Adjusting Lubricant Amount on a Sawmill | Is More Better?

[@allenchancery4847]

I'm getting over the covid thought I was gonner appreciate your shows sandy

[@sawingwithsandy]

I’m sorry to hear that you were not well. Glad you’re getting better

[@lumberjill6598]

Thanks, I was curious about the flow. The new mills have an auto lube system that works in conjunction with the throttle which is a pretty slick function! I'm sticking with what Woodland recommends. And like you say Sandy, if its working don't fix it. Glad to see your doing well! 👍❤

[@sawingwithsandy]

I may end up looking into those auto flow units since my valve isn’t working 100%. Appreciate you wishing me well

[@VTKingdomsawing]

Sandy, I use quite a bit of Pine Sol on the WM LT35H to prevent pitch build up on the blades. Green pine logs are really sticky! Regardless of where I set the drip flow, I've never had a blade jump off the wheels going forward, only while returning from a cut if I caught it on the log or if it was squeezed in a cut and I was backing out. Maybe your wheels are slightly out of alignment? Or something else like tension or guide adjustment? Just pondering here. Wish I could join you for a day of sawing up there in paradise! But it's pretty nice here in the North East Kingdom of Vermont, too. Great vid! Look forward to more!

[@Casey6996]

Another good educational video that showed exactly what can happen with to much lubricant.

[@stevedyndiuk99]

I have a little cobalt cordless chainsaw I bring out to the mill for trimming off the odd branch, works amazing.

[@johnnyferguson2785]

Like you I have never used anything other than water and dish soap. I think most people wrestle with how much lubricant to use. Through trial and error, once the blade comes out of the cut, I feel of the blade (once it stops) for how warm the blade gets. Then adjust the flow accordingly. I enjoy your videos, keep up the good work and be safe. Thanks!

[@richardclifton4120]

Just a few thoughts and recommendations: I also had my tank line fill up with "organics" after it sits for a while. It was only after I tried the pine-sol addition. I removed the line from the valves and introduced a jet of air from my compressor to clean out the openings because they are basically only letting the fluid flow and don't contain check valves as far as I know; The air forces the valves clean in reverse. Just remember to remove the top cap from the tank or you may have to go searching for it when it flys away; ask me how I know. How your tank is rusting I don't know, unless you have a lot of iron in your water, because aluminum does not rust but it does pit. I can suggest you look up some way to weld the tank instead of epoxy. You have a welder and I am not sure of its capabilities, but there are aluminum welding rods that can fix that hole. The tanks aren't pressurized, so an epoxy could work but it costs about the same as aluminum welding rods. I believe you have a business there in Canada called "Princess Auto" that is similar to Harbor Freight, and they carry aluminum rods that can be used without a welder. These are Non-welding aluminum welding rods tested and demonstrated by "Project Farm" kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHysfKZ6m7d0mdU. P.S. Glad to "see" you at it again. I didn't notice any racoon eye, so you appear to be healing up just fine.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for sharing your setup Richard

[@johnwoody4905]

glad your eye is getting better. washer fluid is toxic if you are any thing drinks it. if it is eating up tanks there may be some thing better to use in winter. i will have to look before my mill comes. pine sol has pine oil in it and soap plus other things. if blade are coming off need to go back to your soap and water. cooks uses oil but there mills are diff. he said you could use bio oils to. thanks for video. take care, be safe and well.

[@paulfranklin5855]

Thanks for the video. I'm cutting large dead white spruce (26'' x 31'' big end and 19'' at 16'6 '' biggest so far) and lubrication is an issue. The outside is so dry it's splitting while the inside has not dried much at all (that's why the splitting) I use water and dawn dish soap (it was on sale). I had trouble with the blade heating and sticking until I started using quit a bit of lubricant. After your video I believe I will stay with the water dish soap solution. I also noticed your new cant hook. I have the same one and I like it but I have the trailer version of the HM130 MAX am a little taller than 5'1'' and visited Fort William/Port Arthur as a teenager so when it comes to those big logs that aren't round I'm just not strong enough anymore so I'm grinding the end of a hickory wheelbarrow handle to fit inside the end of the cant hook handle to get another 2' hoping that will make the difference..

[@rickwanless5738]

Sandy I only use water and dish soap and have no problem, I am cutting pine with a lot of resin and pitch in it and I have the flow up a little to keep build up off of the blade and dont have jump offs.

[@stevedyndiuk99]

You have the same reaction I do when a blade comes off. GRrrrRRrrrRRRRrr

[@Cjnchef]

Question about off cuts. I am thinking about using as siding as a fake log look have you thought about doing this and any cons in this

[@Lumber_Jack]

Great video, thank you. I agree 100%, you just want a drip-drip-drip. I estimate it's 2-3 drips per second that I shoot for on my HM-122, and it's always worked great. One of the most common problems I noticed on the WM Facebook group, and in comments on my KZbin channel, is people run way too much lube and it causes blades to hydroplane off the wheels. In every case this was diagnosed, dialing it back to a drip solved the problem. I always say, this isn't a carwash, we just want to slightly cool and lube the blade. One other suggestion -- you can add a short 1" piece of plastic tubing to the end of the copper lube pipe to direct your drips right onto the blade. Early on, I noticed lube pooling on the blade guide and then eventually some drips onto the ground where it does no good. With the little piece of tube added, the lube can be aimed right onto the blade. No need to buy the tube -- you can steal a 1" chunk from the existing supply tube since it's plenty long. I've wanted to experiment with a felt "wick" to smear lube on the blade, but to be honest, I have no problems right now so it probably isn't needed. But a lot of high end sawmills use a felt wick to provide further fine-tune control of blade lube.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Great idea with the small piece of tuning. Appreciate you sharing that

[@ironleatherwood1357]

Have y'all tried diesel?

[@Lumber_Jack]

@@ironleatherwood1357 I have not, and wouldn't want to on WM models since the blade runs over belts on both wheels. Diesel would likely lead to belt problems eventually. However, Cooks sawmills runs all-metal wheels (no belts) and they do recommend using diesel. They use a very small amount, with a felt wick to wipe it on the blade.

[@danbaker3525]

@@Lumber_Jack exactly right WM specifies no diesel due to premature belt wear love your setup so clean sir

[@brianrajala7671]

I installed a squeeze bulb in the waterline to start water flowing when it is being stubborn.

[@pauljelen2330]

Hi Sandy, enjoyed the video. I mill mostly hardwood and a lot of dead standing dry ash. I use a fair amount of dish soap and water. I have the lubricant adjusted at a constant stream that hits the teeth of the blade. I have not had a problem with the blade popping off.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like a good setup. I think the hardwoods like the lubrication from what I gather from talking to others. I mostly mill softwood so not too up-to-date on the hardwood requirements. Appreciate you tuning in Paul.

[@JohnClark-sc8uu]

Add a short piece of vinyl tubing on the brass discharge nozzle to extend it to the blade. That way you can add smaller amount of lube right to the blade surface.

[@stevedyndiuk99]

I did this Saturday on my 126, made a nice difference.

[@andrewsavoury70]

great video love the place you have your sawmill

[@judd_s5643]

Your styling with the new PPE!

[@sawingwithsandy]

Yeah after that close call with the eye injury the safely glasses will be a regular thing worn for everything. I may even start wearing them for drinking sludge haha

[@brucemcmillan8750]

Morning Sandy,my mill bed isn't covered ,so when sawing in the rain ,I tend to use less fluid meaning water with just a small 1/4 cup of Pine-soil ,yours maybe, and I only use clean water from my water tk and then from a capped blue jug dedicated to the mill tk only.after it starts to freeze regularly I quit sawing ,shut down close up the sawhead building, drain and lube till spring.Yukon temps

[@sawingwithsandy]

I can imagine the winter comes early in the Yukon! Sounds like the mixture you've got figured out works well. Some days with this warm muggy weather I hope for winter sooner rather than later until I actually remember what February is like haha.

[@jonallen2594]

To 5 gallons of water I add 8oz. Pine sol or more and a healthy squirt of dish soap or whatever I have including car wash. Seems to work well especially for white pine and fir.

[@alaskahermithomesteader9549]

I have 2 systems on my mill. On one I run 1 cup dish soap and 1 cup pinesol to 5 gal of water. On the other system I run a brush and #1 diesel/kerosene that works the best and is what I ran on my big resaws.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like a good system ya got there

[@MarksBackwoodAdventures68]

Hello Sandy. I have been using 1/2 cup pine-sol, 1/4 cup dawn dish soap and water (washer fluid in winter) in a full tank for a year and a half now and never have I had a blade come off. I recently stopped using pine-sol for the simple fact I run out and keep forgetting to get more. I do agree with you dish soap and water works just fine so I will probably stop using pine-sol. I hope that’s all your problem for your blade coming off and there is not something more serious happening with your mill. Happy milling.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like you've got something that works and I"m just like you in that once I find what works, I try to stick to it. Thanks for watching!

[@87mnelson]

Hey Sandy, I just got my hm126 about a month ago. If a blade jumps off and gets a twist, is it garbage or can it be straightened? I figured it was done for.

[@johnos4892]

My valve actually rusted thru after 5 years, I have older HM 126 (2015). I use water and dish soap as well.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Good to know. I wonder how mine will end up seeing as it's just a few years newer at 2017. Good to hear that you also like the water and dish soap mix. Thanks for watching John

[@Johntburke72]

I notice you do cut a lot more pines than anything else, how much does the pine sap actually get things really sticky?

[@sawingwithsandy]

Hi John, I don’t notice much in the way of sticky sap on anything. I find the only tree that really gets thing sticky is the balsam fir

[@Monkey_Snot]

Hey sandy, do you have a video out regarding the bunk leveling? I have one bunk that's slightly higher than the rest, yet my rails are perfectly level and straight, it looks like the L rail the bunk is bolted to isn't exactly at 90°, didn't know if you've had this problem or not, I may have to call woodland about it.

[@mthangar]

Sandy can I suggest using a sheet metal screw with some sealant and drive it through the pin hole. It works till a seam needs welding

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for that tip. I hadn't heard it before but glad you mentioned it

[@Tradesman1156]

You could be on to something, my band was popping of for no good reason, and I may have been using pinesol when that was happening!!

[@chriscox6598]

Good morning Sandy I run water + tide + a couple of squirts of Dawn and two cap full of pinesol for the SYP that I cut. SYP around here is full of sap. If you was closer I would TIG the tank for you. Maybe a viewer close to you could help out or Woodland Mills might give you a deal on a new tank.

[@sawingwithsandy]

I appreciate that offer for the welding Chris. Real nice of ya. I'll likely end up with the old JB weld haha. Sounds like a good mixture you use and I appreciate you sharing.

[@jimputnam2044]

If your blade tension is off a bit it will kick the blade off. You did not mention blade tension, just a thought.

[@dalekentjr.2431]

i use pinesol in my mill also dish soap i have never had a blad come off

[@pup734]

I use pine sol with dish washer soap all the time no problems at all. The only problems I have had is with dawn dish soap taking all the grease out of my bearings.

[@TopoPilot]

Take this question as me just being curious, I am new to sawing logs. How old are the rubber grips on the wheels? Could they need replacing? If so, how long before you/I have to replace them? If this is a dumb question then please just ignore it and have a great day.

[@sawingwithsandy]

The wheels are metal and so I believe they should last indefinitely

[@TopoPilot]

@@sawingwithsandy Oh ok. I thought they had a rubber ring that encompassed them to grip the blade better. Thanks for clarifying.

[@thomasme9676]

Try a hose clamp and a piece of rubber to fix your leak. For your problem with the lube try to put a drop leg in your system like you would do to an air line.

[@marknelson6777]

Have you ever tried blowing put that water line or tank with an air compressor or even that leaf blower ?.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Good idea Mark. I haven't used an air compressor but I have been known to put my mouth on the tank and blow compressed air from my lungs through the system a time or two haha

[@edbarber3657]

Sandy: More food for thought. If you take a small brown paper bag blow it up tie close to ceiling to hang. Wasps & Beas will think it’s a hornets nest and will stay away & make no nest

[@sawingwithsandy]

That's a good idea Ed. I actually have just you're mentioning right above my head in this video but just out of camera view. Appreciate the idea none the less and thanks for watching.

[@keith7976]

I found the chain on the lube tank stopper rusted off in the first year. I mill larch and use water only. Have not tried any additives. My mill is in the barn at the moment. The little knurled adjustment screw on the valve, the head fell off too. I occasionally remove the whole valve and blow it out/use a toothbrush. Wish the lube tank wasn't so sturdy, would be great to have an end that unscrews. I go for a drip that's fairly quick. It tends to dry up mid cut though. By the way, is the blade guide worthwhile? I don't have any wandering of the cut, does the guide help in another way?

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for watching Keith. I haven't milled Larch but sounds like you've got a good setup for it. My chain on my cap also rusted off years ago now. I don't find that the blade guide does too much aside from keeping the blade on track in the event that things get out of alignment like if the blade deflects at all.

[@brucemcmillan8750]

@@sawingwithsandy as your blade dulls it will tend to wander more, depending on what your cutting, some knots are hard enough to force the blade to tilt to follow the knot rather to cut through it, the guide keeps the blade flat for a smooth board rather than a wavey board

[@willbass2869]

You might want to consider adding bleach to the water tank to cut down on the growth of algae in the tank. Down here below the 49° (way way below!) we have this thing in our houses called air conditioning (aka A/C) Not sure if our neighbors in Canada have such contraptions. Anyway, as the warm air crosses over the evaporator coil the humidity in the air is pulled out and collects in a pan underneath before flowing away. Often algae builds in the pan and blocks the outlet causing an overflow. We add a 1/2 cup of bleach to the pan at start and again at midpoint of cooling season. For me that would be March 1 and Sept 31. Yep....Sept is the 1/2 point in A/C use. Give it try. Maybe 1/4 cup in that tank of your should do. Refill as needed. Hang in there Sandy. We're pulling fer ya.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like a great idea Will. Appreciate the idea. I'm also sitting in front of my A/C as we speak as well haha

[@scottcourville1191]

I took of the factory valve off and put a ball valve on it the needle valve kept stopping up

[@toyota22redude]

I'm a millwright at a sawmill and own a wm lt15. From what I've always been told, the only think your saw lube does is cool the blade and prevent any kind of sap sticking to the blade and nothing more. If you have blades popping off that easy I personally think you have other problems. The amount of lube you use shouldn't have anything to do with your blades popping off.

[@NaturallyCav]

I don't know why but the echo today is loud.. do you have that all the time out there or did I just start hearing it?

[@sawingwithsandy]

I don't normally notice any echos. Maybe the sound is bouncing off the metal roof more than normal today.

[@Monkey_Snot]

Flow rate matters depending on what you're cutting, I find less is better for softwood, more for hardwood.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Good to know. I don't cut any hardwood at all nearly.

[@saintaugustine1715]

Good morning Sandy i cut different kind of wood the hard wood you just have to watch your saw dust and feel it if hot more lub. to wet less lub. cedar if fresh cut it will have sap in it so more lub. so it doesn't put gum on your blade less if the logs has been cut for a while now pine tree specially what we call here in Florida yellow pine that i have to use a lot more lub. other wise your blade will have a lot gum sticking to it i even had trees so bad that even with the water on full after finishing the log had to stop and clean the blade even scrape gum of off it and clean both belt of and i don't if anybody else had that problem put it did happen to me more than just one occasion also i am like you i don't like using petroleum product and use only dish soap and water to the people that doesn't about yellow pine it's got so much resign that at some places you can see the light through it in front of a light it also call fat lighter have a good day every one

[@gregwells4161]

We seem to çùt more bàlsàm thàn red pine ,ßo probably more pitch & plnesol seems to work better.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Yeah that wood sure is sticky

[@Monkey_Snot]

You need to run hot tap water and bleach through your tank to clean it out, fill it with as hot as possible water and a cup of bleach, take a tube and run it from the output out to a pail, then open the valve fully and drain the tank, this will clean out all that slime.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like a good solution. Thanks for passing that along

[@southernyankeehomestead3230]

Ok... I'm confused. Your tank is leaking and is aluminum. Where is the rust coming from? Rust is only for iron and their composites.

[@MadHatter764]

Atleast you know your beaeings are in great shape - those wheels took a long time to spin down.

[@MetaView7]

That aluminum tank is pretty, but i think Woodland Mills overkilled it. Everyone buys windshield fluid. All it needs is a bracket to hold those gallon jugs.

[@sawingwithsandy]

One thing I do like about the aluminum tanks is it has a fairly good capacity.

[@briansmallwood2103]

How’s your eye healing.

[@dhache1195]

Hi Sandy, how is your eye? Wearing t-shirt and shirt, your video is not recent or you do not suffer from the actual heat-muggy weather or you are locate at least in the close north. Dish soap at 1$ store, the best. Be well (and be safe)

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for asking, eye is healing thankfully. Will be a little bit until I"m back to 100% but still happy I"m healing. We have had the really muggy weather lately but the bugs are still biting so I"m stuck wearing the long sleeves and pants to fight them off. The videos are filmed close to the time they are released on the internet. I try to keep them as recent as possible.

[@jackharvey3760]

Sandy, I think this might help you repair your leaking tank. I have used the rods that are sold at harbor Freight and they work great. Make sure to clean the metal and heat it, not the rod. Watch this short video and you will see the method for using them. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXTclKCpbdyJeZY

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks Jack! Appreciate that

[@wizardind3203]

Just make a loop to drop over the 4x4

[@sawingwithsandy]

That would work too

[@samhoschar5794]

If the tank is aluminum it can't rust. It looks like rust on the spot where it is leaking

[@ronthurmond6266]

What has been your experience on theft of wood? Nothing more frustrating than to have someone roll up and take away all your hard work and profit.

[@brianrajala7671]

I use a pickaroon instead of a cant hook on smaller wood. It is not as clumsy to work with.

[@lambda4931]

Why not just use water? In winter use windshield washer. Forget the soap etc.

[@sawingwithsandy]

I used straight water for a few years until I found out that a little dish soap added makes the cutting just a little bit smoother

[@peppybobanny1157]

That drip drop drip would be nice if it would do it. Mines the auto flow with the throttle connection and it totally sucks. Its either pouring or its nothing. Sometimes it will blast out with the pull on the throttle then it stops. I spray it with a water bottle until I rig something up.

[@sawingwithsandy]

I find the auto lube feature can get clogged with debris from the tank but a flick of the tube sometimes releases it

[@manuf.eng.808]

I wouldn’t tig that up if you brought it to me it’s probably rotten right through. Piece of pvc pipe and two end caps would be ok

[@sawingwithsandy]

Yeah that may very well be the last resort.

[@exotictones1054]

The blue junk we buy in michigan freezes in your vehicle if you park outside like me.i use the orange bottles.much better.

[@NaturallyCav]

You are not wrong. Fellow Michigan man.

[@jackyoung42]

I'll second that blue washer fluid Is not worth it , it will freeze !@@NaturallyCav

[@mikechristensen9744]

A Yooper here and the blue will freeze...but only if you get the blue offered in the early fall which is only good to maybe +20*F...early winter the blue will be for -20*F. Why they sell two different freeze temps in the same color is beyond my understanding.

[@sawingwithsandy]

I haven't experienced that. I see from what others have said that maybe the blue washer fluid I have is rated for lower temperatures than what you've used before.

[@NaturallyCav]

More than likely, they don't sell it in Canada since 20F is the standard fall temp for you

[@vernonvest9927]

Can you get a hand held thermometer 🌡 to test your heat on your blade????

[@kennethhanaburgh6877]

Take the copper end out and clean it out it actually gets bark a wood shoved into it and clogs