Prolonging Sawmill Bandsaw Blade Life - Band wheels part 1

In this series we hope to go over several ways that will help you prolong the life of your bandsaw blades for your portable sawmill or resaw.
In this part 1 video Stephen Cook gives talks about aspects of band wheels that can effect blade life.
For more tips checkout our many articles online at www.cookssaw.com

[@impactodelsurenterprise2440]

Man you put so much passion in this business it shows in your knowledge.

[@goldenfarms2934]

Great information, thanks. I can't wait to order my very own Cooks sawmill.
Also, Happy Anniversary.

[@salmonhunter7414]

Happy anniversary.

[@adambuxton9019]

Hello, I am currently building a mill of my own and was wondering what size of crown you would advise adding to 30" dia. 3" thick cast steel wheels? (they are ex-carriage wheels I am re-purposing as bandwheels). Thank you.

[@adambuxton9019]

I will likely run 2" blades.

[@tryduck6993]

Does it hurt to turn band blades ? Meaning they come boxed up , take out the box and turn them inside out so you can run them in the other direction when your mill it isn't a left side driven band wheel mill(standing behind the mill).Havent had any issues so far with any blades breaking but haven't used any cooks either. I would hope they run either direction and have no flaws but was curious.

[@CooksSawmills]

Although you may get some blades to run fine when you turn them inside out it is never optimum as blades are never perfectly flat. That is why we would turn that blade inside out and flatten it for your sawmill before it left our shop. Can you get by without doing that? Maybe. It just depends how much 'hump' or 'dish' is in that blade before you turn it inside out.

[@tryduck6993]

Very well then , then next time I place order for blades I will let them know my mill is driven from the right side and not the left so I dont have the keep turning the blades inside out when they arrive.Not really a big issue and haven't had any problems but dont want to create any either...Thanks for the knowledge.

[@oneskypuppy]

Happy owner of an MP32 here. You talk about wheel roundness reducing vibration, which I believe to be true. How do you (we) reduce the sawdust build up on the wheel which causes the same kind of vibration? Thanks, Scott Webb Cresco, IA

[@CooksSawmills]

Make sure your felt/lube system is getting enough lubrication, and that the felt is actually making contact with the blade. These two things will prevent heavy build up in most cases. Also the lubricant you use will make a difference - diesel fuel is best.
However, if you still find you are having issues shoot us an email at [e-mail] and I'll send you some additional ideas.

[@oneskypuppy]

Thanks, am using diesel. Will turn it up a bit.

[@CooksSawmills]

If that doesn't fix it for you just let us know.