Struggling with mill decision

[exssnelt]

I've been lurking for a while and thought it was time to say hello. First off I would like to say how much I enjoy this board. The willingness of people to help others is outstanding. On to my question. I know this topic has been covered dozens of times, but I still can't seem to decide. Here is my situation-I will be building a timber frame on 5 acres that I have in West Virginia. Most of the trees are white oak. What would be a better decision for milling these timbers, a chainsaw mill or a WM-LT15. Speed of milling is of a lower concern than quality of milling. I am concerned that the WM may not have enough power. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jim

[DanG]

Welcome.

The LT-15 is the hands down winner in my mind.  It will cut what ever you can poke into it.  Not sure what the max capacity is, though.  If your logs are really big, you might want to consider a swinger.

[exssnelt]

Thanks DanG. That's the way I'm leaning right now (LT-15). Most of the milling will be cants (posts and beams) and flat sawn (siding) with a little quarter sawn (floor and cabinets). I like the swingers, but they are a little more than I want to spend right now.

[ronwood]

exssnelt,

Welcome to the fourm. I would recomend either a bandsaw mill or a swingblade. I have never used a chainsaw mill but my friend that I cut for had one at one time. He sold it and bought a manual bandsaw mill. Even with a manual your production would probably be better than with a chainsaw mill.

Ron

[Part_Timer]

Welcome to the forum.

I had an LT-15 and it will cut anything you can put on it and some stuff that never should have been put on it.   ;)  However like Dang said if your going to do large logs you might want to save up and go with the swinger.
I got real tired in a hurry of quatering large ones to fit em on the mill.
as long as you have some good support equipment the LT would be fine.

I ended up trading up to a 8" Peterson.  I like being able to cut 8x8 without having to man handle slabs to get there.  I've also cut lap siding on it and it comes out nice.

Best of luck with your decision

Tom

[brdmkr]

I like my Lucas, but it is the 618.  Thus, I am limited to 6.25 inch cuts without double cutting.  If I were buildling a timber frame, I would probably go with a bandmill.   If 8" timbers or smaller will work then several of the swingblade mills will work.  Welcome to the forum.

[IL Bull]

Welcome to the forum.  I would go with the manual band mill.  Thinner kerf and less blade to try and push through the log.

[Bibbyman]

If you're going to be making long beems for your timber frame house, one great advantage with an LT15 is that you can add extensions to reach from here to anywhere.  Wood-Mizer has used it to saw beems that were 100' long.

[exssnelt]

Thanks for the input. It looks like the WM LT-15 is for us.

[Modat22]

not trying to change the subject or anything but I was wondering is anyone has home built a swing blade mill?

[exssnelt]

I looked at doing something like that, but having a large blade at high rpm requires more engineering than I have. I basically thought of using a vertical 27 hp vertical shaft engine combined with a cluch and pulley system.

[Brucer]

I used an Alaskan mill for 20 years to cut my own wood for friends and family (and me  ;)) The quality of the finish beat anything I've ever seen come off a bandmill.

Last year I ran a hydraulic WoodMizer for a local guy and I was sawing in two days what used to take me a month with the chainsaw mill. This year I bought an LT40 and started my own business. Takes me 4 days to saw a month's worth of chain-saw milling. I still haven't matched the quality of finish, but I've come close.

I also watched a WoodMizer rep demo'ing an LT15 last year. He was zipping through logs a good deal faster than I could put an Alaskan mill through them -- and he wasn't eating the fumes, and he was walking upright.

Based on all this, if I were sawing timbers for my own house-sized project, I'd go with the LT15 over the chainsaw any day.

[Don K]

Welcome to The Forum.  I have a LT 15 and I love it. I also have seen the advantages of a swinger, but budget wise it was a WM for me. Excellent folks to deal with too.  As for as capacity, the manufacturer says 28" log diameter with a 23" cant capacity. Good sawing with whatever choice you make. ;D

[iain]

In the ideal world get a band mill, and have a chain mill for curved logs and "special's" if you can



      iain

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Hey there Exssnelt,

We are practically neighbors. I live in Laruel MD and have a place in Great Cacapon WV.

Where are you building in WV?

I have harvested a few trees off of my land in WV, quite a few after last years hurricanes!
I haul them home and zing them down on my Norwood bandmill.

I used to run an Alaskan with a Sthil 066, LABOR intensive!!! I really slept well at night.
The bandmill is much faster, doesn't waste as much wood (thin kerf) and mine leavs a pretty nice finish.

Jon

[exssnelt]

Hey Jon,

Nice to see a local. The property is in Hedgesville, outside Martinsburg. Looks like the band mill is the way to go. The timber frame will be similar to the one in Jack Sobon's book "Build a Classic Timber-Framed House" except the roof will be a gambrel style for more headroom.

Jim

[Warren]

exssnelt,

I have an LT 15 with 10hp diesel engine and a total of 4 bed sections (24' cut).   Not sure what size timbers you will need for a timber frame.  I saw 16', 20', and 24' oak logs to make 5"x9" and 6"x10" rails for farm wagons.  I don't think the LT15 will be the limiting factor to saw out the timber frame.

Something to consider is support equipment for handling the logs.  Getting a 20' to 24' oak log that is 18" to 20" diameter onto the mill takes a good amount of effort.  Also, turning a long cant after squaring the 3rd side takes a good bit of effort. There is no way I could do either of these things by myself on a manual mill. Sooo, since I saw mostly by myself, I have a C70 truck with hydraulic knuckle boom (no grapple) to do the heavy lifting and turning on the manual mill.  Even when the daughter's boyfriend helps, we still use the truck until we get down to a 12" to 13" cant on the long logs.

The other thing to be mindful of when milling larger logs on a light mill is to make certain the mill is set up solid.  I have about 16" drop from one end of my mill to the other due to the extra bed rails.  Unfortunately, I've managed to knock it off the blocks a couple times when loading, or rolling large logs. Nothing catastrophic.  But it gets your attention.

Recently, I pondered getting a swing blade in addition to the LT 15 to handle large daimeter logs I get from a couple tree services, and to break down the larger logs I drop in the woods and can not easily skid out.  But I decided to focus on additional support equipment.  I just bought an older Ford skid steer, and I've still got my mind set on getting a kiln in the next year or so...

Did anyone mention to you that saw dust is addictive ???

Warren

[exssnelt]

Hey Warren,

Thanks for the heads up. The biggest timber for the frame is 8"x10"x20'. I have been thinking about support equipment quite a bit especially since I will be doing most of the sawing by myself (kids are still a little too young).

I have heard about saw dust, hopefully it will be one habbit that keeps me out of trouble!!

Jim

[getoverit]

I dont know if this helps or not, but I chose to buy a Peterson 10" swing mill for the following reasons:

I will be working alone, so I needed something I could do by myself. I can mill large logs without any support equipment at all (mill the tree where it falls). Also, this means I dont have to pay out alot of money for a skidsteer or a boom truck to move the logs. Since my "niche" market will be large trees felled by someone else, and usually these are urban trees in someone's back yard, I can easily get the mill to the log, even in a small back yard. This mill can easily handle 10" X 10" cants, and 10" X 20" if I really needed it by double cutting. Unless it is really short stuff, I would be back to needing help with this size lumber though.

The overall cost of the swingmill is more, but if you figure in that you wont need additional support equipment, it is the cheaper route overall.

Hope this helps!

[Cedarman]

Exssnelt, time to buy a mill.  As Ross Perot used to say "just do it".  You will never have all the information as you will be looking for that additional bit that will guarantee success.  Put the plusses and minuses of each mill on a piece of paper. Then jump in.  It will be a little scary. But a year from now, all the education you get by using your mill will be invaluable.  You will have a new set of skills that you can use whenever you choose to use  them.  That is another hidden value of owning a mill.

[exssnelt]

Thanks for all the input. I convinced the wifey that a Lt15 would be just what we need (for starters). Just have to sell our house and away we go. Thanks again.

Jim