New Lionel Operating Sawmill with Sounds -Issues and Fixes

Thanks for posting the video.  I will have to check mine to see if it has the same problem.

Neal Jeter

Nicely done Sean !

Thanks

Dave

I like the sound effects. It would be great to be able to add the sounds to the older saw mills. 

Mine was doing those same things when I first tried it out of the box. Then set it up on the layout and ran it a while every now and then. Then it started working like it is suppose to. Just went down and it ran perfect and the blade turns like it is suppose to.  The only thing I had to do was run a ground plane wire near the sawmill when I  first  put it on the layout as it wouldn't turn off with the cab2.  After put the wire down it started turning on and off with the cab2. The dark boards that come with the  new sawmill are just a hair wider and thicker than the plain boards that came with the sawmill from the 90's. The plain boards will work in the new sawmill but the stained boards  seem to work a little better.  If it starts acting up I know how to fix it now. Thank you Sean.

on the plate, beside bending,  what about adding a piece between the gap, with a curve on it,

Nice trouble shooting. Job well done.

Rod Miller 

Agree. Sean does an excellent job of diagnosing and fixing problems. Best of all he shows us so clearly how we can do it. His tutorial on Fastrack switches saved me much frustration. 

Great recap Sean. Based on another post you made about this sawmill you also had problems with the power connector and the fact that it was missing the plug-n-play adapter as well.

In the video you talked in the beginning about an issue with the "simulated" saw blade. Is that issue just related to the fact that it gets stuck when the belt gets stuck?

Thanks, Mike

AtoZ Lewis posted:

Great recap Sean. Based on another post you made about this sawmill you also had problems with the power connector and the fact that it was missing the plug-n-play adapter as well.

In the video you talked in the beginning about an issue with the "simulated" saw blade. Is that issue just related to the fact that it gets stuck when the belt gets stuck?

Thanks, Mike

 

The saw blade is because they basically drilled a hole in the plastic wall and stuck a shaft through it that has a molded pulley on one end and then the blade is held on the shaft by a screw on the other end.  The issue is the huge amount of slop between the hole and the shaft so the tension from the belt actually pulls it crooked and the blade no longer runs parallel to the wall and will rub.  I can't do anything about the sloppy fit but I added a very thin washer between the blade and the shaft and screwed it back on (be careful its just pretty soft plastic so don't over tighten screw). That way the blade is just a hair farther away from wall and does not rub and so won't stall or jerk as its turning.

Sean, You are right mine has the same issues and is on its way back to Lionel since it jammed and the belt got chewed up. Brittany told me if they don't have parts they will send me a new one, but at least I now know how to fix it myself thanks to you. I hope Lionel sees this thread.

riki posted:

on the plate, beside bending,  what about adding a piece between the gap, with a curve on it,

That would be overkill.  A simple little bend of the two ends of those punch outs and its all fixed.