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Was only going to "look"

Started by KyTreeFarmer, May 22, 2009, 09:20:21 AM

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KyTreeFarmer

Went to look at a used LT-15, somehow it decided to follow me home. Previously thought I was going to buy the Cooks hobby mill and am sure I would have been happy with it, but I know this mill will do way more than I will ask of it. Now its on to the setup. Plan on going stationary. Any suggestions on footers would be appreciated. Thanks again guys for all your comments.

Mike

Woodmizer LT15G
Belsaw from Sears & Roebucks
8N Ford
87 Kubota 2550 W/FEL

Dan_Shade

congrats on your purchase!

can't help you much on a foundation.  Did you call Woodmizer and get the ownership registration changed over? (I am assuming they do this for the LT-15).  That will allow you to get factory support and manuals for your mill.   The manual may have some information in it.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Meadows Miller

Gday

We all Only go to Look Mate  ;) :D :D ;D Congrats it looks like you got a good buy there Mate  ;) ;D ;D 8) 8)

With the settup i use to use 4  6x4s crossways spread under the  20' frame and never bent it  ;) i use to just screw the wood shims to the 6x4s to level it out it did the trick for me for years  mate  ;)

Good Luck Chris
4TH Generation Timbergetter

zopi

I'm about to pour concrete footers for mine...basically just 6 or 8 inch tall concrete pads
all level at the top..or mostly so anyway...and the mill sitting on top of them..

probably going to have a dead deck soon too..
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

zopi

Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

woodmills1

James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

John_Haylow

Congratulations on your LT15. It looks new. Have fun with it.
John
2004 Wood-Mizer LT40HDG28

Ironwood

Just went to "look" at a backhoe for my tractor a few months ago (probably too big, but the price got me in the truck), bargin price, I was the second call only 2 minutes after he posted it on Craig's list at 8 pm , by the next morn there were 30 calls by 8 am when I got there. I brought it home and it is now JD green, it was a nearly new New Holland, and a perfect size.

Gotta watch that going to LOOK, thing! Congrats.

          Ironwood
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

thecfarm

Is this your first mill? What do you plan on building?Have fun.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

schakey

Good find :)Please keep us posted on your setup and what you are sawing.
Think-Dream-Plan-Do

bandmiller2

Mike,as Chris says I'd start off with timbers trial and error find the best working hight for you,bending down is tiring.Frost heaving is greatly over rated,ran my bandmill for years set on cement blocks no more than 6" deep summer winter no problems,level never changed.Nothing wrong with a substantial foundation but try temp first till you know what you want.Enjoy your self mate[been listening to Chris too much]Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Banjo picker

Good deal. 

If you went over there with a pocket full of money or a checkbook, You might have had more in mind that looking.   ;D  That just going to look is what I tell my wife.  :o :o 
Quote from: bandmiller2 on May 23, 2009, 07:13:38 AM
Enjoy your self mate[been listening to Chris too much]Frank C.

You cant listen to Chris too much. 8) 8) 8)   Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Warren

KTF,

My first mill was an LT15 with 4 bed sections.  Sawing your own timbers will get you started.  Just make them big enough (length and width) that when the mill moves, it does not fall off.  The LT15 is pretty light.  When you start loading and turning large logs, the mill sometimes moves with the log.  No fun to load/turn a log and have the mill suddenly sitting at a goofy angle because the wood knocked the mill off the base.

Once you understand what works for you, concrete would be a good next step.  Several folks here on the forum have poured concrete bases for LT15's.  I think if you use the search function, you can probably dig up pictures.

Enjoy !

Warren
LT40SHD42, Case 1845C,  Baker Edger ...  And still not near enough time in the day ...

ljmathias

Way to go, Mike!  Congratulations and welcome to one of the most satisfying professions/hobbies you'll find.  It'll keep you up at night and get you up in the morning anxious to learn more and try more things till you get them right.

As far as stationary goes, take your time: once you pour a slab, it's pretty well set in stone... ;D  I tried several setups on my LT30 manual first, then on a hydraulic LT40 before I settled on what seems to work best for me.  In fact, I built a pretty good sized barn (30X60 enclosed with two 12X60 sheds on the sides, all under the same trusses and metal roof) with the intent of mounting the LT40 under one of the sheds: tried it and didn't like it at all so I ended up building a 14X30 sawmill shed on a slab just for the mill.  Used a lot of wood I cut for this one; gradually getting more confident in my ability to select logs, cut and use lumber from my own trees.  Gives you a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and of being one-with-nature in a zen-like way.  Anyway, I build that shed with 22' openings on the long sides and it's fantastic for sawing: logs in on a make-shift dead deck on one side (lawn timbers on the ground at just the right height to roll up to my lift arms) and a clear span on the other to handle slabs and sawdust plus the bark I peel off of a lot of the lumber I cut.  Right now doing a lot of live edge siding and slabs for furniture.

One thing to understand is handling large logs, not that I do.  Best I can claim is understanding how NOT to handle large logs and there are lots of ways of doing that.  Have cut way too big logs on both the LT30 and the LT40 but have learned to prep the logs carefully, and handle them with great care.  It's real hard trying to lift a log bag onto the mill after it rolls off the back side...

Just cut up a 36" cedar log that was only about 12' long.  Most wouldn't have wasted their time but I had already invested a lot of time (and a trailer rebuild) in getting these logs to my site that I wasn't going to waste the learning experience they offered.  After trimming on the mill (not a good idea- do it on the ground first) and taking off a bunch of small slabs to get it down to size and remove some of the odd shaped lumps and pieces that our cedars often have down here, got a fairly regular shaped log that I could cut.  Main problem was all the limb holes and the huge hollow in the center- couldn't find clear lumber anywhere in this thing but cut it up anywhere into 4X4 lumber that I'll use for outdoor furniture and planters.  You have to love that cedar smell, although I found that cedar sawdust is one of the most eye-irritating kinds I've come across....

Point is: you're in for a life-long adventure.  Find interesting logs to saw and have fun, learn all you can and pass it on to the forum so we can all learn from your mistakes and you from ours- lots easier that way then having to make them all on your own. 

Oh, and in case no one mentioned it yet, we do like pictures here (and I'd be posting some of that cedar I cut but I'm about 12,000 miles from home right now).  Keep us posted.

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

MotorSeven

KTF, that one looks new...NICE. I'm not too far from you & I didn't even do footers for my slab, Just tilted the tractor box blade on a angle & dragged the dirt/topsoil away on the inside perimeter. Good old gravel underneath from a previous commercial sawmill company in the 90's(before I bought my farm). It's about 4"'s thick/3500 psi fibre & it most likely will crack, but it still gets me up out of the weeds ;).  It was $105 a yard delivered & this was 3 yards.
Did you get an extension with your mill?

RD
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

zopi

Oldest daughter and I are building the sawshed today...four 6x 6 posts in, 24x12...first 2x10
header and braces up...gonna start on the second header and rafters after lunch..

GG has learned how to find the center point on a long board, and how to lay out and cut braces from a brace scale on an antique framing square..I love it when the light comes on...OHHHHH...it's 45/45/90 triangle and the legs are the same length! God forbid they should give them a practical use in geometry class...

Anyway...Plumb...uhhh...no...

Level....nope....

Square....ehhh....Nahh...

Within and inch or so on a side? Yeh...

Sawmill outta the rain?

Priceless!

Gonna squirt the whole fram with some old cheap exterior white paint...keep the bloody carpenter bees out of it...

Hmmm...gotta new Boer goat billy...wonder if I could teach him to catch carpenter bees...he eats everything else...
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

medic

Get some ginnies(sp?).  They love the carpenter bees.  They also would make good watch dogs for around the mill.  :)
scott
Retired Paramedic, TimberKing 1400, Logrite cant hooks, old MacCullough chain saws.  Too many projects not enough hours in the day.

ljmathias

Ok, I'll bite cause I got lots of those bees: what's a ginnie?

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

Tom

Setting up in one place, whether mobile or stationary, consider three things.

How to clean out from under the mill.     Sawdust, chips, dirt, bark, etc., buiild up quickly and will actually get in the way of operations.  Leave enough room to get tools under there to drag all of that junk out.
How to get a log onto the mill.  It's easy to roll a log onto a mill that is at ground level, but there may be reasons that you would like to have it raised.  In that case, prepare for a ramp, or a winch, or, better yet, a log brow or deck that is level with the deck of the mill and will hold six or eight logs.  A tractor might be needed when you start elevating.
How to get the boards off of the mill.   If the mill is at ground level, you bend over.  If the mill is thigh high, you might be able to reach the boards.  If the mill is waist high, you might need to have dragbacks on the head of the mill.  Remember that the mill bunks might look to be at a comfortable height, but the 30" log resting on them puts the slab and boards at shoulder height or better.


Dan_Shade

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

zopi

Quote from: medic on May 24, 2009, 02:04:57 PM
Get some ginnies(sp?).  They love the carpenter bees.  They also would make good watch dogs for around the mill.  :)
scott

I like guinea fowl...noisy buggers though..my neighbors have had just about enough of me and free ranging birds...if they lived a quarter mile away, I'd already have them...and another half dozen hen turkeys...

Guinea meat is second to none...good stuff..very high protein and very low fat...perfect for the adkins types....unless you are like me..I'll wrapp anything in bacon and toss it on the grill.

I got a little less than half of the rafters up on the shed...the only obvious flaw..one of the corner posts shifted in its footing...so it's off plumb...bummer. And it's on the front. oh well.

last half of the rafters in the morning, I've got a bunch of debarked flitches that are going to become the roof deck...and a half ton of concrete decking for the roof...that ought to be just about bullet proof...

Gonna wire it up and add about four flourescent lights and a couple bug zappers...will run it with a generator for awhile...mostly to be running the genny...it sits too much. I'll pull a wire
down from the house eventually.
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

SamB

Another nice find on a LT-15 hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoy using my TK1220. After moving my mill twice I decided to go stationary a concrete slab under and high roof over. The slab allows for stability, an easy cleanup, the high roof allows for some ventilation and protection from the elements. :)

shopteacher

Congrats.  That's like the carrot infront of the LT 70.
Proud owner of a LT40HDSE25, Corley Circle mill, JD 450C, JD 8875, MF 1240E
Tilt Bed Truck  and well equipted wood shop.

KyTreeFarmer

Hey guys
Thanks for all the congrat's and ideas. All the planning is a  big part of the fun for me, so I will take everything you guys have posted and get to work!! Was thinking  already of concrete pads under the legs with 6x6 cross bunks to get it off the ground a little for cleanup. Was thinking if the pads heave any in the winter I would still be able to use the legs to adjust the level of the mill. Maybe pour a slab when I save up some more money. Spent it all on the mill!  Soon as it stops raining am going out to start. Too many projects...so little time!!
My plans for the mill are mostly cutting my own lumber for woodworking, sheds for the barn, and a shed for the mill of course!!
I also have an old Foley Belsaw mill that I restored about 15 years ago. I never sawed much with it tho, but its still in operating condition, just needs some minor repairs.
I like pics also so will post some as things come together.
Thanks again guys!
Mike
Woodmizer LT15G
Belsaw from Sears & Roebucks
8N Ford
87 Kubota 2550 W/FEL

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