walking lucas

[all_in]

a friend is milling some oak here at my place.  the problem he is having is the blade seems to be walking when cutting 1x8s.  the 1" cut is horizontal and the 8"cut is vertical.  the cut starts out at 1" and 6' later the board is 1 1/4".  a 4" cut is ok.
the saw is a lucas with a kohler 27 motor.
any suggestions would be appreciated. thnx

[RevCant]

With the swing type mills, it is the full cut that will show any misalignment of the blade.  Tell your friend to look real hard at his manual for vertical adjustments, and if he can't figure it out, call Bailey's.  I have a Peterson, so I can't really help much beyond this.

RevCant

[Captain]

The Lucas mills use a blade that is slightly thinner in body than the Peterson blades, and sometimes they are not capable of full 8" cuts in hardwood, especially hardwood presenting with stress.  

Does the blade cut well at 6", 4"?  If yes, this is your answer.  The solution is to cut a 4" drop in the vertical, then return and drop another 4" to get you 8" in total.  If the blade is walking in 6" and 4" cuts as well, it (the blade) may have lost tension.  

How do I know this?  Peterson makes a thinner body, 6 tooth "hardwood" blade.  I have one.  It does the same thing.  It does, however, cut blisteringly fast in 4" or 6" cuts.  I never have a problem with my 8 tooth blades.

I hope this helps.  You may want to check with Lucas or Bailey's for a more direct answer.

Captain

[HORSELOGGER]

Most oak here has some amount of tension. My guess would be the big vertical drop is relieving it, and basically the log is movin as it is cut.Stuff happens.