Thread: slabber sprocket ?

I'd be thinking twice about putting a 3/8" chain on the Lucas Slabber. Don't think a 3/8" chain would be up to the task on the long bar and the powerhead.

Aside from that, the inner splines on the sprocket from Lucas are different from the run of the mill stuff so an after market or branded one from any of the chainsaw mobs won't fit

I think that the only way you'll fit a 3/8" sprocket is to get the drive plate that you bolt on where the blade goes, manufactured or find one from one of the earlier models which has the normal chainsaw splines.

The lucas sprocket is off a HD harvester system & the smallest size is for 404" chain, as well you would have to fit a new 3/8" sprocket nose or new bar with correct sprocket nose. Lucas have now a new 14 tooth drive for slabbers which is an increase of 16% in chain speed over the 12 tooth standard, which increases cutting speed.
The 3/8" chain possibility has all been looked into by lucas in depth
regards inter

have you looked at this?
http://www.danzcoinc.com/html/pin_drive_sprockets.html

thanks bob email sent.

replacing teh bar is no problem.

Out of interest Carl, what type off bar are you planning on mounting?

Unless you get a wider and heavier bar, you'll need to tension the bar to stop it sagging and trust me it will sag even after you've taken up the slack with the tension bolt on the Lucas frame.

Measure the thickness of your Lucas bar and then measure any of your chainsaw bars to see the difference.

We use a 8 footer GB bar on the slabber at the yard and we have tensioned it by bending it till it was a U shape, let it go and then mounted it in the slabber and then we use a tension bolt to pull it straight to get straight flat consistent cut.

Originally Posted by DJ's Timber

Unless you get a wider and heavier bar, you'll need to tension the bar to stop it sagging and trust me it will sag even after you've taken up the slack with the tension bolt on the Lucas frame.

Wider doesn't help a cracker. I have a 90 mm wide GB and a 110 mm wide Stihl of the same thickness and they sag by the exact same amount. This makes sense because although the Stihl one is wider is is also proportionately heavier. Thicker will help more than wider because it directly counters the sag but then you have to stay with 404 or bigger. The big GB and Stihl saw bars are only good on 3/8 for about half the cutter length and then they can jam.

Measure the thickness of your Lucas bar and then measure any of your chainsaw bars to see the difference.

yep thats what I said above.

We use a 8 footer GB bar on the slabber at the yard and we have tensioned it by bending it till it was a U shape, let it go and then mounted it in the slabber and then we use a tension bolt to pull it straight to get straight flat consistent cut.

What about using an anti sagging device? As usual mine is over the top, but they can be a lot simpler. Aggiewoodbutcher from Arborisite uses thick plywood hooks as an anti sag device on his 72" bars on his GB mill and they seem to work really well. I can't tension my bar at all otherwise it would tear my mill apart. I worked out I would have to apply about a ton of tension to get to less than 0.01" sag (currently I have 0.09" sag with the 60" bar).

Actually wider does help to a point, as it gives you more laminating area when it's manufactured but as you say the thicker it is the better.

Carl I was under the impression 3/8 chain over the length required for Lucas bars will have too much give and will stretch a large amount.

What is the difference in kerf on 3/8 chain versus .404? even if it's 5mm (for the ease of maths) when doing 50mm slabs you will gain 10%, you need to do more than 10 slabs from one log to be able to recover 1 extra slab from the same log.
If it's 2.5mm, again doing 50mm slabs, you gain 5%, so you need to cut more than 20 slabs to recover 1 extra slab???

its not wasteage that im woried about its cutting speed.

I cut some older, drier bluegum a couple of weeks ago and the slabber was just melting through it - how much faster do you want it to cut Carl?

Originally Posted by weisyboy

its not wasteage that im woried about its cutting speed.

then why'd ya say this....

Originally Posted by weisyboy

i dont like wastign so mutch power and timber with the big chain.

Lucas have now a new 14 tooth drive for slabbers which is an increase of 16% in chain speed over the 12 tooth standard, which increases cutting speed.
regards inter

Inter, you're right about the extra 2 drive teeth, but my model 6 runs the blade at higher rpm versus a model 8 or model 10 (to keep tip speed the same) so in my situation I already have a faster chain speed to Carl's model 8

Originally Posted by Sigidi

I cut some older, drier bluegum a couple of weeks ago and the slabber was just melting through it - how much faster do you want it to cut Carl?

as fast as i can.

just cos its cutting fast dosen't mean that it cant go faster.

its not wasteage that im woried about its cutting speed.

ya got me there. but what i meant to say was power and speed. althow i have more than enough power i have yet to slow the motor even with 2 blokes pushing on the mill.