Author Topic: Wavy Cuts w/photos (Read 2611 times)

ssgerken · « **on:** February 02, 2012, 08:28:51 pm »

Hey everybody,
I've had my mill set up for a few weeks now (woodland mills 126) and just cant quite get everything set just right. When I cut wide boards/cants, I get pretty wavy cuts. I've read over many articles on here and have tried about everything mentioned. Today I put on a new blade (lennox brand not sure about anything else, it's just what they recomended when I bought the mill), and tried cutting a 24" pine log. I went extra slow being carefull not to bog down the engine at all. I still ended up with a wavy cant. I have not been around much rough cut lumber, is some variation in the boards acceptable or should they be very accurate? Please see attatched photos.

I also emailed Neil at woodland mills and am awaiting his reply. Thanks in advance for all your help.
Steve
Woodland Mills HM126

ssgerken · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2012, 08:33:16 pm »

Ok so looking at my post the 2nd picture is kind of decieving. The cant really is not as wavy as it looks. I was just trying to show how must the blade had raised up from level with the guides. Thanks,
Steve

hackberry jake · « **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2012, 08:41:22 pm »

I would try more set on the band if the band is clean. If the band is dirty I would change to a 1/3 bar oil and 2/3 diesel lube mix.

tyb525 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2012, 08:49:17 pm »

In the 2nd picture, I can see the blade is deflecting upwards quite a bit. Make sure the mechanism that locks the head in place is working properly. Make sure your guides are properly aligned and the bolts are tight. Make sure your band is tight using the flutter test, it is tight when it doesnt flutter at full speed.

pineywoods · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2012, 09:19:03 pm »

Are you saying it saws OK on small logs? It appears the blade tried to climb out the top of the log. Usually an indication of not enough set, or dull blade, or both. cutting big pine, you need a minimum of 25 thou set, 30 is even better. Unless you specify otherwise, new blades normally won't have nearly enough. Blade tension has to be correct, or maybe a bit on the tight side. The blade guides need to apply a bit of down pressure on the band.

My bet is a good sharp blade with 30 thou set will cure the problem...

ssgerken · « **Reply #5 on:** February 02, 2012, 09:26:23 pm »

Thanks for the repays. How do I know how much set the blades have? What do they come with if you don't specify? I will be using a sharpening service, so this is all new to me. Thanks,
Steve

pineywoods · « **Reply #6 on:** February 02, 2012, 09:51:13 pm »

Quote from: ssgerken on February 02, 2012, 09:26:23 pm

How do I know how much set the blades have?

Beg, borrow or steal a dial calipher. Measure the thickness of the band body. Most are .035, .042, or .045. On a small mill, most likely .035. Then measure the thickness of the band plus one of the bent (set) teeth. The difference in the 2 measurements is the amount of set. Don't have a setter ? go here setter]=http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,50749.msg732898.html#msg732898]setter

ladylake · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2012, 07:01:49 am »

I'll agree with more set, for sure if the logs are dried out some. I think most new blades come with around 22 thousands set. Steve

taw6243 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2012, 08:55:05 am »

get the tooth set gauge from woodmizer

http://www.woodmizerblades.com/maintenance/ToothSetGauge.aspx

Part number 060490
$99.99

Tim

Meadows Miller · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2012, 09:00:40 am »

Gday

the fellas have covered your problem I reckon and a side clearance gauge comes in handy

with setting ill add a cheap way to do it is get a good ole heavy hand held handsaw setter I did my bands with one of them for years without a drama in the world I found it in the shed the other day and im utting my old auto sharpener back together and giving it a spruce up this week

Regards Chris

tcsmpsi · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2012, 09:48:58 am »

24" wide cut is a lot for a small mill. I see you mentioned you slowed 'way down'. Not sure what you mean by that, but if the pine is pretty knotty or has a lot of resin, you need a lot of lube and very slow cutting. Even with a fresh blade, you may have to hold the mill back some, for those 'soft to hard' wood cuts can get your blade the 'wrong direction' and seemingly (engine sound/feel) cutting fine...until it gets way off. Blade tension is especially critical in cutting wide cuts. I live with the blades I get, as I do not sharpen and set my band blades.

sgschwend · « **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2012, 01:12:53 pm »

Another indicator is what the saw does when exiting the cut. Does is drop or raise? It should not do either.

The picture doesn't show your guides, how are they setup and adjust to be level? Many folks have found that deflecting the saw down slightly with the inside guide improves the cut.

Finally are you using the saw manufacture's recommendation for tension?

I know you said you were going extras slow but, is the wave the same across the log or deeper in the middle? If deeper then your saw is not tensioned correctly or your saw is too low of beam strength and is curving backwards in the cut.

NeilB · « **Reply #12 on:** February 03, 2012, 01:33:15 pm »

Quote from: ssgerken on February 02, 2012, 08:28:51 pm

Hey everybody,
I've had my mill set up for a few weeks now (woodland mills 126) and just cant quite get everything set just right. When I cut wide boards/cants, I get pretty wavy cuts. I've read over many articles on here and have tried about everything mentioned. Today I put on a new blade (lennox brand not sure about anything else, it's just what they recomended when I bought the mill), and tried cutting a 24" pine log. I went extra slow being carefull not to bog down the engine at all. I still ended up with a wavy cant. I have not been around much rough cut lumber, is some variation in the boards acceptable or should they be very accurate? Please see attatched photos.

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

I also emailed Neil at woodland mills and am awaiting his reply. Thanks in advance for all your help.
Steve
Woodland Mills HM126

Hi Steve,

Josh emailed you today with regards to this. It looks like your blade tension is much too loose. Don't be shy with the "T" handle blade tensioner.

Read over his suggestions and give us a shout if you have any questions. Josh is out this afternoon, but back after 6:00 if you want to call...

Thanks,
Neil

Bogue Chitto · « **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2012, 04:55:01 pm »

I had the same problem. I would go in the log say at 4" and it would rise to 5" on a 8' log. I thought it was the mill. After about a month of of adjusting this and that on the mill it turned out to be the new blades. The blades were set wrong.

Dave VH · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2012, 05:14:24 pm »

when my mill was doing that just a couple of weeks ago, it was because the blade kept running down on the shoulder of the guide wheels. the angle was a bit more extreme, it was because the band wheels weren't pichted right.

Meadows Miller · « **Reply #15 on:** February 03, 2012, 05:16:01 pm »

A Mill Is Only As Good As Its Saw I say

I had $150k mills that would cut like a pig because the owner got cheap with the saws

swampbuggy · « **Reply #16 on:** February 03, 2012, 06:26:25 pm »

As a noob to this sawmill stuff there is so much to learn. Piney's statement on offset got me to thinking and researching and calling around and looking..you get the picture. So I discovered this about my blades.
1. My blades have a 3 blade set meaning they go left offset, right offset, neutral, and then repeat.
2. My offset is 1/2 the blade thickness meaning that I use a blade that is .35 and each offset is .17 giving the total blade cut of .70.
3. When I find my cuts to be wavy it is time to sharpen and tighten the blade.

Since mine is a hobby mill and my blades don't spin at 100 miles an hour, I take it slow.

Am I suppose to have more of an offset as Piney suggests?

Just asking. Swamp

customsawyer · « **Reply #17 on:** February 03, 2012, 06:52:46 pm »

I don't know if this applies here but if it is a brand new mill your drive belt might need to be tightened. If the belt is a little loose the blade speed will slow down in the wider cuts.

hamish · « **Reply #18 on:** February 03, 2012, 07:17:40 pm »

The bands you have, only have a set of 0.019" per side, as Pineywoods suggested increase you set........0.023 to start and go from there (as you have a lower hp motor). To check you set just use a cheap dial caliper, does the same thing as the fancy $100 tooth set gauge.

Band tension is most likely low, Lenox run about 20-25000 psi.

ssgerken · « **Reply #19 on:** February 03, 2012, 07:22:53 pm »

Thanks everyone for all the replies. Josh from woodland mills just called me and his thought as many of you have suggested is to go with a little more tension. We are about to get 8 to 12 Inches of snow so it may be a day or two before I get to try it out. This forum is a great wealth of knowledge and I appreciate everyones replys. Thanks again,
Steve

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Author Topic: Wavy Cuts w/photos (Read 2611 times)