Woodmizer Arm Adjustment

Fine-tuning the clamping arms for a Woodmizer bandmill. March 9, 2010

Question
I recently purchased a Wood-Mizer sawmill. I discovered a problem. The arms that come up that you clamp the log against were out of alignment by about a quarter inch. I readjusted. That was with the arms all the way up. However, I have now discovered that when the arms are fairly low or at halfway, when I clamp the log against them they have about an eighth inch give in them. I can grab the arms by hand and wiggle them.

What can I do about this? I can align the arms when they are lower to compensate for how much they move, which allows me to square up smaller logs, but then I'm not able to do bigger logs. (There is no give in the arms when fully extended).

Is it possible that the part that these arms pivot on is worn out? It is a 1993 mill, which could lead to their being loose.

Any help would be appreciated, as I can't seem to get a square cant off all my logs.

Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor B:
My suggestion would be to call the folks at Wood-Mizer; they have always been helpful for me.



From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
I have several clients that have Wood-Mizers and they also indicate that technical assistance with hardware is great.


From contributor Y:
Depending on how many hours there are on the mill and how well it was maintained, there will likely be some wear to quite a bit of wear on your arms (called back supports).

Some movement is normal and can be adjusted so the slack will be taken out of the back supports when clamping pressure is applied. There are two adjustments for the back supports. One will take care of the back supports when in the upright position and the other will take care of the adjustment when lowered. Once these two adjustments are made, the middle of the swing will take care of itself. I generally over adjust – or lean the back support in – just a little so that when the clamping pressure is applied, all the slack is taken out and the back support is vertical. If you have the manual, it should instruct you on the adjustment procedure.



From contributor M:
I also have an LT 40 and my arms are also not aligned very well. I'm glad to hear about the two adjustments. Another solution I've found is to have a large sheet rocker's square by your side and make your first two cuts 180 degrees from each other. Then with your third cut, verify square with the sheet rocker's square off a bed rail. Sometimes you lower the arms below your cut and then raise them a little if you need to square inward towards the bedrail, especially if the clamp has rocked the cant away from the bedrail.