Hi all, I could use some advice before I waste a couple more days and get nowhere........the Lt40 HD that i bought last year had no chain on the blade guide arm. I installed a new chain, which promptly jumped off the drive gear.
I noticed that the chain motor and drive gear seemed slanted, so I removed the washers and re-aligned it with the other gears. Now the chain stays on, but the whole shebang only goes in or out when it wants to. I have tried adjusting the bolts on the mounting plate up and down, but can't seem to get the chain to move freely and ride the drive gear as it should. Any ideas or advice from you experienced mizers?
Is the new chain from WM? And the drive gear goes on top of the chain and pushes down to tighten it.
Mine done that it would jump off on the outside sprocket I tried to adjust it and when I tried to use it it wanted to bind up so I left it off the sprocket and somehow it works fine lol
Check the rollers and make sure the slide is clean and free enough to move easy. If the rollers are to tight, it will bind.
It's probably binding, can be tricky to adjust. The problem is the adjustments all interact with each other. IE changing one adjustment messes up another. They need to be done in the correct sequence to get it right. The sprocket on the motor shaft has a small shear pin that sometimes shears off and then slips. Take the chain off and adjust the bar rollers so the bar runs in and out freely and is level with the bunks. Then re-install chain and adjust for proper tension and tracking. That little motor and gearbox sometimes takes a beating. I fixed one that had a bent shaft. Could be an electrical problem, the motor has brushes that wear.
Make sure the roll pin in the gear isn't sheared off or missing.
Bad bearings in the rollers will give you fits. Without the chain on, the guide arm needs to be rolling smoothly, the bearings are double stacked like the guide rollers so you have 8 bearings in the 4 guide arm rollers. (they can be cleaned and repacked)
Is your guide motor mounted verticaly or horizonatal?
Check your book to make sure you have routed the chain correctly thru the three gears and two floating plastic rollers (vertical).
when snugging the chain up it should fit snug but not taught give it a spin or two and adjust the slack out of it.
It almost sounds like multiple issues. You may need to do another tear down and start over. Pretty sure you will need to keep the blade on so you can check the dimensions from the guide to the band as the guides move in and out, not sure what to say about how it operates on its own, that sounds electrical to me.
Wolf,
I am pretty sure that WM has a policy where they would like new owners of used machines to have the same resources that owners of new machines have. This means they will send you the owner's manuals if they are still in print for your machine. You should get in touch with them and see what they can offer you. Good luck with getting your guide arm running straight.
drobertson you may have something.
Pull the end cap off the guide motor, check brushes but more important check to make sure that one of the magnets have not came loose, they should be opposite each other, if they are sitting side by side you found the problem. I have reglued the magnet in place and gotten more hours out of the little motor.
Hope you can pin it down and get back to making sawdust ;)
Quote from: backwoods sawyer on April 06, 2014, 11:27:00 AM
drobertson you may have something.
Pull the end cap off the guide motor, check brushes but more important check to make sure that one of the magnets have not came loose, they should be opposite each other, if they are sitting side by side you found the problem. I have reglued the magnet in place and gotten more hours out of the little motor.
I agree, I know it doesn't take a lot to dislodge one of the magnets. My FIL said his motor didn't work, so I opened it up and sure enough, one of the magnets had come loose and was sitting right next to the other one!
Took the motor to the auto electric shop and he reglued the magnet and we were back in business. That was 7 years ago!
He did say though, "don't reverse a magnet"! In other words don't turn one of the magnets around, polarity is everything!
Hello,
Not sure where you want to start. First the blade guide arm must be aligned correctly for the blade to cut correctly. This should be done first. This should be another post.
The chain should go from both pulleys on the bottom. The left pulley the chain will go around then on top of the plastic roller and under the motor gear. There are five bolts that hold the motor on and the blade tensioner. The bottom bolt will adjust the drive gear in or out to align the chain with the fixed gears on the rollers for the arm.
Hope this helps.
Marty
OK! It's still too wet to get out to the sawmill. but the info you all have provided is gonna get me back on track (pun intended)) Peter and Marty, thanks for pointing out the motor sprocket position---I was running UNDER the ilder pulley and OVER the drive sprocket. Wish WM had a diagram of this in their Manual!
And yes, Pineywoods, all that realigning is a pain---but I'm getting better at it, thanks to pulling that ###@$#%drive motor 3 times. And thanks to all the rest, who also helped me anticipate 'da next problem'. I feel truly honored to be inn the company of men who take to time and effort to help one another out.
Ah, the simple life!
This may not be what you want to hear, but a call to WM is in order. If you can possibly get on this year's service route it would be money well spent. The serviceman will have all of the necessary replacement parts and will show you exactly what he does to tune that sawmill up. Just a thought.
The guide arm must be properly aligned so it goes in and out parallel to the bed and parallel to the back of the blade. It also must have very little motion when all the way in, and you try to move it back and forth with your hand. After all that is done, then it will be quite hard to push it in and out by hand when engaged on the chain. Otherwise it will be grabbed violently by the blade/guide roller pinching on debris and slam inward (that is if you have guide rollers with the spacers below them. Yes it gives fits when things are wrong but blessings when things are right.
WellmI;m just writing to tell everyone we can put the blade guide arm issue to rest. The motor works, the arm rolls smoothly, the guides are plumb,,level, horizontal, and politically correct, and I deserve a boy scout merit badge for not finally fixing it with a wrecking ball. I guess the fourth ( or was it the fifth) time's the charm.....and I got a bit better and faster each time, and learned a lot more about the importance of turning the correct bolt.
Thanks for all the input and advice, guys. I couldn't have done it without you.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25938/20140410_093057.jpg)
I messed up the blade guide adjustment arm on my mill as well
:-)
Glad to hear you were able to work it out smiley_trap_drummer
Had alignment issue years ago, but once you set them they seem to stay put till you hit something or change something.
A well aligned mill will not only cut straighter but cut faster as well 8)
Yes, glad to hear you got it fixed too! Adjustments can be a pain at times, but doing it yourself sure adds to the confidence when other issues arise unexpectedly. It's all about doing and learning all the time.
I know this thread is 3 years old but I had similar problems with a new to me LT30. Thanks to the info here I was able to get the chain routed correctly. Thanks!
WM did send me the operation/maintenance manual but I didn't find anything in it concerning the blade guide arm chain.
Hey, I'm glad you profited from my misery! This is an exceptional forum, and we're so lucky to have mentors....