to the point where I can push the roll pin in by hand. They don't stay in long. I was going to wrap the sprocket with electrical tape, but I found a piece of fine welding wire and ran it through the middle of the pin.. That should hold it until I can get an updated sprocket.



 

You can drive a thin screw driver in the roll pins slot. That spreads it open and makes it a little fatter.

[pineywoods]

Use the next size larger  roll pin.. they come in a variety of sizes.

[Peter Drouin]

I went with the new stile works good so far.

[Dave Shepard]

I'll order one next time I get parts. I just had to come up with a solution that lasted longer than 15 minutes. I try to order as much as I can in one shot to spread the shipping around.

[Ga Mtn Man]

Moved to new thread by OP

[flatrock58]

Got the gauge Magicman suggested and put in on the glow plug cover.  It goes through the switch so it isn't always on..

 

[Magicman]

Your voltmeter looks good and 4.6 is a good number.  ;)

[flatrock58]

Thanks Magicman.  I thought you had a good idea, but wanted to have it where it would go through the switch.  I just tied into the 12v line going to the glow plug relay.

[4x4American]

Any of you put a tachometer on your mill?  I'm thinking it might be a handy gauge to have, as I can find what rpm the saw likes to be run at, which could be helpful when you can't hear the engine.  Sometimes someone is running a powersaw, or the tractor is running next to the mill and I can't hear the sawmill running too well.  I've never installed a tach before so not quite sure how that all works and if there's already exisiting sensors for it on the yanmar or whatnot.  Anyone?

[ronwood]

I have been running a tach for years  I set my feed rate by the engine rpms.

Ron

[Kbeitz]

Yep... You can get them cheap on E-bay. Two wires for 12v and one wire to the spark plug wire on my setup.

[Magicman]

Not quite so simple with a Diesel. 

[Kbeitz]

Not quite so simple with a Diesel.

Yea that would be an whole another beast. You would need something like a proximity switch.

[Dave Shepard]

Tiny Tach makes sensors that go on an injector line. Different sensors for different diameter lines. Then tell the tach how many cylinders.

[Bandmill Bandit]

I've had a Tiny Tach on my mill for the last 800 ish hours. Wouldn't want to be with out it.

You can program oil changes and other maintenance things as well as time jobs.

[4x4American]

Thanks for the tip.  I'm going to have to look into the tiny tach.  I don't see why a tach isn't standard!  Or at least an option.