Thread: Water cooling a lucas slabber

i dont see why not so long as you keep everything greesed is should be fine.

I sometimes run a water spray to keep the dust down and have also tried a water line onto the bar. I should use it more often, because it works really well.

any photos, as the dust can be a real killer

Sorry mate, no photos, but it's a very simple thing. I just use a spray nozzle on the hose, with the water turned down, and attach it with cable ties pointing at the exit from the log. Ditto for water cooling, where I just use a similar dripper arrangement as is used for the swinger, but pointing at the entrance to the log. I really should make up a more permanent bracket one of these days.

Yeah, that's ok if you are static, but if you're mobile that's one big hose to carry with you I find I go through a fair bit of oil, but it keeps the chain cold enough to handle without gloves for sharpenings, so I figure that's cold enough?

I thought Lucases came with a water tank and a spray jet built into it? Well at least the one that milled my logs a couple of years back did.

G'day,
I've thought about using water on the slabber {been useing slow gardern hose on saw for a while & I seem to get longer out of the blade between sharpening go through heaps of water & get bloody wet bbbbbut not breathing any dust !!!!. ]

Having just upgraded to a dedicated slabber, just not game to try water [ if I stuffed it the wife would kill me ]

If any one is game I'd be very keen to know the outcome

regards

wayne's wood

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Yeah, that's ok if you are static, but if you're mobile that's one big hose to carry with you I find I go through a fair bit of oil, but it keeps the chain cold enough to handle without gloves for sharpenings, so I figure that's cold enough?

What sort of oil do you use?

Used automatic transmission fluid - from gearbox mechanic. The bonus of this is, it's light oil so can go the distance without gumming up, auto transmissions don't generate the metal particles like engines do, so it's much 'cleaner' than used engine oil and it's free

Originally Posted by BobL

I thought Lucases came with a water tank and a spray jet built into it? Well at least the one that milled my logs a couple of years back did.

For swinging the blade, you have on-board water, but this has to come off to fit a slabber, or if it's the dedicated slabber you don't have one to take off to begin with, the dedicated slabbers don't have one

ttalking to lucas yesterday they said to use light engine oil not bar oil witch is fine by me cos my chainsaws dont even get bar oil.

watter cooling would be fine in a fixed position.

wouldnt it make it harder to clear the chips and swell the timber around the bar.

wew replace a chain after it has cut 32 square feet in hardword and 64Sqr Feet in softwood this way the blade never getts hot and is always sharp, other than a few problem I had running the chain too tight, we have backed off the preasure si the rakers easly clear the groove, and fun 20w50 engine oil at 3/4 of the max flow. using about 500ml every 3-5hrs or every 1/2 if you forget to turn it off,

we wfound good oil sharp chains and no more than 20Kg of force are required to cut slabs, this ensures the chains aren't hot and can be easily handled straignt after finighing a slab..

we run 5-7 chains and sharpen with an $75 evil Bay chain saw bench grinder and an 800W GMC pertol Genny for our power

Originally Posted by weisyboy

wouldnt it make it harder to clear the chips and swell the timber around the bar.

With my design 95% of the water was sprayed from the bar across the chain links and it fell on the ground and very little was left on the bar or chain. The water carries away the heat and keeps the chain and bar very cool.
Despite this I reckon there is a practical window of use for water cooling on a chainsaw mill. If the timber is very hard and you are making lots of powder it can make mud and just makes a mess. if you are cutting big chips it doesn't really help much as as the chain/bar are not that hot.

Somewhere in between those two extremes, it is probably worth doing.

Originally Posted by salty72

wew replace a chain after it has cut 32 square feet in hardword and 64Sqr Feet in softwood this way the blade never getts hot and is always sharp, other than a few problem I had running the chain too tight, we have backed off the preasure si the rakers easly clear the groove, and fun 20w50 engine oil at 3/4 of the max flow. using about 500ml every 3-5hrs or every 1/2 if you forget to turn it off,

we wfound good oil sharp chains and no more than 20Kg of force are required to cut slabs, this ensures the chains aren't hot and can be easily handled straignt after finighing a slab..

we run 5-7 chains and sharpen with an $75 evil Bay chain saw bench grinder and an 800W GMC pertol Genny for our power

This is interesting... 32 square feet, that sounds rather specific/scientific, so if you are cutting a hardwood log which is 3m long and 750mm dia how many slabs do you cut before changing the chain? considering each slab is a different width, do you measure each slab after cutting it, then change the chain when it is 340mm into the third cut of the log?

Originally Posted by salty72

...this way the blade never getts hot and is always sharp,

Another thing which jumps to mind, why do you change a sharp chain?

Salty, Good too hear you've backed your chain tension off and aren't snapping chains anymore - obviously my advice helped you then? but what do you mean by the 'rakers easily clear the groove'? or do you mean the drive links?