saw head shaking

[sawwood]

I know some of this has been talked about befor but i just want to see if any one has some new input as to how to stop it. First its a Norwood Mark4 with a 20hp Honda. We spent
about 2 hours Saterday adjusting the mill but it still does it. We tried a new sharp blade,
added more water/sopa to the blade but no help. The enging is running at 3450 and doesn't
drop down any. It gits to shaking so bad you have to stop and let it settle down befor you
can start cutting. Also it still is cutting out of square cant witch i think i can fix, but would
this cause it to shake. Its about 1/8 to 1/4 out from one side to the outher. It cuts the same
thickness end to end but not side to side. Going to call Menominee saw tomorrow and git a
couple of the Monk blades and see if that helps. The blades we are useing are a mix bag,
some are Timber wolf, woodmizer, and simmions. We are cutting Oak, Walnut and osage
logs. the oak we where cutting had been down for some time but outhers new logs did the
same thing. Any help stoping this would be great. Also what hook angle do we need for hard
woods?

[sjh]

My Hudson will shake and cut like that. Every time it has been out of level.

[Ironwood]

I have seen this randomly on a Norwood a fellow brought here (I hired him to mill for me), seems his issue WAS blade/ wood related issue. Good luck . Keep us posted on how it works out.

Ironwood

[Tom]

I would look beneath the v-belts on the band wheels.  If sawdust gets packed in there, it causes the blade to ride over a hump on every revolution.  It's a common malady to bandmills that use v-belts.  Usually it is a resin impregnated wood that will start it.  Pine and cypress are notorious for it.   You have to dig it out with a screwdriver or other tool.

The out of square cant is usually caused by the squaring dogs (fence) not being square to the bed.  It can also be caused by one guide being set further down than the other guide.  At worst, it is the head out of alignment, but that is rare on a 4 post mill.

If out-of-square happens only occassionally, it is usually a piece of bark or other trash, got under the cant while cutting one of the sides.

[sawwood]

i do have  one question, the belt on the idle side does not fit in the grove when the ban
is tighen down. is this normal or should if fit tight ? we put a new b56 on and it fit tight
till i put a blade on and tighten it up. I tried to put a b55 but it would take some doing to
git it on. Is this so saw dust will be removed and not build up under the belt?

Sawwood

[Furby]

The out of square cant is also caused by the way you clamp the cant.
If your squaring dogs are too low and/or your clamp is too high, you can end up with an out of square cant.
Also check that your dog mounts are square with the bed and that your dogs are not bent in one direction or another.

I've gotten the head shakes on hard, dry wood as well as with some dust packed under the belt, it don't take much.
As Tom said, it happens more with resin impregnated wood, but pushing a blade too or past the dull point allows fine dust to fly around and get behind the belts.
Really wide cuts may also make the head shake some.

No, the belt shouldn't fit tight all the way around. It is being squeezed out by the blade. The blade however should not be contacting the steel of the wheels.

[sawwood]

 Thanks Guys on all the help. First i am going to check all the aliments and put a new
drive belt on. Then when i git some of the Monk blades will see how that go. Have a
couple of oak logs to cut and will see if that helps.

Sawwood

[ely]

the only time my norwood shakes in the cut is when i am way up near 18 inches off the deck and cutting 12 inches wide or more. i can usually put on a sharp/fresh band and slow up in the cut a little and get her whittled down to size, then its back to normal for me.

seems like when the head shakes it makes a real wavy figure on the cant.

check the square on your frame of the mill, corner to corner. if this is out of square it will cause your log stops to be out of square with the mill, at any given point in there swing radius.
meaning if you take for granted your log stops are square then your cant will be whomper jawed(now there is a technical term)  i know this because my mill is this way. i always take one slab off the log then turn the log and get it set with a framing square and a level then take the next slab off. after that i just saw it normal and i dont crank the dogs up so tite that it raises the cant off my deck.

[ohsoloco]

I've had problems with my Norwood shaking, and as ely said, it's usually when I'm making wide cuts with the blade really high off of the deck.  In other words, when I'm sawing really big logs.  Sometime I have to stop every few feet cuz it's shaking so bad.  Once I saw a few flitches and get the log turned once or twice it's alright.

[logwalker]

Check the hook angle. As it gets more aggressive it can cause the shake you are experiencing. Joe

[pineywoods]

ditto what logwalker says. I sharpened some blades for a local norwood owner. Used my woodmizer sharpener which I had set up for a 15 deg hook angle. Unless he went REAL SLOW the mill shook like a wet dog. He was cutting big dead pine logs.

[ladylake]

I'd agree with too much hook.   Your B56 belts shoud fit tight after they're on even when tensioned up, if not they're a little long.  I've had good luck with Goodyear fitting right.   Steve

[sawwood]

I order two Monk blades from Menominee saw and what a great company to deal with. they where very helpful and the shipping fas fast, order them Monday and received them
to day. Going to try them this weekend and see how they do. JR that has the mill called
me the outher day and said he was setting the blades we used and one side had no set
and the the outher side was at 35degs, no wounder the head was shaking so much. will
let you all know how we do this week end with the new blades.

Lester

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Might want to check the belts (Tires) on the band wheels. Might be too low and the blade riding on the metal wheel edges ???  No set sounds suspicious ??

  I'm thinking you're gonna love them Munks.  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[sawwood]

we put a new belt on the idle side and the drive belt we are going to change, not setting
to low just has a lot of crackes.

Lester