4 degree bands

[Larry]

Normally use an 8 degree band this time of year but I had a big froze, half froze, and knotty elm to cut today.... so I decided to re-sharpen a band for the first time to 4 degree's to see how they work.

Thought it took a LOT of horsepower.  Feed rate was slow and if I tried to push it I got waves and a very rough cut...think my blade speed was falling off to much because lack of HP.  Slowed the feed rate and no waves or dives at the knots...still had a cut slightly rougher than normal.  Once I slowed down I was making perfect boards although very slowly.

Anybody else using a 4 degree band?  If so how did it work for you?

[ronwood]

Larry,

I bought several woodmizer 4 deg blades about a month ago. I like their 9 deg blades better. Will get them resharp and try them latter on some douglas fir beams to see how they will do.

Ron

[FiremanEd]

It's funny you posted this question Larry. I was logging on to make a post on the same subject. Only my experience was good.

I usually run woodmizer 10degree x 1.5" on the LT300, have had some problems with blade overheating when cutting white oak with no explination other than ''pushing the blade to hard" they continue to cut straight but much slower than I think they should and overheat. (this is after going over the mill top to bottom checking all setups, there's no overheating in redoak, put on a whiteoak and the luber is making steam in the 1st pass) I had 6 4degree blades over in the corner so I figured I'd give them a try. WOW, they cut much faster and with less hp pull on the electric motor. My feed rate was much faster than the 10degree blades but as you mentioned if I pushed them too fast they start to wave. I can live with that because slowing down enough to keep a perfect cut is still way faster than the 10degree blades ever cut in the hard *** whiteoak. I'm sold on them for whiteoak. I'll be back into red oak the week after Christmas so I'll play with them both then. Hopefully the 2 dozen will get here from WM by then. That 6 didn't last long.

Woodmizer cus. support said they've been seeing a fair # of people changing over to them lately. Anyone else had experience with them good or bad?

Ed