Why I Don’t Use Blade Lube on My Woodmizer LT15 Sawmill Most of the Time

[@edwinlikeshistractor8521]

Thanks for the philosophy.

[@WilsonForestLands]

Thanks for noticing. 😁

[@chowtimewithruss1411]

You make it look so easy!!

[@MRNORTHWESTERNER1]

A practice that has made a big difference for me is setting my finished boards flat on a pair of 12 foot sawhorses ran perpendicular to the mill. This allows the lube sludge to dry back to sawdust, and positions the boards at a nice height for sweeping off once dry. It is also a good way to set aside boards you need to edge. This also puts the boards in an easy position to handle with pallet forks on a tractor or handle by hand once you are done milling.

[@PineInTheAshMilling]

Michael, I do pretty much as you do, when sawing fresh white pine I spray a little diesel try to spray on cap cuts. Nice video

[@WilsonForestLands]

Thank you for the comment. I never liked the idea of having diesel all over the place but maybe just spraying a little on would be OK.

[@edcat6587]

I wonder how biodiesel would work? It is one of the best all purpose solvents i have seen......will even take auto paint off,if left on for a while. Have not tried it on pitch,but seems like it would work better than regular diesel for cleaning,lube. Biodegradable,too,and does not stink like diesel. One would need to keep it from getting on anything plastic or rubber,though,as it will degrade/dissolve them. Thanks for the videos!

[@ddnw2000]

Great video! I stopped using blade "lube" a year or two ago. I do use a 50/50 mix of kerosene and bar oil. I put in a spay bottle and "spritz" the blade after I finish my cut and only hit it every 2-4 cuts unless I'm making wider cuts then I'll spritz it after every cut. I cut mostly Doug fir but have used it on cedar, hemlock and most other species I've cut. Spraying it on after seems to give it time to break up any sap build up and cool without any residue showing on the wood. You can hear the difference, even though I can barely pass a hearing test, I can hear the difference. Thanks again for your videos.

[@WilsonForestLands]

That’s interesting, bar oil and kerosene. I have never heard of using that. Thanks for the comment.

[@MsdMakingSawDust]

We try to use the least lube that we can. But with the Virginia pines and other pines we have around here they produce a lot of sap. And you are correct. Lube makes it hard to clean the boards up. So we are forced to use scrapers for clean up. Good video , take care

[@WilsonForestLands]

Most of the pine I have milled has been in the winter. Our pine may be the same as yours in the spring when the sap is flowing. One more thing for me to look forward to trying someday. Although when I try it, I may wonder why I was looking forward to it.

[@flintknappingtools]

I have a low hp homemade mill, the only reason I use a “lube” is for build up on the blade nd wheels. With lower hp, the feed rate is slower thus less heat. I use diesel for everything, every wood type as needed. I have a manual button to activate the pump. It also has a drip feed that I solenoid controlled, when the blade is engaged, drip is on. Works great on our eastern white pine, poplar or what ever. If I had a 30 hp mill, I would be in need of a coolant as well as a cleaner. Not the case..

[@user-jk9dh7ud2h]

Very informative, interesting perspective

[@grizz2702]

I just use the cheapest dish soap I can find and rarely use it ... usually straight water does it for me ...good video

[@southernadirondackoutdoors]

Interesting video Michael. I consider it more of a blade coolant/cleaner to make the blade last longer rather than a lubricant but like you said (paraphrasing) use what works for you.

[@DANG--]

If I made a comment, It would be to let you know how jealous I am. I wish i did not have to use lube. Nice video again.

[@WilsonForestLands]

Thank you. If I was to reply to your comment, I might say I may be a little jealous of some of the types of wood you have available back there that you have to use lube on.

[@joeyrector1015]

Nice looking lumber.

[@scottreese5492]

Do you mix a little dish soap and pine sol in your water? That's what guy at woodmizer recommended to break down sap. I'm glad you did this video cause I've been using way to much water and it definitely makes difficult to clean

[@HardRockVermont]

Good topic Mike! So, the Milling doesn't put more wear and tear on the band without lube?

[@TheOldManAndTheSaw]

Good video Michael. Hoping to run my mill today.

[@WilsonForestLands]

Thanks Dave, happy milling today. I see you have a downed tree video, it’s on my list to watch.

[@TheOldManAndTheSaw]

@@WilsonForestLands I caught holy hell from my kids once they saw it so don't YOU give me a hard time too.......unless you want to call me Daddy.

[@bwillan]

The bristles on your broom/brush are really long. Shorten them up to make them stiffer overall and that will help with those slightly sticky spots of sawdust.

[@WilsonForestLands]

I have been meaning to replace that broom for a long time. I even said I was going to in a video long ago. I just never think about it when I am in town. I hadn’t thought about cutting them off to shorten them up. Good tip on the shorter bristles, thanks.

[@williamemerson1799]

Dang, look at all that room you've got now on your salmon smokin table.👍🍻 well....you had.🥴

[@WilsonForestLands]

Oh yeah, I could get more grills and grill a whole bunch of things at the same time. The ambience won’t be quite the same without the logs though.

[@melissatuason2395]

Mr. Wilson my husband says everyone has their own "Magic" formula, my husband won't tell me what his secret is because he does not want to share with anyone. Btw do you know that every time I buy my bath oil, I seem to use allot more of it lately. Normally it last me about 8 months, but lately I've been using it every 2 months. Do you know the reason for this, I'm wondering if hes using it on his saw also ?

[@Twobrothersoutdoors]

Have you ever felt your blade to see if it's getting hot? I tried no lube with 2 passes on a hemlock and the blade was too hot for me to touch for very long

[@WilsonForestLands]

Yes I have never felt the blade being more than just warm. I have had some long hard cuts where I am thinking the blade must be getting hot. I would probably be getting hot if I was a blade doing that. I shut the saw down and touch it as fast as I can. Not hot at all.

[@geneplummer6645]

just curious ,has any one used one of those temperature guns at the end of the cut to see the difference of temperature of the blade with and without water or lube

[@WilsonForestLands]

That would be an interesting experiment. The way I have done it is to shut the mill off as fast as I can before touching it to see how warm it is. I have never noticed it being more than just barely warm. The temperature gun would be good because you could do it even while it’s running.

[@charliesaul729]

Looks like you've been doing some weed clearing too!

[@WilsonForestLands]

Yeah everything is drying out, have to keep the weeds down for wildfires safety. And it just looks better.

[@supermo26]

Do you grade and stamp lumber?

[@WilsonForestLands]

I thought I responded to this comment but looks like maybe I didn’t. I don’t grade and stamp it. I just sell it as is.

[@refinedhayseedappalachian9777]

Dry cut to gumless wood

[@konradsusiebakalarczyk267]

How do you clean up a blade that’s did get all pitched up?

[@WilsonForestLands]

If it does start to get pitched up I will run some lube on it to clean it up. I think I talked a little bit about that in the video. Sometimes I will let it idle for a short time with the blade running and turn the lube on. Let it soak up a little water and soften up before making the cut.

[@konradsusiebakalarczyk267]

@@WilsonForestLands I cut white and red pine and the blade gets pitched up, even with water/soap lube.

[@WilsonForestLands]

We don’t have that kind of pine here and I haven’t milled much green pine. Mostly Douglas fir with a little salvaged dead pine. The little bit of green pine I have milled was in the fall when they aren’t very pitchy. Not sure I can help with that. Some people swear by diesel. I never liked the idea of using diesel but they say it only takes a little.

[@refinedhayseedappalachian9777]

Maybe ill cut near high noon

[@refinedhayseedappalachian9777]

Wonder how many decibals it generates.. Id love to inside city limits