Bought an LT15

[mdennisusa1]

Another newbie here in Western Maryland.  Have wanted a sawmill for years and finally got one this spring.  I've been picking up logs where I can get them.  We had a heck of a storm on the East Coast last fall and there are still plenty of blowdowns to choose from.  The county and state road crews often cut them up in four to six foot lengths and push them up on the bank out of the ditches.  I rigged up a Warn 9000I winch on a utility trailer and have been dragging them home for the past several weeks.  Below are a few pictures of a couple small logs I cut up today. 
As a wood worker of 40 plus years I have to say I am thrilled to be able to cut my own wood.  I really enjoy using  the pieces with unusual grain in my projects and buying it at the specialty stores is pretty pricey. 

I guess next on the agenda will be a wood kiln.  I've already leveled off a spot and have researched building a small kiln pretty throughly.  I will be going with the dehumidifyer type as our winters here are long and dreary which makes the solar design a poor option.

I guess my biggest problem right now is wanting to stop the mill and inspect every board as it's cut because I'm so thrilled with the results.

I can't say enough good about Woodmizer.  The assembly was pretty straight forward.  When I cut my first pine log to make some six by sixes to stack lumber on, I needed to take a quarter inch off one to make it a perfect six inches. The off cut was a perfect quarter inch thick by about eight inches wide by twelve feet long.  For someone whose only experience running a saw mill was one pass during a demo at the dealer...well, I guess you get the picture. 
Looking forward to a long and happy experience with Woodmizer.  And a thank you to all of you who post here on The Forestry Forum who share information so willingingly.



  

  

  

 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

WOW Dennis..... The Woodmizer does saw a pretty slab with a good sawyer behind it. 
Your pics show some "out of this world" slabs!!!!

Nice job and keep the pics coming. What you will be finding in logs will get better. And I'm not talking about metal.  ;D

What's your plan for your slabs?

[customsawyer]

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking slabs. In the second pic I see where the log shifted on you just a little bit. You done right in that as long as it is still cutting strait just keep on cutting. If you turn things loose and try to get another hold on it that is when stuff will really start to move around on you.

[thecfarm]

It's nice having your own mill. Woodworker? What do ya make?

[justallan1]

Welcome to the forum, Dennis. Nice pictures. I hope to see some of the wood work you do.

Allan

[sawdusty1]

That makes two people named Dennis with a new LT15.  Nice tractor.  Read all 315 pages of posts here and it will give you the best education you can get anywhere about bandsaw mills. Welcome   Dennis

[drobertson]

nice slabs for sure,  happy for you!  david

[mdennisusa1]

Hey thanks for the welcome guys.  Custom Sawyer, you are right the piece in the second picture did shift a bit.  That was a pretty short piece but it turned out ok.

I've found a boat load of valuable information perusing the pages of the Foresty Forum.  I have to stop in a few times every week.

What do I make?  Over the years a little bit of everything I guess.  It's just a hobby.  I really enjoy making keep sake boxes.  You can see from the two pictures I'll post why I like the short stuff with lots of figure, at least for my boxes.  These are two I made last fall for Christmas presents. The first box is Ash and figured walnut, the button is Cherry Burl.  The second is Oak and Cherry Burl. The corners are mitered and have Bloodwood splines.  I line the bottoms with leather.  The boxes are typically about 11 to 12 inches long, 6 to 8 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches deep.

I've been wanting to do some slab furniture and live edge cutting boards and serving boards are really popular at some craft shows.  To see what I mean do a Google Images serach on live edge serving boards.

I plan to make Cherry kitchen cabinets for the home I bought last fall though that's a ways off.  I also do some wood and stone carving.

I'll post some pictures from time to time of things I make if people are interested.

[Nomad]

     There was a time when I made a lot of Artsy-Craftsy stuff like that to sell, mostly.  Unfortunately, I didn't have access to a sawmill then. 
     You got the best of both worlds, and you do some real pretty work.  Nice pieces! 8)

[thecfarm]

I'm interested and than some. That is some mighty fine looking work you do.

[Jemclimber]

Your boxes look very nice. Would you show the inside and what style of hinge you use?

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum mdennisusa1.

Congratulations on your mill and getting into the world of bandsawmilling.

[mdennisusa1]

This box has brass plated hinges mortised in with a chain to hold the top from flopping back.  For the fancier boxes I like to use solid brass Brusso hinges but their a bit pricey for a simple box like this.

To answer POSTONLT40HD, I will probably make benches out of the oak slabs and the spalted maple will probably be live edge cutting boards or possibly cut down for boxes.  And then again if one of my wood working buddies wants to trade, I'm always open to that.

[Piston]

Nice looking projects. 

Congrats on the mill, from one LT15 owner to another  ;D  This really is a perfect mill for the hobbyist. 

[WDH]

With the 25 HP engine and the power feed, the LT15 can be a real work horse. 

[Magicman]

mdennisusa1, somehow I have missed you and failed to add my Welcome to the Forestry Forum.   

Congrats on the sawmill and that is some very nice craftsmanship.  I look forward to seeing your upcoming projects.   

[mdennisusa1]

Thank you magicman.  I've read many of your posts and learned much from you and appreciate your generosity and willingness to share your experience.  This is really a great site for everyone from us total newbies to the experienced sawyer.  I never come away from here without learning something new and useful.