circle mills and water

[markd]

I checked my lead today and it was just under 1/8" and then I cut 8  1x12's of cedar without the water and immediately felt the blade and it was cold, not even warm. I pushed the log through quite fast, but it was only cedar, I keep my saw sharp and run only clean logs. I'll give it a better test with a larger walnut soon. Thanks you guys for your input. Markd

[dblair]

is the top of the saw leaning in a bit to the log , say maybe a little less than a 1/32 ?

[markd]

I'll check it tomorrow, I did notice that on large cants,20"  x  20"  it was a fraction out of square, Not noticeable on 1" or 2" x 12's which is what I cut most. Other than being out of square a little how do you think that would affect the blade? my boards are pretty darn true otherwise, not as nice as my bandmill buddies but that's to be expected isn't it?

[beenthere]

markd
Do you have the circular saw manual by Lunstrum?

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/circsaw.pdf

Has a lot of details you can check out.

[markd]

I do have the manual, full of good stuff.

[Old Hilly]

Well, on the North Coast of NSW, all the mills that I visited ran water on the sawblades. Didn't matter if it was the "canadian" breaking down saw or the main bench, there was water there to spray on the saw. I never found out if this was to keep the blades cool or to stop the sap from sticking but all the mills had the same setup. Water line came in from above, through a valve and onto the blade or blades. The sawyer would open the valve as the log hit the saw and shut it off as the timber left the blade.
Some mills used sawdust blowers, others used a chain arangement that fed into a fire pit where all the waste was burned. One of the larger mills had an enclosed burner that the Police used to burn all the Canabis that they found. Lots of people stood down-wind and breathed deeply when that happened ???!
The good old daze! :'(

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Ahh the good ole days Hilly its bloody sad the Industry has Just abut had it here in Australia  :P ??? : : but thats Govts whole goal here is to have the worlds largest bloody national park they will run out of stuff to lock up and they wont be able to buy any more green votes in the 80s we had a couple of forest officers here in Heathcote not we got 20 dse staff running around doing bugger all from the looks of it for the amount of money its costing  : :  im pretty sure they will find another primary industry to target  : : they wont touch mining though it brings in too much for them but I reckon we will be in a hole soon as the main buyers in China start getting their Coal and Iron Ore from Russia  ;)

I feel lucky I met Jesi and to be moving somewhere where getting access to resource isnt an issue or the bloody drama it is here  ;D ;D 8)  Then again My Great Grandfather moved to Australia from Ireland to work in The Timber Industry here and we had a good run of it until idiots with no brains or any idea of how a forest works started running the show  ;)

Regards Chris

[bandmiller2]

Chris,we're having trouble here with greenie liberals,they don't want trees cut,they want animals to have a bill of rights.If they want wolves reintroduced, NY central park should be the first place for a pack. Frank C.

[bandmiller2]

The arbor should be perfectly level and the saw exactly verticle.Lead can vary between mills I start at 1/32".When you cut a cant and find it pulled away from the last headblock slightly, that indicates too much lead.When you gigback and the back of the saw makes steady contact with the cant usally thats not enough lead.The saw should just tick the cant at gigback.As with everything mill, your mileage may vary. Frank C.

[ALWOL]

  In addition to making sure the mandrel is level as Frank C said, the headblocks must be perfectly level also. I have found a maschinists torpedo level works good for this. The headblocks and mandrel can be carefully shimmed to get them perfect.
      Alan

[Meadows Miller]

And you know what works great for shims Steel Strapping  ;) ;D ;D 8) 8)

[markd]

I'll get my level and shims and give the ol girl a good once over an we'll see where we stand, great advise you guys, I appreciate it. markd

[markd]

Steamsawyer, quite the outfit, I like your sawdust chain, what tractor is that you got for power? Looks like a smooth operation. Markd

[steamsawyer]

Hey Markd,

Thanks for the complements.

The engine on the chain started out to be only temporary, but it works well and I never changed it. It makes a nice conversation piece too.

I don't know if you are looking at the pictures in my gallery or if you were checking out my youtube channel but the tractor in the gallery pix is a 1941 John Deere A. Not near enough power but it was only used to set up and true up the mill before the steam engine was pulled into place.

The steam engine in the videos is a James Leffel portable that... best we can tell... was built between 1910 and 1917. It is a 9 1/2 x 10 and about 50 - 60 horsepower, safety valve is set at 135#. It really likes a deep cut in a pine log.

And....

What bandmiller2 and ALWOL said in their last posts, almost word for word.

Alan

[markd]

That's an awesome setup you have, I've always  dreamed of a mill like that. You are fortunate and talented to put it all together good job, I saw the utube also, very entertaining. Markd

[markd]

I took the level and framing square to my carriage, had to shim the backside of one head block 1/8" to square up to the blade, and now all is well! I cut seven 12"x12" redwood cants with no water!! . Thanks all you guys for you input! markd