Thread: moding a lucas to double cut.

here is the only way i can see of doing it.

most of the guards are welded on so i will have to cut them to get them off.

im not sure the reason for the green peice front and back or the reason for the holes in them. these get in the way when ripping posts so i am thinking of removing them anyhow.

so this is the view from teh operator side. i would have to remove the guard at the red line. (the yellow line shows the line of the blade).

i would also have to mod the engine hanger as it sticks down a little to far. that is not a hard thing to do anyhow.

this is from the back side of the blade.

the dust deflector just unbolts but the motor also mounts to it so i would have to make a smaller bracket for it. agian not to hard just a peice of bent sheet metal. and you can again see the hanger here.

and from the front of the mill (non operator side) the other green welded guard and a better view of the motor mount that will need moding.

so ideas/coments/thaughts.

if i do this i should be able to sneak out a 2" step tread undr the motor without to mutch trouble.

Originally Posted by weisyboy

so ideas/coments/thaughts.

Before removing anything give Lucas a call and ask them why the blade guards are welded on.

BLADE GUARDS are there for a reason and Lucas weld them on so you cannot remove them like you can on a Peterson.

You should also ask workcover if it is permissable to remove blade guards so you can use your mill in a different manner from how it was designed. I know workcover is looking into the ease of removal of the blade guards on Peterson as they have spoken with me about it and most likely with Lucas as well. Its a SAFETY matter and they are NOT happy with guard removal of any sort.

You will also find that regulation state that any woodprocessing equipment MUST have blade guards of some sort.

If you want contact numbers for Workcover give me a call and I will point you to the right person.

Pretty much where i was going with mine Carl, but even after doing similar I 'd be shy of a 38mm drop, so wasn't worth the extra buggarising around I thought

now you all know where i stand on work cover.

i would have to put soem other gards on in place of the ones i cut off. i will extend the drop right accross the blade i think.

im sure lucas wont like the idea but thats beside the point.

If you want to keep your legs the guards should stay, they stop short sawn offcuts or quarters being picked up by the top of the blade & being flung back towards the operator at 90m / second.
regards inter

yes i realise that is why they are there.

i would replace tehm with a removable guard. that would be in place 99.99% of the time i cut. but when it comes time to cut step treads i would like to be able to do it easily. and quickly.

you have a peterson inter do u never double cut?

i would also have to mod the engine hanger as it sticks down a little to far. that is not a hard thing to do anyhow.

You do know what that bolt is for don't you?

"im not sure the reason for the green peice front and back or the reason for the holes in them. these get in the way when ripping posts so i am thinking of removing them anyhow."


The reason for my post I think? but I'm not sure now! I do double cut on my lucas but not very often, when I do I suspend the carriage from the roof of the shed & drop the rails down, something the lucas needs is a bench attachment to run timber over the top of the carriage
regards inter

you have a lucas i thught you had a peterson

yes that post was a bit misleading.

a banch saw attachment would be handy i saw one someware.

the long bolt at teh back of the motor if for belt tentioning. that is why i would be modafying it and not taking it away.

I've cut 400 x 50 x6500 boards on a "Lucas clone" by cutting in from both sides (is that what you mean by "double cutting"?) And yes I had to "modify" the guards.....I felt a bit wary about using the machine in that manner.
You also have to allow for the blade slope relative to the X rails. I had to drop the frame by about 10mm (on the 400 wide boards) on the RHS cut otherwise the 2 cuts would not meet. Then raise it again prior to doing the next LHS cut.
Has anybody seen or heard of a blade coming adrift? If so, what failed? Bolts, blade, shaft????
Cheers.
Bill w.

there would be about a 1mm step but you get a step anyway.

Originally Posted by gpigeon

Has anybody seen or heard of a blade coming adrift? If so, what failed? Bolts, blade, shaft????
Cheers.
Bill w.

Bill, I know Peterson have had a death due to the drive hub holding the blade breaking - they used to (don't know if they still do it) have a two piece welded drive hub instead of a single piece machined from solid stock. As for a blade coming off, haven't heard anything, but had some similar trouble myself...

In the early days I had 1 nut come off a bolt and that bolt come out of the hub, plus lost a nut off another bolt, but didn't lose that bolt. So I was running with 3 bolts and two nuts in the hub holding the blade. No problem since then - that was enough of a scare.

Now I torque the blade bolts to '14' on my cordless drill, then nip up the nuts as a check I then go around the hub giving each one a 1/4 turn to make sure I haven't missed one. I also chuck my blade bolts every year or when the hex drive in the head shows any kind of rounding, whichever comes first. I also once had a blade bolt which I stripped the hex drive out and couldn't get the bolt out of the blade, had got 3 bolts out to change the blade and one stuck in the hub still holding a buggered blade. So I change them as soon as the corners in the hex drive begin to wear, don't wanna play games not being able to get a bolt out again

Bill

Last year a miller was killed in South Africa using a Lucasmill when the bolts sheered off leaving the bolt shanks in the hub.

Dont know if it was an operator fault or defective bolts. In SA a lot of thirdparty equipment is fitted to most types of mills. Blades, bolts, etc,etc. If the blade was not fitted correctly but the operator continued to use the mill this could have caused the accident. Could have also been a defective blade.

Its most important to use Original Parts from the manufacture if you wish to keep the manufactures product liability.

I have seen blades come loose on EcoSaw's when using new bolts so recommend checking the bolts after the first cut and replacing the bolts if ANY sign of damage or wear.

We are currently testing a new saftey modification for the blade/boss which when shown to reduce the hazard will be offered to both Lucas and Peterson (FREE) as a safety upgrade. Simple upgrade that can be retro fitted to all the old mills.

Doublecuts - You normally get a ridge due to having the blade set to give clearance for the back (non cutting edge) of the blade. You will find an adjustment on your mill to remove this which will give you totally flat doublecut boards. However to get the best out of your mill you will need to adjust this back and forth depending on single or double cut. Simple to do when your doing it all the time. On the Lucas you will find you need to adjust the blade swing stop. On the EcoSaw its just the handle catch. Dont know about Peterson.