# My first bandsaw milling



## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

A craigslist ad said free firewood, and showed pictures of some nice sized billets and said it was mainly ash and locust. Well, since I wanted to try cutting some wood myself anyway, as well as since we have a fireplace, I thought I'd got for it. Unfortunately, someone beat us to it and got all the good billets and all the ash. All that was left was one very large black locust tree cut into sections and logs.

The one log that was pretty straight and seemed in good shape, and probably around 22" diameter, was about 6" too long for our trailer, and our wretched chainsaw didn't work. So we left it. But we took all the sections we could, about 8 of them. They're about 16" long and maybe 24" diameter.

I just got the riser for my Grizzly G0555 and a nice new timberwolf blade to cut these things. I had planned to use the chainsaw to give myself a section no thicker than 12" since that's the max I can now take.









The sections are a little oddly shaped, but I thought that cutting as much as I could at right angles to the grain would be nice...kind of a quartersawn idea.

The first thing I haven't figured out yet is how I'm going to manage and handle this wood as it goes through the bandsaw. I've seen the log sleds posted in various places, but with these sections only being about 16" long, I'm wondering if I just cut a flat section on it first if maybe I could just hand push it through.

The second issue I have is drying the wood. I'm not sure how long ago the tree was cut down, but theres not been a lot of checking on the sections yet. I know to seal the ends of the boards, and I've got a nice supply of exterior latex for that. And I know I'm supposed to stack them and put stickers in between them, and then what, weight on top of that?

For storage/drying I've got serveral options:

1) Basement
2) Outside under roof
3) Attic above garage.

I'm leaning towards #3 since it gets so hot up there in the summer, and because these boards won't be long. Its a storage area up there, so not a lot of room to work, but it will do it seems.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

I would not do the attic yet if you are in a hot part of the country, coming up on hot weather and could dry the wood to fast. Outside with a cover on the top only to keep rain off and up off the ground will work fine to air dry lumber. Right angles to the grain makes a cookie and they like to crack. A slight angle for the cut and end sealer will make a cookie that is more likely to stay together.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Sorry, I didn't phrase my description very well...I don't want to cut cookies, I meant at right angles to the circles, along the length of the log. So more or less quartersawing instead of plainsawing.

I'm in PA, so not really a hot part of the country....certainly not like AZ where we came from. My attic attic temp gets over 100 in the hottest part of summer, so I'd guess my garage attic gets about the same, and humid.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, I've now built a high resaw fence for the bandsaw and I got out and cut off a good sized chunk of the locust. I'm just about there to start sawin', I've only got a few more issues to work out:

1) The resaw fence is 3/4" MDF. Do I need to seal the MDF? I mean, this wood is "green", but not dripping wet. I just don't know if I need to protect the MDF or not. I could put a coat of paste wax on the side facing the bandsaw blade.

2) Does it matter what the stickers are made of? I mean, are they just simply a whole bunch of sticks the same size? Should I be cutting up old 2 X 4's to make a bunch of these, or is there a smarter/simpler way?

3) It was a pretty hot one today and the temp in the garage attic/storage said 96...so it will probably get above 100 in there during the summer, though of course still humid. So is it worthwhile to put the boards up there to dry, or is outside under the polebarn still just as good? There certainly won't be any airflow up in the garage attic, but it will definitely be hotter than under the polebarn would be.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I'm no expert at air drying*

Quote:
3) It was a pretty hot one today and the temp in the garage attic/storage said 96...so it will probably get above 100 in there during the summer, though of course still humid. So is it worthwhile to put the boards up there to dry, or is outside under the polebarn still just as good? There certainly won't be any airflow up in the garage attic, but it will definitely be hotter than under the polebarn would be. 

But my experience is that "controlled" drying would be better than "frying". Drying rapidly in the garage attic would not be my first choice. 
The experts here will have some better advice, I'm sure. :thumbsup: bill


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, believe me, it won't take much to convince me that outside under a roof is a better location, because I have no great desire to lug boards and stickers and weights up a pull-down stairs! Itd be immensely easier to do it outside in a small corner of the polebarn.

I guess I'm probably kidding myself that I'd be saving much time doing it up in the attic. And if the "quality" of drying isn't better up there, then I'm not gaining enough to justify that effort I think.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

beelzerob said:


> 2) Does it matter what the stickers are made of? I mean, are they just simply a whole bunch of sticks the same size? Should I be cutting up old 2 X 4's to make a bunch of these, or is there a smarter/simpler way?


 I don't think I would use pine 2 x 4s. I've been always told to use a hardwood, not a softwood. I believe this had something to do about soft woods soaking up the moisture and then causing sticker stain. I don't think green stickers should be used either. Maybe they would dry faster because of their dimensions and then not become a problem. I'm not sure, someone with more experience will have to answer that.
I had access to oak pallets. I stripped off the runners and milled 1 x 1s from them. They were only 4' long, but for my volume, they worked well. Better to go up than out anyway.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Check this out*



beelzerob said:


> Well, believe me, it won't take much to convince me that outside under a roof is a better location, because I have no great desire to lug boards and stickers and weights up a pull-down stairs! Itd be immensely easier to do it outside in a small corner of the polebarn.
> 
> I guess I'm probably kidding myself that I'd be saving much time doing it up in the attic. And if the "quality" of drying isn't better up there, then I'm not gaining enough to justify that effort I think.


http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Drying_with_Moderate_Heat.html  bill


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

beelzerob said:


> 2) Does it matter what the stickers are made of? I mean, are they just simply a whole bunch of sticks the same size? Should I be cutting up old 2 X 4's to make a bunch of these, or is there a smarter/simpler way?


Looks like what I suggested earlier was wrong. I did a search for a different subject and can across this previous thread in the forum posted by "David K" "*What can I make stickers out of?"* Sorry, but I don't know how to link it. But look it up yourself and you'll get your answer from those who are more informed.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Found that link, thanks! Man, it wasn't a definitive answer, but the one thing phrase I saw a few times was "You can cut stickers from any dry wood." So time to go raid the scrap wood/pallet pile! Fortunately we just recently came across a pile of pallets.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

So, looks like I'll be storing this outside for the time being, under roof, and stacked with stickers made from old/dry pallet wood.

I also discovered just how hard locust is. I had noticed that even though I think this stuff was cut a while ago, there was no significant end checking. Then I tried cutting it with the chainsaw. I'd say the chain was PROBABLY dull, or at least I hope that's the case, because I had to seriously lean into the blade to get it to go. When starting the cut, it was actually bouncing around on the top of the wood. The "sawdust" was like talc when I was finished.

I hope the timberwolf on the bandsaw doesn't howl out in pain...


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

beelzerob said:


> I hope the timberwolf on the band saw doesn't howl out in pain...


 Which TW blade do you have? Is it the PC Series or the AS Series. It makes a BIG difference. The AS is designed for sawing green wood as in bowl blanks or what you are doing. The PC is for dryer wood. It will gum up and eventually pinch from the green wood. Takes more pressure to push through, too. Just trying to save you from the grief I had.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

I appreciate any effort to spare me grief!! 


I got the 1/2" 3tip AS, per talking to the suffolk machinery person. I had considered the 3/4" AS-S blade, but he said that blade specifically was meant for dry wood, whereas the 1/2" AS blade could do dry or green.

I also got a 1/2" PC for "standard" resawing.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

*We have millage!*

It was finally time to just do it and not think about it anymore. We carted the block over to the basement door and brought it in, and *that's* when I finally measured it.

Oops. Just a tad too big still.









Fortunately, due to the shape of the log, I was still able to do some cutting instead of having to chainsaw it some more.









I measured and found that if I did enough cutting where the shape of the log would allow me, then I'd be ok on the other cuts too.

The sucker probably weighs about 50-60 pounds, but I didn't have too much trouble pushing it through the blade. And although the lights dimmed a couple times when I'd accidentally push too hard, the saw handled it just fine. Kudos to a timberwolf blade that cuts _black locust_ easily.









Three boards down, soo....many....more...to go. But I like what I see already. I'm collecting ideas of what I can use this for, mainly anything for outdoors.

Of course, first will be to stack and dry them. Since I'm going to have so much of this stuff onhand, I figured I'd dry some in the basement, some in the garage attic, and some outside, and just see how it goes. Its the great experiment.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Nice boards. Too bad they weren't longer, though. But I understand you take what you can get. You may have said this or already thought of it, but you were going to seal the ends of the boards? Be a shame to loose 4" off of each end due to splitting.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Ya, I've got cans of exterior latex lined up for this task. I trust I don't need to be in TOO much of a hurry. The oak logs I cut started checking within a couple hours of the cut, but this locust was already cut down when we found it and had weathered some, and there's hardly any checking... I plan to paint them when I stack them, which won't be until after we cut the stickers, and THAT won't be until I get the 2 replacement bolts I need for my tablesaw's splitter/guard.

Ya, these aren't the largest boards by any stretch, but can't beat the price! Any longer pieces and it would have been a completely different setup on the bandsaw to manage, if it even WAS manageable. And I'm not sure I can punish my chainsaw by using that for rough cutting longer logs.

Please, always feel free to ask/remind me of stuff I should do to make this a success....I'm completely new at this!


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Yes, I'm new to it too, but at least, as you have said, your 'doing it'. I'm still sitting around 'thinking about it'.:laughing: Seriously, I've had a mishap with my band saw and now the drive belt is rubbing on the backside of one of the pulleys. I don't know if the drive pulley was loose and shifted or what, I just haven't had time to tear into it. My end goal is to have a mini setup as to one posted here, where I have a roller in feed and out feed tables. Then I could saw an occasional small diameter log.
I'm curious, and no criticism intended, why didn't you get that log that was 6" too long for your trailer? Couldn't you have loaded it without the tail gate? I just don't understand your setup, I'm sure there was a valid reason.
Congratulations on your first slabs.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Heh..ya, it's was *crucial* that I actually begin doing stuff and learning, because I tend to become paralyzed by just the thinking and looking and researching...it's like I enjoy that part more than the actual doing. I'm weird like that.

I was wondering if anyone was going to ask about the trailer size issue because you'd think we could have somehow overcome that somehow.

The first problem was that we were using a borrowed trailer. So anything I *might* have thought about doing was weighed against any potential damage to the trailer. The second problem was that the front of the trailer had one of those truck tool case things screwed down on the bed....so that meant we couldn't move the log forward/over the edge of the front of the trailer. The third problem was that the trailer also had a loading ramp on the end...which was handy or else we couldn't have rolled the billets onto the trailer (we certainly couldn't lift them by hand!). The end ramp could have been removed but then it would have had to be secured onto the top of the load and I didn't like that idea. The final problem was the durned chainsaw wasn't working or else I could have tried to trim it to fit.

And overall, I'm guessing we probably would have killed ourselves trying to move that log, even if it would have fit. We had no tools with us besides a non-working chainsaw and our backs. A little ill prepared, but this was all part of the learning experience.

I've been tempted a few times to email the lady and ask if the log is still there (there was actually another log there as well that was even larger, but it had animal holes all through it), and now that the chainsaw is working, I could at least cut it into 4' lengths...but then what? I can barely handle that 18" cube in the pics....I suppose I could try 3' just for fun on the bandsaw....


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, this is all part of the learning process....

I went down to cut some more, and after a few cuts and the block was finally getting smaller, I moved it enough to notice that there was some black crap on the cutting side of my bandsaw table. It didn't just rub off, and man was it sticky...it was making pushing the block a lot harder than it had to be.

So I moved the block completely out of the way and confirmed what I was dreading....*rust*. I had left the block of wood on the support table/bandsaw table over night.  GEEZ that didn't take long.

I knew the drill, from reading the forums. I went and got steel wool, WD40, mineral spirits, and my Johnson paste wax.

The black sticky crap (maybe from the bark?) came off pretty easy, and the area of discoloration is _harder_ to see...but it's still there. 









I was using the WD40 and steel wool for a while and the discolored area/white dots didn't seem to be going away. Should I take it up another notch, with some sandpaper? I have a RO sander which I've seen people use, along with a scotch bright pad....as in a kitchen cleaning pad, stuck to the bottom of the RO sander?

*grumble*

I had read not to leave wet wood on the table top, but nothing makes a lesson remembered than doing it yourself, part of the reason I want to just start cutting and start learning.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

That's part of the grief I forgot to mention. I left a bowl blank on my table overnight and the same thing happened to me. The 'stain' is still there even after steel wool. I just waxed over it and use it as a reminder to clean up the machinery right away when I'm done.


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## mdlbldrmatt135 (Dec 6, 2006)

Pick up some Boeshield, the cleaner in it stinks to high heaven... but works!!! I used it along with some scotchbrite pads on my angle grinder & ROS.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Hmm...well, I've had my first "Do I really want to subject my bandsaw to this torture" couple of moments. This thing screams like I'm killing it towards the end of the cut. During one of those times immediately after the cut was completed, I noticed that the board thickness actually was wider than the distance from my bandsaw blade to my fence. In other words, the blade my be wandering quite a bit. That probably explains the screaming, since I had been using a fence and resawing the chunk 'o wood against it. I'll have to re-align the fence to the blade again.

The next cut I actually tripped the breaker. It took about 10 minutes of wrangling to get the blade free enough to restart the saw. I finished that cut freehand.

I then noticed that the resaw fence was not quite parallel to the blade...it was closer at the top than the bottom. So I adjusted the table angle for that.

I guess things are going well.... I just hope I don't end up destroying stuff doing this.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

beelzerob said:


> I just hope I don't end up destroying stuff doing this.


Well, if you do, be sure and let us know. Then I won't end up doing it to mine!:no: Do you feel like a guinea pig yet? Seriously though, I seen several guys here doing the same thing you are. Once you get things squared away, I think you'll be fine.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Heh...well, I'm my own guinea pig...I'm learning from my own adventures. And don't worry..the whole point of this thread is so that others can learn from my mistakes and lessons, and occasional triumphs. So if the worst happens, I'll for sure post it.

I guess I'm wondering if Id be better off with a sled for sawing this cube of material, instead of pushing it up against the resaw fence.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, I was slacking on actually stickering and stacking the pieces I've already cut, so they were just sitting in the basement. I finally cut some stickers and stacked the paltry amount of pieces I've cut, and painted the ends with some exterior latex.

I did discover that there was mold already where some of the pieces were resting on each other, and I think some black mold from where I had left the big block sitting on the bandsaw table. So there's a lesson about taking so long to do this.

I stacked what I have on stickers on a pallet under our pole barn, where the sun won't shine directly on them (or at least not until it's shining through the trees), so let the drying begin!!



Are they done yet?
:whistling2:


Since I don't know exactly when I'm going to get to all of the remaining billets, would it be better to paint the ends of the billets instead of waiting to cut them into planks first? And if I do that, then do I *still* need to paint the end of the planks, or is it all good after that. This stuff seems pretty stable in billet form, but I did find some checks in my cut planks already, so I waited too long on some of them for painting. If painting them as billets is good for them in planks too, then there's no reason not to do it now.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, things aren't going well again.

I decided to set it back up again to continue cutting that *first* block of wood that I've not yet finished. I setup the resaw fence parallel to the miter slot, and for good measure I put a piece of 2X4 through it....it cut straight and I ended up with a 1" slice of 2X4. So then I put the big block of locust up there and started cutting. About halfway through the cut, I could visually see that the blade was bending away from the fence. I decided that was bad, so I stopped the machine, removed the fence, and finished the cut freehand. I of course ended up with a board with random thickness.

It seems like the first batch of boards I put through went fine without the blade wandering so much. That first setup of the fence I did the "cut through a board halfway and then line up the fence with it" method, and so I guess I'll have to try that again.

Here's some questions that came to mind through:

1) I'm just pushing this block through the blade and against the resaw fence....the way you would when resawing something. I wonder if a sled would offer better control. I like the idea of using a sled going through the miter slot because then I could see the blade as it exits the wood and if there was a problem I'd have some more visual cues. However....how does a sled compensate for blade drift? It's going to take the wood straight through, so if there's drifting, there's no way to correct for it.

2) The miller I took my logs to mentioned how he soaks some of his logs in his pond for a long time before cutting them...says it reduces the internal stresses, as well as preserves them until he can get to them. *shrug* Whatever...but since wet wood is easier to cut through than dry wood, and these billets are definitely drying (on the cut edges, at least), I wondered if it was feasible or practical to soak these wood blocks of mine in water before cutting them. Do you think that would make a difference? (other than making them heavier)

3) I've had my first longings for a bandsaw with more HP, but I realize that's being unfair to the Grizzly. Here I am asking it to cut the hardest native specids of wood at the very limit of it's capacity. So I'm guessing that pretty much all other projects I have for this saw it will be able to do with much less squeaking and complaining.

4) There's 2 speeds for the saw, and right now it's on the highest speed. I haven't looked in the manual to see what it recommends as far as using the lower speed, but since I've already stalled the machine once and I make the lights dim almost every time I cut, I wondered if maybe using the lower speed would be a better choice since it'd provide more torque/power.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*For what it's worth...*

I posted this a while back and although I haven't resawn/milled/ripped hundreds of feet with very hard wood and very high depth of cut my experience is that it's that the blade has dulled or blade tension in not adequate..or both. Just a slight difference in the sharpness on one side of the blade teeth will cause it to drift. Blade tension on a bandsaw with a riser block must be as much as possible and you can't use the original tension indicator. I tension mine by the sound it make when I "thunk" it like a bass fiddle string. I get a high, clear pure tone, hard to describe here, but I know it when I hear it. There are otrher methods if you search google or here, "blade flutter" technique and precision tensioning dial indicators etc. Falbersaw knows a lot about this whole process, maybe he will chime in here...
BTW a rip on a softwood 2x4 is not a good indicator of a resaw on hardwood.


Posted under bandsaw sled: 
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/resaw-sled-7552/

A properly tuned bandsaw, with a sharp blade, with "proper" tension will cut 1/16" thick slices until you get tired of pushing them through. There are plenty of instructions on how to do this in manuals, and online videos. Buy decent blades. I use Timberwolf, from Grizzly, at a moderate price. Tracking the blade on the wheels and setting the blade tension, wider blades require more tension and smaller saws can't handle more tension without frame flex or stressing the shaft bearings. This should be covered in your manual. I set my back rollers to just touch the blade with no feed pressure. The same for the side blocks, rollers wheels etc...just kissing the blade. The blade speed should be appropriate for the work. The blade should have enough set to clear out the sawdust. I use a 1/2" or 3/4" , 3 teeth per inch blade for resawing up to 7" thick stock. I don't think you can make a sled that will accomdate drift since it will vary with each blade, maybe I'm wrong, but I'd get the saw working as it should then go from there.:thumbsup: bill 
 Attached Thumbnails


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

When your bandsaw stalls (or slows), did it do it since the beginning or after a period of cutting? I've noticed that pitch builds but pretty quickly (especially when cutting green wood) and I soak the blade in a very dilute mixture of water and simple green for a few hours, then wipe the pitch off. Ends up cutting great when it's clean.

It could also be that the blade is deflecting within the log (causing it to kink slightly), which increases the friction.

I have a crappy craftsman, so I just assume there's going to be some drift and plan to correct for it later. Although it's worth noting that most blades have a "lead angle," similar to scroll saw blades, which is not always parallel to the miter slot. Check here for more info: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodworking-tips-library.aspx


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

I'm using the recommended timberwolf blade, and unless it can dull on just 7 cuts through black locust, it *should* still be sharp.

I used the flutter method to tension it. I tighten it until the flutter stops and then give it an extra quarter turn on the knob. 

I lube the blade with Pam before doing the cutting...not every cut, but every couple cuts, per suffolk's recommendation.

And ya, you're right about the 2X4. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of spare hardwoods to cut just to see which way the blade goes.

The blade seems to kind of jump through the wood, which is when it stalls. Everything can seem to be going ok and then suddenly the wood will move a lot faster into the blade (while I was exerting constant pressure) and it'll bog down. The one time I actually tripped the breaker I think the blade wandered too far out to the side and that was causing all the friction.

I think I'll cut some more off the block and go to 10" of material instead of 12"...that might make life a little easier.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Hmm...re-re-re-reading (again) that resaw sled thread makes me wonder if I"m pushing the wood too fast into the blade (he took 4 minutes to send a log through). I guess that'd certainly be one area where a sled would offer more control of the rate, since I'm currently pushing a rough wood face across a piece of plywood and then the iron table top and it takes some effort to do that at a constant/slow rate.

*sigh*

Next up, a sled!


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## GEMNW (Apr 17, 2010)

*Chain saw*

If you plan to cut many blocks to mill them, you can make your saw, bar and chain last a lot longer. Go to a saw shop and tell them you want a skip tooth chain, and filed for ripping. Learn how to sharpen your chains both ways and change them if you are going to rip, or back to cross cut. Especially with hardwoods if you are getting powder your chain is dull. If you use the right chain (it takes only 3 or 4 min. to change) your saw will run cooler, your bar will last longer. If you stop as soon as the chain starts to dull, it will only take a couple of strokes to bring it back to sharp. If you run it dull it will heat up and roll the edge, then it takes a lot off the chain to bring it back to sharp.
I have never worked a small mill, but I spent most of my life working in mills and in the woods, in Oregon.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

mdlbldrmatt135 said:


> Pick up some Boeshield, the cleaner in it stinks to high heaven... but works!!! I used it along with some scotchbrite pads on my angle grinder & ROS.


Well, I finally attacked my bandsaw table with the rust remover. And I *thoroughly* agree about the stench. Oh man...that's almost a stomach turner. The respirator helped a bit.

It seems to have done the trick. The stain is gone, though I still see pitting (I guess that's probably not going to go away, eh?). It looks better than it did.

I guess a coat of Johnson's wax now and I'm back in business!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

beelzerob said:


> I guess a coat of Johnson's wax now and I'm back in business!


I use Howard's Orange Oil. After the Boeshield aroma it's a real nice ending. It doesn't last as long as a car type wax but I still like it better.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

*The dream comes to an end...*

I think I'm going to have to call this officially a failure.

Those first few boards went great. Ever since then, it's been nothing but trouble. I think after that the blade started drifting and I think that's been the source of the problems.

Last night I finally put everything back together to have another go at milling the black locust. I had created a sled this time and it *did* give me a much easier time pushing the block through the saw. I also changed the motor belt to the lower speed and that also seemed to help...it didn't seem to try to stall.

It started out ok, but after about 2 inches of cutting it started screaming again. After another half inch, the blade stopped...but the bandsaw motor was still going. So I turned it off to inspect what had happened....I thought I had broken my first blade. 

Turns out it simply came off the wheels. I have no idea how that can even happen. It was completely off the lower wheel and was no longer touching the upper wheel. In the process it put a new curve into the blade...not a kink, but definitely a tighter dimension on it than it had before. I seemed to be able to bend it back, so I don't know if this blade is toast or not.

The lower wheel urethane seemed to have lots of nice scratches across it now...I didn't inspect what else might have gone wrong.

And I did notice the blade was drifting again right into my sled. So the sled idea won't work for this unless I skew my entire table, and I'm not even sure how you do that since the only method I know for skewing to correct for drift involves clamping a half sawn board TO the table. Plus I think only this 3tpi AS blade is the one that drifts...so that means skewing the table ONLY when using this blade. That's a bit of a pain.

So now I have a huge pile of black locust billets outside and also a good assortment of oak and other that had caught my eye...and I'm just not sure what I'm going to do with them now. I guess there's always freehanding with the chainsaw. :sad:

Tis a bit disappointing.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

What about splitting the straight grained pieces with a froe to make some boards? Since they are short billets, it should not be to hard. Takes a bit of planing to get a flat board, but a wavy bandsaw cut is harder to deal with in a planer.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

beelzerob said:


> . . I guess there's always freehanding with the chainsaw . . .


Actually I think at this point a smallish CSM would be your best option. You can make your own mill fairly easily, and making a clamp to hold the short sections wouldn't be a problem at all. All you'd have to do is buy a saw unless you have one already. 

If you don't want to fool with fabrication look for a used mill. But making a simple mill is not that difficult. And free handing is an option as you say but for small short logs you'd save tons of time in processing if you used a mill to get flatter wood.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, my wife would kill me if I bought yet *another* piece of equipment just to cut up these billets (and I'd hand her the gun). This was kind of a one-time whim sort of thing...we don't have enough access to wood/logs to justify our own mill of any size. (and a quick check on craigslist revealed nothing of the type having been offered recently anyway). There was an ad in the bargain sheet last week for a mobile bandsaw mill, but it was $7000. That's about $6800 more than I could probably get away with at this point.

What I'm thinking is that the black locust was just too much to ask of this bandsaw. So I'm going to try again tonight with some smaller logs of maple and oak I've salvaged from the woodpile. We're just talking knick/knack pieces of wood here...or little accents.

As for the black locust....I got the name and number of a portable mill guy and what I think I'll do is ask if I can come to him and see if he'll cut up all those billets at once. I'll rough cut them to just the parts I want, and maybe if he lines them up he can cut them all at once. If that's economically feasible then I think I'll go that route for those. And if my bandsaw can handle smaller logs that AREN'T black locust...then perhaps my plans can be salvaged.

I'm slowly learning to hate any tool that has a fence or mitre slot as they seem to be at odds frequently with how the machine itself wants to cut.

Thanks for all the support here guys. Just when I think I've had it you guys come in with suggestions and encouragements and phone numbers and it keeps me more optomistic than I otherwise would be.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Beelzerob,
Sorry to hear about your outcome, I was hoping it would work for you. I've yet to try cutting my black locust on my band saw, but maybe when I do I'll run across something that might help you. I doubt it, sounds like you've tried everything, but I'll keep an open mind. Good luck with the other species.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Oh man, WHATEVER you do, don't let me be an impediment to you doing it! I'm completely confident that I'm mostly at fault in this...milling seems so trivially easy for everyone else. :shifty:

go for it!


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

beelzerob said:


> I'm completely confident that I'm mostly at fault in this.... :shifty:


I don't think that's likely, it's probably due to the hardness of the wood. Just out of curiosity and comparison, what band saw and HP do you have? I have the Rikon 14" 10-325 with a 1.5 HP motor. This may not be enough to do a full height of resaw. I haven't done much with it yet, it developed a problem with the drive belt. But soon I'll try to tackle a piece.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

The Grizzly G0555 which has a 1HP motor. It's also 14".

The first pieces seemed easier than these last have been....hard to believe that maybe I dulled the timberwolf blade that much already??

But this thing has screamed like it was dying through most of these cuts. Maybe it really is just the locust. I'm somewhat eager to try oak or maple now to see if it's like butter comparitively.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

beelzerob said:


> I'm slowly learning to hate any tool that has a fence or mitre slot as they seem to be at odds frequently with how the machine itself wants to cut.


What about a taper jig fastened to the fence and adjusted to the angle of your saw's cut?


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Ya, that's a good suggestion and the way I think I'm leaning.

My first setup was just a tall resaw fence and I pushed the huge cumbersome block of wood past it. It was painful but it seemed to work ok. This time I tried the sled method, and it was *much* easier to push the block, but of course the mitre slot didn't match the blade direction.

So I guess now I need to use a sled WITHOUT a mitre slot runner, and put down some blocks for it to run up against at the required angle.

That being the case, I think I'm doing to try and freehand my first cut. I'll snap a chalk line along the log and use that to line up the cutting angle of the saw....and then halfway through I'll stop it and note the angle of the sled.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*You probably saw this sled*

dudeman555 
Junior Member

Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13 
 My Photos 

Old Gallery 








*ReSaw Sled* 
I just joined this web site and thought I'd share my latest project.
This resaw sled can accommodate an 11'' dia log up to 30" long.

There are addition pictures in my photo album! 
Attached Thumbnails


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

I did see that one, as well as just about every other pic brought up with a google of "log resaw sled".  My actual design was a little different in that the log is clamped between two pieces which are then clamped to the sled. Made it easier to be able to adjust for the next cut.

His pics there also show that he was able to just resaw using the mitre slot. Seems I'm the only one who can't do that.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Why not try this*

I think you have only the one blade left, but I took a "used/dull" blade just to see what would happen and I improved it enough to get more life. I've also taken to writing a log of the linear feet of resaw on each blade. I keep it taped to the front cover of the saw so I see it when I'm sawing.
This link: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/bandsaw-blade-sharpening-diy-10872/
Let's see 3TPI x 143" equals 429 teeth...about 15 minutes. 
You won't be able to reset the teeth this way but you can also hold a stone very lightly to the sides of the teeth and spin the wheel slowly backward to even the set on all the teeth. Just my theory however, and would especially correct a blade that "drifts" to one side. I always stone the back side of the blade under power, to remove any weld material and to the sides of the blade behind the teeth as well.
:blink: bill


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

That's worthwhile. Mine are only 105", so even quicker. I want to try the blade on some other logs than the hardest wood in north america and see how it does. Correcting the drift would be nice but I think I'm just going to have to accept that bandsaws.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Well, I guess I like my bandsaw again.

I wanted to get back on the horse as soon as I could...I tend to despair if I leave things "broken" too long. So, I was going to try sawing up some of the nifty logs I found. But we received our several weeks worth of overdue rain today in PA, so they were all sopping wet. So I just went out to the woodpile and grabbed whatever looked good.









My sled sucked for trying to hold the log, so I just held it up against the standard bandsaw fence. The blade moved right through it with no problem...though on the last slice, I think it was already starting to drift some.

But either way...they weren't perfect even thickness of course, but I was still pleased. 

I'm guessing most of my problem was 11" of black locust. I don't even know what log that was from the firewood pile I cut through...but it was so simple to do it was fun!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

beelzerob said:


> . . . I don't even know what log that was from the firewood pile I cut through...but it was so simple to do it was fun!


Great news I'm happy for you. Looks like Honeylocust to me. Not nearly as hard as Black. :no:


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