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Anyone making any money with a Lathe-Mizer??

Started by labradorguy, March 13, 2017, 01:02:48 PM

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labradorguy

I've got a couple hundred acres that is loaded with cedars. I've been looking really hard at this WM lathe attachment and wondering if it would be a worthwhile investment.... Everybody and his brother is selling cedar logs around me for fence posts, a few are selling 4x4 and 6x6, but I'm not seeing anything like what a person can turn out with a lathe-mizer. That along with then tenon attachment looks like it could be a really sweet addition for someone with hundreds of 6" cedar logs. IDK... Anyone using one??

TKehl

If they are field (over)grown cedar they will have a lot of taper. 

You planning furniture or fencing?
In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

labradorguy

The place was a farm back during the Depression, then it was allowed to grow up. There are thousands of cedars from 2"-48" on the property. A lot of them are tall and straight like a telephone pole without many branches on the bottom 2/3rds. I'm not far from the endless suburbs of St. Louis. There are a lot of people buying "ranchettes" and putting up cedar fencing. I was sort of looking at that for the lathe/tenon combo. I think the market is there if a person had a decent way to make the posts and rails up.

scully

I really like the WM lathe set up ,although I don't own one I have seen one used .  I don't know how well it would work out if your average log dia. is only 6" That ain't much meat on the bone to start with . But then again maybe it's fine for a 4" dia post ?
I bleed orange  .

Brucer

When I picked up my second mill in 2006, the dealer had just got in his first Lathe-Mizer. I was there early and the manager was just about to assemble the Lathe-Mizer for a demo later in the day. With time to kill (and a good deal of curiosity) I helped him set it up and try it out. So, a few observations ...

Mounting the logs was slow and tedious. We both figured it would be much faster with a few simple accessories (made of wood). Knowing what we were doing would have helped, too :D.

You have to saw the log down to an octagon shape before you can "turn" it. It's got an indexer that lets you saw squares, hex's, and octagons -- even triangles if you want. The turning motor is 110 Volts so you need to be near a power source.

You'd want to be in production mode to make a go of it. That means several days of doing nothing but turning logs.

You might find a better market for octagonal or hexagonal posts, rather than round ones. Less processing and you'd have something different to offer.


Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Darrel

I have only seen one in action a time or two and I thought the process a bit cumbersome. And turning a round post is not a quick process. That being said, I'm sure that a person could work out a system where they could up the production rate quite a bit. I've seen YouTube videos where people got creative and made some rather ornate turnings that surprised me for doing it with a sawmill.

My guess is that there is money to be made if one is willing to put in the time and effort.

And one more thing:  Welcome!
1992 LT40HD

If I don't pick myself up by my own bootstraps, nobody else will.

Brucer

When we were setting up that first Lathe-Mizer, we figured out one end (it just clamps to the bed rails) and cut tapered posts. It would work for multi-sided pieces or round pieces.

Lots of room for creativity, accompanied by some marketing skills.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Joe Hillmann

How badly do you eat up blades when turning a log round with it?

Chuck White

Joe, I wouldn't think that the blades would take any more abuse while cutting the spinning log than they would when you're sawing a stationary log.

When cutting the spinning log, the feed speed seems to be quite a lot slower than normal sawing!

Seems the slower you go on the spinning log, the smoother the finish!
~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!

Brucer

In our brief experiment we found if you cut too fast while turning the log, the blade would start to rise up.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Kbeitz

Looks like I got another project to build...
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

4x4American

If I had a lathe-mizer one of my einstein friends would be apt to jump up on a spinning log and try to hang on like he was on a river drive :D
Boy, back in my day..

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