left or right hand sawmill blade

[ahiggins1]

To some of you this may be the dumbest question you have ever heard, but on a rusty old circular blade with inserted teeth how do you tell if it is for a right or left hand mill?  Does it make any difference?  Can it just be hammered to run the other way? 

Thanks,
Andy

[Jeff]

It does make a difference. A saw is hammered for one way or the other and yes, it can be hammered to run the other way.  Pretty tough to just look at it and tell.

[Magicman]

dumbest question you have ever heard  Thanks,  Andy

The only dumb question is an unasked question....

[woody1]

Sometimes they are marked L or R. That still dosen't mean it wasn't changed. The best thing to do is take it to a sawdoc. He will be able to tell you if it's left or right. And like Jeff said, he can change it to the hand you want. Sometimes you can tell..if you stand the blade up..put a long strightedge against the hieght of the blade..The blade should be flat on the log side.
Regards,
woody

[Ron Wenrich]

The newer blades have it stamped on the side of the blade.  Those stamps are usually on the log side of the blade.  But, I've had some that were stamped on the wrong side from new.

I've used blades that have been hammered from right to left, and although it can be done, it doesn't run nearly as well as one that was manufactured left.  They just don't seem to stand as well.  There is memory in the metal, and wants to go back to the original dish.  I think a lot depends on how much sawing you're going to do.  I'm doing it full time, so we need really good blades.

[James P.]

ahiggins1 , welcome to the forum. Before I built my mill which was a basket case I had the same question. I ended up getting a couple extra blades in trades to get the correct one as far as right or left. Turned out my original blade seems to be the  correct blade. Its on  a right hand mill. Although when hanging on the mandrel it has a slight dish but its towards the logs side. When its not running it is touching lightly the carriage side guide. As soon as I start running the saw it clears the guide and runs perfect. i have had issues using the saw but all were related to collars , shanks, teeth, and arbor alignment. I have sawed  with it and have had no problems other than keeping the HP and RPM . I had to switch to a smaller drive pulley cause I had my Detroit running at 1100 rpm which when sawing bogged the engine down cause of lack of HP. I am now running the engine at 1550 rpm with no drop in speed when blade is in cut. If the blade is in good condition and not marked and getting it to a saw shop isn't possible I would make sure its bits are sharp and shanks are in good condition and give it a try. Finding the rpm can be tricky but if you are patient you can figure it out. Unless you know what ran the mill and have same pulley setup. go slow with the carriage feed until you get the feel. Not to slow either.

[coastlogger]

Hmm  learned something, a saw is hammered for one way...
When I set up my M14 Belsaw 28 years ago,I built the whole thing up,mounted my ex 1969 Ford F250 engine, a 390 ci,in line with mandrel.direct coupled with 2 back to back u joints. 2nd gear was the desired ratio, flashed er up and guess what, the saw turned backward   a minor miscalculation had been made about what actuaklly transpires inside a manual transmission..
After a few days pondering my options,(Including running in reverse--wrong ratio) I decided to swap ends ie run the mill that way, reconstruct my log deck on other end, fiddle with the feed mechanism, etc etc.Had to get mandrel rethreaded with I think RH thread so saw wouldnt remove itself. Took a few days and we were back in business.Cut like that for 19 years, never knew the saw was hammered wrong.Guess it would have worked even better if Id got it changed. Unfortunately no pics.
Love my bandmill.
clgr

[James P.]

coastlogger sound like  you just got lucky. I think I did. I may have a left hand blade running on a right hand mill or it could have issues I haven't encountered yet. I didn't have to get my mandrel rethreaded but I did have it turned down. It had worn babbit and I wanted roller bearings. Unfortunately 2 7/8 shaft was odd ball and bearings weren't readily available. I had it turned down to 2 3/4 and bought a pair of sealmaster type E off ebay for 50 bucks plus 30 shipping from WA state to De. that was a steal.

[beenthere]

And I thought one could tell by the way it was dished while just hanging. 

So I learned that apparently that doesn't work.

[James P.]

Beenthere, I just read in circular sawmills by Lunstrum on page 54 that saws should be flat when mounted on the arbor unless they turn more than 650 rpm above that and thinner blades may have a slight dish. since he is using a straight edge to check the log side face I would assume the dish would be on the same side.

[Chico]

The prob with running a left hand mandrell right handed is the saw nut may loosen if you pressure it I wouldn't do but I push a saw hard but part time taking your time you may get by with it most saws read the letters upright on the log side of the saw facing the mandrell if it's on your left up right where you can read it  it's a rt handed saw and reverse for a left handed saw but the only foolproof way is to take it to a sawfiler and let him check it out

[beenthere]

Beenthere, I just read in circular sawmills by Lunstrum on page 54 that saws should be flat when mounted on the arbor unless they turn more than 650 rpm above that and thinner blades may have a slight dish. since he is using a straight edge to check the log side face I would assume the dish would be on the same side.

Thanks James.
I was going to look over at Stan's pub to see what is said, as I could remember the picture of him with the straight edge. 

[bandmiller2]

Best way is to look at the mill it came off,or ask the man who used it,if you can.A loose saw only the doc knows for sure.Some areas most mills are right but thats not a sure thing ether.Coast logger the smaller a saw ,and the thicker the plate the less tension needed very possibly A 40" saw could go ether way ,not ideal but can work.Frank C.

[Jeff Lesak]

For the record, a right hand hammered blade will run on a left hand mill, or vis versa, if the mill is in good alignment, and the blade is put up prperly.  When a blade spins, it stretches a bit, and stands up over it's center. That is, it moves over so that the usually extra gauge thickness at the eye is even on both sides (hence the need to set the guides at speed, and to put some lead in to get the thickness of the eye away from the log). If the blade is put up properly by your hammer man and your mill is in in good shape, a left hand blade will do fine on a right hand mill, and a left hand blade will do fine on a right hand mill.
Doc Jeff

[Chico]

I'll take your word for it Doc But we always were asked to specify esp the sloid tooth saws as hard as We ran them I wanted them rt I do agree that alignment is the key to any saw running correctly

[Ron Wenrich]

I think the amount of lead and how much pressure you have on your saw guides might have something to do with it too. 

[ahiggins1]

Thanks for all the replies guys.  It is really neat to see how much info. is shared through this forum.

Andy