is anyone cutting old barns beams?

[C L FARMS]

hi all, my biggest customer last year was a client that tore down old barns and brought me all th non hand hewn beams and i cut them into 4/4 stock, he pays well, so i won't complain, but i average about 2 beams per blade before i wipe them out on metal.  has anyone found a better way, or blade that holds up?  i have just been going w/ super cheap blades and hitting them with the grinder until they won't cut straight anymore, i have tried resetting, with little sucess.  metal detectors help, but i have found that by the time i adjust them fine enough to get every nail, they are going off for just rust in an old nail hole etc.  i pass the blade expense along, so i am not lossing anything, and i never use virgin blades on beams, so it isn't all bad, but was wondering what others have found that worked.

[Warren]

CL,

I did 12 beams for a customer back in December. First time sawing beams. Took 4 blades.  Your numbers look about right.  Lesson for me going forward was time and material only on next job resawing barn beams: $50 per hour (for the aggravation) and $30 per blade.

Warren

[oakiemac]

I have a customer bringing over about 30 40' long beams to saw for "scraped old growth reclaimed" flooring. Sounds like this could be a money marker selling this stuff to the yuppies.
I'm sure they will be full of metal but I'm used to that with tree service logs. I just but in old teeth and hope for the best. ;D

[mike_van]

C L Farms - Suffolk Machinery has a Cobalt tipped blade I used once, about 60.00 I think for a 16 1/2 footer, I probably cut 75 nails off with one, and it was still useable. The teeth are so hard the nail doesn't leave the "chip" stuck to the tooth like the regular blade.

[woodhick]

I cut kiln dried red oak beams for a timber framer all the time.  The best blade I have found is the Lennox woodmaster B  bi-metal blade.   I have recently tried a Morse bi-metal blade and it cut great but had some problems that may be related to the size timber I was cutting 24" wide.  The morse bands are a lot cheaper  $25 than the Lennox at $45.   I beleive Menominee saw may carry these but I use a different supplier.  It pays to check around on prices.   With the Lennox blade we can usally saw 20 to 30 beams before changing.

[rewimmer]

I  like woodhick have used the Lennox bi-metal blade with success. I use them on old logs from barns and log houses. We use a light feed rate and plenty lub. I have had no problem with staining using pine-sol and water. 
Robert in Virginia

[LT40HDD51]

I've never sawn much with a lot of nails in it, but have sawed a bunch of big, dry douglas fir timbers (doug fir is rare in N.S., comes from B.C.) Its really dry and hard and the beams are about 7"x26" and 30' long (with the odd nail, of course). None of my stock blades worked worth a hoot, so I made a couple with about 4-5 degrees of hook and 18-20 thou set. WM's 4 degree blades work really well in the hard, dry stuff but won't address the hardware problems. I am interested in those cobalt blades, though...

Baileys online has a metal detector designed for scanning logs, new for 2007. Dont know about the rust in the holes, though. Would be interesting to ask them what they think...

[dail_h]

   I saw a lot of reclaimed stuff,just use the metal detector,and pass the cost on to the customer. I have one customer that will almost always send a box of blades before he calls about me cutting. It's good work,but it still hurts to hear that "zing" with a brand new blade.