Fun with the MM20, Part I

[Chris Padilla]

Rob Littleton came over this morning to resaw (he says, "resarw") some fireplace logs he got from his neighbor's tree. He said it was a pepper tree. Seems to be a hardwood (deciduous) but I dunno for sure.

The MM20 handled these logs with no problems but they were pretty green and the blade sure got gunked up by the time we were done. I gotta scrub it later on.

Rob plans to slather the ends with some paint and then let them dry out in the warm Arizona sun (he is moving out there). He hopes to get some pen blanks of this wood. We'll see how it goes...should be interesting.

This was good practice for some 10/4 maple boards (10 footers) I have coming next weekend. I'll use a nicer blade for that stuff! :D

Great seeing you again, Rob...don't be a stranger when you come back to the Bay Area!

[Dick Parr]

Looks like you had some fun Chris. Good days work there.

[Jim Becker]

Ah, yes...nothing like making a little sawdust. But you should have made Rob take off his hat. We're missing the "shine"...hee hee

[Dennis Peacock]

Nice going Chris with the MM saw.!!!! One thing to remember while cutting green wood without the correct blade on the saw designed for green wood is that the moisture can cause the dust to expand, heat the blade and cause binding during the cut....BUT...looks like you have it all under control.

Nicely done sir.!!!!

[Jim Becker]

Dennis is correct...the right blade is essential for cutting wet wood. For example, the Timberwolf AS blade is made specifically for this kind of task. More information at http://www.suffolkmachinery.com

[Chris Padilla]

I knew that I didn't have a correct blade for cutting green wood but to be honest, I didn't expect to be cutting green wood! :rolleyes:

The blade on there was a 1" wide 3 or 4 tpi that came with the saw and I already purchased several from Suffolk but I didn't want to "dirty" them up with the green wood (only the best for Rob's wood! ;) ).

I'll just coil it up, soak it in simple green, and it should be okay me thinks. We all have/need a blade for low-grade work now and then...this one will officially be my low-grade blade. :D

It actually cut quite nicely near as I could tell being a newbie and all. The thickness was maintained even with the funny ridges, bumps, bark, and all kinds of crap spraying everywhere. It was good experience.

[Rob Russell]

A couple of tips on resawing:


Coat the ends of the log before you resaw. It's a lot easier than doing each board individually afterwards. DAMHIKT.
Label the wood. Write on the end what species it is, what the grain pattern is, etc - flatsawn, riftsawn, quartersawn, curly, clear, knotty, etc.. It's a whole lot easier to go digging for boards when you can see that the "RO-RS Clear" ones are in stack #1 and that the "RO-FS knotty" ones are on top of them. A permanent marker will write on coated boards.

Rob

[Earl Kelly]

Chris, I hope you will post some pics of some BIG curvy pieces before too long. That saw just begs to have some big cherry or walnut run through it.

[Steven Wilson]

Fun isn't it? Ummm, hook up a dust collector before doing that again and make sure that you thoroughly clean the saw unless you like rust!

[Chris Padilla]

Thanks, Rob...makes sense.

Earl, I hope to be doing that real soon. I have some 10/4 maple coming next Sunday...not sure exactly when I'll get to resawing it into 3/4-4/4".

Steve, thanks for the warning! I hadn't thought about all that water being flung around...I'll get to it straight away! :)

[Mark Singer]

Chris,
I don't know if you looked at the Lenox Tri Master with varible pitch....it is a real winner! It is about $100 but will outlast many regular blades...leaves a smooth cut. Mine is a 1" and I never change the blade.

[Chris Padilla]

Mark,

Is that a carbide blade? Seems a tad cheap to not be...tell me more about it.

[Mark Singer]

Chris,
It is a variable pitch...the tooth spacing changes along the length of the blade. It is carbide tipped ....so it lasts a long time. I have the 1" version. I still have my first one and it is like new! I would have gone through a lot of Timberwolf blades by now. The best thing is it cuts very smooth, almost like a tablesaw. It does not seem to have it own perfered "line" like most blades. Instead it cuts square with the fence...and I don't have to skew the fence to get a consistent resaw. I have a few other blades for my Aggazani 20...but I never seem to change them...I just keep the Lennox in all the time. It is great for ripping or resaw or cutting small parts. I have a Jet 14" Bandsaw with a 3/16" Timberwolf blade for any curves or scrolling . Several members at SMC have it. I think Alan Turner and Bob Marino also use the blade. Eagle Tools in Altadena carries it. Talk to Jesse there. He is a MM dealer as well as Agg and will know your size and could reccomend the right blade. It never binds or leaves burn marks. Starrett makes an almost identical blade and it is just as good from what I here....I know you like that company. Jesse carries the Starrett also.

[Rich Konopka]

Rob Littleton came over this morning to resaw (he says, "resarw") some fireplace logs he got from his neighbor's tree. He said it was a pepper tree. Seems to be a hardwood (deciduous) but I dunno for sure.

The MM20 handled these logs with no problems but they were pretty green and the blade sure got gunked up by the time we were done. I gotta scrub it later on.

Rob plans to slather the ends with some paint and then let them dry out in the warm Arizona sun (he is moving out there). He hopes to get some pen blanks of this wood. We'll see how it goes...should be interesting.

This was good practice for some 10/4 maple boards (10 footers) I have coming next weekend. I'll use a nicer blade for that stuff! :D

Great seeing you again, Rob...don't be a stranger when you come back to the Bay Area!
It looks like you got the pile of wood on the tail gate load balanced and mirrored :D

[Jim Becker]

I don't know if you looked at the Lenox Tri Master with varible pitch....it is a real winner! It is about $100 but will outlast many regular blades...leaves a smooth cut. Mine is a 1" and I never change the blade.
Mark, Chris will have one very shortly from MM...I already have one for my MM. But it's not the best blade for wet wood. For dry wood, however, it leaves a silky smooth cut that's better than many table saws.

[Mark Singer]

Jim,
Is yours the starrett or the lenox Trimaster? Are the teeth carbide and variable pitch? It is a great blade! I only use it for dry wood. Mark Duginske uses the same and recommended it to me....he was right.

[Jim Becker]

Lennox. Variable Pitch. Carbide Tipped. Awesome. Worth every penny. But like anything, it's not the right tool for every job!

[Michael Perata]

Since I referred Chris to MM for his new J/P, MM sent me a Lenox Tri-Master Standard Positive 1" carbide blade. Wow!

Retail the blade would be about $140, but it should last many times longer than the TW's I have hanging on the wall, and what a cut.

Chris - hook your DC up real soon. It is amazing where you'll find the sawdust if you don't.

[Chris Padilla]

Cool...so I guess I have one coming, Mark! I ordered a "carbide Lenox" blade through MiniMax but I didn't really know much about it and they gave me a good price...should be here along with my mobility kit some time this week.

For the MM20, it takes a 168" blade and so the price from MiniMax was $195 but they gave it to me for $145...works for me! :)

Ah, the DC, Michael...well, once I get the bloody thing together but first, I need to remodel the garage so I have a place to stick it. In fact, I could probably use some of your wisdom in my garage remodel so if you have some time in the next couple of weeks, please pop on in! :)

[Mark Singer]

Chris,
Mine may have been about the same $150 price...its been a while and it was part of my total deal with the bandsaw...I think my blade is 161". You can use a bit less tension. The tension is not a big factor with the Trimaster. If you haven't sold your small bandsaw and you have room , keep it for curves and scrolls...it is rally nice not to change blades.

[Alan Turner]

I second Mark's suggestion about keeping a scroller handy. I sold my Delta 14" when I got my Aggi, and really missed it since changing blades is a PITA. The 1" Lennox carbide lives on my Aggi. I think it was $170.
But, I then stumbled onto a PM 141 (14") and I love having both. Becuae I run carter guides on the big guy, it is especially time comsuming to change the blade from a 1", (which uses 2 bearing per side) to a smaller blade, with 1 bearing per side.
Use the DC! (Just a thought.)
Alan

[Jim Becker]

I would have liked to keep my 14" saw when I bought the MM16, but space demands in my shop did not allow for it. Fortunately, I don't do a lot of scroll work, so it's not been an issue. Should things change in that respect, I'd certainly consider picking up a small machine (probably used) to perform that dedicated task. Having a small machine is definitely good advise if you have the space to keep it!