LT-15 Modifications - Manual Mill Conversion

[YellowHammer]

I thought some folks would like to see what I added to my LT-15 manual saw to make it easier to use, and manipulate big logs, hands off.  Basically, I turned it from a manual to an automatic for not much cash.  Many of the logs I cut are big, beefy and at the diameter limit of the mill, about 28 inches.  Some of the ideas for the improvements came from information on this site and others, and some were originals, but all of them work in the real world because I use the saw frequently.  

I can only say good things about the LT-15 quality, as Woodmizer builds excellent mills.  Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of money to spend on an automatic mill, so figured I'd have a fine foundation with the LT-15 manual.  All told, converting the mill to an electric/hydraulic took only a fraction of what I would have spent otherwise, and it works like a charm.
 
I built a trailer under my LT-15 because I wanted to get it higher off the ground and didn't like leaving it out in the weather on wooden tracks.  Every time I set the mill on the ground, I didn't like its position, so I had to end up moving it, time after time, which got old fast.  I also wanted to be able to get it into the shop easily for fabrication and modification.  To build the foundation of the trailer I simply welded two 2"x6" inch steel tubing sub rails under the frame of the LT-15.  This makes the entire saw very stiff, and still keeps the frame dimension of the original LT-15.  It also allowed me to keep the LT-15 frame factory straight, and very stiff and strong.  I then welded axle brackets under the sub rails and added a trailer axle and tongue.  Having the LT-15 on a trailer gives me a good place to weld the claw and two plane clamp, without butchering up the actual mill itself.  I built fenders, but took them off after I ran my shins into them.  Also, I added an adjustable crank jack to each side opposite the tongue, and a conventional wheel dolly to the tongue.  So all I have to do to set up the mill is level it front to back and side to side with the three end jacks, then simply drop the jack stand legs to the ground and pin them.  I welded nuts from the threaded adjustable feet supplied with the LT-15 to the bottom of the home made jack stands, and simply spin the feet the get them to contact the ground.  So when I'm done, the mill is supported by eight sturdy jack stands.  This may seem like overkill, but I have some big logs.   Leveling all 8 would take a long time, but using the three adjustable jacks to initially level the mill and then just dropping the pinned jack stands makes things go pretty quick.  The two center jack stands are mounted where the log deck mounts to the frame.









I built a simple claw turner using a winch and pulley.  It's a 2,000 lb winch, with a double line pulley which gives it 4,000 pounds of turning force.  I have turned 28 inch oak logs with this turner, no problem.  I made the length of the claw arm as well as the lever arm adjustable so I could optimize it for the size log I'm sawing.  But now that I have it set right, I almost never adjust them.  A little tip is to not get the claw tips too sharp as this will cause it to hang into the log.  This modification was easy, but made a huge difference in handling big, heavy logs.





I added a winch operated shuttle clamp, which is basically a slider that moves forward and backward on a piece of 2 inch square tubing.  I got the idea from watching the shuttle move back and forth on a chain drive garage door opener.  I mounted a winch under the tubing on the trailer frame and use it like a windlass, with a pulley mounted on the opposite side. The cable ends are attached to either side of the shuttle and looped through and around the winch drum.  As the winch rotates one way, the shuttle moves toward the backstops, as the winch is reversed, the shuttle reverses direction.  With a 2,000 lb winch, I can clamp, or equally importantly, move the log to the backstops with a ton of force.  I never use the manual clamps anymore, and removed them some time ago.  This winch clamp is powerful and fast.  I could never go back to the old way of clamping. In itself, it saved me a huge amount of time and effort.





Once I got the winch shuttle clamp working, I started thinking about a way to turn it into a 2 plane, like a Woodmizer.  So I added a vertical hydraulic cylinder to the shuttle, powered from a dump trailer DC motor hydraulic pump.  The two way hydraulic cylinder allows me to lift, clamp, and rotate some monster logs.  Instead of using conventional hydraulic valves, I wired a switch to the reversing solenoid on the pump head so I can apply pressure to either side of the hydraulic cylinder with the flip of a toggle.  Besides saving me lots of money not having to buy conventional hydraulic control valves, this allows me to only have the electric motor running for only a very short period of time so doesn't run down the batteries.  I wanted a very fast acting hydraulic cylinder, so used a hydraulic power steering cylinder.  Between this 2 plane clamp and the log claw, I can usually roll logs and flip cants without ever having to reach for the cant hook.  Also, since both devices have the strength to lift the ends of the logs into the air, I use these to level a tapered log by using one or the other to lift the narrow end off the bed to slide the leveling wedge under.

I also added manual hydraulic jack as a log leveler for the logs that wanted to fight me.



I added a second battery to power the hydraulic pump and winches, and connected them with an electrical cable to the on-board battery.  This allows the motor to recharge both batteries, and I have yet to run the batteries down after a full day of sawing. Using the smaller winches still gives me plenty of power, and don't just suck the batteries down.



I machined some aluminum rollers and added two of them to each backstop to help in rotating logs and to help prevent logs and clamps from climbing.  I also tied some of the backstops together with steel tubing and extensions under the rails and connected them to a hand lever at the end of the mill.  Using the lever, I can now raise and lower the backstops without having to move from the winch controls mounted at the end of the trailer.

I built some stainless steel rail caps for the bed rails.  This solved the problem of blue staining my oak from the bare steel rails of the LT-15.  It also makes rolling the logs and cants easier.



Like most folks, I added a second water valve because I hate reaching across the mill to the valve mounted on the water jug.




I built a simple, removable log deck by fabricating two "L" frames that slip into metal welded loops on the side on the mill.  This lets me use a front end loader to place logs on the deck without risking damage to the mill. Since the deck frame ends only slip into the brackets on the mill, I can flip them up and away when I want.  The way I look at it, every dent and warp in the log deck is one less that my LT-15 didn't get.  The picture is how the end on the log deck frame is about to be slipped into the loop on the mill


I hope folks find this info useful.  

YellowHammer

[mikeb1079]

thank  you very much yellowhammer.  i'm going to use your log turner idea for sure.  i've had a hunch i could use a winch for this purpose and you've done it.  i have a homebuilt mill and turning and clamping are my two least favorite parts.  thanks for taking the time to post your modifications.
8)

[WDH]

Yellowhammer, I am truly impressed by what you have done.  You have surely made a better mousetrap.  I have a LT15, and I can see the genius in your modifications.  I am definitely going to have to study on this.

[Bill Gaiche]

YellowHammer, you have made some good mods to your mill. I have a turner on my homemade mill like yours and it works great. The clamp is a neat mod also. Hope your having fun making lumber more than ever. bg

[mad murdock]

Wow yellowhammer, those are some very spiffy upgrades you have fabbed on your mill.  Very nice, I like simple common sense engineering, your mods fit the bill.  Thanks for taking time to explain and share with us 8) 8) 8)

[zopi]

I am in awe....you are one heckuva craftsman...will be noodling through this for awhile...

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

That's good stuff Yellowhammer! Very creative. I love my lt 15 but turning big logs is a chore. It may take some time time for me to grasp all of that but can't wait to dive in. Thanks for the tips. Brian

[Lud]

Well done!  You are the kind of thinker, tinkerer, modifier, builder that makes the Forum so valuable to new and old members alike.

Manual millers around the globe will learn a lot from you.   Looking forward to your future contributions. 8)

[JP135]

Excellent. Been hoping you'd post what you've done with your LT15. Thanks for posting this.

[YellowHammer]

Folks, I really appreciate the compliments.  I'm always glad to be of help and maybe give ideas to people to use to modify their own rigs.  I enjoy reading about the member's experiences on this forum and am always learning new things.  The one thing about sawing is that you have plenty of time to think, and come up with ways to make things easier. 

I didn't mention that two other useful but simple improvements I made to the mill was the addition of a pointer on the manual setworks gear.  My LT-15 wasn't offered with one, and I had noticed that there was already a factory drilled and tapped hole on the front of the crank mechanism that wasn't being used. So I called up Woodmizer and after thinking it over with them, they sold me a pointer and wing bolt from another mill, I think it was a LT28 manual, for about $10 bucks.  It fit perfectly as shown in the picture, and really cuts down on my sawing mistakes.  Took about 2 minutes to install.



I also installed a black 4 inch pipe on the sawdust chute and reverse cut the bottom end on a bevel.  The pipe keeps a good bit of the sawdust out of my face, especially when the wind is blowing,  and when the pile on the ground gets too high, instead of plugging the end of the pipe while its dragging through the sawdust, the leading edge knocks the sawdust away and lays out the new dust on top with very little spray.  You can see it on some of the other photos.

I've got a few more ideas to add to the saw, I'll be glad to post them as I get them figured out.
 
YellowHammer

[Burlkraft]

That is one Super LT 15  8) 8)

Awesome job!!

[pineywoods]

 8)  8)  8) I just love it when guys use their brain instead of their back. Excellent job yellowhammer. I would have used hydraulics instead of winches, but to each his own. Now if we could just come up with some way to handle edging them flitches......

[MotorSeven]

YH...wow ....outstanding! You have given me some great ideas. Once the house is finished I have to add a log turner & clamp(s).

[kelLOGg]

Modifying stuff to suit yourself is fun and rewarding, isn't it, YH? Nice work!
Bob

[YellowHammer]

I also was worried the winches wouldn't be reliable but they are holding up great.  I put a lot of thought into making them work the way they were designed to be used, which is loaded for short periods of time on dead straight pulls.  I broke the clamp cable the first day, then realized that I had too much line on the drum so it was digging in, and had it tensioned too tight so it was being driven on the drum instead of finding it's way.   I've never had another cable or winch issue.

I have not had any winch related problems with with the log turner either, and it gets used for some near capacity loads.  I rigged it so I didn't have to cut off the factory swaged hook, left everything stock as it was designed to be used, and mounted the pulley to gain some mechanical advantage.  It's been working for almost 18 months of weekend milling with no breaks or malfunctions.  The cable still looks new.

I've sawn a lot of wood and they work great

YellowHammer

[Brad_bb]

How thick are your stainless covers?  All you need now is a later sight.  Maybe one of those spinning ones to laser the whole side of the log?

[zopi]

I am still in awe of this mill...worked on mi.e a bit last night..bloody fenders would not fit due to the location of the bed section ears...so I welded the frames at that point and cut the ear off...fenders fit...I should have welded the inside first...that first weld on the loader side is butt ugly...
Looking a the GO..it almost looks like they changed the length of the bed section...
One of those pointers is next up on the list...cutting oddball sizes repetitively requires too much skull sweat...
I love that clamp as much as I hate the stock ones...wm did great for production value on an entry level mill...but those clamps are aggravating..

[YellowHammer]

The stainless rail covers are about 1/16 inch thick.  I'm not sure how long they'll last, but for now they seem to be holding up OK.

[WDH]

My mill is 2001 vintage.  However, I can slam/ram those cam clamps home with one push.  I guess that repetition has its value.  A manual mill is all about work, but then, work has never hurt a fellow, just makes you stronger ( this is a SD type comment for you old Forum members  :D).

[zopi]

Lol..yeah, but I don't WANT to work at Everything!

[Coon]

Zopi, if you think those LT15 clamps are a pain try the Norwood screw type..... they pith me off so much at times because they are so slow and cumbersome.  :  If I keep this mill for any length of time I will be doing some kind of mods be it either a cam type or a winch/hydraulic type like  YH has built.

[zopi]

I can imagine...when I was shopping for a mill that was one of the things that put me off of norwood..the other was assembling the thing...I am not the most patient person in the world.

[Coon]

Well I got my mill sold for what I need to get out of it and then some, if I want, but I need to get some more cash saved up for a hydraulic mill....  There is a member whom I have been talking with that has a hydraulic LT40 that I may purchase if I can get the funding together......  ;D

[br549]

I'm so glad you posted all this. I have a Norwood 2000. Most of what we have been sawing is 28 inch or so. It taxes me handling these by myself. Now that things have slowed down on making money there is no way of upgrading to a hydro mill.   You may have mentioned it but what kind of winch did you use? I have bought 2 of the 2000 pound Harbor Freight winches in the passed with short life.  To start with I will make your claw Turner and use a boat winch until I can get a 12 volt. Thanks again

[Magicman]

Hello br549 and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.  Do you also sell used cars  ???   :D