Pulling teeth

[Babylon519]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. And to saw milling. I recently got an old circle mill, and just restored it (new paint, belts, idlers, etc). There are no brand stampings anywhere, but the husk, trolley and head rig resemble Belsaw outfits I've seen in the gallery. It's got a 42" blade with 24 teeth, and came with a box of new teeth (Simonds Blue Tip F7 9/32). The handle that came with the saw for replacing the saw bits is stamped with "Simo-Jet". Before I did the tear-down, I ran the saw, but didn't cut any wood; it ran true - no wobbles - and every part was functioning properly. My question has to do with replacing bits: the ones that are on the saw blade seem almost as sharp as the ones in the box. They don't appear damaged at all, but they're probably rusted in place pretty well after years of sitting derelict in a field. Should the bits be pre-soaked in WD-40 or some other lube/releaser before I try to crank them out? Should I have a box of shanks on-hand, or will these likely be re-usable? If the existing bits and shanks look like they're intact and reasonably sharp, should I just stick with them for a few logs to get an idea of the saw's behaviour before I go stressing it? Thanks for any advice you can offer. This is definitely the most useful site I've seen for sawyers!

[beenthere]

Babylon
Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

Great project you have there.
Sure hope we can see some pics.

Blue Creeper is the oil you need for rusty parts. Many times superior to WD-40. ;)

[RayMO]

I would at least saw a few logs with existing teeth to test them out and it will remove part of the rust before removal and yes a good quality penetrating lubricant will do wonders.....

[Babylon519]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've posted a couple of photos - before and after - to the gallery under Babylon519. Have a look!

[bandmiller2]

Welcome,cutting several logs will certainly clean the old saw.From your description of the saw it sounds like a Bellsaw,whats the diameter of the arbor hole in the saw,if its 1 3/4"and no bushing its a belsaw.Any penetrating oil will help soak several times.Before you twist out the old shanks it will help to tap them down like your seating them with a round rod and hammer offset so your hammer won't hit the bits or shanks.If the bits and shanks look good I would try sharpening and running them.If you remove all the shanks its likely you'll upset the tension in the saw.You mayby can swedge the present bits,outhers can tell you more about that as I just replace the bits when worn. Frank C.

[loggah]

I would sharpen them and run it !!!! i got an old 46" blade out of the junkyard 4 years ago and finally decided to put it on my mill this year. The teeth were worn and rusty quite dull,i swedged them out and sharpened them and it cut fine. If you saw with it it will clean up fine ,but if you decide to change bits make sure you spray the shanks with some type of penetrating oil before you take them out,also change out one at a time,so you dont loose your saw tension like Frank said. Don

[Ron Wenrich]

What I've always done to change teeth is to spray the shanks down with a lube.  I use Blue Creeper, but WD 40 would work, and so does diesel.  I usually let it sit awhile before I try to take out the shanks.  You don't more than a few extra shanks.  Changing shanks can change the tension in your saw, especially if you change all of them.  You will want some lube on the shanks when you change out teeth.  It makes them a lot easier to put in.

You can give the old teeth a try.  But, if you have a bunch of problems with the saw, then I'd change them out.  For troubleshooting, its often best to change to new teeth to make sure the teeth and saw maintenance isn't the problem.  If you change them out, you can save the old teeth and use them as replacements for when you hit metal or rocks. 

[Babylon519]

you can save the old teeth and use them as replacements for when you hit metal or rocks.
[/quote]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Funny line, Ron... "when" I hit metal or rock, not "if"?  :D I would have been a bit paranoid about cutting into spikes, etc., but it sounds like it's something almost common for sawyers. So, do metal detectors work??

[bandmiller2]

Metal detectors work,kinda,usally sometimes.They help I use one often especially suspicious logs but their not bullet proof.Remember no one pounds hardwear in ugly trees only the best straight pristine ones. Frank C.

[maple flats]

/quote]
Wrong, The worst I ever hit was in a huge old ugly box elder (or was it willow). Anyway, I used a decent metal detector, one that had found all metal in the logs as deep as I can saw (8" max). On that real ugly log, I hit a huge lag covered with porcelain. All I can figure is that the porcelain blocked the reading of metal. At any rate the blade had to be changed and eventually re-tipped.

[Babylon519]

From your description of the saw it sounds like a Bellsaw,whats the diameter of the arbor hole in the saw,if its 1 3/4"and no bushing its a belsaw. Frank C.

Frank, the arbor hole is 1 3/8", with no bushing that I can see. I'll post more pics when I get the mill put back together in the next few days. Jason

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Babylon519.   

[bandmiller2]

Jason now I'am confused the standard saw arbor hole is two inches,Belsaw used a 1 3/4"hole and cordwood/buzz saws used 1 3/8" hole yet your saw has incerted bits and shanks.Mayby you could post some pictures. Frank C.

[Possum Creek]

I had an older belsaw that had a 1-3/4" shaft that was necked down to 1-3/8" where the saw was, I think it was a #8 arbor. I am not sure about the shaft on the M-14 I have now.

[Babylon519]

I'm trying to import a pic into this post, but it says I don't have permissions, so there are two photos of the saw as I found it in Galleries>Babylon519>Jason's Sawmill. From pictures I've seen of other Belsaw mills, the trolley and husk looked familiar. However, there are no brand markings that I can see anywhere on the rig.

[beenthere]

Babylon
Check out this link to a thread that will help you with your pics on the forum.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61788.0.html

As long as the pic is in .jpg format, and you have set up your own gallery in your profile, then uploading pics is pretty straight forward by clicking on the "Click here to add Photos to post" blue highlighted button under this posting window.

The off-sight ones not allowed for a number of good reasons.
We look forward to seeing them. ;)