How much lube per bf?

WV Sawmiller · July 03, 2015, 01:14:10 PM

I suspect I am not using enough lube. I know lube requirements vary with types of wood and other factors.

It seems my lube tank lasts forever. I'm mostly just cracking the valve a little and dripping it on the blade as cutting. Should I have a much bigger flow? I mostly cut tulip poplar and other hardwoods and not too much softwood. Am cutting some hemlock now. Have cut a little spruce but it was pretty dry. Have not had reason to cut pine up here yet. Mostly my clients seems to be in the market for hardwood.

Do any of you have good estimates of how many gallons of lube you use per m/bf or such? Would be especially helpful if broken down by type of wood. I'd sure appreciate your observations and recommendations.

GAB · July 03, 2015, 01:31:37 PM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on July 03, 2015, 01:14:10 PM
I suspect I am not using enough lube. I know lube requirements vary with types of wood and other factors.

It seems my lube tank lasts forever. I'm mostly just cracking the valve a little and dripping it on the blade as cutting. Should I have a much bigger flow? I mostly cut tulip poplar and other hardwoods and not too much softwood. Am cutting some hemlock now. Have cut a little spruce but it was pretty dry. Have not had reason to cut pine up here yet. Mostly my clients seems to be in the market for hardwood.

Do any of you have good estimates of how many gallons of lube you use per m/bf or such? Would be especially helpful if broken down by type of wood. I'd sure appreciate your observations and recommendations.

There are so many variables involved with your question that I doubt anyone will be able to give you an answer.
Some of the variables I'm thinking of are:
Type of or species of wood
How long ago was it cut?
What time of the year?
Location in the world
What has the weather been?
How much set does your blade have?
How fast are you trying to cut?
What tooth angle are you using?
How much HP do you have?
How wide are you sawing?
Is it a fresh blade or have you been sawing with it some?
How clean are your logs?
Is your lube system gravity flow? if so the height in the tank could affect the flow rate.
Etc.

Personally I use a mix of water and ERA laundry detergent and keep an eye on the blade. If it appears that the blade is not clean then I increase the flow of the lube, if it is very clean then I will back off some.
Water is not all that expensive and if the ERA mix does not work for you then use it to do laundry with.
And that is my 2 cents on the subject.
Gerald

justallan1 · July 03, 2015, 01:45:28 PM

That's kind of a tough question. When I'm sawing pine I adjust my flow according to the build-up on my blades. Some require next to none, while others I have to just about pour it straight out of a bucket. On box elder, juniper and apple I rarely need any at all and rely on my scrapers as much as possible.
I feel if your blades are staying clean without it there is no reason to use it.

mesquite buckeye · July 03, 2015, 01:53:05 PM

Well put.

;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

When I am cutting fresh cut mesquite, I have to use a lot of water because the bark is very gummy and will crud up the blade pretty quickly. Once the logs are partially dry, I can get away with less. At that time if I use too much the sawdust plugs up in the shield box. Once the wood is dry I have to use more water again because the blade will heat and dull quickly if not cooled. I've seen the same thing with other dry hardwoods like bur oak and walnut. You can see burn marks on the boards if you have no lube. Hope this helps. ;D 8) 8) 8)

Joe Hillmann · July 03, 2015, 04:24:09 PM

I use diesel 1 quart will last from 500 to 2000 bdft. If I put too much on the blade will pop off the wheels so I use as little as possible.

WV Sawmiller · July 03, 2015, 05:48:25 PM

Joe,

Are you just spraying it directly on the blade or mixing it in the lube tank? If mixing how much water are you mixing it with? What are you cutting?

bkaimwood · July 03, 2015, 06:34:53 PM

I use 5 gallons per 8 hours of sawing, up to twice that in above mentioned special situations... Hope it helps, I rarely measure bf at this time...

boscojmb · July 03, 2015, 06:51:04 PM

I am running straight diesel in my lube tank. I use about one drop per second depending on what type of wood I am sawing. As mentioned earlier a quart will last 2K Bd Ft or more.

Dave Shepard · July 03, 2015, 07:29:05 PM

I'm sawing winter cut pine. I've only turned the lube on once in the last week and a half, and that was just too see if it worked.

drobertson · July 03, 2015, 07:57:24 PM

5 gallons will last as mentioned 1500 to 2000 bdft of most wood, oak, walnut, cherry and some pine. I've gotten into some pine that is very pitchy, and often times have to take my scraper to the band to rid the excess. It still amazes me how some logs from the same stand of pine have so much more pitch resign than the rest.

Kbeitz · July 03, 2015, 08:05:35 PM

I would like to add to the questions.
For the people that has gravity flow does the lube only drip on top one side of the blade ?

Joe Hillmann · July 03, 2015, 08:27:11 PM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on July 03, 2015, 05:48:25 PM
Joe,

Are you just spraying it directly on the blade or mixing it in the lube tank? If mixing how much water are you mixing it with? What are you cutting?

Straight diesel squeezed onto both sides of the blade. I have two wooden blocks with a bunch of holes drilled in them that pinch the blade and act almost like felt pads for getting the diesel onto the blade.

boscojmb · July 03, 2015, 10:12:39 PM

Quote from: Kbeitz on July 03, 2015, 08:05:35 PM
I would like to add to the questions.
For the people that has gravity flow does the lube only drip on top one side of the blade ?

Top side only. Gravity acts the same way on pitch as it does the lube. I've never seen pitch build up on the under side of the blade.

Different trees in different parts of the country saw differently, this was a hard lesson learned for me.
The folks sawing SYP in the south may need a totally different lube system than I do. I sometimes turn the lube off when cutting hardwoods.

WV Sawmiller · July 03, 2015, 10:15:58 PM

Thx everyone. Maybe I am not as far off in my usage as I was beginning to think. Not much sap in the wood I am cutting so sounds like a steady drip may be most I need most of the time.

Kbeitz,

That is the way I understand it works on my WM LT35. Not sure about the design of other mills. Not sure if the diesel applicator Joe is describing is factory or custom design. Can't see what kind of mill he is running from his signature line.

drobertson · July 03, 2015, 10:55:39 PM

I've also notice there is never a pitch build up on the outer side of the blade, just the inside, which surely comes from the band wheels. It packs on much the same as the belts do. I've often thought of putting a wire brush above center of the drive wheel and outer idler to help clean the belts, just never have,

Brad_bb · July 03, 2015, 11:18:55 PM

Running green hardwood like that I'm filling my 5 gallon jug twice in 7 hours, while cutting a timber and boards from the log. I reckon you want enough to keep the blade wet, but you don't want it splashing all over the place. My biggest problem is with adjusting the valve from woodmizer. It's too sensative and it's like either too much or too little often. My other problem is remembering to close the valve between cuts or when I stop to do something. It then make a mess on the floor.

gimpy · July 03, 2015, 11:43:40 PM

Double post

gimpy · July 03, 2015, 11:44:44 PM

Personally, I bought two extra lube tanks and keep them filled and mixed with both dawn dishwashing soap and pinesol. Perhaps partially due to water being further than I want to carry the tanks. So I fill all three and transport them in a garden cart. I probably use more than I need but find no downside to using to much while there is a down side to using to little. I never get a build up on my blades after going to my present program.

But that's just me, a relative newbie.

4x4American · July 04, 2015, 12:03:29 AM

I was sawing locust that has been down since fall 2014 today. I didn't really need much lube at all.

SawyerBrown · July 04, 2015, 04:23:04 AM

Agree with all that has been said so far. "Lube" isn't really for lubrication, it's primarily for keeping the blade clean. So as to how much lube to use? I trickle it on as long as the blade stays clean, and open it up if/ when the blade starts getting a little sticky. I'll go heavier until blade clean, then back it down a bit. I just use water and the cheapest dish soap I can find.

Chuck White · July 04, 2015, 07:09:25 AM

Quote from: Brad_bb on July 03, 2015, 11:18:55 PM
Running green hardwood like that I'm filling my 5 gallon jug twice in 7 hours, while cutting a timber and boards from the log. I reckon you want enough to keep the blade wet, but you don't want it splashing all over the place. My biggest problem is with adjusting the valve from woodmizer. It's too sensative and it's like either too much or too little often. My other problem is remembering to close the valve between cuts or when I stop to do something. It then make a mess on the floor.

Brad; I installed a small shut-off valve in the line about 4-5 inches after the lube tank shut-off valve.
The one I used is an old fuel shut-off valve that I had laying around.
Just cut the small line that runs out to drip on the blade and install the valve, open the tank valve all the way and adjust your drip with the other one.
Once you get the flow adjusted to where you want it, just use the main valve to turn the lube on or off.

Larry · July 04, 2015, 10:17:44 AM

Quote from: Brad_bb on July 03, 2015, 11:18:55 PM
Running green hardwood like that I'm filling my 5 gallon jug twice in 7 hours, while cutting a timber and boards from the log. I reckon you want enough to keep the blade wet, but you don't want it splashing all over the place. My biggest problem is with adjusting the valve from woodmizer. It's too sensative and it's like either too much or too little often. My other problem is remembering to close the valve between cuts or when I stop to do something. It then make a mess on the floor.

Just thinking, a lot of us use a solenoid valve in the water line that opens when the auto clutch is engaged. I would think you might be able to use the same solenoid valve. To operate you could get a normally open push button switch. Locate the switch where it would be under your thumb when pushing the mill through a cut.

Joe Hillmann · July 04, 2015, 11:22:12 AM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on July 03, 2015, 10:15:58 PM
Thx everyone. Maybe I am not as far off in my usage as I was beginning to think. Not much sap in the wood I am cutting so sounds like a steady drip may be most I need most of the time.

Kbeitz,

That is the way I understand it works on my WM LT35. Not sure about the design of other mills. Not sure if the diesel applicator Joe is describing is factory or custom design. Can't see what kind of mill he is running from his signature line.

Mine is a homemade mill but I copied the general idea from cooks and several members here.

Chuck White · July 04, 2015, 11:26:34 AM

Quote from: Larry on July 04, 2015, 10:17:44 AM
Quote from: Brad_bb on July 03, 2015, 11:18:55 PM
Running green hardwood like that I'm filling my 5 gallon jug twice in 7 hours, while cutting a timber and boards from the log. I reckon you want enough to keep the blade wet, but you don't want it splashing all over the place. My biggest problem is with adjusting the valve from woodmizer. It's too sensative and it's like either too much or too little often. My other problem is remembering to close the valve between cuts or when I stop to do something. It then make a mess on the floor.

Just thinking, a lot of us use a solenoid valve in the water line that opens when the auto clutch is engaged. I would think you might be able to use the same solenoid valve. To operate you could get a normally open push button switch. Locate the switch where it would be under your thumb when pushing the mill through a cut.

Or you could mount the solenoid switch near the blade "engagement" lever so that when the lever is pulled to start the blade, the solenoid switch would be engaged.

I just haven't gotten around to doing that yet!

Dave Shepard · July 04, 2015, 11:56:45 AM

Quote from: Chuck White on July 04, 2015, 11:26:34 AM
Quote from: Larry on July 04, 2015, 10:17:44 AM
Quote from: Brad_bb on July 03, 2015, 11:18:55 PM
Running green hardwood like that I'm filling my 5 gallon jug twice in 7 hours, while cutting a timber and boards from the log. I reckon you want enough to keep the blade wet, but you don't want it splashing all over the place. My biggest problem is with adjusting the valve from woodmizer. It's too sensative and it's like either too much or too little often. My other problem is remembering to close the valve between cuts or when I stop to do something. It then make a mess on the floor.

Just thinking, a lot of us use a solenoid valve in the water line that opens when the auto clutch is engaged. I would think you might be able to use the same solenoid valve. To operate you could get a normally open push button switch. Locate the switch where it would be under your thumb when pushing the mill through a cut.

Or you could mount the solenoid switch near the blade "engagement" lever so that when the lever is pulled to start the blade, the solenoid switch would be engaged.

I just haven't gotten around to doing that yet!