Lt-15 GO package..installation...

[zopi]

Ok, so far so good...got it home and have the mill sitting on the trailer and bolted in, winch on board, ramps, head travel stow pin, and the mill has left its building for the first time in three years...
One disclaimer, I have not read the destructions yet, so a couple of my problems may be addressed....
I got home and thirty or so seconds later had the mill lifted and taking the feet off...set her on a bunk between two big rounds of maple, then lifted the other end with the log boom on the tractor...took all the jacks off the trailer, and slid it under the mill...alignment not critical, just get it close..the trailer is easy to slide around to get her straight...let the mill down onto the front of the trailer and took the tractor around back to lift the other end off of the woodboooga jack stand...used the logrite mill alignment tool and cant hook to align her a little closer, dropped the special washers into the support leg holes on the mill and bolted her down...replaced all the jacks, and set the mill level in record time...unlatched the head and moved it to the stow position, installed the offside stow pin and let the mill head down onto the travel bracket...went aroud and cranked the head back a bit to engage the stow pin on the mill head...hafta do that, I presume, in order to preload the head and keep it from flopping at all...installed the winch and secured it...all pretty easy
That is as far as I have gotten thus far, total time, about two hours...I still have to relocate the mill head controls...the kit provides for lowering the controls to where short guys can reach...lol.
Only a couple of problems so far...the fenders do not fit, as the tension bolt ears on the fram interfere...not a real problem...just a little relief with the angle grinder should do...and the forward left stabilizer jack is interfered with by the forwardmost ramp bracket...as I say, the destructions may address this...but either way, sawzall fix, can't use that ramp pocket anyway, and do not need to....
The kit itself  is what one would expect from WM...very high quality construction and a superb level of finish...the lights are LED, all of the hardware is typical of the mills, and the fit is very nearly perfect..and installation is mostly intuitive...
I think this is the solution alot of fifteen owners who move their mills need...the standard trailer kit is  such a pain to set the mill up with..it seems easier to move the logs...this kit will take no longer to set up than any of the standard mills..unhook, level, install water jug, blade, ramps, load it and go to work....
Obviously I have not sawed with it yet, but will provide a further review later, after I finish the installation, align the mill and work out the bugs...
The first step to LT-15HSDG-15..  ;D ;D

[Piston]

Zopi,
Great to hear it seems like it will work out well!  I'd love to see some pics when you get around to it.  So how much would it cost me to add a GO package to my LT 15? 

[zopi]

If you already have three bed sections it is around 2800..but you must have three bed sections, as the kit is a trailer that the mill sits on...I did not take pictures during the trailer installation, but it is pretty easy to see what goes on...will post up some in the next few days once I get her sawing again...

[zopi]

I parked the mill in the backyard hooked to the tractor last night...I had to peer out at it this morning, as I had not seen it in daylight...niiiccceeee....this is going to be fun.
I have to go landscape for yuppies this morning instead of playing with the mill...sometimes being an adult just sucks.

[JP135]

I'll be following this thread!

[MotorSeven]

Umm, Zopi, how are you going to load logs with a manual mill while on the road?

I gotta say if I didn't have a tractor with forks I would have to have hydraulics.......

[zopi]

The same way you load em with an LT 40 manual...parbuckle...it might be slow, but it is not nearly as hard on the back...

Anyway...the mill is assembled and the setworks lowered..it was approaching dark, so I did not get pictures...well, one but it sucks...
Repositioning the setworks takes a little doing, but is not hard...set the head down on the rear of the mill and remove tension from the chains, take the chain off the mill, as well as the chain plate, disassemble both handcranks from the mast  and drill a hole where they tell you to...five steenths and tap to three eighsteenth 16 tpi...install bearings into the setworks bore, install the setworks, reinstall the travel handcrank and there you go...put the new chainplate and chain on the mill, align the head to the bed, tram the mill for accurate height above bed (don't forget the kerf) check blade guide alignment for true and go figure out how to set it up to saw...lol..

Problems I had/have...the fenders do not fit, per the location of the bed extension joint...the tension bolt ears interfere...not a big deal for me...and I think I have a workaround in mind..the left front jack gets interfered with by the forwardmost ramp pocket...no big deal, as you cannot use that pocket anyway...sawzall...bye bye, jack works fine...
Now, the one I worked at a bit...there is a discrepancy between the destructions, and the parts in the kit...there are supposed to be two threaded holes in the bottom of the new setworks mounting bracket..mine only had one, not sure if that was a goof on the assembly line or a design change that the destructions have not caught up to...not a really big deal, you have to drill and tap one hole in the mast anyway, so I just drilled amd tapped two, then used a longish bolt from my stash in that hole...will go back and get a cadmium plated bolt though...as this one is a ford manifold bolt...
I will try to find time later this week to talk to someone at wm and give them the details...

I need to cut a piece of tubing to move my water valve farther down the mast...for those who have not seen my water mod, i ran a piece of pex using sharkbite connectors across the top of the mast and located a ball valve and a needle valve  just above the setworks...the ball is on and off, and the needle regulates flow...poor mans lube mizer...works like a champ..

So since the mill was hooked to the tractor, I towed it out fron and set it up on the front lawn, loaded a little five or six foot persimmon log, cut it down to a couple of clear boards and a five inch square cant, shut the mill down, stowed it, and towed it back around back...all in about thirty five or forty minutes...not bad for the first rattle out of the bag.

One tip, as a fifteen seems to get out of square a bit, I use tram blocks to set the blade parallel to the deck...two inch and a half aluminum blocks...tension the blade, place both blocks on the bunks below the blade and lower the blade about a steenth above the blocks...you can easily eyeball for square this way, by looking between blade and block...

Mill works well...I am very pleased this far...

[MotorSeven]

I'm confused....Setworks?

[zopi]

The up/down crank....setworks sounds better...

[zopi]

Ok, so, I spent a couple of hours sawing this evening, loaded a couple of gnarly old pine tops to make some bunks and stickers...loading the logs is a bunch easier with the winch, slow, but not as hard on the back...it can be a little difficult with short gnobbly logs though...a little "patience" with the logrite helps..
I have already been spoiled to handling lumber waist high..muuuch better than the mill being on the ground..
My mill does not have the gas assist so it is a little harder to turn when up high...but that is made up for by the position of the travel crank being in a better location...
The water jug is too high, not a big deal, but ya hafta climb up on the mill to get the jug off...it would probably be a good idea to take the jug and its bracket off the mill going down the road...or install a set screw, or pin to secure the bracket to the mast...
I was hoping there was enough clearance to saw down to the deck with the ramps on the mill...no dice...two inches up and you're good, one and the head hits...no big deal unless you like to chuck the flitches off on the ramps, but still a big improvement over the ratchet ramps...
The instructions tell you to stow the ramps on the mill bed for transport and wrap the cable around the ramps and mill frame and back to the winch to cich the winch up and hold the ramps...I raised the backstops, slid the ramps against them, slid a couple of four by four bunks against the ramps, clamped that mess with the log clamps and then took the cable around...pretty well secure that way...I shudder to imagine a ramp falling off the mill on the high way...yikes...

I am considering raping an old boat trailer I have out back for the parts to make a mast which will hang on the mill frame either with a snatch block or its own winch to assist in turning big logs...there is a thread on here somewhere somebody dod the same thing...
It is a bit easier to turn logs...better ergonomics...can get a better angle on the  cant hook...
Thinking about a bulldog jack at front...the out riggers are a pain and my back is not what it was...

Also considering roller toe boards now that the mill is off the ground...not a really big priority right now though..

I am really loving this mill...

[zopi]

Oh...you do want the logs on deck to be up on bunks...much easier to get the cable around them...

[Coon]

.... but where's the pics?  ;D

[zopi]

I took a few...I will upload them when I can get on a rel computer for a bit...going to maul a couple of trees for a paycheck this morning...

[MotorSeven]

I don't take my water jug down. I got a hole saw and drilled a hole in the top, so now I just stick the hose in there to fill it up. You could easily rig a bung or cap for road travel.

[zopi]

Yeah..that occurred to me..but I am often where there is no hose...the mill shed is a ways from the hydrant...

[Magicman]

You could easily rig a bung or cap for road travel. 

You will also need that cap for stationary use to prevent sawdust from entering.

[MotorSeven]

You could easily rig a bung or cap for road travel. 

You will also need that cap for stationary use to prevent sawdust from entering.

Negative...it all goes in my pockets and nose :D

[zopi]

Where I am It need be sealed to keep the bloody bugs out...

Bug Mizer...

[trapper]

I used a holesaw to cut the hole on the top of my waterjug then used the same holesaw to cut a plug from a piece of 2in board bolted to a larger square of plywood to cover the hole.  Leave the bolt long enough on top to use as a handle.

[MotorSeven]

I used a holesaw to cut the hole on the top of my waterjug then used the same holesaw to cut a plug from a piece of 2in board bolted to a larger square of plywood to cover the hole.  Leave the bolt long enough on top to use as a handle.

Zop..there ya go problem solved!

[zopi]

Yeah...it is a neat solution, but I like to be able to take the jug down and in the house in winter...now if I had a heated sawshed with a hot tub, like some of you rich guys...well, maybe..
Did not get to saw any today...worked until about seven pm climbing amd rigging a forty foot pine about 18 inched dbh out of a lady's backyard...was going to tow the mill down and mill the log onsite, but it is a two hour get there...busted em up six feet and hauled em out...coming soon to a sticker bin and bunk rack near you...
Looks like I may be out yarding amd sorting some white pine logs tomorrow...neighbor gave them to me after dropping the trees...looks like they will make nice panelling lumber..alot of small tight knots...

[zopi]

One issue I have noted, the winch needs to have a couple of mounting points....one more forward of where it is now...when loading short logs, it is no problem...but when rolling up a sixteen footer...best get out the high lift jack...
Have sawed better than 1500 or sixteen hundred bdft of syp, and I am still just ecstatic with the mill...did around eight hundred by myself yesterday...enough that there was no way I was going to sticker stack those long wide boards last night... lol

[zopi]

Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you feel like an idiot...I always wondered why there was no nominal lumber scale included with the fifteen...bloody...pulled out my band sharpener earlier (still works great, Jeff!) And found this little white box that came with the mill...when I was assembling the mill, it said nothing at all about this little rolled up plastic strip in the desructions...so I blew it off...for some reason I unrolled it tonight....duhhhhhh...of course now it will likely confuse me as I have become so used to simply doing tthe math in my head...

[Brad_bb]

You've really got to learn to add pics brother.  It adds a lot to a post.

[zopi]

Sorry...my computer has died...cannot resize on the phone...will see what I can work out...