a long drive and a dream come true

[mikeb1079]

i was poking around craigslist the other night (always dangerous) and i spied what i felt was a really really good deal on an hydraulic mill.  luckily i was able to get ahold of the seller and it was still for sale.  sweet!! the only problem is that i live 8hrs away.  well now the gears are turning so i spent most of the day saturday trying to get my ducks in a row so to speak.  then i begged borrowed and stole enough $ to pay for the mill, had a serious discussion with the wife, in which i thought she was going to divorce me on the spot (it's fine now  )  and set out sunday morning at 4am. 


up through green bay, then east through the u.p. to the big lake:



over the mackinaw brigde (which is amazing btw) and down through mainland michigan to a little town called atlanta....
after 8 hours of driving i was REALLY hoping to see the mill in decent shape and to hear the motor run.....and i wasn't disappointed.



a 99 woodmizer super hydraulic with the 42hp kubota.   8) 8) 8)
hydraulic everything and came with the lapsider attachment and a ton of lightly used bands.  now keep in mind i'm coming from running my homemade mill with a 16hp motor w/manual everything.  this is gonna be fun.

grab some lunch and head out for a long drive home, nervous that the mill wouldn't make it or i'd brake down etc....

chasing the sun



about an hour after this pic i glanced down to change the radion station, looked up and POW i ran head first at 60mph into a yearling doe.  scared the fugde outta me.  luckily (for me) the doe was small and hit right on the bumper....there wasn't a thing i could do, it happened very fast.  bumper is dented heavily and the grill is cracked but i was able to drive home which was very relieving.  the deer was killed instantly and thrown about 20' off the side of the road.  i felt terrible but at least it didn't suffer much.....

anyways......the mill needs a thorough going over as it's been sitting for a little bit (but under a roof thankfully) but looks really solid.  i plan to take my time over the next few weeks and slowly go through all the maintenence stuff in the manual and familiarize myself with the mill.  then it's milling time!!   8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

thanks for riding along on my journey

[Ocklawahaboy]

Congrats on the mill.  Didn't know you could make it from the U.P. To Atlanta on 8hrs

[beenthere]

Smiley_thumbsup

[Magicman]

Congratulations!!!  Call WM with the S/N and get registered.  Did it come with the manuals?

[customsawyer]

Congrats on the mill. That Kabota is a good engine on that mill.

[New Brunswick]

Congrats and thanks for taking us on your journey. 

[Peter Drouin]

Good for you, 8) 8) 8)

[dgdrls]

That is a dandy find,  congratulations.
You will be amazed at how effortlessly that Kubota
pulls through a cut and the fuel savings

Sorry about your little mishap on the way home.

Best
DGDrls

[goose63]

Thanks for the trip sorry to hear bought the deer congrats on the new to you mill happy sawing 8) 8)

[WoodenHead]

That is an awesome find.     I think you'll really enjoy the steps up from a gas/manual mill to the diesel/hydraulics.  Congrats!   8)

[Chuck White]

Congratulations on the new mill!

[slider]

Good score bet you are going to like it.al

[barbender]

Good score, Mike! I had the same journey, I went from a homemade mill to a 97 super. Many people feel (myself included) that the Kubota was the best engine to ever sit on a WM ;)

[thecfarm]

That sounds good.

[Bricklayer51]

A great find. To bad about the deer could have been worse you were at the elk capitol of mi.

[YellowHammer]

Congrats. sounds like you got a good one.  Be careful,
YH

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Thanks for sharing! Someday I hope to post my mill buying adventure here as well!

[backwoods sawyer]

42 hp kabota ;D can't wait to hear about making sawdust, you will like it  8)

[Tree Dan]

Wow nice upgrade, you must be happy!

[LaneC]

Congrats on the mill. I hope you enjoy it. As far as the deer, it will not go to waste so don't feel too bad. A lot of different things will eat it. Be safe with your mill and congrats again.

[mikeb1079]

thanks for all the positive messages fellas!  it's really fun to come on here and share this kinda stuff with other sawmill enthusiasts.    

i wasn't really looking for a "super" as they were always out of my price range (by quite a lot usually) but the seller needed quick cash i guess....and i was happy to be in the right place at the right time.   8) 8)

Call WM with the S/N and get registered.  Did it come with the manuals?

i will definitely register it with wm.  and yes it came with all the manuals which is really nice as i have no experience with a mill like this.  gonna perform as many maintenence tasks as i can before i even attempt to saw a log....i'd rather wait a little bit then break something.   :D

[flatrock58]

I just bought my first sawmill last month, which is a 2001 WM lt40 Super with the Kubota.  I got the resaw, CBN sharpener, single tooth setter, 6' extension and the seat.  Came with 25 rusty blades. I almost bought a manual LT30 but my wife made me wait to get a hydraulic mill since I have some back problems.   I finally got everything working and have been sawing some this week.  Broke my first one yesterday.

I hope you enjoy your new toy.  I have been impressed with Woodmizer in Newnan, Ga.  They have been very helpful and once you are registered you can look up parts and track you purchases.

Steve

[Delawhere Jack]

Congrats Mike! A 40 Super, got to admit I'm a bit jealous. Moving up from a manual mill, you'll be smiling ear to ear first time you turn a big log with the flick of a lever.  ;)

As PostonLT40 advised when I got my mill, read the manuals, take the covers off the various parts of the mill and get familiar with it. It's a pretty amazing piece of engineering, but not really that complicated once you see how all the part work.

Happy Milling!

[mikeb1079]

good advice all around fellas, thanks again.  as excited as i am to mill some logs i'm going to slowly go through the mill with manual in hand to familiarize myself with all the functions.  speed will come with time.   :laugh:

dj:  i am sooo looking forward to turning a large log with the flick of a lever!!   

[backwoods sawyer]

just don't flick it the wrong way at the wrong time, big logs land on the ground that way : ;D