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Circle mill blade heating

Started by ddcuning, February 08, 2014, 05:30:08 PM

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Jim_Wahl

Congratulations on a job well done!
1997 Peterson 9" WPF since 1998
2004 Baker 3667D since 2014
Cooks Catclaw sharpener and setter



I am from Iowa, but I seem fine.

bandmiller2

You made my day Dave. Its normal for the back of the saw to tick the cant lightly on gig back. If your last 1" (dog board) is thinner at the end its probably caused by a tad too much lead that will tend to pull the board to the saw. Tell us where and which end the board is thinner, you have gone so far nothing short of perfection will do. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Magicman

This has all been very interesting and enjoyable.  Thanks for the journey.   8)
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

dblair

nice job, this trip will be well worth remembering .
old Appomattox Iron Works circle mill.

Ron Wenrich

I've always had new teeth rub a little on the back side, especially in tulip poplar.  After 1 or 2 filings, it goes away. 

Glad to see it's working.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

ddcuning

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I could not have completed this task without the help and support of the FF.

Frank, with regards to the lead, I am not getting any ticking of the cant so I may have too much in there. The boards start out at 1" when entering the saw and then 13' later as the saw exits the board I am getting 1/8" thinner. It does this on every 1" board I saw, not just the last. When I saw 2", it is dead on every time. Does this sound like a lead problem? Again, it is currently set at 3/32 and does not tick the cant. I can pull it back to 1/16" and see how that goes. At 1/16" lead, I was just nicking the cant ever so slightly down the log.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

Ron Wenrich

Your saw doesn't know if its a 1" or 2" board.  It should be cutting the same each time.  Feed rates the same? 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

ddcuning

That's what I thought Ron, I didn't understand why 2" was good and 1" was not but every 2" board was perfect and every 1" board was off. Yes, the feed rate was the same.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

sealark37

It has been over three years since Dave bought this old mill.  He has worked hard to make it like he wanted it.  As I remember, Dave's specialty is pith-up quarter sawing.  Dave, we can hardly wait to see some of your work.  Regards, Clark

Ron Wenrich

What's the board thickness in the mid length?  If you're going in at 1", and exiting at 7/8", where is 15/16"?  That might offer some clues.

How's your board splitter?  Sometimes they can pull on a board or push on a carriage if they're not aligned right.  The 2" might be heavy enough not to be affected.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

ddcuning

Ron,
I will have to check the splitter, I hadn't thought about it pushing on the cant or pulling on the board. I can't say that I aligned it so that would need to be checked. With regards to the thickness in the middle, I will have so check on that as well. I will have to saw some more and measure it. We cut up all we sawed yesterday and made platforms out of it.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

ddcuning

Clark,
You are right, it has taken me three years to get the shed built and get the mill going. Takes a while when you are limited to weekends and your project size is such that you need days at a time to devote to it.

Yes, my primary goal was to be able to saw my own pith up quartersawn lumber. Now that the mill is working, I will be looking for some big oaks to quarter! Of course I will share pics as the first big oak comes in.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

backwoods sawyer

When checking alignment like this start by squaring up a 12x12 cant or two, shave it to make it square if need be.  Check the top and bottom of the cut perpendicular to each other at several points down the board, write it out if you need to studdy it. A good set of calipers will give you a better picture of where the saw is shifting in the cut. At the least a good ruled tape. Check several pieces to confirm a patern.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

hardtailjohn

I'm so glad to read that you've got it sawing!! Boy Dave, did you ever earn it!! Congrats and I hope you keep that sawdust flying!
John
I'm so far behind, I think I'm ahead!

J R Bradshaw

Been keeping up with you for a long time. Congradulations.  I saw you replaced the bits in your saw did you sharpen after the install, I find bits are no longer consistant whether it be the bits or my saw plate I don't know, but if i don't sharpen a new teeth the saw will do funny things.  Its also natural to have a slight tick on gig back.

Chop Shop


bandmiller2

Dave, Ron is right on the board splitter it can affect the cant and boards. It should be flush on the carriage side of the mill.  A saw with a little too much lead wants to cut into the cant and will try to pull a board away from the cant due to the carriages straight travel. I'am talking slightly too much lead mayby the 2" is stiff enough to resist. Every circular mill is a little different and its trial and error setting the lead, I have always had light ticking on gigback when the lead was proper. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

scsmith42

Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

ddcuning

Thinking the splitter may be misaligned, I went to the mill to check it tonight. Honestly I never gave it much thought. When I put a level on the carriage side of the blade, the face of the splitter is flush with the level. When I put the level on the drive side of the blade, the splitter is so thick that the level hits and rests on the rim of the splitter. The splitter must be 3/8 to a 1/2 inch thick. Is this normal? I went by and checked the splitter on the mill I used to use and it was much thinner. The blade that came on my mill was a 7 gauge and the blade on there now is a 9 gauge. Maybe with the thicker 7 gauge blade this splitter wasn't as much of a problem? Should I build my own thinner splitter and change this one out?

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

york

Hi Dave,the vert.splitter on my Meadows mill was 3/8in.with 9gauge blade and worked very good,i replaced the round wheel type splitter,that came with the mill with the vert.splitter,got it from Lyons equip. Albert
Albert

Ron Wenrich

Its not the thickness as much as the alignment when the was is running.  I had a vertical one that was fairly thick, but I ran a heavy gauge saw.  With a vertical splitter, you should be able to see if there is any movement in it when you run your log through.  It shouldn't be moving when there is a cant against it.  If it moves towards the board side, that would mean there is pressure from the carriage side.  I'm not saying that the board splitter is the cause of the run out.  Just something to look at. 

It just seems strange that it only happens in the 1" boards.  If you take a 1" board off and it is 1/8" thin at the end, the cant should be 1/8" heavier on that same end.  If your next board saws the same 1/8" thinner, then your cant would be 1/4" thicker.  That would mean there's something moving on your carriage. 

If the first cut is 1/8" thinner, and the second cut is okay from end to end, then the problem is that your cant isn't quite square when you turn to that side.  I have always made it a habit to take a shim cut to square up my face when I turn to it.  It saves from any miscut lumber and gives a nicer product.  Many guys don't take that shim cut.  The board would act as your shim cut, and could be off.

I wouldn't get too excited about the splitter until you saw some more logs and watch the sequence in which things come off the saw.  Look for something that is happening all the time.  If every board is 1/8" thick on the end, that fiber has to be someplace.  Most problems end up in the dog board.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

ddcuning

Honestly, I didn't do that much investigation on Sunday. I was just so happy that it sawed without over heating that I didn't care about anything else. We will work on it more by checking all of the alignment again, measuring a cant slowly and doing some detailed measurements on what we saw. I will start another thread on the results of that investigation.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

Jeff

You really should keep that info here, not in another new topic.  Its all related to this journey and makes sense for everyone watching to have it here. :)
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

pineywoods

Dave, the problem you are seeing is not unique to circle mills, the same thing is common on bandmills. I suggest looking at the FIRST board that you cut off a cant. Bet you will find it has THIN ends..Fix that and the problem will go away...
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

ddcuning

Will do Jeff. I will update with pictures and what we did in this thread. We have the FF get together on Saturday but I will probably head to the mill after church on Sunday and start looking things over.

Dave C
We're debt free!!! - Dave C, Nov 2015

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