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Woo, Hoo Mx LX450 Diesel is finally here...

Started by Stuart Caruk, December 28, 2017, 08:37:42 PM

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POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: reswire on January 05, 2018, 10:51:58 PM
I'm still waiting to see another control system available for this mill.  Is it an engineering issue, or did they just push it to market too quickly?  Seems like a test run for more, four post mills from woodmizer....
   

What about the control system? Since I've only seen pictures of this mill, I'm not sure what you're talking about.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Stuart Caruk

I'd of course love to see a 3 axis servo drive, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. I've gotten to the root of my speed variance issues, and now it's cutting at a consistent speed. Sure has more power and everything goes faster than the LT35. The log loader sucks in my application. You can't lower it a wee bit and use it to hold boards. The extension they use to bring the logs over the rails goes sticks up higher, and once you get down to 4" or so off the rails, it will hit. This won't really be an issue since I use a log deck, and was planning on removing the loader anyway.

So far I'm quite happy. I just need to find the time to make all the little upgrades I need.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

dean herring

Failure is not an option  3D Lumber

PA_Walnut

Congrats! Nice rig. I like your shed design...it may be my next hurdle! When I bought my 40Wide last year, I was seriously considering the 450 as well, but decided to stick with a legacy.

I have the Yanmar Tier4 on my LT40 Wide and the Regen doesn't bother me at all--unlike my Kubota tractor, and Chevy truck...both with regen and are a PITA.  The tractor isn't toooooo bad...just required you park it, run it at high-revs while it closes an exhaust baffle, allowing it to get hot enough to burn off the particulates. It takes 10-15 mins. The truck does is without intervention, but gets so hot it smells like something's burning up underneath and is HORRIBLE....dumbest thing EVER. Thank you Mr. Politician with an agenda. Please explain this global warming thing to all of us since about Christmas!! ::) >:(

The Yanmar's regen is rather transparent and unobstructive. It's a nice unit and has been trouble-free for me with appx 100 hours. Yeah-yeah....I know MagicMan must scoff at those kinda hours. LOL  :D :D
I own my own small piece of the world on an 8 acre plot on the side of a mountain with walnut, hickory, ash and spruce.
LT40HD Wide 35HP Diesel
Peterson Dedicated Wide Slabber
Kubota M62 Tractor/Backhoe
WoodMizer KD250 Kiln
Northland 800 Kiln

richhiway

Woodmizer LT 40
New Holland 35 hp tractor
Stihl Chainsaws
Ford 340 Backhoe

Stuart Caruk



My extension is taking shape. I had a huge job in my CNC shop cancel out on me, so I found time last week to cut up the tubing for my mill extension. On Sunday night I had it bolted to the concrete, the rails and angle iron guides are in place, and the the drive chains are back on, so I can use the mill in its original form.

I should have the bed rails finished up and welded in by the weekend, and hopefully get my stop loader arms fabbed up as well.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

YellowHammer

Good work.
Can you show a few more pictures of your deck?  What are you using to drive the chains? What about rails? I like the design.  
Thanks
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

Stuart Caruk

Hmnn, it dawns on me that I used a picture before I had the rails, chains, and angle iron keepers on. Let's try again...



If you look close in the photo above, you can see the round rail that the gantry runs on, some 1/3/4" angle iron that runs along both sides (they use keepers on the gantry that go under this so it can't jump off the rails), and some 40 roller chain that runs down both sides.



Looking at the end stops, there is a chain tension bracket on either side. There is one at each end of the rails on both sides. I simply unhooked the chain from the bracket, and added another 30 feet or so of chain and hooked them back up. The chain rests on the supports that go under the mill rails out to the feet. I couldn't figure out how to tension the chains, because I would normally look at the sag to get them even. I had the tension waaaaaaaay off initially. It was much higher on one side than the other and the machine would kind of wiggle down the rails with the chains making a horrid slapping sound inside the gantry frame. 

The drive is simple enough. There's a pretty beefy drive on the upper side of the gantry on the loader side. It drives a torque tube with sprockets on either side of the gantry. Chains are fixed to one end of the rails, go up through some idler sporckets to the torque tube back down, past another sprocket and go to the far end of the rails. The drive essentially just pulls the gantry along the chain, just like any chain driven Woodmizer, except it's on both sides.

Oh, the trick to getting even tension... I use a framing square and lifted the chains in the middle of the run, with the gantry at one end. I matched the height I was able to lift the chains. Originally I used the same # of links, and equal distances on both sides. The difference in the height I could lift the chains this way was substantial. By adjusting them to lift the same height, the drive is smooth again, and the noise is way less. I'm pretty sure it can be resolved with either more, or less tension. I hate to stretch the chain super tight, because I know that the force goes to infinity as the tension goes higher... 



If you look close you can see the angle, chains and round bar on the loader side.

Keen eyes will notice the log loader, hitch, wheels and axle have been removed. If you look close you can see the cutouts for my stop loader arms to lift logs up from my log deck to this mill height.  

I just finished welding up the deck cross beams, and they should go onto the mill tomorrow so I can tap them and have my version of Woodmizers adjustable bed rails. So far I'm pretty happy how this is turning out.

I'm happier that the hydraulics place called today and told me the fix I made to my Barko Log loader track drive motor worked this time and there are no leaks. After pulling and replacing the sucker 4 times, I figured I'd pressure test the sucker before reinstalling it this time.

I think I may have overkilled this extension a bit... I made the assumption that Woodmizer used 1/4" tubing on their frame. I was wrong... but heck nothing wrong with building a bit too strong I guess. I could have done with thinner pads for the feet, but I had loads of 3/4" plate on the table that was going to scrap that it was just as easy to squeeze the feet and jack plates out of. Sure is nice to have the right machines on hand for the job.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

YellowHammer



Very well done.  So I'm assuming you made a spacing jig to get the round main bearing rails welded accurately to match the WM spacing.  Are you going to weld and grind them to the WM rails or leave an open joint?

Also, the yellow cutoff saw in your picture, I can't make out the brand or crosscut capacity?  I'm looking for a wide capacity alternative to my current crosscut saw.
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

Stuart Caruk

Getting the rails on was easy. I took great pains to ensure that the frame was dead straight as I welded it up. Once it was complete, I aligned the rail sections with some stretched nichrome wire, and rawl bolted the extension to the ground. I got the extra rail sections from Woodmizer with the mill, because I wanted the hole in the center of the rods. I clamped short sections of flatbar to the edge of my 3" x 6" tubing with welders clamps so the rail would stay put. I pinned and joined the rail section on one side, then tacked it in place using the flat bar to keep it flush to the edge of the tubing. I welded it out alternating sides to keep the round bar from rolling, twisting or bending. You can see the join where the rail sections come together, but it's a perfect fit, and doesn't even click going across it.

One that side was complete, I removed the chains from the end of the rails and tied them up to the carriage. I rolled the carriage down and used it to align the 2nd rail, since it has V wheels on both sides. This also helped me solve my erratic drive issues, because the gantry was still binding in a few spots, shaving orange paint as it traveled down the rails.

The chop saw table is really handy for making proper length boards with straight ends. It's a pair of Ryobi 14" sliding compound miter saws that I bought at Home Depot for $249/ each. They will actually cleanly cut 14" x 4" material without flipping, but the rubber sawdust guard gets smooshed in the process. Great saws for the price. That table tunrs out to be a really handy tool that saves me a lot of work.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

CX3

Nice mill!

I was actually thinking if height was a problem to reach in there with a little mini track hoe and dig the bottom out from under where the tires sit. But I'm lazy
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

Stuart Caruk

I found it easier to take the tires and the axles off... besides, it makes it that much harder for the criminal element to steal when I'm gone to lunch.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

Stuart Caruk

Well, the frame extension is mostly done. I've cut and welded up the individual bed rails and milled the adjustable support brackets that will hold them. Now I've got them in my Sharp CNC mill to drill and tap them.

Even with all the right tools, this is still a royal PITA. I swear, I must have as much time making the bed rails as I did the entire frame assembly.



Drilling the mounting holes, holes to mount on the stainless bedrails, and the extra toe roller brackets.



Tapping the 5/8"-11 holes for the adjustable bed leveling. It's almost an exact copy of a Woodmizer bed rail, only made out of 1/4" tubing.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

Kbeitz

I think you got more money tied up in vises than you do the mill...
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Stuart Caruk

It usually has either 6 Kurt vices mounted, or 4 chick double locks and a pair of horizontal pneumatically indexed chick 4 vice tombstones.... for a total of 24 jaw sets.

It's a very handy tool, and darned accurate. Tool still costs waaaay more than the vices though. So far it's made back what I paid about a dozen times over plus a bit.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

Stuart Caruk

I took the mill apart to paint the extension, and now it's back in place, hooked up and good to go.



The adjustable bed rails are installed, just like factory. I think it took longer to make the rails and install that holders, that to build the extension.



I got my stop loader built for the log deck. So far it works well, but it needs a bit of tweaking, especially for short logs. I also need to remove the existing Woodmizer loader hardware, as it turns out I don't need it.



Turns out that the log deck chains and the stop loaders work just fine off an old LT40 hydraulic box that I got from a friend. I thought it might be ridiculously slow, but that's not the case.



The biggest problem now is that my edger is about 5" to low. With my extension in the way, I can't fit more than 12' long boards through the edger. So, I'm going to weld in some 4" tubing + a couple plates to raise the edger. I think it's time to lose the axle and wheels as well. Might as well add my green line laser to match the guide, which will make trimming live edge flitches way easier.






At least the edger is under cover...

Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

Darrel

Pretty awesome setup you got there. Pretty cool how you send the flitches out the window to edge them. 
1992 LT40HD

If I don't pick myself up by my own bootstraps, nobody else will.

Ga Mtn Man

Wait a minute...who has an old WM hydraulic box just sittin around??  There's got to be a story here.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

Rougespear

May I ask what paint you used/recommend for industrial equipment strength?  Did you sandblast?
Custom built Cook's-style hydraulic bandmill.

Stuart Caruk

The Woodmizer hydraulic box came from a friend who's on his 4th or 5th mill. He has loads of parts lying around. I supect this came from a used LT40 that he gutted to use as a frame extension. It was sitting in his shed for 5 years or so. He offered... I couldn't say no. Took a bit of cleaning to get it to run without smoking, and the switches that shut off the solenoids still stick a bit, but it's working.

For paint, I've always used machinery enamel with synthetic reducer. No need to sandblast. It stops rust, and frankly the paint sticks better if you let it get a skim coat of rust and hit it with a scoth brite pad and some acytone before you paint it. I've used this paint for years and it stands up really well.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

starmac

Was that machinery allis chalmer color by any chance?

I have to say your set up is looking awesome.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Stuart Caruk

Nope, custom mixed to match the sample from a plate off the woodmizer. Kubota orange was to dark, safety orange was too light. The guys at Bob's Paintland are wizards at matching colors. the amazing part was that the paint actually kicked off in the 40 degree weather.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

starmac

Ok got it, it is amazing how well they can computer match paint these days. I know here it the sample has to be on metal though. When trying to match anything on a truck, most parts you can take off easily is either plastic or fiberglass, and for some reason they can't use it.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Stuart Caruk

Nope, these guys are old school wizards. The new guys take the paint codes from the factory code, and use a base color and the appropriate drops of tint to match. Pure science.

These guys take a base color and add a tint, and a bit of this and that based on their knowledge and the generally hit right on. I've given them samples of machine parts, and painted wood and plastic. I try to stick with a stock color, but for some odd reason I've decided to match woodmizers orange.

Now I judt need to run into it with the forklift to get the first oops out of the way.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

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