LT40HD Back Support Kit

[John_Haylow]

I'm thinking of ordering the upgrade kit so I can have all 4 back supports working together. Has anyone installed this kit? Just wondering how big of a job it is and how they find it.I seem to get shorter logs sometimes and thought it would be nice to have.
John

[Bibbyman]

It took me most of a year to get mine installed.  But it was sure worth it!

[John_Haylow]

It took me most of a year to get mine installed.  But it was sure worth it!

Glad to hear your happy with the upgrade Bibbyman. Was it much of a job installing it?
John

[Sunfield Hardwood]

Only took about an hour or so and it was time well spent I would hate to be without it. I;ve heard people say thats the only reason they won;t upgrade to LT50 because the four back support system won't work on that model.

[Dan_Shade]

i tasked a friend to install mine when I was out of town!  It's great to have good friends!

I wouldn't want a saw without it.  it's very handy with shorter logs.

[Dave Shepard]

It took me most of a year to get mine installed.  But it was sure worth it!

:D :D ;)


Dave

[MartyParsons]

We order all of the standard Hydraulic mills with the kit installed from the factory. It should take you about 1.5 hours to get them installed and get the back supports adjusted. The threads are not left hand so you will need to remove the bolt or bolts and adjust to get the support straight up and 90 degree from the bed rails. The Super Hydraulics mills have them on as standard equipment. I think they are working on a thrid support for the LT50 and the LT70 but it is a rumor.
Marty

[DR Buck]

Next to Acuset, its the best Mod I've done to the mill.     8)  8)


  Took me a few hours, but I had the 1st one (other than Bibby's) shipped out of the factory.  It was one of the prototypes (sent by mistake),  came with no directions and had an issue with the axle mounting bracket that I had to redesign.   All the units coming from the factory are fixed now.

[Polly]

   8)    is the accsut a pretty expensive upgrade for the lt 40 hydraulic ;)

[ElectricAl]

This mod will not work on mills that have surge brakes. 
Unless you use a cutting torch and welder.  ;D

[Brucer]

I recently "upgraded" the other way, from 4 to 2. Just took a few wrenches and a square. I didn't even have any instructions to follow.

About an hour to remove the old bits and replace them with the new. Another 1/2 hour to square up the supports. You'll be completely replacing the middle two side supports, so you'll need to square them up with the bed of the mill. If you haven't done this before, it might take a tad longer.

[Bibbyman]

I recently "upgraded" the other way, from 4 to 2. Just took a few wrenches and a square. I didn't even have any instructions to follow.

Why would you do something like that?   

[pineywoods]

This mod will not work on mills that have surge brakes. 
Unless you use a cutting torch and welder.  ;D

won't work on older manual mills that have had hydraulics added either.

[Brucer]

Gary:

I followed your thread with some interest as you developed the original. After some thought, I decided that I really had no use for 4 powered side stops. I rarely have a log under 8'. On the other hand, I do run into logs that are badly limbed and they can present a problem with the side supports grabbing a branch stub and twisting the log.

When I ordered my mill, I had a choice of two in the yard, one with and one without. I specified the one without. However, another customer had expressed an interest in the same mill, and his deposit arrived before mine. So now I had to decide whether to wait 6 weeks for the next shipment of mills to arrive, or take the one with 4 powered side stops. Needless to say, I didn't wait.

After a year and a half of sawing, I found that they did cause problems with small logs -- I had twice as many supports to grab and turn a gnarly log. Not once did I find myself glad I had them. I inquired about upgrading in reverse and as it happened, Marv at WM Canada West had just installed a kit on a mill for a customer. He had the old parts sitting around sp we did a straight swap.

One thing I hadn't thought about was that with 4 side supports raised, you can apply a lot more pressure to a cant with the clamp and not push it out of square. In effect you've got twice as much metal to bend. So I had to learn to be more gentle with the clamp.

Other than that, I'm happy enough with my choice.