I Smoked my Sawmill this Morning !!

Magicman · September 13, 2024, 03:08:22 PM

Yup, I was sawing along and making good production when suddenly both the sawmill and I were engulfed in blue smoke. I was at the end of the cut so I disengaged the clutch and brought the saw head back "home". The smoke stopped when I disengaged. The blade tension had dropped to about half so I walked around and tapped the blade and Yup, it was HOT. I removed the idle side blade cover and....

This little jewel was wedged between the blade and blade housing.

Tightly I might add. The normal is to get a large splinter between the blade and blade guide roller on the drive side. I have had this to happen before, and it is always exciting, especially when something smokes and it does not cost you anything.

No harm to anything and I finished the morning with that blade.

doc henderson · September 13, 2024, 04:33:11 PM

I am surprised it did not break the blade. yeah, all sorts of stuff can run though a guy's head when you hear noise and see smoke.

Old Greenhorn · September 13, 2024, 05:37:21 PM

Yeah, it's exciting. This has happened to me a couple of times, particularly cutting off bench legs (sideways glance at 'somebody'). I did a blade change yesterday and found a 4 inch chunk of bench leg split in half.
I am seriously considering fabbing up a plate to go in front of that chute opening, but I haven't figured out a proper connection point yet.

Magicman · September 13, 2024, 07:03:08 PM

I saw the "extra" chainsaw kerf in the log's end before I started sawing and cautioned the tailgunner to stand back as the blade exited. I had no idea that this little chunk followed the blade around to the idle side.

rusticretreater · September 14, 2024, 01:40:49 PM

So where did the smoke come from? The bandsaw tires? That can't be good.

Magicman · September 14, 2024, 01:51:11 PM

Friction. Hot blade against the wood.

WV Sawmiller · September 14, 2024, 03:24:39 PM

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 13, 2024, 05:37:21 PMYeah, it's exciting. This has happened to me a couple of times, particularly cutting off bench legs (sideways glance at 'somebody'). I did a blade change yesterday and found a 4 inch chunk of bench leg split in half.
I am seriously considering fabbing up a plate to go in front of that chute opening, but I haven't figured out a proper connection point yet.

"Somebody" says if you are getting your bench legs hung in your blade you're doing something wrong. Often mine don't even fall off the rest of the leg when I trim them. Didn't the one we cut at Jakes do that even though he had put on his flack jacket and hard hat and glasses and had everyone else hunkered down in the bunker expecting shrapnel and bench leg ends to be flying everywhere? (Some people just lack confidence in their fellow man!)

Instead of worrying about designing/"fabbing" up a plate in front of the chute why don't you do something useful like designing a tension meter to keep the debarker automatically riding in and out along the log so I don't have to keep moving that toggle switch?

doc henderson · September 14, 2024, 04:28:41 PM

yep, the sides of the blade do not cut well.

Old Greenhorn · September 14, 2024, 06:55:44 PM

I'm not doing anything wrong Howard, I am just not doing it like you.

I think you use 4° blades and Jake uses 7°, I am using 10° and I think that they are a bit aggressive for legs. In any event, they all come off, sometimes they remain standing on the blade and just walk down toward the chute.