? on lt 40

[ely]

my dads mill has a problem. when he saws logs on it the mill will come to a screeching halt right at the butt of the log. he can sometimes curb the problem by slowing the feed way down but even this does not always work.
does this scenario right any bells with you woodmizer guys?
my dad seems to think he needs to put on some new drive belts.

its not everytime that this happens but it does happen alot. and its not any certain type of wood or log.
thanks in advance for you thoughts. greg

[Chuck White]

Greg.
First, I'm assuming that he starts cutting from the small end of the log.

The saw starts going into the log and then slows, then stops before it gets through the butt end of the log.

The butt end of the log is usually a lot harder to cut, due to the fact that when growing, there is a lot of stress and strain in the butt of the log because of the affects of wind and other weather on the tree.

The feed belt could be a little loose and can be easily adjusted.

It could also be the contact inside of the feed-speed rheostat on the operators console.

[Jeff]

Even on a big circle mill with lots of power, one needs to regulate the speed of the feed in certain parts of the log. Over many years it was just second nature for me to slow at things like large knots or perhaps places where the grain would change directions, such as the flare at the butt of a log. Experience will teach you what species and what conditions dictate what actions you might take while sawing. Every log is different.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Sounds like the drive belt is slipping when it gets to the wider part.  If properly tensioned then head is traveling too fast, need to slow down.   Under these conditions also often  you can get an irregular cut, blade going up or down giving different thicknesses if the drive belt is slipping, ruining a board and requiring re-trimming of the adjacent board.

[ely]

well, it seems to have just started this in the last month or so. if the blade ever dives on him he does put a new band on. that fixes that problem. but his speed feed is slow anyway, at least to me it is. if im not mistaken he runs it at about 4 on the dial.

and yes , the times i have seen it do that he is cutting from the small end towards the big end.

we will check out the tension on that drive belt first. thanks

[WH_Conley]

Check to make sure the pulley on the motor is not wore out. Belt can be tight and still slip, bottom of pulley will be rounded. The sawdust in that area will wear them out quick. I usually buy them 2 or 3 at a time.

[Chris Burchfield]

I've had mine stop before reaching the end under a set feed.  Then I realized the drive motor was rubbing the top of the trailer tire when I'm getting the last board @ 1" from the deck.  Now I make sure the back side is up higher during set up.

[ladylake]

Tighten those belts, if the logs are a little older the ends get dried out and cut twice as hard.   Steve

[ely]

we tightened the belts and that did the job. seems to run a bit stronger in any cut, may just be my imagination. i love this online owners manual, FF. thanks jeff.