Sharing your wisdom ... What NOT to do

[Bandmill Bandit]

I have on of those little magnetic boxes that I keep a spare Key in and it is "strategically Located" so that i am never  with out a key for the mill.

[DDW_OR]

in 2011, I drove from Oregon to AZ to pick up my new TK-2000. parked the TK-2000 in front of my AZ house while i went to Harbor Freight to get a different trailer hitch.

while i was gone someone in a Pickup truck drove by the mill, saw there was no tongue lock on it and started to back up to steal it.
My renter was standing in the front yard watching.
the truck driver saw her and then sped away.

the lessons i learned are:
Do not leave the mill in a public area unattended
get a Good tongue lock.
acknowledge the help given.
think BEFORE you act. that one i am still learning.



  

[Upper]

What would be a good toung lock? Most reviews say a couple blows with a hammer and they are off.

[Darrel]

What would be a good toung lock? Most reviews say a couple blows with a hammer and they are off.

I put a hitch ball in mine and put a padlock on the hitch. Works well.

[4x4American]

What would be a good toung lock? Most reviews say a couple blows with a hammer and they are off.

I put a hitch ball in mine and put a padlock on the hitch. Works well.

[WV Sawmiller]

What would be a good toung lock? Most reviews say a couple blows with a hammer and they are off.

I put a hitch ball in mine and put a padlock on the hitch. Works well.

   Not sure what you guys are calling a tongue lock. Is that the hole under the lever so you can't unlock the lever? I put a lock or pin in there while traveling as a precaution to keep the lever from lifting allowing the trailer to bounce off the ball.

    I use a coupling lock like a dummy ball that fits up in the coupling with a big U-bolt that slides down into holes on both sides and locks. I am sure it could be defeated with the right tools and enough time but at least that makes noise and is suspicious activity.

[4x4American]

He's using "tongue" a little more vaguely than you are reading it I believe lol

[Cedarman]

I did the tape measure smashing trick one time.  It was one of those I just can't believe what I saw just happened moment.
When sawing cookies, never put your fingers over the top to hold the cookie on.  I heard someone did that and lost a few finger joints.

[WDH]

If you have setworks, do not hit the down lever as you are sawing through a log  . 

[drobertson]

If you have setworks, do not hit the down lever as you are sawing through a log  .

Now I know I am the only one to have done this,, :D  It sure makes a nice little step in the cant and board :D

[sandsawmill14]

If you have setworks, do not hit the down lever as you are sawing through a log  .

especially if your saw 16/4 stuff :( luckily it only cost one blade :

[Darrel]

If you have setworks, do not hit the down lever as you are sawing through a log  .

Don't even do it if you don't have set works!

[4x4American]

If you disconnect the speaker wire to the debarker, always make it a habit to look at the debarker wheel before you walk in front of the headrig, and if it's spinning, go put the drum switch in neutral.  I was going to look at the growth ring orientation up close one day and the debarker was spinning and touched me in the back, like an old friend saying hello.  Luckily I was wearing spenders and it hit right on the leather part where they connect in the back and it barely did any damage, but I felt it and it was a close call.  It's a good thing I have thick skin lol

[KirkD]

What would be a good toung lock? Most reviews say a couple blows with a hammer and they are off.

I have gave this thought and know someone who had a mill stolen. I am going to take the hitch off the saw and replace it with a receiver just like you have on your truck and them make a pined hitch that is removable.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Don't drop the rear landing gear all the way before removing the front off the ball (It is awful hard to pick up the whole mill from the front end). Also don't try to lift the head front end without the back landing gear at least partway down or you may find the mill on the rear end with the tongue 6-7 feet up in the air and related problems getting it down as well as possible damage.

[Clevelander]

 This is great, thank you! I started this thread on a serious note but I can't help but laugh at so many of the mistakes I am about ready to make.  ;D

[WDH]

  :D :D :D

At least you know what is coming, so you won't be surprised ;D. 

Bad thing is that you will still probably do these things anyway  .  Hopefully not all of them. 

[Cedarman]

Make sure your blade has not been inverted before putting on the mill.

Once you have done one of the "stupid" things once, try never to do them twice.

[OlJarhead]

I can't beleive no one has mentioned keys. Am I the only one that has loaded his truck with every tool and blade known to man and drove over an hour and left the sawmill keys at home.

Not my mill (yet) but my cabin.  I once drove all 250 miles to the cabin only to realize I'd left my keys back home!!!  I have two rigs I drive and had jumped into one and taken off all loaded up.  Fortunately for me I found a broken spare and had Ace make me a new one but I immediately made extras and put one in my laptop bag that is ALWAYS with me.

When the new mill arrived I put one key on my main cabin key ring (with my tractor key on it also) and the second is going in my 'mill' tool box.

Speaking of which:  put together a separate took kit just for the mill.  In that box I have every possible tool I might need to work on the mill (sockets, wrenches, screw drivers, hammer, levels etc etc).  I also keep a large rubbermade 'action packer' I call my 'mill box' that I keep extra gloves, hearing protection, eye protection, ATF, engine oil and manauls in along with my clip board that holds my job paper (I log each log milled and what comes out of it), scale paperwork (I keep one premade Int 1/4 scale sheet and one Int 1/4 scale plus 15% sheet that I used to scale each log before milling -- I use these to guestimate what I should get out of the log and have a 3rd sheet that has log size to cant size charts in it just in case I want to see what a specific size should produce).

Perhaps because I've only been milling some 5 years now and only i4 on a bandmill I write in my log the size of the log DIA Small End, expected cant, expected BF and produced lumber.  I keep another spot on the log for flitches that I edge at the end of the day and include in my BF total.  When I'm done I can give the customer a BF total for the day though i don't know I need to.

[woodworker9]

   Don't forget to take the fenders off your mill before you use the hydraulics.

Where were you a year ago???????  First thing I did was smash my fender, 5 minutes after starting my mill for the first time...... :(

[4x4American]

   Don't forget to take the fenders off your mill before you use the hydraulics.

Where were you a year ago???????  First thing I did was smash my fender, 5 minutes after starting my mill for the first time...... :(

lol lol lol same here!  Made a battle scar there I did! It'll buff out lol

[GAB]

OlJarhead Sir:
I have only one vehicle that is capable of moving the mill so in the glove box of that vehicle is where I store the spare sawmill key so If I forget the key I still have one.
When I bought the sawmill I also bought a new red tool box (could not find an orange one) just for sawmill parts and tools.  So when I go a sawing I bring my normally in the truck tool box and the sawmill tool box.
The sawmill tool box has the gauge for checking the drive belt tension, the blade adjustment tool, a set of spare B57's, guide arm drive sprocket spring pins (if you ever have to change one of those little pins* you had better not be alone, have taken a healthy dose of patience, and not be all thumbs, etc.), lube mizer fuses, fuse blocks, and numerous other small parts.
*Mr. Goat claims he can change it in just a few minutes, however I've broken more than one of those pins and they took me hours to get fixed up.  The only thing I can think of is maybe he is a very lucky individual.
When I buy parts depending on the piece part cost determines on how many I purchase.  Lost time is expensive especially when it is for a 10 cent part.
Another suggestion for you is to find a container that you can modify and slide over the guide arm motor and attach it somehow to protect the wires that exit out of the back and drive that motor.  Somehow, one of the two wires on mine broke and fixing that was a bear.  Motors have magnets and trying to put it back together (metal screws) was a royal PAIN.
Cheap grease is better than nothing, but expensive grease help the bearings last a lot longer.  When you add in the cost of your time and the aggravation to change bearings, expensive grease is cheaper than cheap grease.
Just my 2 cents and some things I thought you might want to consider based on your comment about forgetting the keys.
Gerald

[terrifictimbersllc]

I would have agreed about the roll pin, until this week.   The blade guide arm was acting erratically since a previous job and I thought it was an electrical problem.  I looked (with glasses and flashlight) and saw the pin was sticking out of the hole just a bit.  I had the customer push the switch and saw that the motor was turning but the sprocket was not.

This fix took less than 5 minutes and was driven, honestly, at the moment by "In Goat I Trust". :D  The fix was accomplished before they brought the next log to the mill.
I pushed on the arm until the gear position moved so the (broken) pin was positioned toward me.
I pushed hard on the pin with a small punch while customer helper touched the switch intermittently.
As the shaft turned in little increments, the broken piece of pin caught in the shaft hole.   I tapped it in a bit.
Then I took a small nail punch and stuck it into the end of a new pin.   I started the new pin in the hole and tapped on the punch till it started going in.
Then I took a flat bottomed punch and drove it in all the way.  The pieces of the old pin fell out on the ground.

In the future I will have a 1/16" punch in my tool bag to aid in aligning the hole in case the broken pin falls out, or won't cooperate.

[4x4American]

A roll pin punch makes changing roll pins a lot less painful.  Do you have to take off the cover to see the roll pin?  I haven't had to yet, knock on wood, and I hope I don't anytime soon,,

[Bandmill Bandit]

Not a good idea to lower the loader BEFORE you remove the left fender OR re-install it BEFORE you raise the loader.

I wont show you a picture of what I did to mine and it will only happen once especially the raising sequence.