What? No bandsaw milling threads?

Mastermind said:

Neatest looking lumber stacks I've ever seen.

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Mastermind said:

@Sawdust Man I kept going back to this picture you posted in my mind.

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My mill is small. Only has the ability to cut down 6" till I hit the top of cant. But I used this to cut a poplar 10x10 this evening. As you well know, cutting a 2x into 2 1" boards can be a challenge if the lumber wants to bow up or down much. Once I was down to a 6x10, I left the boards on the mill till I'd sawn the whole cant up. Nothing moved at all. Thank you for teaching me this trick.

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Sawdust Man said:

Oops.... I didn't mean to teach anybody anything.....lol


I almost always leave the boards on the cant.... as long as it's not a piece with a really bad attitude, it'll stay put with the weight of the boards.
If it's a bad piece.... just go ahead and get mad...and plan on being defeated....

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Mastermind said:

I appreciate you posting about your milling adventures. I need all the help I can get.

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Sawdust Man said:

You're welcome boss!
I enjoy bragging as much as the next guy....

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Mastermind said:

Did you figure out what was causing the odd cut you posted about?

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Sawdust Man said:

No, I decided not to try too hard to figure it out while I was cutting the white pine because that's something I'd never milled before, so I don't necessarily know how it outta behave.... I thought maybe it's just what happens when you saw wide white pine?
Probably wishful thinking, but I figure eliminating the variables is a reasonable approach.

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Mastermind said:

I can be sappy wood causing some odd happenings.

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Sawdust Man said:

Yes, that's what several people on the other site thought could be my problem.
I'm thinking something mechanical, or a hormonic issue....but we'll see what happens when I start sawing again tomorrow or Friday.

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Mastermind said:

I've talked to a few local guys who mill a lot of pine. Most use diesel fuel for blade lube.

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Sawdust Man said:

I mix powdered laundry soap into my lube water.... generally it's sufficient, but when I get a really goopy pine I'll spray diesel on the blade periodically to keep it from gumming up.
Never tried running straight diesel, it probably works wonders.

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JIMG said:

I put a router sled together to run on the mill rails. It could use some tweaks but the initial results were pretty satisfying. The big plank shown was a plain sawn hard maple slab cut at over 2" thick. It developed a severe twist while set aside to dry. The sled brought it back to flat at about 1 1/4" thick, 18" wide.



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