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redprospector

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Location
Cloudcroft, New Mexico
I've been milling some Douglas Fir that I cut 3 years ago, mostly 12" to 16" log's. I got done with the small stuff this afternoon, so I threw a 10' log that was 32" on the butt end on the mill. 32" is as big as I built my mill to cut. I like cutting this size log, as long as I've got my loader to turn them with.

I know how we all love pictures, so I took the time to take some with my phone.

Milling008.jpg


Milling006.jpg


Andy
 
Cut the first two 2x8's, and then started whitteling her down.
Milling024.jpg


Last little bit.
Milling026.jpg


I wound up with 16 2x8's ready to go, and the pile of stuff to be edged. There's another 6 2x8's in the edgings and some 1x.
Milling028.jpg


Andy
 
Looks like you're having fun in God's country. Got a nice stack going too! What are you planning to use the lumber for?:clap:

Right in the heart of God's country.:D It's at about 7000' elevation, so I had to go down the hill a little ways to get there.
I'm milling 2x8's out of everything I can. My buddy is going to run it through his planer mill to make log siding out of it. Gonna put it on my house.

Andy
 
redpro If ya don't mind me askin How long time wise for one pass in the thickest part of the log?and What set are you using.Im using 28 thou set and it takes me for ever for a cut that wide on my mill!A 10 ft piece that size 24 inches wide would take 5 minutes a pass or more to keep it straight!
Thanx
Fred
 
redpro If ya don't mind me askin How long time wise for one pass in the thickest part of the log?and What set are you using.Im using 28 thou set and it takes me for ever for a cut that wide on my mill!A 10 ft piece that size 24 inches wide would take 5 minutes a pass or more to keep it straight!
Thanx
Fred

Fred,
It dosen't take too long, well under a minute. This blade was kind of an experiment, it was .030" set with a 12 degree hook angle. I usually run an .025 set with a 10 degree hook.
Here's a video of it cutting the 16" width. Audio is messed up, so don't listen. I can run a little faster when I'm at the control's, but since it was on auto-pilot while I was playing with the phone I didn't push it.



What's going on with your mill that it takes so long to make a cut?

Andy
 
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My mill is hydralicly driven Off my tractor!I move along half that speed,I beleive my blade speed is dropping off.I have quite a few blades set at 10/30 as well I find that I get a lot of saw dust on the boards but don't mind that.I find the speed thing a little disapointing but the mill didnt cost me an arm and a leg to biuld so oh well.I also don't tention my blade off the scale either I have a heavy spring that tensons the blade Tighten it till it stops then back one 1/4 turn!I tend not to push my saw I just let it cut ,blades last longer for me that way!also the the width adjustment on the head rig tends to change the attack angle as it moves so I tend to leave the adj roller guide in one place no matter if I m cutting 16 or 6 inches.Other wise I have to stop and square the blade to the deck each move!I may get around to fixing this at some point,That will lkly allow me to go some what faster, till then I'll just have to be content with going slower than everyone else.I also dont do side by sides often cause of the speed thing and the guide thing Also tension in the wood is a concern I don't like binding.Ive seen peices of the same log go opposite directions.

If ya havent seen it this the mill or pics of my mills I started out with the chain mill!

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/7685528731-1172719178-38857/parm/page/
 
Last edited:
My mill is hydralicly driven Off my tractor!I move along half that speed,I beleive my blade speed is dropping off.I have quite a few blades set at 10/30 as well I find that I get a lot of saw dust on the boards but don't mind that.I find the speed thing a little disapointing but the mill didnt cost me an arm and a leg to biuld so oh well.I also don't tention my blade off the scale either I have a heavy spring that tensons the blade Tighten it till it stops then back one 1/4 turn!I tend not to push my saw I just let it cut ,blades last longer for me that way!also the the width adjustment on the head rig tends to change the attack angle as it moves so I tend to leave the adj roller guide in one place no matter if I m cutting 16 or 6 inches.Other wise I have to stop and square the blade to the deck each move!I may get around to fixing this at some point,That will lkly allow me to go some what faster, till then I'll just have to be content with going slower than everyone else.I also dont do side by sides often cause of the speed thing and the guide thing Also tension in the wood is a concern I don't like binding.Ive seen peices of the same log go opposite directions.

If ya havent seen it this the mill or pics of my mills I started out with the chain mill!

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/7685528731-1172719178-38857/parm/page/

Do you use hydraulics to power the blade? What horsepower are you running on the main blade drive? Nice looking mill!
 
My mill is hydralicly driven Off my tractor!I move along half that speed,I beleive my blade speed is dropping off.I have quite a few blades set at 10/30 as well I find that I get a lot of saw dust on the boards but don't mind that.I find the speed thing a little disapointing but the mill didnt cost me an arm and a leg to biuld so oh well.I also don't tention my blade off the scale either I have a heavy spring that tensons the blade Tighten it till it stops then back one 1/4 turn!I tend not to push my saw I just let it cut ,blades last longer for me that way!also the the width adjustment on the head rig tends to change the attack angle as it moves so I tend to leave the adj roller guide in one place no matter if I m cutting 16 or 6 inches.Other wise I have to stop and square the blade to the deck each move!I may get around to fixing this at some point,That will lkly allow me to go some what faster, till then I'll just have to be content with going slower than everyone else.I also dont do side by sides often cause of the speed thing and the guide thing Also tension in the wood is a concern I don't like binding.Ive seen peices of the same log go opposite directions.

If ya havent seen it this the mill or pics of my mills I started out with the chain mill!

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/7685528731-1172719178-38857/parm/page/


Fred,
I remember talking to you about your mill a couple of years ago.
I used to run my blades a little looser too, I was running Timberwolf blades and that's what they say to do. I've found that if you run a little more tension on the band that it will stay alot straighter in the cut, and you can push it a little harder.
I think that .030 is way too much set, and the 12 degree hook angle I was using is also too much for efficient cutting. That blade was left over from when I was having a lot of problems with dipping & diving (a guy will try anything when that happens).
Get the free video that Cook's has. I learned more about blades in 2 hours, than I had in the last 10 years.

Andy
 
Do you use hydraulics to power the blade? What horsepower are you running on the main blade drive? Nice looking mill!
Not exsactly a work of art but it does what I need it do!HP What ever the tractor will supply @ 1200 rpms I imagine I am using Maybe ten HP of 40 available! yes the drive is hydralic the head rig lift is hydralic the travel is hand crank I seldom run across people cuttung the same wood as myself that is why I asked these questions!Its hard to compare things when youve not run anything else!
 
Fred,
I remember talking to you about your mill a couple of years ago.
I used to run my blades a little looser too, I was running Timberwolf blades and that's what they say to do. I've found that if you run a little more tension on the band that it will stay alot straighter in the cut, and you can push it a little harder.
I think that .030 is way too much set, and the 12 degree hook angle I was using is also too much for efficient cutting. That blade was left over from when I was having a lot of problems with dipping & diving (a guy will try anything when that happens).
Get the free video that Cook's has. I learned more about blades in 2 hours, than I had in the last 10 years.

Andy
My blade feasco back then turned out to be a set problem the guy that I had sharpening back then will Never sharpen for me again!He lied and put me thru a month of BS doubting my mill Doubting everything!The guy I use now if I see the hook going away I say somthing he fixes it no charge If they dont cut right first pass or two he checks and fixes it!26 is the recomended set for Fir I have him set 30 cause I bought a just rite sharpener So I can sharpen and clean the gulet but I can not set! so I can sharpen twice before they need setting!I know Tim is a very smart guy and knows more about wood than I will ever know!But he is also in business to sell stuff blade rollers yada yada.
I have cooks guides on my mill they are exellant But .you CAN't cure everything with a band roller That was his big push back then! The blade is 40 bucks up here the band roller nudging 1000 bucks I can buy and throu away alot of blades for that kind of money The problem with the blades IS and was the set was TOO low for what I was cutting Right out of the box!
22 thou is too low for fir it cuts cedar fine it cuts maple fine but not fir.
I found this out from Roy at Sulfolk saws in oregon After I was told by one of the people here to phone him!He shoots straight from the hip not only sharpens but has sawed!And sawed Fir.Tim also is Held by his convictions and tests But is in business to sell saws and parts!Cooks blades also are second to none But are sharpen diffrently and you need to buy there sharpener or you can not maintain the gullet!Anyway just rambling and in no way putting Cooks down they are great people to deal with and Highly recomend there products if you an afford them!
 
My blade feasco back then turned out to be a set problem the guy that I had sharpening back then will Never sharpen for me again!He lied and put me thru a month of BS doubting my mill Doubting everything!The guy I use now if I see the hook going away I say somthing he fixes it no charge If they dont cut right first pass or two he checks and fixes it!26 is the recomended set for Fir I have him set 30 cause I bought a just rite sharpener So I can sharpen and clean the gulet but I can not set! so I can sharpen twice before they need setting!I know Tim is a very smart guy and knows more about wood than I will ever know!But he is also in business to sell stuff blade rollers yada yada.
I have cooks guides on my mill they are exellant But .you CAN't cure everything with a band roller That was his big push back then! The blade is 40 bucks up here the band roller nudging 1000 bucks I can buy and throu away alot of blades for that kind of money The problem with the blades IS and was the set was TOO low for what I was cutting Right out of the box!
22 thou is too low for fir it cuts cedar fine it cuts maple fine but not fir.
I found this out from Roy at Sulfolk saws in oregon After I was told by one of the people here to phone him!He shoots straight from the hip not only sharpens but has sawed!And sawed Fir.Tim also is Held by his convictions and tests But is in business to sell saws and parts!Cooks blades also are second to none But are sharpen diffrently and you need to buy there sharpener or you can not maintain the gullet!Anyway just rambling and in no way putting Cooks down they are great people to deal with and Highly recomend there products if you an afford them!

Fred,
I know exactly how you feel. When blades are going all over the place, and you can't figure out why, it will make you wish you had never seen a band saw.
I have been using Timberwolf blades (and still am untill they are all worn out). But lately I've only been getting 3 maybe 4 sharpenings out of them before they just wouldn't cut straight anymore. Maybe just a bad batch of material in the blade's. Anyway, I was really frusterated, I had a pile of blades sitting in a heap in the yard to be thrown away, that should have had a lot of life left in them.
I didn't much believe all that band roller stuff, but being desperate I went ahead and bought one. The blade I used in this thread had been thrown in the pile after the 4th sharpening. I dug it and 9 other blades out of the heap, cleaned them up, set and sharpened them. It really does do what they say. I had thrown those blades away because they wouldn't cut straight. They are on their 4th sharpening since being rolled and cutting at least as good as they did when they were new. Today I dug out 8 more blades out of the trash and cleaned them up, rolled, set, and sharpened them.

I couldn't afford the band roller, but I couldn't afford to keep throwing good money after bad buying new blades every 3 or 4 sharpening's. Someone I know told me that the roller really worked, so I went for it.
Timberwolf blades only cost me a little over 30 bucks each delivered so I'll use that figure.
The roller cost 900 bucks + shipping so about 1000 bucks.
I have doubled the life of 18 blades so at 30 bucks each that's $540.00, if I can roll them again and get another 4 sharpenings out of them, then the blade roller has paid for itself with the first batch of blades I salvaged.

Just food for thought, it really does work.

Andy
 
Wow ,Glad to hear from some one that has used this .So it does work as well as Tim Mentioned.Now I guess my point here was I had a diffrent problem I would have bought the band roller and still had the problem because I was having the same problem with blades right out of the box!I rarely get less than 4 sharpes from a blade more in the ten range I have several that are down to a point that they can be used on 1 1/4 guides now and still cutting good.As matter of fact I bought two replacment rollers I intend on cutting the old ones down and useing the 1 1/4 blades as long as I can. an experiment.! Thanx for the insight on the band roller I would have always been wondering.Is there much fiddling around and experimenting to its use or is it mostly a cut and dried operation?
 
It's pretty cut & dried once you understand what you're trying to acomplish.
Nothing is a cure all end all in band milling, but this sure fixed my problem's.
I had gone from an 8 degree to a 12 degree hook, and from a .024 to a .032 set trying to figure it out. I was at the end of my rope when I spent that grand.:cry:
If your blades are diving, or rising when you try to get a decent feed rate it might help you out. You can use a straight edge (a blade out of a utility knife works ok) to check the body of the band. If it's cupped one way or the other you'll see it. But from what you're saying if you can find a setter, that might be a good investment.
One thing about a band mill, your learning something new all the time.:)

Andy
 
To my way of thinking very little of New Mexico is Gods country. Someplace like Gila Bend or Yuma is what I would call Gods country....nobody but god wants to live there.

Well, in reality I guess the whole world is God's country.
But I think that this is one of the places he likes to hang out.;)

Andy
 

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