WoodMizer LT15

[MikePatro]

Hello all, I am new to this site and I have some questions for you who have a mill and have been milling lumber.

I am 18 years old and live in central Missouri, I have been contemplating buying a mill for probably 2 years but haven't had the money to go pay cash for one, I have acquired the money and am now looking at a WoodMizer LT15. I'm wanting to be able to saw enough lumber to pay for the mill and upgrade fairly quickly. Would this be a good mill for a starter? And will it be possible to sell enough green lumber off the mill to pay for itself? I really like working with lumber, my dad does fantastic woodwork in his spare time and I have helped him and I love it, I just want to be able to make the product we use and sell a good but of it to others.

And one last question, anyone else in central Missouri have a place they sell good amounts of lumber to? I'm open to all options, dimensional, railroad ties or even pallet cants.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, MikePatro.  I have never seen an LT15 in operation and do not sell lumber so my comments will be limited.  Since high production will not be your strong suit, I would look toward niche markets.  There are many examples here in the Sawmills & Milling board as well as the Woodworking board.

I admire your willingness to work and wish you the best.

[GAB]

Mike welcome to the forum.
I personally have never owned an LT15 so I can't speak from experience.
I have been told by an LT15 owner that the mill needs to be on a level concrete pad or something similar (level and solid) that will not deflect under the weight of the log on the bed.
If you are looking at sawing table tops, or bar tops you might want to consider the LT15 WIDE.
Wishing you the best in your endeavors,
Gerald

[scully]

I gotta agree with Gerald about the 15 wide , It will atleast give you more options for slabs etc . and give you broader niche market oppertunities I.E the guy that just wants a nice live edge slab to build a bar in his man cave etc. If you plan on keeping the mill in one spot the first thing you need to mill are a couple 4x4 or 4x6 's to lag the mill bed to . That will keep things nice ! Good luck young man !

[Raym]

Welcome MikePatro. I like your gumption...I also am not familiar with the  LT15 but I do agree on the niche market. I would suggest that you also look into finding a kiln in your area (or build a small solar kiln) so that you can dry your "niche" lumber to sell. However if I read your OP correctly, you do have access to wood working equipment and sometimes a nice table or bench is easier to sell than green lumber.

[Compensation]

If you get a 15 wide and they have the lt15 go that works with that, then you have some good options there. Maybe enough to hold onto it until you buy a lt70

Welcome to the forum! Stick around, there's alot of good info and great people here.

[dgdrls]

Welcome Mikepatro,

Being mobile is really nice, (base LT15 is a stationary unit)  it keeps a lot of the mess away from
home.  Your Mum will appreciate it  ;)

With that said,  look at all your options from the suppliers
on the left side of the board in addition see what the trailer options cost.
You may also want to consider a used unit to start,
perhaps an LT28 if you're really set on a WM product

Best
DGDrls

[goose63]

W M is a good saw. I have a Woodland Mill I like it 

 
dgdrls is right bought the mess

  I left the miss at the customer's place
good luck to you and welcome to the Forum 

[WDH]

I have done exactly what you are trying to do with the LT15 and paid for it at least 25 times over. 

[YellowHammer]

I had a WM LT15 and it was a workhorse.  Straight lumber, very little maintenance and easy to use.  It can saw long and wide, and just kept on making sawdust.
YH

[downsouth]

Welcome mikepatro,
   I had an LT15 for almost 2yrs. It is a good little mill for the price.
You can really pump out some lumber if you have support equipment to move your logs around,and your lumber stacks.
     If you can find a used one I think you will be better off,if you plan on upgrading in the future. I just sold mine for just under $5000. It had power feed and was in good working condition.
  As far as the LT15 wide, it looks like a handy piece of equipment, also the LT15GO seems fine, BUT, if you are going to spend $10,000. (For a new one) you may find a used,larger mill, like a LT28, or maybe even something larger, that is portable.
  I guess it depends on if you plan on being mobile or stationary, your production, expectations and what have you.
   Just something to think about.
    I will say again the lt15 is a good mill and it will cut lots of lumber for a long time.good luck with your endeavors, sorry for the long rant,
    The only reason I sold my lt15 was I'm upgrading.

[BCsaw]

The LT15 from what I am told is decent machine. Probably can't go wrong. As with anything you purchase it is good to shop around a little and compare.

Great thing to see someone of your age "jumping to the pump" and trying to do something for himself. VERY good to see!!

Plan well and work hard!

Good luck and let us know how your adventure turns out.

[Qweaver]

I started with an LT15, built a house and several large sheds before going to an LT28.  I got a good used saw for $4500 and sold it for the same price when I decided to move up.  A good way to start I think.  Good luck and use this forum to help you learn.

Quinton

[thecfarm]

MikePatro,welcome to the forum.
A LT15 will need some support equipment. A LT15 will need some BIG support equipment.

[MikePatro]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm considering the LT15 because I'm limited on cash to start up and the 15 looks like it's lower maintenance and it looks like a decent mill to run, expense wise. I would like to get an edger very soon so I don't have to use the mill and consume time edging when I could be milling more lumber. I've practically decided on the machine now I need to get the word around about me buying a mill and get a customer base set up.

Kind of off topic but has anyone ever heard of McClain Forest Products in West Plains, Missouri. They seem to buy lots of green hard wood lumber, or anything I've seen or heard implies that. If anyone has experience dealing with them do they buy from anyone who brings in lumber or just big mills? Just looking for all possible markets so I can make my dream of having a mill possible with enough sales to finance it.

Thank you everyone

[WDH]

Selling green lumber wholesale will be a rough go with a manual mill. 

[Magicman]

I would not think that the production level using an LT15 could anywhere justify buying an edger.  Put that money that you do not have into a higher production sawmill if/when you need to increase productivity.

[JP135]

MikePatro,
I run an LT15 and have had it for four years. I worked it every day for several months and now have switched back to using it part-time as my primary job is keeping me real busy.

I don't finance anything if I can avoid it. I found a used LT15 used and paid cash for it four years ago. The mill has paid for itself several times over.

My mill came from the factory with two bed sections (new ones come with three now). With two bed sections, I could only cut 10' logs. My first upgrade was to add a bed section. Next I bought the LT15GO trailer and just finished the install this week. My final upgrade will be to add the factory power feed sometime this year. I looked at replacing my LT15 with an LT35, but the LT15 does everything I need it to do and with upgrades, I can keep using the LT15 for a long time and avoid having a monthly payment.

I would not think that the production level using an LT15 could anywhere justify buying an edger.

Agreed. If I'm cutting dimensional lumber, I cut a four-sided cant and then cut boards off the cant. It may take a little longer, but it keeps me from feeling like a need to buy an edger.

Selling green lumber wholesale will be a rough go with a manual mill. 

Agree with this also. Not saying it can't be done, but it aint gonna be easy.

On the other hand, if you're looking to upgrade your mill pretty quickly, your LT15 will bring a good price used and you can consider upgrading to a bigger mill if you find your business will support it. If there isn't enough business to support the upgrade, you'll still have a great sawmill in the LT15.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Mike

I dont have an LT15, rather I have the LT10 with 10 hp motor. I gave $2995 for it. My first sale of lumber off of it was over $2000 and that came all from free logs that were given to me. By the time I cut my 4th job for someone else and had about 15 hours of use on the mill, the LT10 was paid for and I had money in my pocket.

A friend of mine has an LT15 and has made his living with it for over the past decade. He swears by that machine and has turned out some very nice lumber and many tractor trailer worth with it.

I think some of the Wood Mizer production claims are very conservative. Recently a friend of mine and I cut over 500 board feet of ash in 3 hours on the LT10, some of which are shown below.

  

 

[gfadvm]

I bought a used LT15 off Craigs List a year ago. It paid for itself in 62 days of sawing as time allowed (not my real job). I cut a lot of woods that weren't available locally: blackjack, spalted maple, spalted hackberry, hedge, and elm. A CL ad got the local woodworkers attention, and I was in business. So far it has been a lot of fun to use (very user friendly) and trouble free. Mine is stationary on a concrete slab next to the barn where the lumber is stacked and stickered.

I don't have a front end loader so all my logs are moved with 2 Logrite cant hooks and beam ramps.

You have a RESharp center very close to you (Mt. Vernon, Mo.) and they have treated me well.

Enjoy!

[MikePatro]

Thank you all for the replies! All the replies about a mill paying for itself in no time and many times over is making me very happy to hear. I have decided to go with the LT15 seeing as how everyones had no complaints with them. I hope to be milling lumber in a few weeks if i can get a mill ordered from the Mt Vernon location. Again, thank you for all the replies.
Still looking for places to sell higher volume of lumber if anyone can give some possible sources thatd be awesome! Will definitely try craigslist though!

I know its not a high production mill, but im 18 and still in highschool and if i come home afterr school and mill lumber till dark this fall and winter(or after dark with some lighting) i will be happy, because nothing makes me happier than earning a dollar off something i produced with my labor. And it will keep me out of trouble!!! ;D So thank you all.

[stavebuyer]

You will do just fine. I know of at least 4 LT15's that went in this year with the owners sawing RR ties and flooring lumber part time. Picking logs the size that can be turned handily with a cant hook; they turn out 200-300' an hour. I have seen hydraulic mills average less. Kind of reminds me of axe vs wood-splitter. A young man wanting to work can split a pick-up load of straight grained wood faster than the run of the mill hydraulic splitter.

Great to see someone young and ambitious getting into the business.  smiley_clapping

[Joe Hillmann]

I think getting a mill is a great idea, I just want to point out some questions that anyone who is looking at getting a mill should ask them self (When I got my mill running I was totally unprepared when it came to tools that are required to move logs.)

Do you have/have access to logs?

Do you have a way to get the logs to your mill?

Are you also budgeting for the support tools that go with a mill?  At the very least I would say you need a cant hook, a large pry bar (can be made for cheap out of a rear axle of a car) a come-a-long jack or winch, a chain or cable and a chainsaw.  All of the tools can be gotten second hand for fairly low cost.  You will also need to get a box or two of blades to start off.

Do you have a place to store/ dry the lumber you cut?

What are you going to do with the waste from the mill.(It produces way more slabs, sawdust, bark, and scrap that I had ever imagined, I do it as a hobby so don't work to hard but two or three days of cutting on the mill requires at least a half a day of clean up to deal with all the slabs)

How do you plan to get logs? Buying them? Cutting them? Getting them free from utility companies? Sawing the customers? In trade for sawing?

Do you have a way to deliver the lumber or are you planing for your customers to pick it up?

I am not asking you these questions because I expect you to respond to them, it is more just to point out things you may need to think about. (When I built my mill I didn't give it much of a though beyond,"it would be fun to have a mill" before I was finished building it.  I didn't give any of the logistics of it much thought until I had it built and running and had cut up the three logs I had access to)

I would also suggest that it may be easier to make money with a completely manual mill by specializing in "high value added" lumber/cuts or something that no one in your area is doing so you have less competition rather than trying to compete with larger mills on common lumber.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Mike

You remind me of another young Forest Forum member named Ty who lives in Indiana that was a bit younger than you when he got his LT-10 and began sawing wood. You might want to talk to him on the forum and see what tips he may have for you. As I recall he was cutting and selling a fair amount of wood.

Fred

[Dave Shepard]

Ty hasn't been on since April. Let's see if we can wake him up @tyb525