The search is over...Lumbermate 2000 23HP V-Twin (soon to take possession)

[TraditionalTool]

Ok, it seems I've been looking forever, which amounts to about 2-3 months in internet time...lol I was so intent to get the Mobile Dimension saw I posted about recently, but my mentor and master craftsman, Tim Bullock, talked me out of it. As much as I wanted to buy it, I took Tim Bullock's advice as I put a lot of faith in him, he has helped me do everything up to this point. The reason he doesn't like circular sawmills is that it is a lot harder to cut grade material, opposed to boards to sell. By this he means that cutting a 14x16 cant is possibly, but requires an entire log and harder to accomplish. Building log homes requires a lot of grade material.

I have found a mill to buy, and have talked to the seller and we're going to be doing the transaction very soon.

I'm getting a Lumbermate 2000 which I'm told has low hours, not sure how low but it looks in good order. The person I'm buying it from is a logger who is basically going out of business and sold his loader and skidder a while back. This sawmill has the 23HP V-Twin engine on it, which was important to me.

The mill has a custom bed made for it and it will cut a 25' log with the current setup. My plan is to extend it another 10' so that I can cut a 35' log. That will handle logs for the current size log home that I'm building, which is 28'x32'. The seller told me that he had this bed made custom for it, and it is much heavier than the bed which came on the Norwood 2000, and that I "WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH IT". I will be driving up to see it and do the transaction soon, but the seller asked if he could mill up a few logs he has left on his property before I get it, so he'll be milling for the next couple days.

Also, as an added bonus, the seller might have some Doug Fir to sell me, as well as line me up with a couple people that do logging so that I have a source for timber in the future. I need 10 cants that are 6x10 (20' long) for my roof rafters, and another 30 pieces of 3x12s for the porch rafters, a bunch of 2x6 t&g for the ceilings and flooring, etc...many of you know exactly why it starts to make sense when building a home in getting a sawmill of one's own...

Per the inet rules, I'm posting a pic from the seller so that others can't say, "no pics, didn't happen". :biggrinbounce2:

Hopefully more pics to come, but my camera is on the fritz unfortunately...I would rather buy the sawmill than get a new camera right now, so that will have to wait.

Cheers,
Alan

 

[redprospector]

Glad you found something Alan.
If you're going to be cutting for grade you probably will be happier with a band mill. The MDsaw will produce more, but if you're sacraficing grade for speed it might not be a good fit.
You can saw for grade on a MD, but it's a lot slower.
Good luck with the new mill, and you need to get a new camera too cuz we need pic's.

Andy

 

[TraditionalTool]

Glad you found something Alan.
If you're going to be cutting for grade you probably will be happier with a band mill. The MDsaw will produce more, but if you're sacraficing grade for speed it might not be a good fit.
You can saw for grade on a MD, but it's a lot slower.
Good luck with the new mill, and you need to get a new camera too cuz we need pic's.

Andy

Thanks Andy, and yes I think this will work out ok for me.

Tim Bullock really knows what he's doing, and builds some of the finest log homes on the planet. I was so fortunate to be able to learn from such an accomplished craftsman, Tim Bullock is up there with the finest of them. His most famous home is "Gideon's Cabin", which was built by the owner of a race horse named Gideon...the horse was injured in a race and the insurance companies payout was what built the log home.

Being able to mill faster is not as much of a concern for me as being able to mill what I need...I'm pretty excited to have found one finally...:biggrinbounce2:

Cheers,
Alan

 

[Coalsmoke]

Well, very happy that you finally found one to suit your needs. Did you manage to stay within budget or did that get stretched out a little? Sawmill shopping has a habit of doing that.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Well, very happy that you finally found one to suit your needs. Did you manage to stay within budget or did that get stretched out a little? Sawmill shopping has a habit of doing that.

Coal,

I think it's a fair price, $4k. The list was $5890 as I posted in the other thread, but it has the longer and heavier fabricated bed. I went to the bank today and got the cash. The seller seems a nice guy, and pulled the ad off craigslist for me.

He will mill up some logs he has over the next couple days before I take possession. I'm pretty excited to be getting it.

To SawyerRob, I put my money where my mouth was. I mentioned I didn't think the new MX34 was a good value for $1000 more, and certainly not for the $1700 it ended up being...but that didn't mean I didn't like the Norwood mills, quite the contrary, as I ended up buying one that is probably similar to what your using. That said, I don't hold it against you that the features were compelling for you. Do you think they are worth $1700 more?

 

[Coalsmoke]

Well Tool, you got a real good deal on that mill. We'll expect lots of pictures. Send me an email if you've got questions. I look forward to seeing what has been changed on the bed rails.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Well Tool, you got a real good deal on that mill. We'll expect lots of pictures. Send me an email if you've got questions. I look forward to seeing what has been changed on the bed rails.

Coal,

I will certainly get pics of the bed rails and/or what it comes with. I am having problems with my camera, and a Nikon D90 is in my future, but first I wanted this sawmill...

I'm curious if the original 16' bed comes with the sawmill I'm buying or not. AFAIK, Norwood only sells it with the 16' bed rails. It sounded to me when I spoke with the seller that he had this entire bed fabricated for him. Would be nice if I get the original as well. The main thing for me is the 23HP engine, as I need a mill that has at least a 20HP engine. I hear it makes quite a difference in the performance of this mill, and I believe you have the larger engine, right?

I'm also not sure what type of dogs/clamps are incorporated into this, so I will get some pics when I get it. It looks fairly clean in the picture, but not a very high resolution pic, and very hard to see the bed/rails. The gent I'm buying it from is quite knowledgeable about the logging industry and had various reasons why he purchased the Norwood specifically.

News at 11:00pm as they say...

 

[Coalsmoke]

Yep, I have the big Honda, works real well, cuts fast and steady. I can't imagine having any less power, and I'm sure if I had twice the power I'd still say the same thing

 

[TraditionalTool]

Yep, I have the big Honda, works real well, cuts fast and steady. I can't imagine having any less power, and I'm sure if I had twice the power I'd still say the same thing

lol, isn't that always the case?

When I was back at my friend's yard in West Virginia, his mill has a 30HP diesel engine on it, He told me if I was to use a small mill with a 5HP engine on it, I would soon realize the meaning of patience.

The lube system was just excellent with a tub that the blade traveled through with some type of small pump to keep the blade lubed, but it was totally enclosed. I did get spoiled using that mill. It was stationary, but the bed was raised about 1-2 feet off the ground, and solid as a rock. He had a CAT loader, so it made quick work of moving the logs around, we used mostly slings to lift, and flip the logs. But slings are better suited for 2 people, as one needs to walk with the log so that it doesn't swing all over the place...

At my humble (i.e., small) yard out west that I'm setting up, since I have been mostly working by myself I tend to use the forks mostly, rather than slings, but I did get some slings as that seems like it might work better as the courses start stacking up higher. Also I didn't know if I would need them to unload or not, but I was able to get all the logs off by going at the trailer from both sides. My son was home on break from college so he was a big help on the trailer while I worked the forklift.

This is all kind of an education in progress, in most aspects of log home building. I do heed his advice closely, as he is without a doubt one of the best log craftsmen breathing, and I owe him a great deal for teaching me everything he has so far. I was very lucky to have someone so skilled teach me the basics.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Good luck with the new mill, and you need to get a new camera too cuz we need pic's.

Andy,

Ok, I was able to get some pics, as my camera seems to work with the smartmedia card, but not the compact flash...I have a couple 32mb smartmedia cards, I get 34 pics on each one...so was able to get some pics.

DISCLAIMER: the bed/rails are a tad dirty as they haven't been painted and been sitting out for a few years, but it is solid as a rock. Toilets are not included...lol

This was purchased 03/2005, so not sure if this is the latest model or not, but it is pretty clean. I picked up all the manuals and such today, he gave me a whole pile of stuff including the shipping/freight invoice.

This is what the bed/rails look like. It is 30' long, and the cross members are double layers of square tube. The seller told me this is an exact match to the original bed/rails, dimension wise, and will hold a 32" log with 24" cut just like the originals.

You can kinda see the dog system, it attaches to a support that is between the cross member.

Front of carriage:

Side of carriage:

It also has 3 or 4 of these attachments, which are used for edging. They fit on the cross members and snug the boards up so they can be edged.

Can anyone tell me anything about this model? IOW, is it the older or newer model? I've seen another one that didn't have the 2 1/4" tubing on the carriage, but not sure how many models they had.

The drip/lube system works ok, and there's a separate tank for the gas. He told me it was sitting in the box for about 1 1/2 years before he and his son assembled it in their living room which drove his wife mad...lol He has never added any oil and it was full, he said he really hasn't used it much and the carriage looks it. He's giving me all the blades he has, most of which were used though, but I will sharpen them. A few of the blades are new.

He only opened the bed/rails to copy the dimensions from, and sold it to a friend of his that has a lumbermate 2000. This bed/rails are pretty hefty, not sure how much they weigh, but his friend has an big truck with a flat extended trailer he's going to bring it on, along with some Doug Fir and Ponderosa Pine.

I'm buying some Doug Fir from him for $300/1000bf (2000bf) and he's throwing in some Ponderosa Pine cants he had left from a project he cut.

Cheers,
Alan

 

[Andrew96]

I've been following along. I'm envious. Good for you...I can only wish and enjoy your new BSM along with you.
I know the guy didn't include the toilets..but did you get the fish?

 

[TraditionalTool]

I've been following along. I'm envious. Good for you...I can only wish and enjoy your new BSM along with you.
I know the guy didn't include the toilets..but did you get the fish?

Thanks Andrew, he didn't include the fish. He dragged them out to show me when I told him I started to learn how to carve with chainsaws.

He had a redwood stump sitting on a pallet that was about 4-5' wide, and 8-9' high that he was going to have a bear with a salmon carved out of.

The fish is a school that is on the other side of the fence, but only some are on the fence at the moment. He did mill up that fence material with the mill. He all types of cedar and ponderosa pine saying around in stacks with tarps over it.

He's selling me 2000bf of doug fir at $300/1000bf, which is a great deal, and he's gonna toss in some ponderosa pine cants as spice. I should have enough for my rafters.

I'll tell you something...it was hard to find a mill, it seemed there wasn't too many listed which fit my budget and/or were powerful enough, but this will do just dandy. Persistence paid off in the end, and craigslist came through again. The bed/rails cost him $1500 to have fabricated.

Cheers,
Alan

 

[Coalsmoke]

Very interesting bed rails. I think you may find the dogging system to be a bit of an aggravation, but no reason you couldn't buy some LM2000 dogs and backrests and put them on. Mill looks in good shape though.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Very interesting bed rails. I think you may find the dogging system to be a bit of an aggravation, but no reason you couldn't buy some LM2000 dogs and backrests and put them on. Mill looks in good shape though.

Right you are Coal, I'm not doing flips over the dog system, but the bed/rails are not bad from what I saw...I need to check it out closer when I get it.

The other thing is that there is no toe board system, and that would definitely be nice...as it stands I will need to raise/lower with a block on the cross beam.

Do you know how many different models of the LumberMate 2000 they made? I've seen this one for sale in Arizona that looks like it's possibly older as it has smaller tubing on it. Maybe it's the same and my bad eyes. My manual says "REVISED 12-10-2004".

Also, for extra credit, the 1 1/2" blade system only works with the 23HP engine per the old pricelist. Is that just a matter of replacing the bearings, or do you know if that involves the wheels also when you buy it?

Cheers,
Alan

 

[Coalsmoke]

That mill in that link is very clean looking, should make someone happy. It is a new model mill. I don't know how many different models there have been, but I can think of a couple. Like the Lumbermate Mark IV. Was a mid 90's platform.

As for toe boards, I keep at my mill a 1", 1.5" and 2" board, 24" long and 4" wide. They are manual toe boards and work fine. I generally don't toe up the big logs, just stuff up to the mid twenties. If a log is 30" with a lot of taper, like a big cedar but log, I probably don't want to bother sawing it anyways, so I tend to not let that stuff into my yard.

EDIT: Why do you want to run 1.5" blades? Everything out here can be sawn very well on 1.25" blades.

 

[TraditionalTool]

That mill in that link is very clean looking, should make someone happy. It is a new model mill. I don't know how many different models there have been, but I can think of a couple. Like the Lumbermate Mark IV. Was a mid 90's platform.

Yes, it is and he has just about every option available. IMO, he wants too much money for it and in my talking with him the least he would come down to was $7800, but I only offered him $5k and told him I wasn't sure if I would go to $6k, even so we were still $1800 apart so no use in discussing any further as I wasn't even sure I would go the $6k. The $9800 is close to the list of everything, and IMO, it would be stupid to pay list, especially for all the options...most of which the majority of folks will not buy. The shingler does me no good as we can't use wood shingles if we want insurance in Cali. Some of the other stuff is marginal.

As for toe boards, I keep at my mill a 1", 1.5" and 2" board, 24" long and 4" wide. They are manual toe boards and work fine. I generally don't toe up the big logs, just stuff up to the mid twenties. If a log is 30" with a lot of taper, like a big cedar but log, I probably don't want to bother sawing it anyways, so I tend to not let that stuff into my yard.

Kinda my thinking right now, but I see it being useful for logs to build homes for where you want the pith in the center of the wall log, if possible.

EDIT: Why do you want to run 1.5" blades? Everything out here can be sawn very well on 1.25" blades.

I don't, I just wanted to understand what it is they provide for the cost of the option. I kinda agree with what you say, but just want to know what is provided for the $159 and if it was just bearings or were there other parts?

I went back to your site and was looking around and saw you had quite a bit of trouble with the Honda GX, but it seems resolved. Did you ever determine what caused that? This one I'm buying has the B&S, but was just curious. If I was given a choice I would probably pick the Honda, as I like Japanese product (lived there for 5 years and my wife is Japanese).

Cheers,
Alan

 

[Ted J]

Alan,

Congrats, It looks like your getting a good deal there, looks stout.

Ted

 

[TraditionalTool]

Congrats, It looks like your getting a good deal there, looks stout.

I think it is Ted, getting it moved is going to be a chore, as the bed/rails are 30' in length, so it won't fit on a 20' trailer easily. Working on getting both the mill and a couple thou bf of doug fir moved down to the yard now...

Cheers,
Alan

 

[TraditionalTool]

What a day...whew...

Ok, the plan today was to go down to the yard and get things organized so that next week when the mill and more logs come, I would have space and be ready...

So, I got all my logs in a stack together, and had 3 large cants for the main floor posts (8x8s) and one piece of the ridge beam (2 piece ridge beam which will be keyed into the post top). That piece is fairly large, 8x14. Well, this really forked up my day, for lack of a better term...

After a lot of swearing and spinning the tires, the forklift ran out of propane, so I suspected, so I got the backup tank but it wouldn't start. I started getting very frustrated...so decided to go fill the main tank...when I got back it still wouldn't start, and still stuck of course...when my buddy the log craftsman called from West Virginia...I explained what was wrong, he said go home and come back tomorrow, that often the log fairy fixes things overnight and maybe it would start again...after I was off the phone with him I called a friend who said he'd help me tomorrow...but we still needed the forklift running to have a chance of pulling it out, after all it weighs over 10,000 lbs. I went over and thought I would try one more time before I left, whola, it started. I tried to dig it out some, but still, tire would just spin...I tried putting the 3 8x8 cants on it, to weight the front down, no luck...so called another buddy that had gone up to Tomales Bay and was getting me some oysters...(NOTE: if you like oysters and visit SF Bay area, Tomales Bay is a must go, you can BBQ them right on the beach...and what do you know, his little Suzuki Vista could get it out...this is what I ended up with also!

Here's what I really wanted to post though...on the right side of the shed at my rental yard, there is a garage style door. It is kinda short, but tall enough for the LumberMate.

My plan is to keep the mill inside the shed, and cut the bottom of the right side door so that it will fit over the bed and close when not in use. I have 15 feet from the back wall of the shed to the front framing. So the bed/rails will extend out about 15 feet in it's current setup.

It is just about 6-6.5 feet tall when open, as I recall, which is enough for the LumberMate.

Here's my stack of logs to build my log home with, doug fir coming next week for the rafters, which I will mill into 6x10 cants (20' long). The two top front logs are already fitted, and are the top course (5th). You can see the tags on them. In the very back of the yard (in front of the truck graveyard) is where I will stack the doug fir logs when they come next week, they will be the first ones I'll cut on the mill.

 

[Backwoods]

Nice spot to keep a mill tucked away in, and plenty of room for logs. I have a 11,000 lb forklift and it like hard surfaces like asphalt or it will stick it’s self so bad that it takes 3 ½ hours with a 1 ton truck, 35 ton jack, two shovels and a whole lot of blocking to get it out. It don’t go out on the gravel this time of year.