New Member and Rookie

Road Runner · March 10, 2011, 02:30:05 PM

I've been lurking and searching the archives for about a year now and have gotten a lot of good information in my search for the "perfect" sawmill for me. After talking to a sales rep at WM in GA numerous times I decided on the LT15GO w/ diesel power (I had also considered the LT28) I called to finalize my order back in Dec. When I called the sales rep told me that they had a used 2004 LT40G25 w/ 16 hrs. that I might be interested in. He said that the original owner had injured his back after buying the mill and it had been under a shed since then and he traded in on an upgrade to a saw with hydraulics. It sounded good to me (more saw for about the same $), so I put a deposit down for them to hold it till I could inspect it. When I got to there the saw looked good (no rust or faded paint) and ran great. WM had gone completly through the mill and it was in good shape. We ran it for several hrs. during my training session.

So I bought the LT40 and sold my 50+ yr. old Ford 4000 tractor and ordered a Kubota M5100 tractor w/ forks/thumb for moving logs.

I had to be out of town for several months and got back home a few weeks ago and took delivery of the tractor and was ready to start sawing. The first day the feed switch quit working and after trouble shooting and consulting tech support at WM I had to order a new control module (no charge from WM). I got the new module in on Mon and have sawed about 4 hrs, (mostly cutting stickers and getting used to the scale) and everything is running great. My first projects are to build an outhouse and cabin from timber cut on site.

Thanks to the FF and WM for all the help and information.

treetech · March 10, 2011, 03:47:29 PM

Hi Roadrunner
Nice score on the 40. The folks at Woodmizer are great to deal with. Congrats on joining the forum.

clww · March 10, 2011, 04:37:02 PM

Nice going on your sawmill find.
Welcome to the Forum, too!

Woodbuzzer · March 10, 2011, 04:54:38 PM

Roadrunner-Let the dust fly 8) 8)And welcome to the forum ;D ;D ;D-Buzz

Bibbyman · March 10, 2011, 05:01:22 PM

We started out in 94 with an LT40G18. Things just got out of hand!

Welcome to the Forum! 8)

pnyberg · March 10, 2011, 05:06:44 PM

My story is similar in that I spent many hours deciding on a mill model and features, and after placing an order being offered a demo mill with much better features for only slightly more money. I told my story in a long-winded fashion here: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,39413.0.html

Congratulations.

--Peter

Magicman · March 10, 2011, 05:15:33 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Road Runner, and congratulations on the sawmill. Just sawing and getting familiar with the mill is a good teacher.

customsawyer · March 10, 2011, 06:23:21 PM

Congrats. What part of SC. are you from?
Oh yea Welcome to the forum.

Chuck White · March 10, 2011, 06:25:47 PM

Congratulations on the mill and welcome to the Forestry Forum! 8)

paul case · March 10, 2011, 07:45:39 PM

welcome. sounds like you are enjoying the new~~toy~~tool. pc

WDH · March 10, 2011, 07:50:25 PM

Nice tractor too!

pineywoods · March 10, 2011, 08:08:59 PM

Welcome roadrunner. I think the manual lt40 is one of the best bargains around. They are tough. I have a 95 model with over 7000 hours on it. You'll love the kubota. I run an older M4700 with forks and a winch on the back.

porcupine · March 11, 2011, 05:57:48 AM

WM & Kubota = Winning Combination - Good for U

Road Runner · March 11, 2011, 07:41:21 PM

I spent about 5 hrs. sawing today and am starting to get comfortable with the saw. No major screwups so far.
Customsawyer, I'm in Abbeville County in the piedmont of SC.
Pineywoods, I looked hard at the M4700 because of recommendations on reliability, but went with the M5100 for a few more HP. It's the same tractor/engine except turbocharged. The recommendation to get the thumb on the forks was a good one and I'm glad I splurged and got it. I also got the backhoe and am thinking about adding a thumb to is also for loading smaller logs on the mill.

customsawyer · March 12, 2011, 05:35:20 AM

I have stayed in that area a few times planting pines and spraying them the next spring. There is some nice country side in that area.

thecfarm · March 12, 2011, 07:26:00 AM

Life is good.You have a sawmiil,tractor and your own land to cut trees on.Have fun.

fishpharmer · March 25, 2011, 06:57:13 AM

Welcome to FF Roadrunner! 8)

Having been through Abbeville Co. several times too, I agree with Customsawyer, nice area. Congrats on your winning combination of orange equipment.

weisyboy · March 25, 2011, 10:53:55 PM

welcome and congrats on the mill purchase

LPitt · March 26, 2011, 07:35:34 AM

I've got a 5100 and a Linn Lumber hyd 1900. You going to love the Bota and who knows the things you will do with the mill. Congrats and welcome to the club.