Turning over a new needle, taking the MD on the road.

[Celeriac]

Yesterday was the first time we've had the mill out on the road for a sawing job.  Previously I've been tinkering around with it at home sawing whatever blew over in the woods or some of that fine Elm and Hickory that a friend was dropping off.  Our church camp is building a timber frame barn to house the maple syrup operation and they were short on some timbers.  So dad and I got lights wired up on the mill and replaced the lift batteries. 

I'm stuck on day shift so dad took the mill down to camp, set up and started sawing.  I made it down after work and helped finish up.  We were tearing down the mill as the sun set.  Dad hadn't really run the mill before yet didn't really have any problems setting up and sawing.   

It would be safe to say I was not really thrilled by the Mobile 128 before this session of sawing.  All the logs we were sawing at the camp were White Pine and the primary goal was to get a 4"x8" timber from each log plus whatever else, 4/4 siding, 2x6's etc.  The logs were 10" to 16" diameter and 10'-14' long.  It really made a good showing, the movable edger blade really saves a lot of time and fooling around.  ;D The fellow heading up the building project said the resulting lumber/timber was superior to what was sawn previously.  Most of the wood was cut last year by another fellow with a Woodmizer.  Is sounds like he had  problems with the knots which resulted in some wavy lumber.   The circular bladed didn't mind the knots except dad said he did hang up the edger once on a hard surface knot.   

All in all it was a good learning experience and would have been even better if the engine was running right. 

[StorminN]

Sounds good, Celeriac...

Tell your Dad to slow the carriage down a little if he notices a big knot that's straight up and down in the middle of your board, (ie., your edger blades will cut into it perpendicularly)... especially if you're cutting a full 4".

DanG might have some suggestions on how to properly tighten the edger belts on that 128, I think they could be a little different than the ones on my 127, it depends on what year your 128 is...

What was the problem with the motor?

-Norm.

[Tom]

I'm interested in the "on the road" part of the story.  Tell us about breaking down, setting up and towing of the mill.

[DanG]

All I can say about the belts is, take the factory recommendations to heart and don't overtighten them.  I ignored it at first and had mine really tight.  I hit one of those pine knots that grabbed the edger blade and nothing could slip, so it broke the engine.   I try to make sure the main belts have a bit more slack than the edger belts, so that any slippage occurs there, simply because they are easier to change.

I'm curious about your transport experience.  My lift motor sticks way out to the side, making it dangerous to tow on a public road.  In fact, when I bought it we cut it off with a hacksaw.  When I remounted it, I used some square tubing and made it like a reciever trailer hitch, so I can just slip it off.  Of course, the mill hasn't moved since. : :D :D

Celeriac, the reason you were so pleased with this job is, you were doing exactly what the MD was designed for.  It does other stuff pretty well too, but cutting softwood dimension lumber is where it really shine's.

Tip of the Day:  If you start having trouble with edger hangups on those pine knots too often, check the bearings on the off side of the carriage, along the top of the track beam.  If they get a little sloppy, they'll allow the saw to be pulled into the log and bind up.

[Celeriac]

Well I must say tearing down the mill was more of a hassle than setting it up again.  It had been setting in one place for about a year so the sawdust and weeds made for a hassle.  They used a Hi Lift jack to get things back level when setting it up.  After setting it up the first time I'm convinced that it needs screw jacks, at least on the four corners.  The factory supports are a pain because you have to jack it a little higher to compensate for the weight, etc.   On my mill the lift motor is designed to detach readily.  On the flip side it's kinda worn and floppy which presents some alignment issues with the chain.

I think the carburetor is having some issues, probably a speck of dirt in a jet or something like that.  The engine acts like it is leaning out, running hot and has a miss at full throttle.  Pulling the choke out a bit helps smooth it out.   

The mill has the factory tandem axle trailer and tows just fine going down the highway.  Now all I need is a better truck

[BBTom]

I am just glad to know you are in the neighborhood.  Somehow I missed seeing you come aboard the Forum.
Welcome

[DanG]

I have been a regular visitor to the interior of my carburetor. :-\  My fuel system is non-standard, and consists of a 2 gallon plastic gas can, with a piece of small copper tubing as a pickup tube.  Then there is a rubber hose to an inline filter, then an inline electric fuel pump, then more rubber hose to the carb.  I had all kinds of trouble until I added a small filter on the end of the pickup tube, similar to the one in a chainsaw tank.

If I were to go portable, I would definitely add some screw jacks to the trailer.  It isn't very heavy, so they wouldn't have to be large ones.