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New Lumber Smith portable sawmill and Track Kit in action

Started by RedLeg, August 23, 2010, 11:21:53 PM

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RedLeg

Being locked in the suburbs of Northern Virginia my options for a sawmill seemed pretty slim or so I thought until I found the right size saw.  While certainly not able to compete with bigger mills, it gives me what I was looking for in portability and performance. 

I just got back from a week on the family farm in the Adirondacks of northern New York.  It was my first chance to use my Lumber Smith and portable track kit.  I carried the entire set-up including my log cradles and ramps in the back of my Ford Expedition with room to spare.  Set up was a breeze, the track kit leveled easily and stayed that way without any adjustments for two days of sawing.

My Dad chose a nice straight American Elm, said if it could handle that it could handle anything.  We dropped the tree and bucked it up for our trial run.  Our results were great, we cut everything from 1/4 to 3/4 to 5/4 boards over two days.  The saw worked wonderfully and cut very consistently producing straight boards without any significant variation in thickness end-to-end.  The next log loaded easily; simply take down the saw, removed the near side track, flip the center cross member onto its side, put the ramps in place on the cradles and rolled the next log onto the cradles. It didn't take two minutes to be back ready to mill.

All-in-all, it's going to do the job for me feeding my Shopsmith with boards and blanks for turning.  There is plenty of free short wood in the metro DC area with all our recent storms.  I've got more pictures in my gallery.







Leif
Retired U.S. Army
2010 Lumber Smith Elite and Track Kit
Shopsmith Mark 7 PowerPro

fishpharmer

That's a neat mill you have there redleg.  Looks like it does a fine job.
8)
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

paul case

that is a neat set up redleg. the pics prove it can handle the elm. congrats on your new mill .  pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

Tom


Don K

Neat little mill. Doesn't it give you a sense of freedom to cut your own lumber?

Don
Lucky to own a WM LT40HDD35, blessed to have a wife that encouraged me to buy it.     Now that\'s true love!
Massey Ferguson 1547 FWD with FEL  06 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4X4 Dozer Retriever Husky 359 20\" Bar  Man, life is getting good!

Chuck White

~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

paul case

redleg,
all sawmills should come with this disclaimer,


sawing wood is dangerous but adictive,symptoms of addiction are;
driving to town solely for more gas just to cut another board.
carrying sawdust in your pockets.
itching on the back of your neck.
adding blade kerf to everything including but not limited to: electric bill,log length,checkbook balance and phone numbers.
thinking about sawing more lumber on the way to the house after sawing all day.
looking at a tree and trying to figure how many bd ft is in it  while driving.
sneezing and then having to wait for the dust to settle.
ect.



pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

RedLeg

I thought I might add the specs for my ultra-portable mill in case anyone was curious...

* Sawmill Weight 68 Pounds, Motor Weight 27.5 Pounds, Total Weight 105 Pounds
* Motor Type 5.5 Horsepower Honda with 6:1 Gear Reduction
* Blades 93 1/4 inches by 1.25 wide. 1.3 teeth per inch. .045 of an inch thick.
* Feed System - Manual
* Length of Cut - Unlimited
* Maximum Log Capacity - 24" Logs

My track kit is 12 feet long allowing for an 8 foot log.  You can add another 6 foot section to get to 18 feet enabling a 12 foot log.  If you don't want/need to be portable, you can build the track out of wood as long as you need.  Here's the link to their web site: http://www.lumbersmith.com
Leif
Retired U.S. Army
2010 Lumber Smith Elite and Track Kit
Shopsmith Mark 7 PowerPro

tyb525

RedLeg, I have never seen one of those before. Thanks for showing us!
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Magicman

I noticed that other replies said neat, and that is the exact word than came to me also.  What a neat hobby mill that is filling a nitch in the woodworking industry.  Thanks for showing and demonstrating it.   ;)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

I bet that you can saw up more wood with that mill than the shopsmith can keep up with  8).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

r.man

Its nice that there are mills to fit almost all needs. Can you cut siding or shingles by lowering one side more than the other every other cut?
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

RedLeg

I don't see why not, you lower each side of the saw independently with the hand crank lifting kit for each successive cut.  I placed adhesive steel measuring tapes on two sides of each leg to allow for setting the saw height whether on the track or on the ground (the V-track requires an height off-set against the flat track).
Leif
Retired U.S. Army
2010 Lumber Smith Elite and Track Kit
Shopsmith Mark 7 PowerPro

tyb525

Do you get wavy cuts? About how long does a cut take?
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Okrafarmer

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

RedLeg

Quote from: tyb525 on August 24, 2010, 10:55:41 PM
Do you get wavy cuts? About how long does a cut take?

Well it truely is a "manual" mill.  It wasn't designed to set speed records but my experiences was that by applying consistent force throughout the cut that it made the cut without any trouble and cut straight, non-wavy boards.  We've had other sawyers on the farm cutting lumber so I was able to compare my boards to others stacked on the farm and I felt that they measured up to those produced by bigger mills.

The logs in the pictures were a little less than 8 feet long American Elm so they were quite hard but I think each pass was less that 1 minute to make.  Species of tree would probably be the deciding factor in speed per cut along with blade sharpness.
Leif
Retired U.S. Army
2010 Lumber Smith Elite and Track Kit
Shopsmith Mark 7 PowerPro

Ianab

Yeah, no reason that it would cut wavy unless something was wrong with the setup. If the band is sharp, correct tension. running true and you don't force it, then it should cut straight, with the speed limited by the horsepower.

Price of a mill like that is down with a decent quality workshop band or table saw, and if you just want to saw up a couple of logs on a Saturday afternoon.. whats not to like. Some folk spend more on a new TV than that mill costs. Heck, even dragging the logs to some one with a bigger mill is probably more work than rolling then onto those bunks and sawing them up.

If the logs I get given were 18" dia I could find a use for that mill. But last log I sawed up was ~50", so yeah, right tool for the job.  ;)

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

tyb525

That looks like a great hobby bandsaw, and as long as it cuts true who cares about the speed? I know when I first started milling I used a chainsaw mill that took about 3 min/cut, and I was happy even then.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Ole CB

  Redleg,

  I also have a LumberSmith mill. I bought it in Dec of 09 and because of 'issues' I wasn't able to do much more than set it up.

I really like it and dealing with Eddy is a treat!

Ed in Missouri!

Kiwijohn

Quote from: Ianab on August 25, 2010, 08:19:51 AM
...
Hi Ian, I'm trying to contact other people in New Zealand who have purchased and used a Lumber Smith portable mill. Was hoping you might know some, cheers, John (Pelorus Sounds)

POSTON WIDEHEAD

The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

EZland

Congrads on the new mill!  I almost bought a Lumber Smith.  I had way too many logs to cut and now I have a mill I realize people are giving me logs I don't have time for yet.  lol


And now I have fallen victim to the Sawdust Bug.  I am guilty of :
Quote from: paul case on August 24, 2010, 12:23:41 PM


I agree with Paul ;D
all sawmills should come with this disclaimer,


sawing wood is dangerous but adictive,symptoms of addiction are;
driving to town solely for more gas just to cut another board.
carrying sawdust in your pockets.
itching on the back of your neck.
adding blade kerf to everything including but not limited to: electric bill,log length,checkbook balance and phone numbers.
thinking about sawing more lumber on the way to the house after sawing all day.
looking at a tree and trying to figure how many bd ft is in it  while driving.
sneezing and then having to wait for the dust to settle.
ect.



pc
EZ Boardwalk Jr. 30", Husky 455, Kioti 5010 w, FEL , And I just moved to Ohio.and still looking for logs.

God is great!  I will never be as good as the "Carpenter's Son"

Okrafarmer

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

swampbuggy

Yup, the milling bug has bit another. I started with the LumberSmith and Eddie is a great guy to work with. Then I upgraded! It is a great small portable mill. The flooring I cut for my shed floor looks great. Thanks for posting!
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

Ga Mtn Man

"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

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