Woodmizer LT300 deck extensions????

[jimmyk]

Hey guys (and girls),

I'm thinking of buying a used LT300 but would like to be able to saw 25' logs into beams.  Wood Mizer says it's not possible to extend the deck.  I'm wondering if anyone out there has done it?  And how?

I'm not considering any other mills right now (I've got a gas portable mill and want to upgrade to electric stationary).

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

Jimmy

[beenthere]

How would you plan to extend the WM mill?  Weld on a second mill, to extend the main tracking beam?

[Percy]

Welcome Jimmyk.
I Have an LT70 with a 6 foot extension. I can cut 26 foot logs max with the extension.
If the frames of the LT70 and 300 are the same(im not sure on this, where are you Bibby??? ;D  ), you could attach this extension with alot of other work like extending the black plastic chain that holds all the control wires and youd have to extend the wires too. The extension attachment mechanism on my LT70 is a very well engeneered  unique piece that youd have to figure out how to connect to your 300. Thre aint a thing that cant be done if you have enuff money...heh... :D :D :D

[Tom]

The LT300 is a completely different animal than all of the other woodmizer mills.

It is a production mill, built to saw common sized logs and lengths fast.

If you want to cut long stuff, a second mill is the way to go.  If it is only on occasion that you would cut long stuff, a ground mounted push mill would be the most economical way to approach it.  They are manual and the only connection the head has with the track is the wheels.  You could make it cut all the way around the world for no more cost than the track material you used.

Welcome to the Forestry Forum. 

[Bibbyman]

I'm not up on the LT300 design.  I know there are a lot of similar features of the LT70 and LT300.  But if WM says it can't be done, then that means they are not willing to take it on.  Adding to the frame length is a metal fabrication exercise.  Adding to the cable track and all the cable and wiring would be a bit of a problem – at least something I wouldn't want to tackle.   

There are a number of used LT70's on the market and that'd be the easiest to add an extension to. 



Now,  an LT80 would saw up to 27 feet as I remember.  But to my knowlege, there is only one in the USA.  They sell them in Europe.  I think they call them an LT70L.

[sparks]

One major obstacle you will have is the wiring harness in the cat track. It is already as long as it can be without causing issues with the cpu, loadcell, powersupplies and the inverter drives. A few have tried to make them longer with no success. Thanks

[jimmyk]

Fellas,

Thanks for the thoughts.  I suppose I can handle the metal work of attaching a LT70 deck extension if we're talking about the same basic widths, heights, etc. 

What I'm more concerned about is what "Sparks" replied to, and that is the wiring, hydraulics(?), etc that reside in the big plastic chain.  If the LT300's electrical system really can't handle another 6' of each wire, then my idea won't work.  I would like some names of folks who have tried it, though.

I already have a little Timber King that can cut 35', but I'm trying to get away from it.  I do a lot of 20'+ beams and that's the only obstacle to the LT300 in my book.

I appreciate all of your thoughts.

Jimmy

[caryr]

One major obstacle you will have is the wiring harness in the cat track. It is already as long as it can be without causing issues with the cpu, loadcell, powersupplies and the inverter drives. A few have tried to make them longer with no success. Thanks

Does the few include Wood-Mizer's design engineers? While I agree lengthening this from an end user standpoint could be tricky. It should not be that hard to redesign it to make it work with longer lengths. Though I certainly understand it may not be cost effective to do the redesign.

Jimmy,

From what I have seen the LT-300 and the LT-70/40 machines are totally different beasts. I don't think you could easily graft an LT-70/40 extension to an LT-300. In fact it would probably be easier to build something from scratch for the LT-300. If you want the length I think an electric LT-70 is the best Wood-Mizer has to offer for over 20' cutting.

Even though I like my current orange machine, my mill of choice in the small industrial size is from PKP. They probably don't have the speed of the LT-300, but they sure have the capacity (3', 4' or 5' diameter by 75' long). And yes, I have a few trees where the 36" limit is problematic. Here's their web address: http://www.pkpsawmills.com/