head shake

[logman 219]

how do you control head shake when sawing ??what is the cause of it???

[SawyerTed]

Can you give a little more info?   What mill?  Timing in the sawing when the shake happens?  Is the shake new?  

[Magicman]

This is a good reason to add your sawmill and even your location to your profile so that questions can be answered. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, you need to give us a lot more details if you want some good answers otherwise we will be guessing util the cows come home. What wood, what mill, and what blade? Those would be the startup questions.
 Just or fun, I'll take a guess and say you are using a 4 post manual mill, with 10° blades and the wood is maple. How close did I get?

[Magicman]

I went through 46 replies and found where logman 219 has a BMST50 sharpener/setter, so I am thinking a bit larger than an entry level sawmill. 

Still need to know before answering. 

[Cedarman]

the time it was worst for me was resawing Brazilian King Wood with a blade that had too much set and too much tooth angle.  Man did it shake when going down the cant.

[SawyerTed]

If the head on my Woodmizer LT 50 is shaking other than initial engagement of the blade, something isn't right.  It's time to shutdown and figure it out.  The shake form engaging the blade is momentary and settles before the blade enters the cut.  

[logman 219]

norwood 2000 mill , riper 37 blades , 10* hard wood  logs 16" to 28" dia !!! shake only i in short spots!

[Old Greenhorn]

So my guesses were pretty close. Assuming you have no alignment issues and all else is to spec, then I would switch to 4° blades and I bet your issue disappears.
Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

[logman 219]

what does 4* blades have to do with it??? my cbn wheel is 10* , don't really want to buy  another wheel!!

[Old Greenhorn]

It has a LOT to do with it, along with the HP of your mill and the rigidity of the construction. A 10° blade is fairly aggressive in grabbing a good chip, this puts the load back through the head and translates into shake as the blade grips and releases. With a 4° blade you reduce this 'grab' for a big chip and there is less load going back into the system.
 I had the 'shake issue' really bad on my mill, trying everything to fix it, but since switching to 4° blades it is completely gone in all types of wood. You may have another cause and effect, but all I know is what worked for me.

[Magicman]

I have never even seen a Norwood 2000, so I can not address any possible sawmill issues, but common questions are; Possible belt slipping under load?  Do you have blade guide rollers or pads? 

Your shaking question still lacks any supporting information that could lead to any diagnosis, i.e.:  Has the sawmill sawed without shaking or is this something new?  Does it shake with any/all log species?  Does it shake with a new blade vs resharps?  It there any sawdust buildup on the blade, drive belt, or under any belts?

[Old Greenhorn]

Lynn, that mill is a fairly classic 4 post design manual mill but has the saw head just out in front of the posts. It is a robust and pretty dang stiff design and I think 13 HP was standard on it. Not made since 2010 but a good mill with many FF users I have seen over time. It's a stronger mill than my HudSon. But the low HP and the 4 post design just make the physics be what they are. I know I suffered a long time until I switched blades and life just got SO good for me, it was like a new mill. It did take me a while to finally come around too.

[Nebraska]

Similar to the  experience I had with my Ez Jr mill 13 hp. 4 degree blades improved cut quality immensely.  I kept with mostly all 4 degree when I bought the bigger mill as well. 

[ladylake]

I've been running 4 degree for over 20 years , they work better.   Steve

[Magicman]

Lynn, that mill is a fairly classic 4 post design manual mill

Tom, I am and have not given any advice nor suggestions.  Just asking questions.  ??

[Old Greenhorn]

Yes, I realize that Lynn. I was not aware of the model either so I went and looked it up and watched a few videos. I just figured others were not familiar with it also, so I tried to give a general description.
 As others have responded, the 4° blades make a big difference. This is where I learned of them in the first place also.

[Magicman]

shake only i in short spots!

There is no way to address this head shake issue without more dialog.  Trouble shooting is generally a process of eliminating possibilities to zero in on the probable cause.

[ladylake]

  
 (As others have responded, the 4° blades make a big difference).   This is a real good place to start, why chase after other reasons if 4 degree cures it.  Make perfect sense to me.  Besides 4 degree cuts straighter.  Steve

[logman 219]

mill new in 2000, replaced motor 2010 25 hp !! 4*  are hard to find for my mill!!! how much slower do they cut??

[Old Greenhorn]

All I can tell you is they worked for me... and apparently several others. Given your engine upgrade, perhaps 7° would work? But that just a guess. I had no trouble getting 4° from Woodmizer for my mill, but I just checked and they are not listed that I can find easily. I think yours are 144"? But many have commented in months past that it is difficult to find known parts on their site since they upgraded it ( the website). Sounds like a phone call to your local WM folks would work here.
 When I found the 'magic bullet' for me, I sent in all my 10° resharps and they happily reground them to 4° for me. But now they don't do re-sharpening anymore. I have a supply to last me a while though. I know you resharpen your own, so making a change should take some thought and planning. All I am suggesting is that this will likely help you out. YMMV though.
 Oh and as far as cut speed goes, for me, it actually goes a lot faster because I am not slowing down or hesitating when I get that shake. I power down the log at a nice consistent speed.

[Magicman]

I am still trying to establish your sawing history and a time line.

It's a 2000 year model mill but have you been sawing since 2000 and this shake problem is something new?