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Board thickness with woodmizer lt-40

Started by Peder McElroy, November 21, 2011, 02:05:20 PM

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Peter Drouin

My first2 WM only had the ruler on the mass, In time you should be able to drop the head on the 1" scale, 4/ΒΌ timing yourself with your hand to go past the mark and hit it up and be right on where you want to be. With time you will have your timing down to hit anything on the scale.
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

Dave Shepard

I agree. Down past the mark and then bump up. I rarely missed when I was running the manual mill. My Super is a lot faster, so I don't know how well it would work with that because I use the setworks all the time.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

4x4American

I like Chuck's rifle sight idea alot.  Another thing that helps for me (if you have a remote console) is to gig the head allll the way back so you can put your face right up close to it.  Also, if you can, try and get the pointer as close to the scale as possible.  If you have it about touching, the angle your head is at won't make no matter as much, ya pickin up what I'm putting down?  :)
Boy, back in my day..

Chuck White

Bandit;  I like the laser on the scale, where'd you get it, HF?
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Bandmill Bandit

Quote from: Chuck White on February 14, 2016, 10:30:40 PM
Bandit;  I like the laser on the scale, where'd you get it, HF?

Some where in the mods thread i put a link to that laser module. Its off a Dewalt Miter saw.

Ill go digging for it and insert it here too. I picked mine up at a garage sale for 10 bucks

http://www.dewalt.com/us/mitersaws/products/accessory_dw7187.html

Think I may have just cracked the nut on converting my manual hydraulic control valve over to electric controls too.
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Brucer

I don't use any kind of setworks, just the manual up-down drum switch. No problem getting consistent thickness. Mind you, I've put 2800 hours on 3 Wood-Mizers and cut 400,000 + BF of lumber ;D.

Trying to get the head to stop in just the right place was frustrating at first but it didn't take too long to get the hang of it. The key is to always bring the sawhead up to the mark. This means on each cut you have to first drop the sawhead below the mark (not much!) and then bring it back up. It's exactly the same principle as tuning a stringed instrument. Always bring the string up to pitch.

You don't have to drop the head very far below the mark -- 1/8" is plenty -- but at first it's easier if you give yourself a half inch or so. That lets you lift the head smoothly and release the drum switch just before you hit the mark.

The fastest way to get the hang of this is to be super picky. Don't accept "close enough". If you overshoot, drop the head back down and try again. Yes, it slows you down, but it also gives you a lot of practice in a hurry.

With practice you'll eventually get to the point where you can just bump the switch enough to lift the head 1/32"  ;D.

As for lining the alignment mark with the scale, lots of good ideas here. I make it a point to always have my eyes level with the mark, and sometimes that means letting the sawdust build up alongside the mill ('cause I'm a tad shorter than the scale :D). The key thing is consistency when lining up the mark. Do it the same every time.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Magicman

Hello and Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Journeys. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Bandmill Bandit

Hey Brucer
You nailed it on the getting the hang of the head management for thickness setting.
There still about half the logs I cut where the set works is not much help and it just quicker to set 3 or 4 inch cuts manually. Ay kind of set works is more at home in a high production run of 1x or 2x etc.

But the little laser on the ruler is probably NOT the one I would want to saw with out as it just doesn't matter what kind of an angle you look at it from it is going to be bang on the mark 100 percent of the time. That was an annoying part of the the little steel marker piece for me.

That little laser provides about a half inch of vertical adjustment with an Allen wrench and it is real simple to do too. So get the alignment to saw band set up is real simple and very accurate. Also makes setting the Green line log laser real simple too.

Welcome to the forum Journeys. Think I said that further up but just in case.           
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

kensfarm

Sometimes I go low-tech..  just a tape measure and pencil mark on the log. 

reswire

I used to have a tk 1600 without set works.  I installed a digital scale I got from eBay.  It read from 32 inches down to zero.  Simply superglued it to the side of the mill, and it gave a digital readout on the distance from the deck to the blade.  Costs less than 50 bucks I think, worth every penny. ;D
Norwood LM 30, JD 5205, some Stihl saws, 15 goats, 10 chickens, 1 Chessie and a 2 Weiner dogs...

Journeys

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the tips everyone.  I will likely do a little of everything mentioned, including calling the woodmizer tech because I still feel like the head jumps too much when trying to move up or down just a hair.  I also think the gun site mod would work well too.  However, I have some Karri Eucalyptus beams to resaw tomorrow for a flooring project my customer has... so it will probably mean just taking my time, maybe even marking the beams with a tape and pencil to make sure these cuts turn out well.  Thanks again!
2001 WM Super Hydraulic that needs some tlc... lube-mizer, debarker, and setworks all need to be fixed.

barbender

     I have found that the head on my Super is pretty jumpy too, the things are just so blasted fast that it makes it hard to hit your mark. I ended up putting on a pulley in the drive system that slowed it down a bit (by accident, I needed a replacement and WM sent me the wrong size) that helps for hitting the mark. Otherwise, in a Super, the setworks are your friend.
Too many irons in the fire

Bandmill Bandit

Quote from: barbender on February 17, 2016, 07:52:41 AM
     I have found that the head on my Super is pretty jumpy too, the things are just so blasted fast that it makes it hard to hit your mark. I ended up putting on a pulley in the drive system that slowed it down a bit (by accident, I needed a replacement and WM sent me the wrong size) that helps for hitting the mark. Otherwise, in a Super, the setworks are your friend.

One thing I do as regular as I grease my drum switchs (about 100hrs) is to spray the all pivot points in side the drum switch with a very high grade silicone spray lube that I have for my shop door opener. The can costs just over 30 bucks Canadian and the only place I have found it so far is at the commercial Reddeer Overdoor company. It works real good at making those switches flip back to centre very easily.

I changed one switch last fall and it was pretty sticky so I gave it a good treatment with the spray lube before I installed it and it "broke in" pretty quick. some of those switches are more sluggish than others and the parts guy at the Westburn Electrical supply told me that you have to make sure you get made in USA or Canada one. The ones from China have very poor springs. Apparently the real cheap Square D switches are not made over here, only assembled here with Chinese components.

         
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Seaman

Great thread!
I was having trouble with the pointer moving as I engaged the blade. ( manual scale only on my old mill ) I would have to bump it again with the blade running, and sometimes ( often ) the last board would be thicker. Yesterday I tried going down past my intended mark, then coming back up, and cured BOTH problems! I LOVE YOU GUYS ! The slack taken out of the lift chains makes all that difference.
Thanks again to Jeff and the whole FF for helping me build my business!
Frank
Lucas dedicated slabber
Woodmizer LT40HD
John Deere 5310 W/ FEL
Semper Fi

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