I wanted to share the low down on this sawmill blade wiper, and will it work?
I built the one shown below for my TimberKing 2220 sawmill several years ago, and it works great. Since then, I’ve made some changes to my first design, to make them better and strictly my own personal design. The reason for this is simple…there are others with similar designs as my first one, and this new design of mine has my own twist on it…(one piece design) and isn’t a copycat of someone else’s version, like Woodmizer, or other individuals.
So why does this work so well, and why is it needed? Sawmill/Bandmill blades are moving very fast and get sticky and dirty from sawdust and from saps and resins in the logs that we are milling. To keep the sawmill blades clean and working properly, it is a must to have these wipers in place to prevent blade damage and failure.
Other company’s like Woodmizer have saw blade wiper blocks in place, so I’m a believer that all sawmills should have something like this as well.
Some folks have similar designs as mine, but if you want to be critical, then notice mine are rounded (and not square)…and bolt much differently that others, and I don’t use foam pads. I prefer the orange scotch brite pads for ultimate cleaning action, and way longer life than the cheaper foam. For over 25 years in my collision center we used scotch brite of many different colors. Different colors are different grit action. These orange pads as shown here are some of the best for the cleaning they give to our saw blades. This has added many hours of use out of each blade/band I use on my sawmill.
What Is The Best Fluids For The Blade?
For the absolute best cleaning action, my choice is definitely diesel fuel. Some of my clients do not want the smell or chance of oil stain in their walnut that I mill for them, so I use water, with dawn dish soap or pinesol, which is a good cleaner for the blade and guide rollers. However, anytime we use water, when the sawmill sits for a while, the blade and guide rollers tend to rust. Using diesel fuel eliminates this, and its cleaning and lubricating action is impossible to beat! The cheapest version of diesel fuel is the red farm type diesel, which is considered “off road” for tractors and other equipment. This is much cheaper than the “on road” type.
How Much Diesel Will I Use For Sawmill Blade Lube?
Without the LubeKing system like I have on my sawmill, you will go through a great deal of diesel, or other types of blade lubes. However, using a system like mine, it eliminates at least 50%, and for me it’s been more like 75% of the waste I was witnessing. It came from not walking up to shut off my Manuel valve when not sawing, and just forgetting to shut off the tank valve when I was done milling for the day. Then the next day my tank was empty. With this system shown here, when I turn on my blade the diesel or other lube of choice is on and when I turn the blade off, my lubes shut off automatically. No more waste! 🙂
If you need a complete system for your sawmill, then call or message me right away, and if I don’t have one ready to go, then I can build one for you, and your sawmill. These will work on any sawmill/bandmill, and not solely for TimberKing mills. These system can be purchased in any form, whether it be the most basic, or the totally complete system.
For more information, visit the page on this website marked TimberKing Automated Blade Water System.
Always do your best,
-Mike Pilcher
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