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What blades do you use for pine logs?

Started by Dave989, July 17, 2016, 09:52:52 AM

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Dave989

I tallied all the responses here and one other place I asked and these are the results: 10 degree = 5,  7 degree = 5,  7 turbo = 3,  4 degree = 2,  13 degree = 1
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Dave and Hannah

Chuck White

The 10° will saw the Pine as good as anything as long as you keep a sharp blade on the mill!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Bruno of NH

I don't have good luck with 10s in white pine .
The WM 9s and 7s timber wolf 8s work great for me with 13hp honda on spruce and white pine
4s on realy knotty spruce
Bruno
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

woodmills1

My LT 40 onan 24 HD cut everything with 1.25 10 degree, but it didn't like spruce or hickory.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Dave989

I don't like to saw Spruce. I have a hard time making a straight cut. I think it is because Spruce is so darn soft and knotty.
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Dave and Hannah

derhntr

In the last week I have sawed close to 5000 Bft of EWP for my board and batten project. Using .042 10 degree WM blades. I am glad it is my own wood as I have been chasing the wave the whole time. These are fresh cut logs less than a week old that I am cutting down before milling. 12 to 26 inches granted some are of marginal quality (tops) for the purling's. I am fighting sap build up on blade and band wheel belts. Logs are clean and changing blades every 500 Bft. Cleaning the band wheel belts every couple hours as well.

The waves for the most part seem to happen when getting the cant to size. as the waves are on the edges of the boards.

I suspect the blade thickness is part of the issue I am going with .045 blades on next order. I think less blade deflection with thicker blade.

Guess I am asking a general purpose blade to do more than its designed to do.   
2006 Woodmizer LT40HDG28 with command control (I hate walking in sawdust)
US Army National Guard (RET) SFC

Magicman

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

AnthonyW

Quote from: derhntr on July 25, 2016, 08:21:54 AM
In the last week I have sawed close to 5000 Bft of EWP for my board and batten project. Using .042 10 degree WM blades. I am glad it is my own wood as I have been chasing the wave the whole time. These are fresh cut logs less than a week old that I am cutting down before milling. 12 to 26 inches granted some are of marginal quality (tops) for the purling's. I am fighting sap build up on blade and band wheel belts. Logs are clean and changing blades every 500 Bft. Cleaning the band wheel belts every couple hours as well.

The waves for the most part seem to happen when getting the cant to size. as the waves are on the edges of the boards.

I suspect the blade thickness is part of the issue I am going with .045 blades on next order. I think less blade deflection with thicker blade.

Guess I am asking a general purpose blade to do more than its designed to do.

On the advice of many, I dialed up the tension to no less than 2500. This reduced the wave occurrence. I still have issues maintaining a sharp 10 degree blade on EWP for very long. Getting only 2-3 hours of run time from a blade, which for me is about 400-750 bdft. Interesting that you have the same issue. Personally I dropped to 7 degree blades and the blade life increased significantly.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

derhntr

MM.
When I got my mill in 06 the WM tech asked what I would be cutting and at the time I had 35,000 BFT of EWP to cut to red do my dads 135 year old barn. He recommended the .042 10 degree blades so have stuck with them. New sawyer at that time. I am sure if I had own sharpener and setter I could come up with a set that would make them work. 
2006 Woodmizer LT40HDG28 with command control (I hate walking in sawdust)
US Army National Guard (RET) SFC

OlJarhead

I use 10 degree blades on Ponderosa and White Pine.  In both cases I no longer chase the wave :)  Here are the 3 things I did which seem to have made a difference:

1.  Get the drive belts tight to spec.
2.  Get the blade to 3000lbs or slightly more (I was told by a WM rep to crank it down and keep it there!)
3.  Increase feed rate.  I had been milling around 11 o'clock on the dial (with my LT40HDG26) but learned that unless I am milling a much bigger log (something I'm biting 15" or more into) I crank the dial to midnight and leave it there!  Faster passes and the band stays tight.

I tend to run about two bands a day when milling 1000 to 1600bf in a day.  I know some say they get a lot more than that but I find that's about right for me.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Chuck White

You're really doing good with that new mill, Erik!

I have a 25hp Kohler on my mill and in W/Pine, I usually average 1,500-1,800 bf in 7 hours on the sawmill hour meter!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

OlJarhead

Quote from: Chuck White on July 25, 2016, 04:01:47 PM
You're really doing good with that new mill, Erik!

I have a 25hp Kohler on my mill and in W/Pine, I usually average 1,500-1,800 bf in 7 hours on the sawmill hour meter!

Thanks :)

You get that with or without help?  I've done 1600bf without help in 8 hrs but sometimes struggle to break 1000bf....usually though that's because of bad log decks, moving logs to much etc.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Chuck White

I don't very often saw alone, so yes, with help!

I don't push the mill as hard as some do!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

OlJarhead

Gotcha.  I don't saw alone much either except for myself but then along comes a customer who I think will be there and I saw alone.

I'm learning.  On those jobs the bf rate goes from .375/bf to .60/bf and I don't worry about it since I charge by the hour -- and I'm thankful for that! lol
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Boyd Stuart

When we were setting blades we screwed up and set a blade at 30,000 per side and wrote tuition on it. It was by far our best blade. I then asked around a bit about blade set and was told in knotty wood to always go 30+ now I have all my blades set at 34 per side and have nearly doubled mill capacity, time between sharpening and no wavy cuts. I'm impressed at this point anyway. I don't think 20000 more set will affect much on softwood logs.We use 1 1/2 7 turbo blades.
Lt Super 70 wide, Green as Grass but open minded with a strong back.

Chuck White

I set my blades at .025-.030 and have had good luck with it.

I put two marks on the lens of the setter and whenever the needle lights between the 2 marks, it's good!

I also get a good surface on my sawn lumber!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Kbeitz

Every saw is different. anything over .024 on my saw is not good.

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Bandmill Bandit

That is very true Kbietz
And bands are very different too. I ran my first Bimetal yesterday and I am impressed.

Had an assortment of mostly white spruce, a few jack pine, a few hemlock and a few Dfir. Average 15 inch small end and 8', 10'. 12', 16' lengths. and only 2 slightly bowed one of those with pretty bad shake. The rest were some of the best logs I have seen in a while. 

Was cutting for 3 x 8", 10", 12" and max out the side lumber as best as possible.

Made the first cut at 930AM and shut the mill off at 10 to 5. 3200BF. First 300 ish on the blade that was still on from previous job and then changed to the BImetal and finished this job. It has a couple of logs left in it yet.

At the end of the day he had me square up 7 old dried out logs to use for dunnage to stack the good lumber on. those made up 10, 10'  4X6s that I did not count in the days cut count.

Client is sending some pic and I will post when I get them.
I use 10* bands.
 
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Rougespear

How do the 7 degree bands work with having only 15hp cutting softwood? I've only ever run 10's (WM and Cooks bands), so I have little experience.
Custom built Cook's-style hydraulic bandmill.

Ox

I have 13hp and have milled with 10, 7, and 4 degree bands.  Never felt like I needed more power.  Let's face it - these lower powered mills aren't milling for profit so we can slow down to whatever we need.  My feed rates slowed down some using the 4.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Bruno of NH

I use 7 and 4s on my mill that has a 13 hp honda no problems at all 10s don't cut good for me
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

cutterboy

This thread is really interesting. Everybody has different ideas. There is no agreement as to which blade is best. I guess that is to be expected since everyone has different mills and different milling habits.
   I have a 13 hp engine on a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 and have always used 10* blades. They saw very well through white pine.
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

Magicman

Also the Pine species are different.  Even the same species can vary greatly depending upon the growth rate, age, sap/resin content, amount of stress, etc.
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

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