Blade dove a couple time

[STLfirewood]

I cut some red oak trees off the farm to mill today for a cattle corral. As I was cutting a board off the blade dove down close to an inch for a few inches before I stopped it. I backed the mill up and wennt back into the cut slow. It went straight this time but the board was already ruined. This happened to me twice. I changed to a new resharp blade for the last log and didn't have any issues. Will a blade dive like that when it is dull? Or was I just feeding it to fast. I'm still somewhat new to the milling game. Thanks for the help.

Scott

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It's pretty common for a dull band to dip, and they can and DO, all kinds of "other" weird things when they are dull too.

When you feel a band getting dull, take it off right away, as waiting until it's dead, shortens the over all life of a band by quite a bit.

SR

 

[Dad2FourWI]

Hey Sawyer Rob!!

Can you give a bit more info on the dull blade???

I am _really_ new to this (yea, I know that I have been saying that for quite some time now... building this cabin is keeping me too darn busy!!!!!) but how do you "know" when a band is becoming dull? (before it starts to cause problems like diving!)

Many thanks,
-Dad2FourWI

 

[Sawyer Rob]

When a band starts getting dull you will notice the head will be much harder to push through the log, then it soon won't cut true... You WILL notice the difference, especially around knots in the log.

SR

 

[mikeb1079]

bands will definitely dive like that when they're dull. like sr said you'll start to be able to feel when a band is getting dull. i agree that it's better to pull a band sooner than later....if you push em too hard it will ruin their day and yours.

 

[HarryHarley]

Sounds like you may need a bit more tension on the blade too.

 

[Dave Boyt]

A couple more things... if you sharpen the blade without setting it, the amount of set decreases slightly, which can cause wavy cut. Also, is the blade tracking about where it should? Some mills are set up so that when you tighten the blade, the tracking changes slightly. Also might take a look at the blade guides. Last week, running an unfamiliar mill, I found that the blade was riding up on the shoulder on the roller guide, which tipped it down a few degrees. As soon as I fixed that, (by tracking the blade forward about 1/4"), it cut perfectly. As you may have surmised, there are a lot of adjustments and tweaks on a band saw mill. After a while, it will be second nature.