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Pitch!!!

Started by JRWoodchuck, May 30, 2017, 02:44:01 PM

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JRWoodchuck

So I am milling Western Tamarack at the moment and I am having issues with pitch build up on my blade. I have been running pretty much straight diesel through my lube system which is cutting the pitch great except for the tips of my blade where my roller guides don't touch. The build up on the teeth is creating all sorts of issues. Any thoughts on how to stop it? Ill try and post a picture this evening.
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

Bruno of NH

Try 50/50 diesel and bar&chain
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

bandmiller2

JR, I would mix some diesel and oil and spray the teeth with one of those hand sprayers cleaning products come in. For more than temporary maybe you could relocate where the drips hit the band. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

JRWoodchuck

Do you guys find the oil leaving any residue on the boards? Ill give it a shot. Thanks!
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

Magicman

I have never used anything other than soapy water.  I also have never sawn Tamarack, but Longleaf Pine is mighty sticky.   :-\
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

DPatton

JR do you have a drip lube system or wipe lube system. I'm wondering because you said the pitch was staying on the tips of the blade.
Although I'm not familiar with Tamarack I have used diesel thru my drip system on what I thought was some really pitchy red pine. Typically I only needed a drip on the blades every 3-5 seconds to keep the pitch from building on my blades. This method has proven better than any water / soap / degreaser combination of lube I have tried in the really sticky logs.
TimberKing 1600, 30' gooseneck trailer, Chevy HD2500, Echo Chainsaw, 60" Logrite.

Work isn't so bad when you enjoy what your doing.
D & S Sawmill Services

red

Soapy water , is that one Glug or two ?
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

Magicman

 :D  Still only one Glug per gallon.   ;)  LINK
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

Deese

MM do you have the lubemizer on yours or do all of them come with it? I filled my tank up yesterday and squirted more palmolive than usual in the tank just because the bottle was almost empty. We got some suds going on down here in Grady, AL.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Magicman

I added a Lubemizer to mine.  True, there is no way to ever use or save enough soap $$$ to justify it, but the convenience was worth the expense.
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

Brucer

Every so often I get to saw some Western Larch (Larix Occidentalis) a.k.a. Western Tamarack. It's a dream to saw ... until you hit a pitch pocket.

What I eventually settled on for blade lube was a 50-50 solution of windshield washer fluid and water, with the valve wide open :o. Yeah, it gets expensive >:(.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Deese

Mine's got the Lubemizer as well. The top nozzle isn't working. Going to disconnect it and blow it out with an air hose and see if that does the trick.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

derhntr

I got tired of the top nozzle plugging all the time. I think it draws back between drips after you shut it off, causing saw dust to be sucked in to the orifice. I drilled the hole out larger that seemed to cure it.
2006 Woodmizer LT40HDG28 with command control (I hate walking in sawdust)
US Army National Guard (RET) SFC

Deese

derhntr, that's good to know! I'll check her out this evening
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

JRWoodchuck

I run a gravity fed drip system that I can run either a drip or steady stream out of. It seems when I am sawing dead dry Tamarack it saws really well but when I get into anything with some moisture/pitch it gives me issues. Especially this log. Ive had multiple spots where the blade will start to dive then I slow down back up and proceed forward then it will climb. The only thing I can attribute it to is the pitch building up on the teeth. When I stop sawing wether the end of the cut or middle the teeth are coated in pitch. I have seen your guys photos of Long Leaf Pine which seems similar to the amount of pitch I am seeing.
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

Magicman

You can forget blowing it out Frank.  I also drilled mine out a bit and have a wire "feeler gauge" that I use to poke it out. 

My feeler gauge and a 7/16" ratchet wrench live in their own little zip-bag.  I turn it on and brush the nozzles off between sawing each log, and it will still clog at times.  Sometimes I can go 'bout all day and then other times it seems that I have to poke it out between every log.  The top nozzle clogs more often.   ::)
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

Deese

Great information. I have entered into a whole new world of sawmilling. Much to learn, and much to do.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

derhntr

I have to take the blade guide bearing off to remove mine kind of PIA.
2006 Woodmizer LT40HDG28 with command control (I hate walking in sawdust)
US Army National Guard (RET) SFC

Kbeitz

Maybe a small ballbearing inline check valve might help here.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

JRWoodchuck

Here is a photo of where my pitch issue is. It seems to be building up to much and it is making it difficult for the blade to pass through which is resulting in my having to push harder and compounding the issues. This was happening with pretty much straight diesel running through my lube system.



 
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

JRWoodchuck

I decided the Larch log I was cutting just really didn't want to be lumber so I gave up on it. This is a Douglas Fir log with more confusion. My blade at the end of the cut is diving on the right. On a positive note I am beginning to understand the uploading photo's thing!



  

 
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

Tom the Sawyer

I have been fighting pitch issues, at times, for years.  I have tried many different mixtures over the years, attempting to avoid using diesel due to my v-belt wheels.  Someone mentioned a product that I had never tried but I was unsuccessful at finding it here in the Midwest.  Last month I made a trip to visit a relative in Little Rock, and I know that they raise cotton in Arkansas, so I tried to find somewhere I could pick up some cotton picker spindle cleaner.  No luck at any of the places I called, tractor dealerships, coops, farm stores; few clerks had even heard of it.  Finally, I found a company on-line that listed it, and their salesman didn't know what I was talking about either.  I gave him the part # and he found it.  $42 for 5 gallons, and $46 shipping.

IT WORKS!!!  I started out mixing it 10:1 and had absolutely no blade build up in the hardwoods I normally mill.  Last batch I mixed at 20:1, still no build up.  At $8 per gallon it works so much better than what I was using at $12 per gallon and mixing 4:1.

07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

derhntr

Some maple last week did the same to my blades
2006 Woodmizer LT40HDG28 with command control (I hate walking in sawdust)
US Army National Guard (RET) SFC

Deese

Tom, that's great info. Thanks for sharing! :)
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Joed

Tom

  Can you provide the part number and company info.

Thanks
Joe
Valley Big Green Monster

Tom the Sawyer

Smitty's Supply, Inc. in Roseland, LA. 
Super S Spindle Cleaner  5 Gallon Pail
SUS124 / SUS.SPCLNR.1005.104
http://www.smittysinc.net/cotton-picker-spindle-cleaner/super-s-spindle-cleaner/
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

JRWoodchuck

Thanks Tom! I am glad to hear that I am not the only one that has issues with pitch. I had no idea cotton was sticky. But then again I live along ways from where cotton grows.  I think I discovered the issue on the Doug Fir with some help from a local sawyer. Heat! That log wasn't very pitchy and I was running the cut without any water or lube (because I was worried about saw dust absorbing it and swelling) and it was getting funky toward the end on the cut. Turned the water on full bore slowed up the cut a bit voila! Much much better. Hadn't considered heat to be a factor but there it was sitting in my face the whole time...
Home built bandsaw mill still trying find the owners manual!

Chuck White

My biggest pitch issue ever, is when sawing standing dead pine!
~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!

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