Whether we like it or not, winter weather is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you have to put the “freeze” on sawing. As colder temperatures arrive and logs begin to freeze, here are helpful tips, reminders, and answers to common questions, to compete with the sawing challenges faced by sawyers this time of year. With the proper sawmill and blade maintenance topics covered below, you can keep sawing like a pro all winter long!
TIP 1: Lower the blade hook angle
Sawing frozen and partially frozen logs or cants can be treated like sawing hardwoods. The best option for frozen wood is the Wood-Mizer Turbo 7 band-saw blade. This profile utilizes a taller tooth with deeper gullets that are capable of pushing the sawdust out of the cut, resulting in less sawdust on your lumber.
Also consider running Wood-Mizer 4 degree, 9 degree, or new Turbo 747 blade profiles which work better in frozen and partially frozen logs this time of year.
TIP 2: Narrow the blade width
Narrow blades can have less resistance and clean out frozen sawdust more productively. Consider running 1-1/4" wide blades in the winter. This can be important with especially higher horsepower engines.
TIP 3: Pay special attention to partially frozen logs
In the early periods of cold weather, more attention may be required when sawing the outer “jacket” boards because logs freeze from the outside in toward the heart. As logs lay through frozen temperatures and long nights, the entire log will be frozen. In the spring as weather begins to warm, logs will also thaw from the outside in.
The most difficult time to saw logs is when they are partially frozen because the blade cuts in and out of the frozen material. Sawing partially frozen logs can be done successfully, but will generally require a little slower feed speed in order to monitor each cut.
TIP 4: Keep feed rates up and consistent
Keeping your feed rates up, even while sawing frozen logs, helps clear chips and sawdust out of the cut and keeps them from refreezing on the lumber. Freezing rain, ice, and snow build-up will slow down your machine’s warming up process and can affect the life of your mill. For the best results, keep your feed rates consistent and monitor your lumber for quality as it comes off the mill.
TIP 5: Monitor blade guides
Check blade guides frequently and if loose, tighten the guides or replace. Also keep the blade from riding hard against the blade guide flange. It is very important that blade guides are level and not tilted up or down. Use the blade level gauge to check this.
TIP 6: Switch drive and idle side blade wheel belts
Periodically swap the drive and idle side blade wheel belts and replace as they flatten and wear. This also keeps the blade from riding up against the flange.
TIP 7: Check the blade guide arm
The sliding blade guide arm should be tight and provide the same amount of flange clearance while it’s all the way in or opened. This provides blade stability in the cut.
TIP 8: Use proper blade tension
Sufficient blade tension is essential in sawing frozen wood. Tend to use higher tension if possible and use a blade strain gauge which provides actual tension in blades per square inch (psi).
TIP 9: Monitor drive belt tension
Do not over or under tension the engine drive belts. Keep them snug and not loose.
TIP 10: Change hydraulic fluid
If your cold weather sawing keeps you in a temperature range that stays below 60º F, we recommend running Mobil Aero HFA hydraulic fluid. This will give you faster hydraulics and be less demanding on the electrical system of your mill when sawing during colder temperatures. When temperatures begin to reach 60º F and above, we recommend changing back to all-weather fluid.
Editor’s Note: Wood-Mizer offers a full line of saws and bandsaw blades and blade services. For more information, visit https://woodmizer.com/us or call 800-553-0182.
