swingerblades?

[donny hochstetler]

I have a question about my swinger saws. I just recently purchased a brand x, still learnin , anyways I got several new blades with the mill ,i've sawed a fair amount and the one tooth got busted off, was just wondering  how critical it is to keep on running it , it seems to cut alright as i'm cutting pine 2x4s .any other info. on saws would be appreciated. Also does anyone have any experiance at sawing lap-siding? I need some for my little saw shed.

[brdmkr]

Donny,

I have run the mill with a missing tooth or even 2 missing teeth when finishing up a job.  I couldn't tell that it hurt anything, but I have never run a mill long like that.  I reasoned that if the   seat with no carbide tip came in contact with trash metal it could ruin the whole blade.   In fact, I did chip out a seat pretty badly on a blade.  I thought it was toast, but the saw doc built it up, ground it down, and hammered the blade to as good as new.

If it were me, I would not run the blade any longer than I had to before putting another tip on.  But, that is just the way I am.

[KnotBB]

For what its worth:
I run a Lucas mill and if I get one tooth broken off I figure I've lost 20% of my cutting power.  The blade will still cut just not as well and it puts a greater strain on the remaining teeth.  Very noticeable in cutting white oak.  Break off five and it's no cut at all.
Depending on how much of the tooth broke off you may stand a chance damaging the blade itself.  The cutout portion of the blade where the tooth mounts needs to be the right shape to accept a new tooth and have square edges to properly expel the sawdust.  With no tooth to protect the steel and widen the kerf it probably gets excessive wear and more heat build up.  It can be repaired but it's an extra expense.

[woodsteach]

I've run with out 3 on my 6 tooth  :-\ blade for several days with  no ill affect on the retipping of the blade.  Yes I have to go slower but it always seems to happen when the other 2 blades are off to the saw doc.

I have used the lap sidding and like it and I'll have to stop and think about how to set it up..... I'll get back to you in a day or so.  I'll have to go to the mill and cut some may be even take pics.

woodsteach

[donny hochstetler]

thanks for the info.   looking forward to hear from you cocerning lap siding, as I need some for my little shed, I built for my mill. also can anyone give us info. on how to post pictures,WIFE can't figure it out. thanks guys.

[ironstumper]

Hey Donny, I too have run with three teeth missing. I'm not sure how long as I was new to this machine and didn't notice the difference for awhile....Your pictures need to be smaller to be uploaded. They recommend xat.com image optimizer here. The help button on the top of the page covers that well....Doug