Hi Bill, first let me say that blades sometimes just break. There is a lot of info. online how to adjust manual mills.I tension mine so at the middle of the blade I can move it up, and down 1/8’‘to 3/16’’. On the wheels you want all your teeth riding off the wheels. if set back to far it will take the set out of the blade. If you find a similar mill from a different co. they usually have a manual online. I use the manual from Woodland mills out of Canada. Hope this helps.
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Are you saying If the set is off the teeth that rides on the wheel the top of the blade will be more aggressive and cause the blade to drift up?
No, on the drive wheels, the blade has to be adjusted so the teeth hang off the wheels, if not the tension will flatten the set out of it. There is several things that cause blades to rise or dive; not enough tension, dull, knots, moving to fast,or guide bearings or blocks out of adjustment. Always let the tension off after sawing so it is loose enough to allow to shrink back.
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Well Bill, that is a big can of worms you just opened !
Does it push easy and sing a nice note? My WILD guess is that the blade needs sharpened and set.
Does it track well, doesn’t touch the back rollers until it’s in a cut. Or maybe the crack started in the back, dull.
I would not bother welding it because chances are it has more cracks.
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Thanks for chiming in Al.
This sawmill is built where parts can be replaced from off the shelf of a hardware store. The wheels are pulleys with a vee belt set in them. I am careful to make sure the teeth are riding off the belt. Thanks for the tension setting tip. I’m assuming you mean with the rollers as far apart as they can be set? The rollers have a lager set behind them to prevent the blade from getting pushed back. Could that rear roller be the culprit because it’s not perpendicular?
Also glad to hear from you @Jeff.
I’ve seen setting the teeth before. I still don’t understand what it means.
How frequent do blades need to be changed or sharpened typically?
Bill, My rollers do not adjust, so yes I would open as wide as possible to set tension. As Jeff said; the back rollers should not touch back of blade until in the cut, I set mine with a folded piece of paper, about 1mm. I think if back bearings are worn they could influence the cut.
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Good morning Mr. Bill.
My mill is homemade and comparing it with yours may be like trying to compare apples to oranges but I will try to help.
When I first started operating my mill I had a couple blades to break but for the last 20 years I can’t remember having any break . My blade runs on small spare car tires with about 50 psi air in them . I think my blade may be not as tight as most mills where the blade runs on a solid pulley. The way I test the tension on the blades is pluck it like a guitar string and listen for the right tune .
If the set is too little on the blade teeth they will not cut good even if the teeth are sharp. One way to tell if the set is too little is there will be no saw dust left in the cut . Years ago I would hit the blade with a dab of spray paint . When ever the paint wore off the blade I knew the body of the blade was making contact with the wood and this contact with the wood will drive the blade up or down.
The blade has got to be SHARP . I can’t tell if a blade is shape by looking unless I use a strong magnifying glass. The way I check them is dragging my finger across the teeth and feeling .
When I sharpen the teeth I do it slow to avoid heating the tooth and loosing the temper .
Edit If you will get on Cook’s saw mailing list you will receive a catalog every couple months that has a lot of good sawing tips.
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I like to sharpen from 300 to 500 bf, about. It depends. Set, one bent left, one straight and one bent right, repeat. About 0.025".
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Great tips Wayne! Thank you
I do have sawdust left if the cut. I will try the spray paint method either way.
I am now signed up on Cook’s sawmill mailing list.
If you have plenty of saw dust in the cut you have enough set in the teeth.
To see if you might have a dull blade you might compare it to one that you know is sharp. Drag a peace of news paper along the teeth very lightly. The sharp teeth should grab where the dull teeth will slide past without grabbing.
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How long does it take to sharpen and set your blades Jeff? Do you have a sharpener and a tooth setter? If so, what brand?
Hi Bill, Cook brand setter and sharpener. Time, it depends. Setting, maybe 20 min. Sharpening maybe 25 min. Not counting time to take off and on the mill. I want to upgrade to their double setter. Even a new blade may not be as sharp as you would like. You may want to lower the hook angle.
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Bill,
As with woodgas, there is the other 75% for sawmilling. In my experience, a correctly sharpened and set saw blade is the key. Everything else is secondary to a nice sharp blade, but important none the less. All things Wayne, Al, and Jeff said is solid advise for sure. The only way to overcome the learning curve on any sawmill is to keep on sawing!
Bryan
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Bill, I got in this late so there’s not much more to say except maybe this. I often get “upward drift” when I am using a dull blade and hit a knot or change in the grain. A dull blade will more quickly follow or be steered by the grain if it’s not sharp enough to cut through it. Cutting this way always ends up with wavy wood and is very slow and when pushed a little bit too far will break blades. That’s the only time I break blades unless I hit something in the log like a railroad spike or something like that…
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Wonderful.
Inspiring. And oh-so real.
I do hope new member Matthew72chevy is seeing this.
Thanks for the porn-peek
tree-farmer Steve unruh
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Wow!! Can you get your entire rebak system with conveyors and trailer in one picture.?? You have made that system so efficient, that you won’t be able to hide in the basement by the furnace chopping chunks. You do nice work.TomC
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Ha! I see you jumped on alder!
Whats the wooden thing in pic1 on top of the tractor?
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Kristijan, it’s a mix of gray alder, sallow, mountain ash and birch. The top two chunks in my hand is our gray alder. Turns red just minutes after the surgery. When dry they get pale again. Very bulky. If I run 100% I get only 60% of the distance 
Rich clean gas though. Almost no tar in gray alder.
I call it my skylift Convinient around the house doing painting, gutter cleaning and tree trimming.
Also it serves as a roof and an equipment box reachable from the drivers seat.
The homemade conveyor is stored away until spring. It’s for firewood only. It’s has a flat belt and the roundies I produce with the rebak would probably just roll back to where they came from.
I just put the rebak on top of the trailer and let it sprinkle the chunks. That way I don’t have to shovel them from the ground.
This video is from last year.
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That video did it. I thought the equipment in the the trailer was the end of a conveyor. I see now it IS the rebaker. TomC ( I guess the conveyor wears blue pants and jacket and a cap )
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