I got the wheels balanced, and it got much better, do you think I can test now or should I sand the wheels first?
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Good morning Jan.
Looks like the saw is running very smooth 
On one other note . I never get on the front side of my saw or allow anyone to do so while it is running .
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I thought so too, but when it had gone for a while and not moved, I wanted to show what it looked like, but thanks for the tip, there will probably be some protection around it if it works.
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Hello Jan.
On may mill I use the small emergency spare tires from a car. The tires call for about 60 psi of air but I run mine 40 -50 psi.
I put enough tension on the blade that it runs true with no fluttering .
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Hi Jan. On my saw mill I have two arms that extend over the blade to carry the blade guard. Because of the distance between the wheels the blade tended to go up and down a little. Iâm guessing thatâs what Wayne was talking about with fluttering. I screwed a couple of wood blocks under those arms so the blade just barely touches them as it runs. Took out the flutter and also helps clean the rust off the blade when it sits a while. I thought about making blocks that sandwich the blade to help clean both sides but have gotten there yet.
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It worked quite well to saw, however, I thought it was a bit rough surface on the wood, and then I have a problem with the supports for the timber, they get stuck in the guide to the band on the right side, I think I have to move them 2 "to the left.
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Have any of you sawed in partially frozen wood (birch) with a band saw?
I have tested a bit, but it seems to chop in some places, I have to press quite hard, and then it suddenly releases, then it continues in the same way.
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Since all my wood has been dead for a while I have to cut fairly slow regardless and use a lot of water on the blade. I have been having discussions with people about this and they recommend soaking the logs for a while in a trough made by pulling a tarp up around the log and filling it with water. Not the same as your frozen wood question I know.
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I tried today with a birch that was 15 "thick, which I had on the saw bench, it worked quite well if I sawed slowly.
Do not think it was frozen, I sawed off 2 pieces of 4 âor 5â nails, but saw the band did not like it. 
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I found 2 nails today too, will be trying to sharpen the blade again, but it was only 3 â, not 4â as I thought.
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Ouch! I hope you can get it sharp again.
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Hi Jan,
Have cut a fair amount of frozen wood. The issue is ice in the sapwood is different density than unfrozen and/or drier heartwood. If you go slow until the outside is trimmed away it should work much better. Hit lots of metal too. If it was a thin nail it will only dull a few teeth and cause some surging. Reset the blade and sharpen a couple of times and you should be fine again. When I saw you edging the board it seems you have the sawhead facing the wrong way. The blade should be entering on the log clamp side and exiting on the log / board support side. If you can I would turn the mill 180 degrees and start the cut close to the viewer and push it away from the camera.
Buzz
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Thanks Darrell.
I have turned the direction of the engine so it goes in the right direction, I was so curious so I had to try as soon as possible.
Yes, I see that I should drive slowly in frozen wood, I should try to make a simple drive of the saw, I find it difficult to push the saw at a steady speed.
I have saw 4 nails (3/16 "thick) now, so I probably have to try to make a grinder, to get the blade right.
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Hi Jan,
Other hard earned tips are:
1- Start at the top and work toward the butt. More important with auto feed mills but should work with a push mill too.
2- Turn the ugliest side up and get rid of it first.
3- Bandsaws do not love really wide cuts so break down into cants as fast as possible while the blade is sharp.
4- Same as chainsaw, the sharper it is the faster it cuts and the less energy you use.
5- Keep the logs as clean as possible and start cutting into clean wood as soon as possible.
6- Shim up the top between 3/4 inch and 2 inches to correct for taper. Measure from the base to the heart at each end to decide.
7- Soft woods need more set in the blades and hardwoods ( and frozen) less set.
I have a WoodMizer LT 40 hydraulic for my main mill and in the process of getting a Woodland Mills push mill for my remote mill.
Buzz
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Good tips Darrell. I never thought about some of them. Why does it matter which end of the log you start from?
I have a 1600 psi electric power washer that I keep by my the mill to blow the dirt off when I get the log on to the mill. Helps alot.
With as much sawing as I have done I just replace the blades when they get dull. I bought a box of 15 woodmizer blades and still have a few left. I do the same with saw chains. I figure as long as I can get new and I can afford to buy them I mostly set them aside for a time when I canât get them. Prices on the woodmizer blades I use are about 5 bucks a band more than they were when I bought the ones I have. About 20 bucks a piece now in boxes of 10. Iâm sure not everyone looks at it the same way. I donât drink, smoke dope, go out to eat or any other indulgence. I like to indulge myself with new blades. Some people can sharpen chains better than new. I never have.
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All about getting the gullet on a chain and setting your rakers correctly. A lot of gimmicky tools for doing it, few can touch the skilled hands of a certain west coast bc logger on YouTube called buckin Billy Ray smith. Credit also to hotsaws101, he has the touch as well. A friend of mine was taught by his grandfather, a lifetime timber faller and his chains are flat out scary! No matter what saw he chooses to run on a job it will run circles around whatever I am using. He will take a brand new chain out of the box and tune it to his liking before it ever gets installed, he built a custom jig on his work bench just for filing chains and those chains are so hungry, even his big echo 6100 canât pull them. He runs a shorter bar on most saws to allow the power to use the sharpness of the chain. Even his milling chains for his granberg mill are holy crap knarly. I have watched him milling some spalted maple slaps nearly six foot with that echo and it was cutting faster then my Stihl 044 with a big bore kit and a brand new Oregon chain right out of the box cross cutting, itâs fascinating to watch. He touched up my dadâs 029 on a job a while back and my dad went to start cutting and his eyes went wide as dinner plates he turn back to Mike and said " thatâs the fastest this saw has ever cut and I bought it brand new!" Now Mike maintains dadâs chains too 
If you want to hit a rabbit hole full speed, buckin has probably 40 videos on hand filing chain, each video in excess of 30 minutes, you can become a vegetable with all the filing knowledge that man has. From small c vs large c, the working corner, raker maintenance, the boat stroke, gullet forming, square file by hand, file size per chain and wanted results. Endless Iâm telling you
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Hi Tom,
Different saws different techniques. A neighbour had a mobile dimension saw and cut butt first and left the ugly side down as that part was wasted. Same with swing mills. The band is so thin I suspect it stabilizes better entering a narrower cut.
Hi Marcus,
I was head bucker at a west coast dryland sort for 15 years. We wore out a chain or two a week so have hand filed over 1 000 chains. Mostly Oregon and Stihl. Tried carbide impregnated and other gimmicks. Kept going back to basics. Careful about the grit, try not to hit the pavement and file every opportunity. I can file better than out of the box but there were a few guys ( younger and older that had the knack and could file better than I). Most of the fallers nowadays canât handfile as they bring in their chains at the end of the day to get machine ground.
Buzz
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Thanks for all the tips, it is much appreciated.
Yes, keeping things sharp saves a lot of work, I get tired quickly, working with a non-sharp chainsaw.
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I use Stihl chains now on all my saws. Admittedly they are overpriced but I like how they cut and donât stretch much. I have a Husqvarna saw with a 20 inch bar. Admittedly the oiler on it was never right as far as I can tell and I currently have it sitting on the workbench to replace the oiler and lines, but that thing stretched those Husqvarna chains so that they could not be tightened after a very short time. I was machine sharpening those. I think those chains are made by Oregon. Just wondering about various chains.
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