This Weekends Verdict

So, the big question was "how did it go?". It seems that everybody knows the troubles we've had whit this sawmill. So it was no surprise that there was a high level of interest in the outcome of Saturdays mill exchange and subsequent test cutting.

As mentioned in the previous post, the new mill shook although not as bad as the first mill. My guess however, is that with a little use, it would have worked enough flex into the new frame and begun shaking as violently as the old one. One of the bonuses would be that the old mill never worked smoothly with regard to setting the cut height. It took a serious turn of the crank to get the head up, and often the head lodged and wouldn't come down when you cranked the opposite direction. The height adjustment was a definite bonus.

Oddly enough, this one vibrates SIGNIFICANTLY more than the last one did under no load. The other mill was smooth running and low vibration until you put the blade into the log. This one acts like it's trying to come apart when you have it running. The engine shakes kinda back and forth (back goes up and down as if out of balance.)
The band wheels "look" to not spin on their center, but the outer circle is fine, so it's probably just how they balance them.

However, with the addition of the sandwitch plates where the ejection side pillar touches the bottom frame has made it cut w/o shaking off of the tracks. You can kinda feel in the hard spots that it wants to shake, but it just can't with that attached. I need to verify with the manufacturer that this particular solution will solve the problem w/o creating other issues with the mill.

So, in summary, here are some pro/cons for the mill exchange.

Pro: The cut height adjustment works right on the new mill.
Con: The cutting head seems out of balance and vibrates significantly
Pro: The new motor includes an exhaust pipe that we can connect to our indoor exhaust vent hose.
Con: There is still some shake in the fram, although most of it diminishes when the pillar bottom is braced.
Pro: I was able to cut up the logs that had been sitting there waiting for me since november.

Con:Things still arn't right.  Cutting is inconsistant and requires significant tinkering to get a log cut.

Con: The dealer had to drive 20 hours to support a mill we drove 10 hours to get in the first place. Yeah, that's 30 hours of driving. That's 1800 miles of driving to get a partialy working mill...