Hot blade

Osagedon · March 09, 2008, 09:07:35 PM

Hello everyone,

I milled some osage orange this afternoon. I made a lot of yellow dust and some nice yellow boards. Anyway I milled three logs 7' long and 14" in diameter mid log. On the third log I forgot to turn on the lube, after about the third cut the blade started dipping pretty bad. I still didnt realize the lube was off and continued sawing slower. Soon after is when the smoke started and I realized the lube was off. Is the blade ruined or can it be sharpened?

Don

logwalker · March 09, 2008, 09:11:05 PM

Let it R.I.P. ;)

SeeSaw · March 11, 2008, 08:01:52 AM

Don,

Osage Orange is some of the hardest wood that I've ever encountered. I have not sawed any on the bandmill but I recall when I used to cut it often with the chainsaw. Sometimes Sparks would fly off the blade. At first I thought I was hitting nails or something else. Not, It's just really hard. Chainsaw blades did not last long at all when cutting it. I thing Logwalker is right your blade may be toasted???

Dan_Shade · March 11, 2008, 08:44:31 AM

i'm going to guess that your blade is fine. the reason it dipped is because it got dull and warmed up enough to allow it to stretch (which is normal).

sharpen it and see how it goes.

Coon · March 11, 2008, 04:03:14 PM

Did the teeth of the band turn really black like it was burnt? If this has happened you may have damaged the temper of the band. If this is the case it may be ver hard to keep the set and sharpness alive. Try setting and sharpening it if you have the equipment to do so. If the band still has the same tendencis scrap it.

Osagedon · March 12, 2008, 08:03:06 PM

Thanks guys,

After reading your comments I went and compared the hot osage blade to a blade that was used but still in good shape. The teeth were not blackened and looked just like the blade I was comparing to. One thing I did notice was that there was burnt yellow pitch buildup all around the blade. The pitch evidently was a result of the heat and no lube. Osage is very hard wood but the saw was cutting it nicely until I forgot to turn on the lube.

Don

P.A. RESHARP · March 13, 2008, 04:10:42 PM

Hello, How hot did the blade get? Did it turn blue? When a blade gets to hot, it loses its temper. If you know how to coil the blade, try coiling it, if it feels like it is trying to coil by itsself then it has what is called "coilset" If that is the case it isnt worth fooling with. If it feels normal when coiling you should be allright. Hope this helps. Rich