What blades do you use for pine logs?

Dave989 · July 17, 2016, 09:52:52 AM

I have a woodmizer LT 40 super hydrollic with 42 hp diesel engine. I cut a lot of pine logs and would like to know what type of blade you use for pine logs and what tooth set. What are pros and cons of different blades? I am currently using 10 degree bimetal blades but am having issues with resharpening. I was wondering about the 7 degree turbo? Has anyone used those for sawing pine?

Joe Hillmann · July 17, 2016, 02:05:55 PM

I just use 10 degree blades but they have to be sharp. I have found that long after a blade isn't sharp enough to cut straight in pine it still works like in new in most hardwoods.

Magicman · July 17, 2016, 02:08:28 PM

10° has always been my go-to blade for SYP, but recently I have accumulated a nice stash of 7° Turbo's which may gradually become my primary blade.

Dave Shepard · July 17, 2016, 02:56:53 PM

I've sawn quite a bit with the Turbos. I like them, but you have to push the blade. If you go too slow, you will probably get a poor cut. I've cut a couple of hundred thousand feet of white pine with the DiubleHard tens, and they also do well.

Chuck White · July 17, 2016, 07:14:22 PM

I've always used Wood-Mizer 10° Double-Hards with good performance in everything I've sawn, even hardwoods!

I know there are better choices for hardwood, but the 10's do fine with what I saw!

bkaimwood · July 17, 2016, 08:08:35 PM

Turbo 7's...7/39, .045

Dave989 · July 17, 2016, 11:18:10 PM

Thanks for the responses

terrifictimbersllc · July 18, 2016, 06:21:02 AM

Started with 10s, now using 7s. 4s work but I find they get wavy sooner esp. on wide cuts in pine. Haven't tried turbo 7s yet. Sharp is everything when knotty.
All mine are 1-1/4", 0.045, double hard.

slider · July 18, 2016, 08:13:12 AM

I have used 10's for years.Then i started sharpening them back to 8's which seemed to help in knotty pine.A while back i went to 4"s to see if they would help in the knotty stuff .I can"t push as hard but they do seem to perform better in the knotty logs.I run 55"s at 30 but i have more than enough power so it"s not a problem running that much set.As others have said ,keep them sharp.

woodmills1 · July 18, 2016, 10:47:48 AM

.055 7 degree regular is my all around blade. I buy them set for pine, not sure of set but prob .030 or so. I use and sharpen 2, 3 times then use only for hardwood. I only set when they just won't cut straight when sharp. They will cut hardwood out of the box but leave a lot of sawdust on the boards.

AnthonyW · July 18, 2016, 01:22:09 PM

I cut almost entirely eastern white pine. I started with 10* 0.042 WM blades, but rarely got more than two hours from a blade. For my next box, I changed to 7* 0.042 blades. They last at least twice a long. I recently obtained a variety pack of 0.045 thick blades in a private sale. Some 4, 7, 7 Turbo, 9, and 10 degree blades. I look forward to trying them all out. I tried the 7 Turbo's yesterday, in fact. Unfortunately, the cuts were very wavey. I don't know if it was the blades or something else. I put on one of my new regular 7* blades and it cut well all day. I'm sending the 7 Turbos along with some other blades to be checked and resharpened. I will await the results from the retest, but I don't know if the will be better. I only made one pass with each of the three 7* turbo blades and there are fibers caught on most of the teeth. I suspect the taller tooth of the 7* turbo may not be good for cutting EWP.

ladylake · July 18, 2016, 04:30:44 PM

Quote from: AnthonyW on July 18, 2016, 01:22:09 PM
I cut almost entirely eastern white pine. I started with 10* 0.042 WM blades, but rarely got more than two hours from a blade. For my next box, I changed to 7* 0.042 blades. They last at least twice a long. I recently obtained a variety pack of 0.045 thick blades in a private sale. Some 4, 7, 7 Turbo, 9, and 10 degree blades. I look forward to trying them all out. I tried the 7 Turbo's yesterday, in fact. Unfortunately, the cuts were very wavey. I don't know if it was the blades or something else. I put on one of my new regular 7* blades and it cut well all day. I'm sending the 7 Turbos along with some other blades to be checked and resharpened. I will await the results from the retest, but I don't know if the will be better. I only made one pass with each of the three 7* turbo blades and there are fibers caught on most of the teeth. I suspect the taller tooth of the 7* turbo may not be good for cutting EWP.

How deep is the gullet between the 10, regular 7, turbo 7 and the 4. Steve

reswire · July 18, 2016, 10:46:42 PM

I recently cut both poplar and various species of pine with the turbo 7's. I was really impressed with the performance compared to the 10 degree blades. The finished product had no waves, seemed to cut more easily, and of course made the customer VERY happy! That's always a good day when the customer is happy! 8)

GDinMaine · July 19, 2016, 08:25:45 AM

I use 7 (regular) for soft woods and poplar, 4s for general hardwood cutting and 9 for frozen softwood. All of them are .055.

Luke_Eames · July 19, 2016, 09:25:30 AM

I run the Turbo 7s on Hemlock. They work great through the lager logs and keep nice and straight.

derhntr · July 19, 2016, 10:11:47 AM

I am done using any .42 blades on EWP after I use up the new 10 degrees I have. I actually like the 4 degree blades on EWP but they are the only .45 blades I have.

Knute · July 19, 2016, 08:09:23 PM

Have been using 10 degree doublehard this past week for white pine and with good results. Haven't tried anything else.

hamish · July 19, 2016, 08:22:17 PM

The primary specie I saw is EWP (Eastern White Pine) and swear by 13deg bands, and also use 10deg bands with the set in the 24-26thousand range.

I have tried 7's and 4's but have found them too slow (most likely due to only having 13hp and a manual mill).

woodmills1 · July 20, 2016, 07:05:29 PM

but how are those 13's on the knots?

Dave Shepard · July 20, 2016, 07:27:45 PM

I got a few 1.5" x.055" 13° bands. I thought they were great on pine, even the knotty stuff. I think I liked them better than Turbo 7s, but I didn't want to switch over to 1.5" bands.

AnthonyW · July 20, 2016, 09:55:14 PM

Quote from: hamish on July 19, 2016, 08:22:17 PM
The primary specie I saw is EWP (Eastern White Pine) and swear by 13deg bands, and also use 10deg bands with the set in the 24-26thousand range.

I have tried 7's and 4's but have found them too slow (most likely due to only having 13hp and a manual mill).

This always confuses me. Less horsepower (13hp) with a 13 degree blade (more aggressive, lots of bite) cuts faster. Seems counter intuitive and I still don't understand it. With a 15hp engine, I dropped from 10 degree to 7 degree (less bite) to keep the engine from bogging and the rpm up and get a faster cut.

Dave989 · July 21, 2016, 09:59:50 PM

I have plenty of horsepower to push an aggressive blade (42hp). Maybe I could try the 13s. I'd be concerned that they would travel over knots instead of cutting through em.

hamish · July 21, 2016, 10:40:38 PM

Quote from: AnthonyW on July 20, 2016, 09:55:14 PM
Quote from: hamish on July 19, 2016, 08:22:17 PM
The primary specie I saw is EWP (Eastern White Pine) and swear by 13deg bands, and also use 10deg bands with the set in the 24-26thousand range.

I have tried 7's and 4's but have found them too slow (most likely due to only having 13hp and a manual mill).

This always confuses me. Less horsepower (13hp) with a 13 degree blade (more aggressive, lots of bite) cuts faster. Seems counter intuitive and I still don't understand it. With a 15hp engine, I dropped from 10 degree to 7 degree (less bite) to keep the engine from bogging and the rpm up and get a faster cut.

As you have a manual mill and get to experience the manual feedback.............push it hard, you want that bog, you want the engine to drop down into its max torque range (not rpm range)find the sweet spot in the engines power curve. Too slow of a feed speed accounts for a lot of band deflection, but the 13's just kind of bite and carry on.

AnthonyW · July 22, 2016, 06:05:09 AM

Quote from: hamish on July 21, 2016, 10:40:38 PM
Quote from: AnthonyW on July 20, 2016, 09:55:14 PM
Quote from: hamish on July 19, 2016, 08:22:17 PM
The primary specie I saw is EWP (Eastern White Pine) and swear by 13deg bands, and also use 10deg bands with the set in the 24-26thousand range.

I have tried 7's and 4's but have found them too slow (most likely due to only having 13hp and a manual mill).

This always confuses me. Less horsepower (13hp) with a 13 degree blade (more aggressive, lots of bite) cuts faster. Seems counter intuitive and I still don't understand it. With a 15hp engine, I dropped from 10 degree to 7 degree (less bite) to keep the engine from bogging and the rpm up and get a faster cut.

As you have a manual mill and get to experience the manual feedback.............push it hard, you want that bog, you want the engine to drop down into its max torque range (not rpm range)find the sweet spot in the engines power curve. Too slow of a feed speed accounts for a lot of band deflection, but the 13's just kind of bite and carry on.

I put a tach/hour meter on my engine (mostly for the hour meter, but on the mill have found the tach super useful). I get the best feed rate around 3000 rpm. Too much above or below and the blade wanders. I find it very difficult to maintain a constant fast feed rate with the 10 degree blades. They bog the engine down too easily which in turn kills the feed rate. Since I made the switch I have since learned that not only does the cutting angle change but also the gullet profile, hence the 7 degree and 7 turbo blades. I skipped from 10 to 7, without ever trying the 9 degree blades. I have some 9's now I will try. I would not buy a 13 to try, but if someone lent me one I would. It's too bad Woodmizer doesn't offer a starter pack, three blades of five types (choose five from: 4, 7, 7 turbo, 9, 10, 13). I also strongly believe blade choice/selection is based largely on personal technique. Since my technique is different than yours, 13's work for you while 7's work for me. We probably get the same (or equivalent) bdft/hr.

Magicman · July 22, 2016, 07:53:05 AM

It's easy to start "chasing blades" and end up with nothing but confusion. Remember that two different logs of the same species can/will saw differently, so was it the log or was it the blade? Manufacturers recommendations are usually correct for different engines/sawmills. There is nothing wrong with tweaking but do no get carried away with hype.