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Snake and wave in boards cut.

Started by Noobsawyer, December 30, 2013, 05:00:58 PM

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Bogue Chitto

Also check your blade wheel.  Make sure the belt is still good.  Blade should not be on the metal wheel.

Rockn H

Like everyone else said, make sure your blade is adjusted right.   I don't know what you're sawing, but one thing that jumped out at me was no lube.   I always use water for lube  and if the wood has a lot of sap, I add a little dish washing soap.   The lube helps cool the blade so it stays sharper longer and the tension stays more stable.  It may help too if you start cutting on the small end.  The blades are less likely to try rise over the knots if you're cutting towards the large end.  Another thing that can cause a lot of trouble is if the tree has a left hand spiral.  I don't know why, but if you look at the bark or grain and it has a left hand spiral to it, the log will very likely have a lot of tension in it.  Those logs have to be turned every cut it seems to try and follow/ release the tension in them. 

I'm not sure how wide or thick the blades are that you're running, but a .42 blade has to be run a lot slower than a .45 blade and so on, or you will get waves.  The first thing I realized with a band mill is it can cut a lot faster than it sometimes should.  Don't give up on your mill, they all have a learning curve..... and some logs just make ugly boards :)

5quarter

Quote from: Rockn H on January 04, 2014, 10:18:46 AM
a .42 blade has to be run a lot slower than a .45 blade and so on, or you will get waves. 

Do you mean lower rpms for the .042" or slower feed rate?
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

slider

I think he means slowing the feed rate
al glenn

Rockn H


ladylake


  For sure don't blame the mill, any mill set up right with the right blade will cut straight.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

MSSawmill

We have had, and still have, this problem on our homemade mill. The culprit is either a dull blade, feed speed, knots in the wood, or more often, roller guides out of alignment. I'm not too familiar with the WoodMizer set up, but something that hasn't been mentioned explicitly is making sure the roller guides are parallel to the deck. In other words, make sure the front AND back of the bearing are touching the blade at all times.

Don't give up! Especially if you got a used mill!
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

Magicman

Quote from: MSSawmill on January 06, 2014, 09:46:30 AMmaking sure the roller guides are parallel to the deck. In other words, make sure the front AND back of the bearing are touching the blade at all times. 
"Being parallel" and "touching" are two completely different things.  This LINK might help.

The blade tilt tool is very important to the get the blade exactly parallel to the bed.
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

5quarter

I figured...I just wanted to be sure that that is what the OP meant. .045" blades will hold the plane of the cut a little better due to the added stiffness of the blade body, but also takes a tad more power to run due to the slightly wider kerf.
Doug Fir is notorious for dirty bark. it may not look dirty, but that thick bark can hold a lot of grit that will dull a blade PDQ. Try running something else through the saw and see if you get the same trouble. Also, not enough set in the blade when cutting knotty softwoods will give you the same trouble. The factory set on the blades you're using is likely around 23-25 thousandths. increase it to 30 thousandths and you may get better results. If you're saw is properly aligned as others have mentioned, The problem is most likely with the blade, not the mill. Best of luck and hope you get it cutting straight.
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

MSSawmill

Quote from: Magicman on January 06, 2014, 10:05:40 AM
Quote from: MSSawmill on January 06, 2014, 09:46:30 AMmaking sure the roller guides are parallel to the deck. In other words, make sure the front AND back of the bearing are touching the blade at all times. 
"Being parallel" and "touching" are two completely different things.  This LINK might help.

The blade tilt tool is very important to the get the blade exactly parallel to the bed.

Ok, good point. The blade and blade guide should be in full contact and should be parallel to the deck, front to back of the blade. Right?
Home-built bandsaw mill
2004 Kubota M110 with LA1301 loader

Magicman

Paragraph 5.11 in this pdf shows blade guide alignment.  pdf
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

Mountain Guardian

I read through the comments and I did not notice anyone mention the track itself.  Get a good six foot level and set it on your rails and see if your tracks have any bows in them.  This will cause wavy boards in a big way.  When I first set up my track I had it on boards and got it as flat and level as I could, which turns out was not real flat, I eventually poured a concrete slab to set my mill on and made my own track from full length angle iron.

I noticed a few things with my initial trouble.....  If you have a dip of 1/8 inch and you cut flat and then roll the log and cut the other side you can get off by as much as 1/4 inch from surface to surface.  Small wows in the track may seem minor but they have a way of doubling plus when cutting.

Another thing that comes to mind is to check and make sure you are not getting sawdust in your track wheels, even a sixteenth of an inch of sawdust under one and not the others can really throw you out of whack on smooth cutting.  I finally installed a sweeper brush system on my wheels and then welded nails and bent them down into my wheel grooves to dislodge anything that might get stuck in them.  I was having horrible problems with wavy cuts until I went to the concrete pad with full length metal rails and designed the sweeper cleaner unit for my wheels.

Checking your rails and wheels is a simple enough thing and could conceivably cause the wave on your mill the same as it was on mine.

Noobsawyer

I want to thank everyone for the great input  !
We did find that the roller guides did not have enough deflection.
Seems to be cutting alot better after adjusting.
We are also getting some 7 degree blades to try.
Once again Thank You All Very Much !!!

ladylake



  Thanks for the follow up, too many times we never hear what fixed what.   Those 7° blades will cut better in tough wood than 10° blades .  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

LittleJohn

BLADES BLADES BLADES; make sure you are running type of blade

If you want to see a blade do some funny stuff take a tooth and half bend it over, or in my case hit something metal (like a dog on the mill) - That blade will dive an 1" in less than a foot   >:(

thecfarm

LittleJohn,trying to saw the mill in two is not good. Just ask any of us.  ;D   What kind of mill you have? Where do your logs come from?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

LittleJohn

I run a older Woodmizer LT40, with my dad - as hobby, occassionally making a few $$$ when people see me dragging the mill behind the truck and need some logs cut, typically as I am filing up the beast at the gas pump.  Most logs are off my dad's 40 or my grandma's 100 acre woods, do some tree felling and removal for people, but mostly word of mouth stuff.

Most of the wood we have been cutting recently, last 5 years were for the old mans retired compound!  A 48' x 80' (4000sf) heated garage/work space and 3000sf house.  All the lumber and shiplap were cut on the old wood mizer, NOTE some plywood, green treat, board over 14' and rafters were purchased; other than that just pulled them off the lumber pile.

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