What? No bandsaw milling threads?

[Fleethirte]

just the water and soap mix from the mill

 

[Mastermind]

just the water and soap mix from the mill

Dammit. I don't use anywhere near that much. Just a slow drip...if any.

 

[Fleethirte]

oh! i dont know how much to use hahaha
is it suppose to be less?

 

[Fleethirte]

i bet sawdust man knows

 

[Mastermind]

oh! i dont know how much to use hahaha
is it suppose to be less?

Depends on the wood. If the log is fresh, it really doesn't need anything.

 

[Fleethirte]

Depends on the wood. If the log is fresh, it really doesn't need anything.

thank you!! thats good to know

 

[Elkhunter]

I run mine at about 1 drip per second using windshield washer fluid and a shot of pine sol in the winter and just plain water and pine sol in the summer time.
As Mastermind said if your not seeing any buildup on the band lube may not not required.

 

[Mastermind]

I run mine at about 1 drip per second using windshield washer fluid and a shot of pine sol in the winter and just plain water and pine sol in the summer time.
As Mastermind said if your not seeing any buildup on the band lube may not not required.

Pine pitch is the only reason I use anything in most cases. Sawing dry hardwood needs a little lubrication to keep the blade cool maybe, but never a lot.

 

[Sawdust Man]

Today's victim.
18"x14' red oak, made into 2x trailer decking boards.
Took about 1 hour....was running a dull-ish blade & cutting slow.......extra turning to saw off the rock filled bark.

 

[Sawdust Man]

oh! i dont know how much to use hahaha
is it suppose to be less?

I run only as much water as necessary to keep the blade clean....if I'm cutting pine, I use powdered laundry soap....usually "about some" soap per 5 gallons of water.

I use my mill to edge with, usually when I get down to the last fairly small cant I plan to cut that day.

This is the best practice for edging on the mill.... it makes it much faster, and way easier to get things square & securely clamped in position.

 

[srcarr52]

Pine pitch is the only reason I use anything in most cases. Sawing dry hardwood needs a little lubrication to keep the blade cool maybe, but never a lot.

On my WM LT30 I have to use a pretty steady stream of water to keep the band cool or it will loose it's tension. It's 25hp so we're moving through the wood pretty fast.

 

[Sawdust Man]

I figured it wouldn't compare to a circular mill, but was just curious. On my circular mill I can fly with poplar even if the teeth aren't real sharp. The 9/32" kerf does make a ridiculous amount of sawdust though.

Compared to circular mills, band saws are slow......that's all there is to it.....I can't tell you how many times I've wished I was running a circle saw.

As with anything hp makes a lot of difference, I've run mills from 14hp to 35hp, my current mill is 25hp which is (in my opinion) the low end of the hp spectrum for any kind of business/production sawing.
Low hp affordable mills are totally legit for their intended purpose of homeowner/hobby/farm sawmills, just don't get in a hurry and everything is peachy.

 

[Sawdust Man]

On my WM LT30 I have to use a pretty steady stream of water to keep the band cool or it will loose it's tension. It's 25hp so we're moving through the wood pretty fast.

This is true... I forgot about the heat/blade tension issue in my blab above.....

 

[Sawdust Man]

 

[Sawdust Man]

.

Nails....