got a few questions....

[ducknutt]

hi gang.

been lurking for a few days reading up on sawmills.  let me give ya my story first.
father in law is building a house.  had a relative about 800 miles away cut up some cherry to make baseboards and window casings.  well, of course the relative screw lots of it up.  the relative just bought a new woodmizer(not sure which model..40 prolly) and a woodmaster planer...we got the lumber back and it was .....thick and thin best i can describe it....we had to re-plane lots of it...was crooked and such, anyway, the relative said, no problem..i'll come back down and get some more cherry to finish it out....father in law said NO!...we decided to get our own equiptment and make it ourself....picking up a woodmaster 718 planer firday(sept 1) and I got my hands on a free woodmizer sawmill....father in law has a bulldozer and builds ponds, clears timber. puts in pipes, ect...so getting wood won't be a problem...he said he's pilled up 10,000's of board feet and burned it in the past 5 years....

this is just gonna be a small operation(at first anyway)...we're gonna make some crown molding, trim, and stuff like that at first, along with some 2x? type stuff outta pines.....
now, the sawmill I got is a LT30 and it's old....kohler engine not sure what hp...no hydraulics.....feed and lift ate electric.....we'll build a ramp and load logs with tractor...
anything I should know about the LT30 dinosaur? 

oh, for the bigger stuff, we have a 'ground hog' sawmill//(i think that's what he called it)..has a huge round sawblade, prolly 3 1/2 ft across.....course it cuts anout 1/2 outta each board, but it has power!

any suggestions will be helpful

thanks

[ronwood]

ducknutt,

Welcome to the forum. If you don't have a owners manual I would suggest that you give Woodmizer a call.  The mill should cut fine if it is aligned properly and the blades are sharp. Most of the times that I get a bad board is due to me not changeing the blade soon enough or cutting to fast. 

Good luck with your endeavors.
Ron

[Snag]

Man, I wish I could find one of those free mills.  I'm a "swinger"  8) so I cant help much with the WM.  Just wanted to welcome you to the forum.  These guys will help you get that thing running great in no time.

[ducknutt]

thnaks for the welcome guys...oh, what's a swinger...i've seen that term a few times

[Snag]

A swinger is a swingblade mill operator.  I have a peterson, but there are other brands such as Lucas, D&L, etc...

[beenthere]

Welcome to the forum. You  have the spirit and the mill. Now you will know first hand what your relative 800 miles away was doing to come up with thick and thin lumber. You will experience that stuff first hand, and this forum will help you get by those rough times. 
You are in for a lot of fun. Keep us posted and we like pics too. 

[flip]

I would suggest sawing at least 1000bf of other stuff before putting your first good log on the mill, I've sawn about 20000bf and I'm still learning when to flip, what face to start on, how to position for grade etc...No doubt though, you'll get the hang of it. ;)

[Radar67]

Welcome to the forum Ducknutt. Where in Carroll County are you? I'm in South MS just north of Hattiesburg.

Stew

[ducknutt]

NW carroll county....between geenwood and grenada...just got a call from father in law.....someone wants 24 acres cleared...we can have timber.....we gotta get that saw runnin!

[Radar67]

My Grandfather was from the Grenada area and I have relatives living in the Greenwood area.

Stew

[pineywoods]

Hi ducknut, welcome. If the woodmizer is very old, one thing to check before you get started sawing... The driven bandwheel bearings run in an oil bath, pull the cover off and check the oil, woodmizer says use atf. If these bearings run dry, it can get a mite expensive. (don't ask how I know). The bearings in the idler wheel are sealed ball bearings, standard off-the-shelf items.
Wavy boards nine times out of ten are the result of a blade that's dull or not enough set. To get good lumber, the blades have to be SHARP SHARP. Rolling logs up a the ramps works fine.
I have a woodmaster 18 inch, good flexible planner moulder. The resaw option is a good investment, it also makes a pretty fair edger for edging slabs. Making good quality molding from pine can be frustrating, there is definitely a learing curve.
You will find that factory support from both woodmizer and woodmaster is top notch. 
AND the info and expertise available here on this forum is absolutely awsome.

I hope to upload pictures and details of my home-made hydraulic system (log turner, holder, and tooe board) soon.

[thecfarm]

Just want to welcome you ducknutt.There are many more guys that know more than me on here to help you.If you can see a swinger in action,take them up on it.First time I saw one run I made a pest of myself.It's real interesting to see it saw. Good luck