Blade jumping off? Learn how tracking works and avoid common mistakes with your sawmill (Revised)

[@4821jeffrow]

Jack knows exactly what these mills need to operate properly and how to mill very good lumber. He really makes it easy to understand.

[@genewileyopa]

I just received my HM 126 this week. This video helped understand a lot about the mill. I have watched you tubers videos for a year getting aware of how they work. Your in depth inspection of how to do pre inspection is priceless. Thanks for sharing. Iowa cares

[@hellogoodbye3129]

How do you like your saw? I've got mine on order.

[@genewileyopa]

@@hellogoodbye3129 Nice, have cut several logs. Just learning as I go. You'll like yours when you get it. Make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

[@hellogoodbye3129]

@@genewileyopa glad to hear. I'm going to build a house with mine. It's going to be great.👍

[@CreeksideMaplesHomestead]

Thanks for the info Jack. My mill is arriving in about 6 weeks so I’ve been watching everything I can. Thanks buddy

[@denismorissette419]

Very very good explanations!! In 80 hrs of operation I,did not have a blade jumping out and suddenly in the last 10 hrs I destroyed 5 blades. I became affraid of using my mill. I really thing that my problem was to much lubricant. Now everything seems to be return to normal. Tank you, it is the best video I've seen about tracking and tips for operation.

[@charleswise4831]

I also want to say thank you for taking the time to be so thorough on the tracking. I havent set mine up yet so it is nice to have a better understanding even before I dive into the instruction manual! Appreciate your time!

[@pstoneking3418]

I think checking the tracking every time you begin your day sawing would be a great idea to avoid a blade coming off and causing damage to your mill and or blade. This will be part of what you're calling a flight check for me. Safety first. I'm retire government employee and preventive maintenance was drilled into us. Great video.

[@lloydr.6271]

Saw this video after the event. We probably had the drip set to high but the actual killer was spraying the blade with grease to stop the blade rusting between sessions. To us newbies it seemed like good idea at the time. Oops. The moment we did it it jumped off destroying eight teeth and bending the lower 90 degree right hand catch bar as the blade is about to go up around the drive wheel . Not sure of correct name. With your valuable help we learnt our lesson destroying a newish blade. Roasted by Mrs Lloyd. We also use a torque wrench to measure the tension. The two of us have different ideas of when it's right by feel. Thank's again.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Does seem like a good idea until it isn't!! I haven't found a good solution to blades rusting, but it doesn't happen to me a lot -- normally I dull them and replace them faster than they sit on the mill and rust.

[@derekbueckert7428]

Until just a week ago I had never owned a band mill because everyone I know kept telling me that they were to much work and to hard to tune and maintain. well I will be straight and honest they are a little more work to fine tune. and it dose take a bit of trial and error to learn. but really its only frustrating until you start to understand warm weather dish soap water. one or 2 drops per second on the blade for green wood. no more this can definitely cause a blade to jump off if you just let it spray full blast. this was something that cost me two new blades so far. and the tracking concept is very well explained here on this video. Except I really wish there was a easy straightforward way to check the wheel alignment. like a Machined face on the 2 band wheel. and a tool to go up against both wheel faces at the same time. I hope someone will make a video about how to make a tool like that

[@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837]

Great video ! Very simple but important tips, good to know my mill will be here any day, I will deffanatly keep this in mind :)

[@stegmater]

We just get our new 126 sawmills, and we tension after the instructions, so the tension mark is flush, and it work well the 30 first minute of use without lubrication, but as soon we put on some lub, the blade popp off. We call the local dealer, and he said right away the tension is too high, and he was spot on. When we use a torque wrench it shows 48nm when it flush, and dealer said he never go over 30nm,. (You should never use the flush mark before the saw have run some years, he said) After we do that it work great without any trouble, so check your blade tension with a torque wrench, don`t rely on the tension flush mark.

[@Lumber_Jack]

So the torque recommendation is based on the type, amount, and arrangement of belleville disk springs inside the tensioner. On 2021 mills, this has not been consistent from the factory and people have run into problems. They either have an issue with the quality of the springs or it's an assembly/QA problem. It results in very inconsistent positioning of the tensioner bushing. WM recently released a tech bulletin about this. On my 2020 mill and older mills, setting flush works as intended. I have been doing that for 10+ months and never a single issue. You can use a torque wrench to verify in either case, just be aware that the torque wrench is only giving an approximate indicator of spring tension (it reads angular tightening torque, not linear tension) and it needs to be read while cranking continuously from low tension to high tension (if you stop then re-tighten more, the reading will be wrong due to friction). What really matters with springs is the amount of displacement (distance) changed. Tension is directly proportional to that. So if you can indicate the proper setting based on the distance the tensioner spring is compressed, that is more accurate than a torque wrench.

[@brentbraud8357]

Very professionally put together video. It has a lot of clear and concise info. Thank you.

[@jimmyhoffa35]

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to make this video, It was very helpful. I took two 2' identical levels and clamp them to the band wheels one on each wheel horizontally wile being Torque to 25' pounds then i placed a 4' level across from one level to the other and my band wheels were both towed in towards the center. vertically was good . thank You.

[@thorntonart]

Great explanatory video. Very thorough, thanks for the time and effort. Best I've viewed. Cheers!

[@roestreet]

Thank You! Add me to the list of #3 mistake dummies. This video saved my sanity. I had everything dialed in and checked it twice but never checked the flow of lubricant. I was definitely dumping too much to the blade. All good now!

[@sylvainlariviere4835]

Same here! My blade popped off *after* I had finished a cut and I was raising it for the return trip. Not sure if it had stopped yet... maybe it was just hydroplaning while braking... :) I had a continuous flow. Tracking looked good when I had started on this log, my all-time second log sawn. So Jack, I bursted into laughing when you mentioned it was not a car wash... :)

[@gmprouse874]

Wonderful explanation for tuning the blade tracking. Thanks for the video!

[@dwbrasfieldful]

I love your videos. You are most informative and your knowledge speaks for itself when it comes to saw milling, which is something I have never done and I'm 58 now. My HM130 SHOULD be here by the end of September (so they say), I have a space cleared, Metal awning is on its way and I will be building a saw bed similar to yours..... ok, maybe exactly like yours but maybe not as pretty. I am in East Texas and its 100 degrees today so I am ok with something quick and easy but will not settle for less than level. Anyway, I love the clarity you bring to all of your videos and I am a new sub so please keep posting any updates you can because like you said, there are some comical vids out there that don't teach you anything at all. Some are even just scary to watch, Most of all, Thank you for sharing your knowledge that can help out us old timers just getting into this. Take care sir... David

[@michaelfrench343]

I'm waiting for my hm 126 so I'm gathering all the info I can, great video very informative thanks.

[@Warren-ql4pm]

awesome explanation, having some issues with my RR 5022 witch is very similar to the woodland setup. this will help. only have 7 hrs on my mill and every little bit helps. thanks

[@somecooney5304]

Always kept the lube full blast, literally streaming out like a hose, haha! Couple of snapped blades, and now here I am on the internet, learning something new. :)

[@TheIslandsForge]

Mighty video, very clear, your levelling the bed video is excellent also.. thanks

[@JS-dr4tw]

Great video! You touched all small details.

[@bigbattenberg]

Great video. I have a customer who runs this mill and he was having difficulty getting it to track right. I have a machine shop and try to understand what is going on. Upon first inspection I noticed there is a huge play on the slider/ tensioner mechanism of the follower wheel. Obviously the play in the horizontal plane is eliminated by the tensioning action but the play in the vertical plane is essentially there and only gravity works on it. If not a source of poor tracking it might cause vibrations. I have taken the tensioner mechanism apart and milled down the four studs about a millimeter to achieve a pretty close sliding fit. It is a bit disappointing to see the sliding portion is just a thick plate which has a bow in it and was not post- machined. I left this alone because milling or surface grinding it on both sides was too involved at that time. The customer has run the machine after that but is still having difficulties, it appears the saw tracks OK upon initial adjustment but wanders and even is thrown off at times. I do not think there is much to be gained in fiddling with the drive wheel side because there is only a slight difference in the position of the saw on the two wheels, not enough for it to be critical in my opinion. I'll be going to the customer location tomorrow morning and again evaluate the situation. Thanks again for the video, cheers from Holland.

[@billywray4524]

great video. was having trouble with my blade tracking. will try this. i thought the 130 max adjusted tracking on its own. thanks

[@czanel4899]

That was really frustrating!. Out of 10 new blades i ordered with new mill only three can be resharpen. Seems like i have had same Quality Control #4 sticker on. Probably applied as a package or just for decoration. Another problem with QC#4 was four blocks/guides maxed out on the bottom and flush with top holders. And that required some grinding and tinkering.. Other then that it's a good machine.

[@wesleylawrence6439]

Thank you, I touched the no touch bolts but now can fix it.

[@johnmoyer5515]

Move the roller bearings out of when doing tracking also , For the most part my tracking has been good. Had a few times it's jumped, but mainly I think it's when putting on a new blade, but I have always noticed my drive side the blade is usually about 1/16" over the back side of the wheel but it stays on track more often than not.

[@jeffglasman19]

That was good info ,I have been using way to much lube. Bubbles in the lines are causing inconsistent flow settings. And too much lube causing the blades to slip off.

[@wizardind3203]

the other co. builds with the top of the wheels lean out ward ( 3/16 to 1/4") which points the blade teeth slightly downward . as you tighten the blade the roller guides or the rub guides bring the blade parallel to the track

[@Cacheola]

Great comprehensive video, thank you! What are your thoughts on reversing the lubricant nozzle so that is drops the lube on prior to the blade guide, perhaps allowing some to reach the underside of the blade as well? Some of the more professional mills squirt the lube on both sides

[@Lumber_Jack]

I wouldn't rely on the blade guide to do a good job at that, but hard to say until you try. One of the slickest setups I have seen used thick felt wicks to wipe lubricant onto the blade, top and bottom. Did not seem complicated either. Probably would be easy to rig up.

[@Cacheola]

@@Lumber_Jack I heard you mention that, with diesel in one of your videos. I'm waiting for my hm130max to show up... any day now :)

[@codecage9333]

You may have answered this multiple times before, but what is the purpose of the bottle cap sitting on the blade where the lubricating tube sits over the blade? Just to catch any errant drip? And I guess it gets removed during your prefight checks.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Correct, it keeps lube drips off the blade after the mill is shut down for the day, avoiding a rusty spot on the blade.

[@ironleatherwood1357]

Great video! I am currently setting mine up and it will definitely need to be adjusted. Did you place you saw on the tracks then shake it like they recommend before tightening all bolts? Thanks

[@Lumber_Jack]

Absolutely, that is very important, and you want to make sure your track is straight, level, and flat before doing that, since it will affect how the carriage wheels sit and the trolley frame settles.

[@ironleatherwood1357]

@@Lumber_Jack Keep the video's coming!

[@kennkid9912]

When u put your blade on the wheels. you can see if it will track off or be straight. My Thomas did this and once you adjusted ,the blade stayed on fine. Woodland has more sophistication than the Thomas does.

[@hpw59]

less than 5-hrs and changed the blade and the new blade won't track correctly......called woodland and they said I would have to adjust tracking on the follower wheel.

[@douglasnichols6116]

We have over 7 hours on our first blade out of the box. Guess we were lucky.

[@fabiancanada8876]

Got a new mill and had the blade jumping off from the get go. Tried different blade tension and it would still happen. Tried to align the wheels and it's still coming off. I am afraid to use the mill now. I already destroyed 5 blades. I called the tech support and they suggested the blade tension is too much (towards the end I used a torque wrench set at 25 lbs because no matter how I tensioned the blade by hand it came off). It's pretty frustrated as I need to mill logs and not do repairs on a new mill.

[@4500az]

I've had an HM130max for 4 years and it's been nothing but trouble. I've spent days adjusting and checking everything, but the blade still comes off whenever it feels like it. Customer service was useless as well. These mills are cheap junk made in China with clever marketing.

[@fabiancanada8876]

@@4500az Sorry to hear that you are having these troubles. I had a real good mechanic over and he aligned the wheel again for me and it did the trick! Yes these mills are cheap but you do get what you pay for them. It's like spending 10k for a new vehicle and then wondering why you need repairs after 10k miles. I really like milling logs and I am not sure what I would do next. Spend 50k$ for a good mill (woodmizer lt35 hydraulic would be my choice)? I can buy a lot of lumber for that. I think that you need to be a mechanic for those mills and account for extra time for repairs&maintenance.

[@brentbraud8357]

Instead of guessing how much lubricant to use while milling. Wouldn’t it make sense to monitor blade temperature with a hand held laser temperature gauge or whatever it’s called. Then adjust your lubricant accordingly. I would imagine that blade manufacturers have a recommended temperature not to exceed for their specific product.?

[@jimmyhoffa35]

Would You recommend using 1.5" Woodmizer blades on HM130MAX ?

[@Lumber_Jack]

I would not, and there's a video describing why: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqm7kq1no8ShpcU

[@MitchellsInAlaska]

How much clearance do you run on the blade guides. The book says.020 on each side. That seems excessive to me. We have started getting some wavy cuts

[@Lumber_Jack]

I set them by the book, 0.020" top and bottom and 0.040" on the rear. I use shim stock to set all of them simultaneously. Make sure you snug down the set screws real tight otherwise the guide blocks can move. Cut quality should not depend on the guides, they are just there for support if the blade deflects for some reason. I have seen ripples (spaced 1/4-1/2" apart) when entering the ends of a cant that is not supported and shakes a little. And I have seen larger scale waves, but rarely. The waves usually come from pushing too fast, or cutting with a dull blade, or hitting a knot while pushing too fast or with a dull blade. If you can avoid those scenarios it will reduce the possibility of waves quite a bit. If you have an adjustable blade guide, bring it close to the log to minimize the unsupported part of the blade. Finally, make sure blade tension is set right. The distance of the supports and tension are the two key factors in resisting blade deflection under load.

[@MitchellsInAlaska]

@@Lumber_Jack thank you. I appreciate your reply

[@waynepitts2154]

Do you use a torque wrench and how much pounds?

[@Lumber_Jack]

@@waynepitts2154 I don't use a torque wrench.

[@edwardburns9997]

Awesome, thank you.

[@jacklabloom635]

Good information.

[@zygmuntkuzminski8312]

never move manually blades in opposite direction- I did and get problem with motor ,probably motor thru the clutch moved in opposite direction

[@Lumber_Jack]

Clutch should not be engaged when engine is off. If it is there are bigger problems!

[@scottmorse4917]

I purchased this Same saw no way I can tighten the blade the way they describe , making the washer flush I’d have to use a pice of pipe to get it to go flush it’s that hard to do I’ve gone thru 4 blades in two logs jumping off

[@Lumber_Jack]

You should contact WM tech support -- sounds like there may be a problem with the tensioner screw or the Bellevile disk springs that are stacked up inside the tensioner. It should not be hard to turn.

[@TheIslandsForge]

I saw in the woodlandmills manual that you need to use the torque wrench to set the bushing flush to work properly.. that you add or remove a washer on the inside of the stack of tension washers.. So I would think this needs to be checked every now and again, so the auto tension is ok..

[@jaed660603]

1 1/2" shafts?.

[@jimmyhoffa35]

Thank You for the reply back, I watched the video link kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqm7kq1no8ShpcU you sent me. I decided to stick to the factory blades recommended

[@billybubbabaisden783]

Nope I run a huge stream of water with soap. Never threw a blade. Adjust the stream to hit right on the gullets. Blades will last allot longer...