iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Portable mill photo and info

Started by jim king, March 01, 2010, 02:25:17 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jim king

Some weeks ago someone posted a photo of a small portable mill set up in thier garage.

My computor guy eliminated all my favorites and now after searching and searching i cannot find it.  Can anyone lead me to it  ¿?

VictorH

There was a thread about a guy who bought a lumbersmith mill.  You make your own track usually from wood and push the whole thing through the log.  If that's the one try searching lumbersmith.

Hope it helps

LeeB

'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Busy Beaver Lumber

Just do your research before buying one of those lumbersmith mills. I looked at them and researched them and quickly ruled them out as more of a toy than a viable mill. Here is what I did not like:
1. They apparently are prone to slippage of the drive wheel on the drive shaft, so much so that lumbersmith actaully has a video on youtube that show how to properly tighten the drive wheel to the shaft, but I have read posts that say that even after following the procedure the drive wheel still works its way loose. Their fix is to give you a tube of loctite to put on the set screws.
2. They have small diameter wheels for the blade path which will stress the blades more as they go around the smaller diameter wheels.
3. 5.5 hp is not much at all when it comes to milling boards. Get into a hardwood log or some tough sappy pine and you will regret having so little power. Might as well try to cut logs with your lawn mover because it probably has a bigger motor.
4. It is anything but quick and easy to adjust the saw cutting height. Just watch the video for yourself. You have to raise and lower both sides independently and manually measure both heights as well. If you order it with the height adjustment crank you are now up to $2200 and still have to shell out money to build the tracks
5. Look at where the operators face is in the videos relative to the sawblade. If a blade ever snapped, I would not want my face and upper body over top of it like that. This is the biggest reason you will never see one in my shop. I have seen a broken blade actaully penetrate the metal dust shield on a lumbermate mill as if it were made of paper, and I have seen a normal bandsaw blade leave a jet bandsaw and go through the sheetrock wall of a garage. I sure don't want my face anywhere near any band blade when it snaps.
6. There does not appear to be any way to disengage the blade other than to stop the gas motor. That will get old when you have to start and stop it dozens of times a day.
7. No lube system
8. The sawdust discharges into the same wood track that you rely upon to guide the mill. When sawdust and bark build up in the track your saw will ride up on it and produce uneven cuts. You will need to sweep out the track after each cut to ensure and even cut.
9. Generally, it just look like it is made pretty flimsy
10. Nothing is provided to hold the log, you will need to come up with something to do that as well.


With a price of $2200 and still needing to shell out another $100 or so more cash to build the tracks and some type of log dog system to hold the logs, you would be better of to spend another $600 to $700 and buy a woodmizer LT-10. The resale value will be much greater and at least you have a real viable mill instead of a glorified, under powered toy. The only way I would even consider this mill would be if I needed to be able to transport it to a remote site on an ATV and it was the only one I could get there.
Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
Epilog Mini 18 Laser Engraver with rotary axis
Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
6 x 10 dump trailer
Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
Grizzly 6in Spiral Cut Joiner
Twister Firewood Bundler
Jet 10-20 Drum Sander
Jet Bandsaw



Save a tree...eat a beaver!

Thank You Sponsors!