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First time poster, new LT-10

Started by bbjr, December 13, 2010, 08:57:12 AM

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bbjr

Hello everyone, I have been a member here for a little over a year, and have spent the last few weeks reading over the 300 pages of threads in this sub-forum to familiarize myself with everything.  I really enjoyed the discussions I read on here.

Anyhow, I recently purchased a new lt-10 with the 10hp option from the Indy Woodmizer location.  I am using it to mill reclaimed barn beams (mainly oak) into lumber for personal use.  I previously owned a lumbersmith hobby sawmill, and while I think this mill could be very nice in the right situation, I felt that my situation was not the one for this mill (it really struggled trying to saw through the 150 year old oak, although I am surprised it could make it through at all, after reading on this forum how hard it is to saw through dry oak).  The lt-10 is working much better for me and I am very happy with my purchase.  I am using the 9° blades, a couple drops of water a second on the lube, and have resquared 40 beams so far, and sawn through a couple. 

For the most part, things are going very well.  I am power washing the beams to get rid of the dirt in all the crevices, but the blades are still dulling very quickly.  I can cut around 300-400 linear feet of 8" wide material before I have to replace the blade.  Does this sound pretty typical for this application?

Also, as the blade becomes more dull (after a 100 lnft or so), I begin to get a lot of head vibration, that gets progressively worse as the blade dulls.  Is this a factor of the blade dulling or a limit on my machine's horsepower, or both?

If this is a limit on the horsepower, how large of an engine can I put on this sawmill?  I prefer the setup of the lt-10 over the lt-15, so I would rather not upgrade, if I could put a 15-25hp engine on this mill.

And, I have read that everyone here likes pics, so as soon as I figure out the process of getting them from my phone to my gallery to this post, I will do it  ;D .


Bibbyman

Welcome to the Forum. 

You may try the 7° or 4° DoubleHard blades or the Razertip stellite blades.  The stellite blades are expensive but cut hard stuff for long time.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

isawlogs

 Welcome to the forum

They cut nice Bib , but in reclaimed wood also comes claimed shrapnall  ;)  I would use the 9° Doublehard blade.

A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Magicman

Welcome to the (posting part of the) Forestry Forum.   ;) :)  Looks like you have done your homework reading the old posts, and that education will be very valuable in your future sawing operation.

I would just call WM regarding a possible engine swap.
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

fishpharmer

bbjr, welcome to FF even though you have been here a while.   Can't help much with lt10.  They are nice mill's.  I share your frustration about band saws dulling quickly with my homemade mill.  If there is a remedy someone here has it.
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
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WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
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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

WDH

That is about 250 BF per blade, and while not bad, it is a little low for what I have experienced in green oak.  I can get about double that on the LT15.  However, sawing dry reclaimed oak timbers is a tough go, so about 250 BF per blade is probably the best that you can hope for.
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

paul case

welcome,
i bet that is some purdy lumber you are making fom those old beams. i cant wait to see pics of it. 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

isawlogs

Power washing is good , but it aso pushes some grit into the crevices, a lot of dust also layes in there , all these abrasives to a blade will nock the board footage one can cut down in a hurry. I think you are doing good at 300/400BF/blade.
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

thecfarm

thanks for the first post. Now the next 10,000 will be easy.  ;D 
What's all the reclaim lumber being used for.Sounds like you been at this for a while to invest in another mill.
Quotea couple drops of water a second on the lube

I think I remember a post where some else was doing the same thing and needed alot of water or no water or was using dish detergent.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Bill Gaiche

Welcome. dont know anything about cutting lumber that you mentioned but it does seem that you are getting about the max from your blades. Extra horsepower will only cut a little more but, the blade is still going to dull the same and possibly give you unsatisfactory results. Good luck, bg

Busy Beaver Lumber

Welcome to the forum bbjr

I am a fellow Lt-10 owner and love this little mill. I have mine set up in a building in Wollcottville Indiana.

What you are getting blade life wise is very typical, especially if you are sawing wood that dry and that old. I see you are running water as lube. You can try adding some dish detergent to the water lube. I have found this helps increase blade life some as it acts as a lubricant and keeps pitch from building up on the blade.

So far as I know, the biggest motor being offered in the USA on the LT-10 is the 10 hp motor. I have seen videos of an LT-10 overseas with an electric motor on it, but for some reason Woodmizer in the USA does not offer it this way, most likely because they market the Lt-10 as a hobby mill and most folks do not have 3 phase power run to their homes.

Personally, I would stick with the motor you have and just work your way through the dry old logs you are cutting now. You will be suprised when you start cutting some green wood and different species like cedar at how well it cuts. Nothing is worse than working with old dried out wood in my opinion
Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
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Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
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Save a tree...eat a beaver!

Chuck White

Welcome to the Forestry Forum bbjr.

You've done good by reading the old posts.  Lots of good info in them.

You'll find lots of help and suggestions on this Forum.  Lots of good people too.

~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!

Hilltop366

Hi and welcome,

sorry can't help with blade thing.

bbjr

Thanks for the welcome, guys.

Blades
- I kind of figured I was getting as much out of them that I could, but I figured I better double check.  I don't want to be sending in blades to be sharpened if there is still life left, but I didn't want to overdue it either.  They still seem to cut straight, but the head vibration gets pretty severe after about 300 bdft.  Which brings me to...

Head vibration
-Can anyone offer any insight as to what is causing this, or if it is something to expect while sawing?   The lt10 comes with stabilizer cables to help prevent vibration, and I have them as tight as they will adjust (the unit still pushes smoothly, however).

Lube
- I will try giving some detergent a try next time.  I assumed that since I was cutting dry oak, I didn't need to worry about any kind of pitch build-up, but never thought about the actual lubricating quality of it.

Other
- I had the Lumbersmith mill since July, but only tried it out once before starting my recent project.  When I started sawing these beams, it didn't take me long to realize that I did not have the correct tool for the job, and I sprang for the the lt10.  The lumbersmith would have been alright if I had planned on sawing a log or two a couple times a year, but not for any major type of work.

Pics
- Here are some pics of my setup, including the sawmill, my JCB 208s minimaster (which is basically a skid steer/backhoe/mini excavator hybrid), a pic of the beams in their "raw" condition, a pic of the beams freshly squared, and a pic of some reclaimed barn wood that I turned into flooring. (Sorry, no pics.  I thought I had it figured out, but I am posting from my phone and I don't think it supports Java, so I will have to do it the next time I am at a desktop). (EDIT: Got it figured out)





















tyb525

bbjr,

On the righthand side of the head, there is a bracket around the square vertical mast beam. That bracket has two plastic bumpers that can be adjusted closer for a tighter fit, therefore reducing movement on that side of the head. I think that is what you are describing?
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

bbjr

Thanks Ty, I will give that a try this weekend.

bbjr

Got this pictures figured out  8) .  I edited the post above to include them.

I made the adjustment to the mast, that Ty told me about, and also added some detergent to my water, and both things seemed to of helped.  There is still quite a bit of vibration there, though. 

I am thinking that the stabilizer cables may be a tad too long.  I have them tightened as much as I can, and the manual leads me to believe that the head should be hard to push if the cables are tightened too much, but this is not the case.  Ty, if you get the chance (or any other lt10 owners) can you tell me how much deflection you get if you put about 10-15 lbs of pressure halfway down the track on the cable?  I get about 4" (I do have one track extension on there), and this just seems too much to do any stabilizing of the head unit.

terrifictimbersllc

I have been told that too much water can swell fibers of dry timber to close the kerf and make sawing more difficult, and to use only enough lube to keep the blade clean in dry timber. That being said I would also watch the tension gauge as I'm sawing, a lowering of tension indicates the blade is heating up, and more water helps keep it cool and tension will rise again.  These two bits of advice work seem to work against each other and I would go for keeping tension stable as the indicator.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

tyb525

bbjr,

You mentioning the cables made me remember, I had to add spacers (washers, etc.) between the nut on the eyebolt and the bracket in order to get more adjustment. In fact, I've added so many that there isn't really any more room for another washer, so if I wind up needing more adjustment I'll have to find another way.

4" deflection sounds a bit slack, I have the tension set so the cables don't droop much at all (they don't sag down and touch anything).

Also, try to adjust the cables so the back wheel on both sides is about the same distance from the end of the track. I'm pretty sure more blade tension will solve your problem.

And for lube, I use dish soap and water, the smallest amount while keeping a steady stream (more than dripping) in green wood, and in dry woods I keep it at a drip, the frequency of the drips depends on the width, dryness, and dustiness of the wood.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Magicman

Quote from: bbjr on December 13, 2010, 09:56:22 PM
Lube
- but never thought about the actual lubricating quality of it.

Cools, lubricates, and cleans.  One reason to use an automatic dishwasher soap such as Cascade is because it doesn't bubble up when you are filling your jug.  Soap actually reduces the "surface tension" on the blade and makes the water wetter.




One "glug" or about 2 oz. per gallon.
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

A glug is like a whack.  It is an exclusive Forestry Forum unit of measure  :D.
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

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