finally bought a sawmill...

[Ted J]

.... well, I finally used the money from the sale of the motorcycle, and ordered a Woodmizer LT-15 Wednesday night, it should be here next week.

I'll have to go pick it up at the freight company in Houston, as I don't have any way to get it off the semi. Well, I should say the tractor won't lift 1300 lbs, half that wouldn't be a problem, but 1300 lbs is a bit much for my little Mahindra.

I went ahead and ordered the Power Feed as well as the 48" alum cant hook, and a box of bandsaw blades. I will be looking for a metal detector and moisture meter in the near future, and a bandsaw blade sharpener on down the road.

I'll post some pics later.

Ted

 

[BIG JAKE]

Right on Ted. Milling pics have been scant around here of late-need more folks to post. I'd be milling myself but my trucks in the shop about a hundred miles away getting new injectors so I'm dead in the water for now. Lookin' forward to seeing the pics!

 

[Ted J]

Right on Ted. Milling pics have been scant around here of late-need more folks to post. I'd be milling myself but my trucks in the shop about a hundred miles away getting new injectors so I'm dead in the water for now. Lookin' forward to seeing the pics!

Well, without guys like you, Sawyer Rob and M.R. giving good honest advice and suggestions, I probably would have taken longer to make the purchase. Especially after the road trip that M.R. took to look at another sawmill a short while back, it got me to thinking, and the choice wasn't just so cut and dry, but I'm happy with the choice, and looking forward to using the machine.

Ted

 

[deeker]

Congrats!!! Now your screwed like the rest of us.

Sawdust for lunch???

Breakfast...and dinner....

Good luck.

Kevin

 

[Ted J]

I called and was told the saw is in the shippers yard here in Houston. I will pick it up tomorrow afternoon after work.

Ted

 

[BobL]

I called and was told the saw is in the shippers yard here in Houston. I will pick it up tomorrow afternoon after work.

Ted

Doomed - I say - Doomed, just like the rest of us!

 

[BIG JAKE]

Ted? Update? Pics? opcorn:

 

[MotorSeven]

Your gonna love it, the 15 is a great mll. I am in the middle of building a 16' extension for mine which will give me a 27' cut capacity.....more than enough for my needs. Enjoy!

RD

 

[Brmorgan]

Good luck with the mill, now the fun begins.

The WoodMizer reps are in town here right now during the big Stampede (rodeo) since town population pretty much doubles over this weekend. They have an LT15, 28, and 40 all set up in a parking lot and are doing demos today and tomorrow. I went up today to check them out and watch them first-hand and ask some questions. I was pretty impressed with the LT15 overall, but I think the 28 would be more my size of machine. They also had a lathe attachment on the LT28 which I'd never seen before. Pretty slick though, they made some round posts also some octagonal ones on it before I got there. The LT40 they had setup there was pretty much fully loaded and cost almost $40K CDN as built. It had full power/hydraulic everything, and also the cut-line debarker attachment.

If I had a few grand kicking around I'd have been really tempted to just buy a mill from them today rather than build my own, but then again where's the fun in that?:monkey:

 

[Ted J]

Well,
Got off from work at 2:30, had to trek back home for the trailer, picked up the LT15 and got back to the house at 7:30. Had to feed the LOML and by the time that was done it started to get dark out.

So... tomorrow morning I take it off the trailer and start unpacking. Just hope the temps don't get too high as they were today, it got to 106* when I was leaving the house at 4:30 to go to the shipping warehouse.

Pictures tomorrow...


Later,
Ted

PS:
MotorSeven.... if your building one... why not two, hint hint nudge nudge know what I mean, eh eh?

 

[Ted J]

Doomed - I say - Doomed, just like the rest of us!

Better Doomed than Damned!:chainsawguy:

 

[Ted J]

Well... rise and shine...... coffee helps!!:biggrinbounce2:
Got outside a little after 8AM with the temp at around 85*

 

[Ted J]

Got all the wrap and straps taken off, unloaded the boxes off to the side.

I have only one complaint... so far. Maybe it's just me, if I'm being too nitpicky, but I don't think so.

IMO whomever does the packing, should wrap the mill in plastic first and then wrap the boxes in. Wherever a box was in contact with the paint, the paint lost the battle. If you look at the first pics and the position of the boxes, you'll notice the paint is worn off at those places. Maybe there is some touch-up paint in one of the boxes. Hopefully, I haven't opened them up yet!
But here are the pics:

Like my wife said when she saw the worn paint. "If it's going to be worn, chipped or scratched, at least you'de like to do it and not have anyone else to blame." ...My sentiments exactly! Mainly the doors I guess, 'cause that's the part that you see first. I'de like it to look good for as long as possible with minimal rust, not after the first week I get it.

 

[Ted J]

As I looked it over to see how it was attached to the pallet, both skids stacked and the head unit sitting in between, I realize that the tractor FEL was not going to be able to lift the head unit high enough to clear. So I have to move the trailer a little further away from the fence line and get this pallet onto the ground.

My neighbor caught me in deep thought and asked if I needed any help, and I dodn't mind having help and the company, plus and extra set of eyes and a brain... "sure, come on over." We like our neighbors alot, they are nice people.

With my half a brain and his full brain, we got it off the trailer and onto the ground no problem. Then we started on taking the head unit out, the lift line had to be as short as possible to clear the two stacked bases.

Our neighbors small dog, and the dog from the neighbor down the street offered their advice and kept the rubber on the tires from drying out...

 

[Ted J]

So far, this is where I'm at, and this is how the unit sits right now, since 9:30 this morning.

We had to run into town to pick up the mower, had lunch, and a trip to the BORG (HD).

When we got home, right before noon, the temp was at 104*, and I know better than go work outside in these temps....... yea, the wife, remember her:bang: Around 2:00 it got to 105.7*, and it's now 103*.

Guess I'll have to wait 'till late this afternoon, but I can bring the boxes in and open them up.

Ted

 

[MotorSeven]

Interesting...that track is different than mine which is a '01 vintage. The bunks & end attachment points look like a re-design that is easier to make. I guess they have made quite a few changes since mine was built. Ted, I'd love to build some to sell, but I don't know at this point how much profit there would be in it for me. It is a possibility, but I definatly want to see my creation actually function before considering it. Some of the parts I bought I know I paid too much for, so there is some research & pricing that would have to be done if buying in quanity.
Shoot some more pics of the track when you get it set up, as I would like to see any changes that will make building an extension easier/cheaper.

RD

 

[Ted J]

RD,
If you do decide to make any to sell just remember you may have to make them in sections for shipping, and figure out how you want them to go together and be aligned, which might be the tricky part. Woodmizer makes extra 7 foot sections for the LT15 for $620 plus $100 for shipping for me. I almost added an extra section when buying, but I decided to get the power feed add-on instead!

Speaking of which... I got outside later, at around 6:00, and got the rail section off the pallet, levelers on, started to line them up but it was getting dark out.

It was still hot and the humidity being around 70% was the killer. That's what happens when ya work inside A/C all day, ya get spoilt, and soft. When my neighbor was over helping earlier, and I was sweating like a cold drink on a hot day, he didn't even break a sweat.

Hopefully tomorrow won't be as humid, yea right! I may have to move the rails over to the sidewalk to make sure they go together level.

Ted

 

[MotorSeven]

Yes, get the mill on something close to level to bolt it all together. Run a string ontop of the drive side rail(flat bar bolted to the side), it will show you any trouble ahead of time. And then, pay close attention to the level when you set it up at it's final location. If you are not perfectly level the last board off the mill will show your error(my first try ended up thick/thin/thick & off by over a quarter an inch).
As far as shipping small sections, I wouldn't consider it. I would consider throwing a 20'er on a trailer and meeting someone halfway though.........(have Duramax...will travel)

RD

 

[Ted J]

I got outside at 8AM... I knew it was going to be another hot one. Decided against moving the rails and I leveled it up where it lay. I bought one of the electronic levels a while back... those things are great. I did put a string on it to double check too.

I set the head unit on and it rolls nice and smooth. I'm heading out in a little while to try finish it up as best I can, considering the heat is starting to slow me down. When I came in earlier, I ate lunch and took a nap.... (well, I fell asleep in my computer chair.)
Later,
Ted

 

[Ted J]

I called Woodmizer this afternoon about getting some paint to touch up the frame caused by the way the boxes were packaged and they wanted pictures, so I emailed :computer:them some pics of the before and after unwrapping of the mill.

They were checking out the pictures while I was on the phone, said new doors and some touch up paint would be on the way out to me, I'm impressed. Thumbs up for Woodmizer

on a sadder note:
The temps today got up to 107+ at the house, and were down to 105 when I got home 45 minutes ago... gotta wait 'till it goes down before trying to finish up putting the rest of the parts on.

Ted