Value of used WM LT40SH

[Wannafish]

I have been considering the purchase of a mill and recently came across a neighbor who has a 1996 Wood Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic with ~650 hours.  Attachments include the Re-saw and Shingle Siding attachments.  This unit is not on a trailer (not portable in it's existing configuration). The power unit is 3 phase electric...I think he said 25 h.p. but not sure.  
It will cost me ~$10K to bring 3 phase power to my site so I would consider repowering it with a diesel.
I am going to look at it Wednesday and see what all goes with it.
He is asking $16,500 for it.  

My intention for the purchase would be to operate the mill on a full time basis within 2 years of the purchase.  This would give me time to learn to operate it, build an enclosure for it, find the core markets in my area, and find competent wood suppliers.

I have a "hobby farm" so I have tractors, trailers, and implements of destruction.  I would anticipate operating the mill ~60 hrs/week once it is my full time job.

With all that said, my questions are:

Is that a fair price (for me) on the mill listed above?

Approx. how many board feet can I expect to saw per 10 hr. day on average (I realize not all the trees will be 'perfect') with the LT40SH?

What is the going $/bd ft rate being charged for the different types/grades of lumber?

What is the approx. annual profit range I can expect from a mill of this type operating full time (~ 60hrs/week) with only 1 other employee?

Is a 2 year timeframe to build up a clientele sufficient to ramp up to full production feasible, too ambitious, or too conservative?

Thank you to each of you who take the time to respond to this newbies questions.  I sure am glad I found this great site!

[Buzz-sawyer]

Welcome
I gueuss you all ready love sawing and would do so if not paid........Most buisiness' find the market first then fill the need..........that said, "everyone needs what you got" if YOU SEE IT that way.... ;)
in other words there is no time frame I or anyone can give ya....
how good of a sales/marketing man are you???
that determines above all else, what you will sell, who you will sell to and how much ou will sell......
Example, I wanted to start selling cross ties bout a year ago...so I started askin questions, talking to buyers comparing thier requiremnets vs. thier offered price for my product, then got a license to buy timber to buy the logs needed to supply 200 ties per load........
So you may have to make a market.....there is no limit in this country that supercedes our ambition as individuals........
Good luck to ya

[Wannafish]

Gee Buz,
Ya sure said a lot without answering even one of my questions ;D ;D

Thanks for the input.  As far as marketing, I guess if a person can't sell himself, he's kinda out of luck with anything else.

And yes, I would saw w/o gettin' paid, if I could afford to.  I can't...least wise not for a few more years :D  

Thanks again.

[ronwood]

Wannafish,

On the price of the mill did you take a look at the listings on www.sawmillexchange.com. Might help you  to judge the price.

As for as options  a debarker would be good to have. As for whether to keep it electric or not I think you need to decide whether you want to go portable or not. If I were to buy another mill and it was stationary I would go to electric. Less maintance and no fuel cost. When it is cold you don't have the issues of starting it.

Bibbyman put in a roto phase and I think it would not cost much more than a diesel engine. I believe that he likes the electric much better. Also there is less noise with the electric motor. I am sure Bibbyman can give you some input to his experience.

I had a customer lined up before I bought my mill.

Good luck

Ron

[Bibbyman]

We love our 2002 Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super.  Even happier with it now that diesel is over $2/gal and gas is almost as high.  I figure our electric bill right now is maybe 1/4 the fuel cost AND no maintenance costs!

Our local power company wanted $40,000 to run 3ph to our house.  So we went with a roto phase converter.  This link will take you to a post I made on the Knowledge base about the installation.

Roto-Phase Converter

The mill is capable of doing the manufacture's stated production rates. Your production rates will very depending on logs, what you are sawing,  your proficiency at sawing and how much help and support equipment you have.  The sawing rate is only one part of the equation.  You still have to move logs,  slabs, lumber, etc. and that will take up as much time as sawing.  

Just unloading logs,  sorting and stacking,  moving and loading lumber takes up a lot of time.  We put more hours on our Terex loader then we do the mill!

Mary averages around a 1,000 bf on any given day sawing alone.  But she has a lot of interruptions and takes care of most everything else around the home and farm.   When we saw together,  we'll get out 1,500 bf of grade lumber in a good day and then quit for the day.   With one son helping and a good wind to our backs,  we've got 2,500 bf of grade lumber sawn in a short day.

ONLY ARKY AND KEEP UP THE PACE FOR 10 HOURS!

Well,  that's a start.

Cederman is on vacation.  He has 2 LT40HDE25 mills runing in production.

ElectricAL is runing a WM 3ph mill too.

[AtLast]

Welcome to the Forum.....NEVER ask the value of a WM to a BAKER man... ;D :D

[Norm]

We bought our 3phase electric mill in 2001 and couldn't be happier with it. The cost to run 3phase to our place was pretty close to what you're being quoted, I am glad I did so. Patty and I can average 1000bd ft per day with good logs. We don't kill ourselves doing so but you have to add in all the support work you do like end coating, slab removal and stickering and stacking.

How much hardwood lumber sells for is dependent on if it's kiln dried, surfaced and a bunch of other variables. Best to check with mills in your area to get a feel for it.

How much you'll make per year is really up to how good you are at business in general and how hard you want to work. There is no general figure.

I think a two year timeframe is reasonable.

[customsawyer]

Welcome to the forum
I run a 2002 LT40SH with the deisel and feel that the portablity far out ways the fuel cost.  I don't remember a single day that I burned more than 10 gal. of fuel and I run more than 3500 bd ft most days. On the other hand I carry a tractor with a loader and some roller tables to help speed up the handeling of material. Don't expect to cut alot for the first little while it takes some getting used to before you will be very fast.You might want to talk to WM and make sure that sawmill is a super hydralic I don't know if they had that feature in '96.