Goin to Michigan Ag to See a LT15

[tim1234]

Still a sawmill wannabe.  Trying to put together a long term plan.  Everyone says an LT15 is a good starter mill and better than the LT10.  Well I'll get a chance to see it in action on Thursday.  Maybe the boys at Woodmizer will let me run the mill a bit. 

I'm looking forward to actually being able to try it out.  One step closer.....

Tim

[WDH]

I love my LT 15.  I have sawn about 25,000 bd-ft of hardwood (for my own use).  If you are not planning to go into commercial sawing, you can't beat it.  If I was buying new, now, I would go with the 25 Hp version.  My 15 Hp version has served me well for my purposes.  For someone who wants to saw for their own projects, either a house or a barn or for furniture, the LT 15 is hard to beat.  If you don't believe that, just read this Forum and see how many members have used the LT 15 to produce incredible results.

If you want to be a commercial sawyer, you will need something bigger.   

[tim1234]

Not planning to mill commercially, but in the future who knows.  Would love to get out of the auto industry and retire to manage my own woodlot.  Right now in the city I would need something small.  I just wish the LT15 could store like the LT10.  That's one of the questions I've got for the WM guys.

Tim

[Bibbyman]

If you're going to be an urban sawyer, don't overlook the electric motor option on the LT15.  It's also available in a 10hp single or 3ph.  It could be setup behind the garage or under the back deck and not bother the neighbors one bit. It could be setup and run inside a building without the fumes and noise of an engine.

It may take a little more time to dismantle but the LT15 would store in about the same space as a riding lawnmower.

Have fun running that LT15.  I've helped Wood-Mizer at a number of local shows and they've allways invited people to run the LT15.  Here are a couple of my favorite photos.



This lady bought this LT15 at a show.  She was so pleased at how easy it was to run. You could see the "think bubble" over her head saying, "Now I'm going to have to rearrange the furniture and change the curtains.".   



Here is a young fellow running one at a show in Springfield, MO.  Arky is in the picture on the left.

[Kelvin]

I don't know if you saw the latest issue of the woodmizer mag, but they ere using an LT-15 with bed extensions that allowed them to put the lumber that needed to be edged behind the saw head as they cut.  After they were done with the log itself they simply lifted the sawhead up, backed up to the to do the edging.  Said they beat a bunch of the bigger mills with the system which requires only a little extra $ in extensions, but saves your back a ton, by not handleing the heavy green lumber so much.  I would consider this absoultely if i choose to downgrade my LT-40 to pay some bills.  Electric is the way to go.  Much more torque and a million other reasons.  Maticnance, stinky, you name it.
Good luck,
kelvin

[WDH]

Dodgy Loner, you need to heed Kelvins's advice about the extra bed sections on the LT 15 and the ease of edging on one end while sawing on the other :.  (I need to heed it too  :-\).

[Dodgy Loner]

That's a pretty slick trick, Kelvin.  Sounds like it'd save a bunch of time and energy.  I will definitely have to get some extra tracks when I finally get an LT15.

[Dave Shepard]

I didn't know the LT15 was offered with an electric motor. That would be awesome for a crowded neighborhood. It would make less noise than a weedeater!


Dave

[tim1234]

I guess "less" noise is relative.  My neighbors have been pretty paitent with me over the years.  Nail guns, circular saws etc.  Last weekend I moved my portable planner outside to skip plane a bunch of white oak.  Thats not even close to quiet!!

Wood the mill be as loud as the planner?

Tim

[Haytrader]

Not if the planer has straight blades and the mill is electric.

[Jeff]

No, I doubt it, the saw aint near as loud.

There is only one machine that has ever been complained about in this neighborhood in 25 years and that was a planer. The guy on the opposite side of the street on the backside of my block decided he was going to make all his own oak furniture a couple summers ago.  He only had the weekends to do it. Every weekend morning starting BEFORE 8 oclock for a month, he would start that fool planer.  He had it in his garage. He would open the garage door, whcih happened to face directly at our bedroom window, and go at it. After about 3 weekends I had enough, and drove over there with a recording made on my digital camera.  I asked him why he opened the door to the garage. He said because it made it quieter in there when he was running the planer.  I proceeded to tell him where his escaped sound was going.  Turns out I was the neighborhood hero after that for awhile as others were ready to kill him.

[tim1234]

OK, I've got to vent.

I took a vacation day to go to the Michigan Ag Expo to see this LT15 today.  I called WM last week to verify they would have the mill there and would be sawing to the close of the Expo today at 3:00pm.  WM confirmed they would have a LT15 and would be sawing to the end.

So I get my kids up early today, pile them in the car.  Drive about 2 hours (with the Micky D's stop) and get to the expo.  We sit throught the 1/2 hour bee keeping class that my wife wanted to see.  Then we head to the WM booth.....Wait, where's the LT15???  Only the LT40?? 

So I walk up to the booth and ask -- where's the LT15.  Oh we sold it yesterday!  Sorry.  You can call our 800 number and get the location of a close owner to get a demo.  What do you do when a customer starts waving $1000 bills in your face.  He took a vacation day too.  Oh yes @$@!#% your later customers who also take a day off to see the mill you ensured would be there. 

I understand the pressure of a sale, but they could have offered to deliver the unit to the customer right after the show.  I was really dissappointed (I'm trying to be nice).  I can't say I'm a very satisfied potential future customer.

The only good point is I ran into the Sawyer I've used in the past and he just bought a LT15.  He offered to let me come by and try it out.  I really appreciated that.  He also did give WM an unsolicited ataboy for their mills.

Not a stellar example of the raved about WM customer service though.

Tim

[Bibbyman]

It's common for them to sell their demo mills at the shows.  But I don't remember a time when they have let the mill go until after the show was over.  At the larger shows they usually have a couple of LT15's "in the box" just for such cases.

[Kelvin]

Rats, i was just getting on to post to tell you they didn't have anything there!  What a sucky display.  THey sure don't care about us up here. The absolutely only thing in the booth was an LT-40 25 gas engine.  Nothing else.  No sharpeners, setters, blades, mills, stuff.  anything.  What dorks.  Why even show up?  They probably just get some local yokal to drag his mill over and cut a couple of boards.  What a time.  I was mad i drove over there and i was 15 mins away.  Imagine if i was further.  i was hoping to see the saw dust burner.  I guess they don't think farmers want this stuff.  Maybe they go to the home improvement shows. 
Sold it?  I don't think so.  If they had, they wouldn't have let it go before the whole show.  They probably never brought it based on their "display"  Hudson did much better bringing their forestry winches, firewood processors.  Its helpful to see the stuff.  I guess they are too busy with their 25 year circus.
Rats.  Wanted to see some new stuff.
KP

[Jeff]

Kelvin, that post was simply mean spirited. "Dorks"? "Circus?"  You know better then to post that way. Sure, you may be disappointed but lets remember where you are and the fact that wood-mizer amongst a few others are responsible for you to be able to post here at all. I know you have used this forum to your advantage in the past. Think about that positive when you want to be so blatantly and over the top negative. 

You have the right to voice disprovable. Absolutely. But you dont have the right to flame a sponsor to that degree.

[Jeff]

In addition, Tim, I could not find one bit of fault in your post. I think you expressed your disappointment in a very fair way. Sometimes members as well as sponsors need a wakeup call. I guess one of each may be getting one with this thread.

Sorry you didn't get to see the mill you went to look at.  Come up to the pigroast on the 4th and you can look at my 21 year old lt30. ;)


You too Kelvin. ;) And bring yer frog.

[Bibbyman]

You can please some people every time.  You can please all the people some of the time.  But you can't please everyone every time. 

Wood-Mizer puts on hundreds of demos all over North-America.  I don't see how they keep up with who's going where and with what.  This year is even more complicated with the 25'th Anniversary Tour going on.



Mary and I have been involved in helping them with one show each fall in our area for more years than I can remember.  I can give you an idea of how it all goes down.

Usually the putting on of a demo/show involves the regional office, the home office and a local contact.  The home office will send out the tent, mills, blades, equipment, and people as they feel appropriate for the size and nature of the show.  The regional office will bring at least one mill and his service truck.  The local contact (that'd be us) will bring logs, cookies and a lot of talking.

We'll get a call a week or so before the show to get all the "who, what, when" stuff answered.

Everyone shows up the day before the show.  It's an eight hour drive in a ton slide-back truck loaded with equipment and pulling a mill,  for the guys from the home office.  It's about a six hour drive for the local WM guy driving a service truck pulling a mill.

Then it takes a couple of hours to setup the tent, the mills, and stage the logs.  Everyone is scrambling to get electric hookups, use of fork lifts, etc. 

By the time they get supper and checked into the motel it's been a 16 hour day for the Wood-Mizer guys.

On show days they get there about an hour ahead of the opening of the show to get things fired up and stuff set out ready.  The show goes on and it's always after dark before it's over and things have stowed for the night.

Because we only have a ton truck, we can only haul enough logs for one day's demo.   So each morning I'm up and out before sunup to unload the lumber from the day before and load logs for the show that day.  But at least we get to come home every evening.  These guys can only make a phone call to see if everyone's OK back home.

The last day of the show has the added task of taking down the tent and cleaning up the show area of slabs, sawdust, etc.  It'll be well after dark when the WM guys start on their trip home.  They'll get there in the small hours of the morning.

Add to that,  the WM guys usually make service calls before and after the shows.  And if they sell a mill,  and they usually do,  they also deliver it and do training.

I've got to know quite a few of these good men and women over the years – including those from Baker and other people in the forestry equipment business and I have a lot of respect for the job they do.  Even the small part we play once a year is exhausting.

[Pedalbiker]

I have to add my name to list of disappointed attendees at ag expo who wanted to see the LT15 this week. 

What especially  disappoints me is that woodmizer HQ isn't much further from where the show was than most of us drove to see it.  If they sold the LT15, they have someone bring another one. 

At a farm show especially they are much more likely to generate interest in a mill for around $5000 than one over $25000, that is something the marketing dept needs to consider.

[treetech]

I have to add my two cents worth.

I have bought many things in the past but I would have to say I was never treated more fairly, or consistantly, than I was with the Woodmizer staff in both Canada East and the US. They always went the extra mile to make sure my questions were answered promptly and correctly and I was back up and running ASAP. They know their equipment inside out and can solve almost any problem over the phone. I sold my LT 40 HD almost ten years ago and when I bought a used LT 15 head last year to try to make another mill, I called Woodmizer with questions and although it had been a long time since I had spoken to anyone there, #1. they remembered me, #2. still had my info on file, #3 answered all of my questions, #4. sent me info in the mail at their cost, #5. saved me a lot of money by explaining how to do some modifications. No company can be 100% all the time, but I would have to say, in my experience, Woodmizer is a heck of a lot closer to it than most. Hats off to you guys and keep up the good work!

[MartyParsons]

Hello,
We do many shows for Wood-Mizer in our area. We do our best to take as much Wood-Mizer product as possible. Dont forget the Log-Rite's also! We usually take 2 pick-up trucks and a Surburban. The other equipment like sharpners etc. is hard to ship and would could be damaged by weather etc. If there is something you need in the blade, parts, accessories etc. we would be glad to bring it along put your name on it etc. I am not sure of the issue at the Michigan show, I will get the word out that you were expecting more from their display.
Before every show my wife and I get together and talk about what should we take.  ??? Somtimes it is hard, I like to run the LT70, Lisa likes the Super Remote. We always take the LT15 and it is usually sold at the show. They are a great little mill. When it sells we are always pressured about who might come from a distance and want to see it. So we try our best to hold it to the end of the show. Somtimes the customer wins and it leaves before the show ends.  :( It is very uncomfortable for us and the interested customer. We also get involved in decisions on when to pack up and head home on the last day of the show. We have loaded the LT15 up on the truck and then removed it at the last min just to show a interested customer how great it works.
If you are realy wanting a mill and want to pick it up at a show, put a small deposit on the mill before the show. The deposit is always refundable. Wood-Mizer even gives you a 30 Day approval time. If you dont think the mill performes you get every penny back.
Thanks!
Marty

[tim1234]

I don't want to turn this into a bash session.  My point was in this case is that I recieved an invite postcard from WM in the mail to come see their product at this show.  I called to verify the mill would be there.  Then I get there and it is not.  I was really looking forward to seeing and maybe trying out the mill.  

Anyway what's done is done.  I'll post some pics of some of the other stuff we saw including some pics of the kids sitting in the skid steers and some of the antique tractors in another post.

Tim

[Haytrader]

tim,

Sounds like you did everything right by calling ahead and confirming the mill you wanted to see would be at the show. What a bummer to get there and that not be the case.
When you are in the "looking" and "comparing" phase, isn't it asking a little to much for a deposit, just to insure the mill you would like to see will be there?

[MartyParsons]

Yes your are correct, the deposit is after you have compared and made a decision on which manufacture you decide on. I am sorry.
Marty

[WDH]

About 6 years ago, I went to the Georgia National Fair in October, and of course I had to go see the sawmills.  I watched the demo on the LT 40 and saw the LT 15 in the back outside of the tent.  I asked if I could come thru the ropes and look at it.  Of course as I was looking at it, the Woodmizer rep asked me if I wanted to cut a few boards.  I had never operated a sawmill before, and was a little shy with all the people watching, but he cranked up the mill and showed me how to operate it.  I was a goner as soon as I cut the first board.  I started asking all sorts of questions, he said that if I wanted to buy it, to come back on Sunday (8 days later) at the end of the fair.  He said be there by 6:00 p.m.  Well I pondered all week, and sure enough, at 6:00 on Sunday, there I was.

We loaded the mill in the back of my long bed Ford F-150, they threw in a free box of blades, and I was making sawdust the next afternoon .

The good thing about buying it at the demo was that there was no shipping I had to pay, the mill was all set up and tuned by the experts, and it was only a 12 mile drive back home.

Tim1234, I am sorry that you did not get to see the mill operate.  However, don't give up on it.  If you think that you want one, a good way is to buy the demo model because it is all set up and ready to go.  Just add gas............Just let them know that you want it so they don't sell it to somebody else.  Also, that way, they don't have to haul it back ;D.

[Corley5]

Dad, Zach and I were there on Wed and we didn't even look at the Woodmizers  ;) ;D   I'd have been dissappointed in your situation too