iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Question about WM log handling options

Started by music_boy, July 07, 2004, 07:59:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

music_boy

I'm thinkin hard on a Lt 40 cause I just can't swing the hydraulic options on an Lt40hd. The winch operated log loader, toe boards and log turner,,,, Is it something a average person can work by themselves   for 6-8 hours during the course of sawing ? How much effort\strength required. There was a discusion past about having WM add hydraulics to your mill later. Anyone done that? If so,,howd it go?
Thanks
Rick
It's not how much YOU love, it is how much you ARE loved that matters. (Wizard of OZ)

Tom

The most sawyer friendly, production-enhancing option you can put on your sawmill is Hydraulic log handling.   It will boost production and send you home at night able to eat supper.

Unless I was really strapped, I wouldn't want a mill without it.

I would work an extra job to be able to afford it.

Now........
If you can't, the other methods will get the job done. It's slower, more work and sometimes takes two people to accomplish.

Loading a log with the winch and ramps is a pain in the neck.  It gets the job done but nowhere in the time frame of hydraulics.

Hydraulic log handling can boost your production at least a third and probably more like a Half.




ARKANSAWYER

  If you crank that winch about one day a week  it would not be so bad.  More then that and that $10 grand for hydralics would not look so bad.  Most manual mills end up set up at home with a log deck made and a loader handy.  I have seen several with overhead hosit to aid in turning logs.  Most logs are better turned with a cant hood then the crank.  It is alot of work but the crank will load and trun a log that one man could not do by themself.
   I would guess it would be easier and cheaper to just sell your manual mill and upgrade to a hydralic mill.  I only had to watch some one roll a 3 sided 28 inch walnut log one time to know I wanted hydralics. :o
ARKANSAWYER
ARKANSAWYER

Bibbyman

I know a grandma that ran a manual LT40G18 by herself for years and it didn't have the log handling package. :o


Here she is runin' her 2002 LT40HDE25 Super. She says somedays when she's runin' mostly small and short logs she'd like to have her manual LT40G18 back.

Keep the manual LT40 well maintained and looking good -  then later, when you're ready for hydraulics,  sell it and buy a new LT40HD with all the options you want.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

MM

Depends on many things. Are you going to be portable? sawing your logs or for others? The LT40 manual is a great saw and there are many of them out there. Many are being used full time. I would suggest calling WM and finding someone near you and take a road trip. I can sit here all night and tell you how great they are, but. It's just best to saw on one for yourself for a few hours.
 When I worked for WM I showed lots of people how to run their manual mills. And to be honest their not that bad. I could do all my custom sawing with one, But I'm not going to give up my hyd.
  It's just like going out to buy a truck. Do I by the s-10 with the 4 cylinder manual. Or do I buy the K2500 HD with the Duramax auto, cruse, air....Both will get you down the road and ( out last dodge and ford)  ;D
  As far as adding hyd latter. I've seen it done but, I wouldn't do it to a newer mill. At least not till the warrenty is out. I would buy the manual saw, saw and saw some more with the manual. and save, save and save some more.if money is tight. Then sell the manual and take all the money I've saved and go buy a new hyd. mill. I know many guys that started out with manual mills and now have supers and 70s. IT CAN BE DONE. Little more sweat. But when it comes to sawing you'll have that anyhow.
M.L. Morrow
812/614-1825

MemphisLogger

Hey music_boy! Ya oughta take a trip over here to the birthplace of Rock and Roll and check out the wood that we saw on a little ol' manual LT-30.

We load logs by parbuckling them up the ramps with the 8000lbs winch on the front of my Toyota.

Logs smaller than 30" get spun with a cant hook and a 2000lbs winch that replaced the hand crank runs the log turner on bigger ones.  8)

The screw type toe boards work great if you lever the log up with your cant hook and use an 18volt drill to spin the screw.    ;D  

We've yet to meet log under 16' that we can't handle!  8)

Watch out for all these fellas tryin' to sell you on the NECESSITY of hydraulics--they just ain't got the spunk of a young 29 year old man.  ;) :D :D :D ;D

Heck, I heard some of 'em talkin' 'bout puttin' WD-40 on their creaky old joints.  ::)

You'd do good to invest yourself in winches, a sharpener, some fancy LogRite tools and a good trailer.

Remember, ya gotta get the log to the mill before worryin' 'bout gettin' it on the mill.  ;D  
Scott Banbury, Urban logger since 2002--Custom Woodworker since 1990. Running a Woodmizer LT-30, a flock of Huskies and a herd of Toy 4x4s Midtown Logging and Lumber Company at www.scottbanbury.com

Bruce_A

MM   You sure called the turn on the chevrolet pickups.  They are sitting everywhere and looking good doing it. When you see a ford or dodge, they are always dirty and beat up from doing the work while the chevrots are looking good.

sparks

As mentioned in the earlier post, the key is to have the logs at the mill ready to saw. If you're not going to be portable then a log deck would definitly speed up the loading process.
The nonhydraulic LT40 will cut between 150 and 300 bdf per hr. depending on log access, how much help and size of logs.
The hydraulic option is very useful if you want higher production. If 1200 to 1500bdf per day is a good total for you than go with the nonhydraulic mill. You'll cut the logs as fast as a hydraulic mill. You just will not be able to load them as fast. I would not alter the mill if you plan to sell it or trade it in on a new one. We do take trade ins but they cannot be altered from the original design.  Thanks
\"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.\" Abraham Lincoln

D._Frederick

If your past fiftie and your back and knees don't work as good as when you were young, it would be best to have the hydraulics. Even with the hydraulics, you will have plenty of lifting to handle the slabs and lumber.

DansSawmill

i have a lt30g24 that i have added a hydraulic loader to, cost about $500.
the loader does speed up your loading but almost as bad a timetaker is the clamp..
if your working by yourself running around the log to clamp takes time. you will make much more wood by having a hyd. if cash is tight, look at used. ahh also get a lt40, i've kicked myself many times for not getting one to start with. that last 4 ft is in demand if you custom cut for building lumber.. charge extra for cutting over 16' it costs more per board foot to buy in lumbershed...
dan
Dan's Sawmill
Custom Sawing since 94
CNC woodworking too
now with a 98' lt40 super

bull

If you are going manual and your short on cash, buy the LT 15
and you won't have to worry about getting the logs up in the air. your first two items to saw will be 2- 8x8x12s for your log deck and then your off and rolling......  8)

Rod

I'm 55 and I don't think its hard at all to flip a log with a canthook and I'm not that big of a guy either.I say the hardest part is cutting the trees down and getting them to the mill,loading them on the log deck.then next is moving the lumber and slabes.

For 5-10 grand you could get a forklift.

Thats may 2 cents worth


hawby

I am sure glad I got one with hydraulics. I am a big guy. Can turn a log with a canthook, but I don't wanna turn 20 a day. Well, I wouldn't be turning 20 a day, cause I would be bushwhack dead by the 10th one.
I have a bobcat with forks, but I don't wanna drop 'em on the table either. All that weight...its better to let it gently roll off the loader on to the deck.
When I get the pics back, I'll show you a 42" Maple that I did on my LT40HD that you would not have turned with a 20' canthook.
You young bucks go for the gusto... Me I wanna make sawdust.
Hawby

Missin' loggin', but luvin' the steady check...

Rod

Let me add that may mill well cut up to 29''.so a big log for me would be a 2 footer.And I don't like cutting anything 16' cause the slabs and lumber becomes a bigger problem.

8,10 12's is mostly what I cut.

a 2'DIM  tree in these parts are rare.The loggers are cutting down to 10'' now.

I guess it all depents on what size of logs you will moslty have available.  

Tom

I cut a lot of logs in the neighborhood of this size.  You're looking at the small end of a 24' foot long pine that is probably 30" in dia.  

I'll saw 40 smaller logs (give or take) of the 10-16 inch range. in a day.

Thank goodness for hydraulics.


and another



Bibbyman

We don't like to saw the oversized ones now - even though the LT40HDE25 Super will handle them.

Here is a link to our web site where we have a colection of pictures of large logs sawn on our manual LT40

Pictures of large logs sawn on LT40 manual mill
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Tom

I think more of us handle big logs like that than the manufacturers know.  It's not just one every couple of months.  

While they aren't all super big,  there are many that test the mills abilities. :)

EZ

I load my logs with a winch that is connected to the mill. After the log is loaded I pull a pin on the swingarm and lower the winch down the side of the mill, out of the way, in a few seconds. I have most of the hyds stuff that I need to make my mill hyd, but every job that I been on the winch makes it easy to retreave the logs to the mill. If I put hyd loading arms on it, I would still have to use the winch. As far as hyd for the rest of the mill, I'd say it is a yes.
EZ

Swede

There was no log loader on Amerika-Sågen so we had to load with the customers tractors or what he had. It takes too much space and time. A log I want to lift by hand up on the saw mill I don´t want to saw.
So the first thing to add was log loader and it save a lot of time. Takes less than 6 seconds to lift the log when I´ve rolled it on the arms.
I can turn every log with the hook I made but when I´ve made the rotation/clamping stuff I do it much faster. Working mobile for customers and mostly by my self I realy need the hydraulik. Pulling boards off and pile them is heavy enough even for a swede!
If I don´t have money for a new hydraulic mill or couldn´t make the hydraulic my self I would try to find an used hyraulic saw mill, or go for one I can place on the ground. LT15 is one of them but all saw mills is not painted orange.  ;)

I visited a couple last week, very nice people,  I´ve not seen in 28 Years. ::) He has a manual mill,  Bronter ...........something, work stationary, have a deck for the logs and then there is no loading problems.  
Loading with a winch.......I suppose it works but takes some time. A Bob Cat or tractor i think works better. As a machine designer I also think  about accidents that can happen when not proper equipments are used or used a way they are not ment to.
Be careful out there!

Swede.
Had a mobile band sawmill, All hydraulics  for logs 30\"x19´, remote control. (sold it 2009-04-13)
Monkey Blades.Sold them too)
Jonsered 535/15\". Just cut firewood now.

DR_Buck

Music Boy,

I stumbled into this sawmill thing blindly about 7 months ago. I planned on buying the LT-27 or LT-40 non-hydraulic myself.  Well the guys on this forum set me straight!  ;D   I ended up with a new  LT-40HD25G.  After posting about the same questions as everyone else new I decided that to make money I needed a debarker and hydraulics. 8)  

I only saw on weekends, usually 3 a month. (6 days total)  I need to saw about 1 extra day which is included in the 6 days to cover the cost difference in the payment for the hydraulic model.

GO HYDRAULICS
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

ronwood

music_boy,

I debated on whether to go manual or hydraulics. I went with the hydraulics and I am glad I did. I cut most of the time by myself and it sure makes it easier load and turn the log. Other than the amount of work I thought it would be a lot safer when turning a big log to be away from it. They sure are heavy if the get away from you. The 2 plane hydraulic clamp on the Woodmizer works nice for moving the log and fliping square cants.


Good luck  on your decision.
Ron   8) 8)
Sawing part time mostly urban logs -St. Louis/Warrenton, Mo.
LT40HG25 Woodmizer Sawmill
LX885 New Holland Skidsteer

Thank You Sponsors!