Thursday is the day

[macurtis]

I will pick up new W-M thursday morning. LT40HD33D
Command center. I just read the Accuset manual and
I think I need Bibbyman to come down here and tell me
what in the ___L i just read. I believe my retirement days
have just ended. I have three jobs lined up and havent sawed
the first board!!

[CHARLIE]

Congratulations! 8) 8)  From what I hear from the other sawyers, you're gonna be busier than a one legged cat swattin' flies. No more vacations or weekends from what I hear.  Of course I've never sawed myself. I was an offbearer for Tom for a couple of days but I can't get him to write me a letter of recommendation. :

[Bud Man]

Macurtis==Better go to the pawn shop and buy a couple of pair's of hand-cuffs and lock the demonstrators  to the mill ,and don't turn em loose till they tell you everything you want to know.  You got two days to figure out all you don't know. :D :D  Better get a good night's sleep Wednesday---Looks like that 'll be the last you get for a while.  :D :D

[Bibbyman]

Sleep!  You'll be too excited or you'll be sawing in your sleep!  ???

Actually, I wake up a couple of times during the night and I'll think about lots of things - but often I'll riddle out how I want to tackle a new sawing challenge  :

You won't need to handcuff the Wood-Mizer trainers to the mill. Just take note of the names of the people you meet (get a business card) - especially the ones from tech support.  If and when you have a problem with the mill or sawing (and we all do some times) think it out and use the manual :P to try to resolve it yourself.  The manual is really pretty good but sometimes you won't realize it until you've fond and fixed the problem.

But if you come to a point where you can't resolve the problem,  give one of the guys a Wood-Mizer a call.  These guys have years of experience with these mills and many own their own mill (or in one case - two mills).  They help thousands of people every year and have about seen it all.  It's really hard to stump them. ;)

For problems past making good quality lumber off your new mill,  we are all here to help.  

Where the advice is free and worth every cent of it! 8)

[JoeyLowe]

Get ready to get busy.  I bought a used Woodmizer LT40 Super Hydraulic, a 1998 model with 300 hours on it.  I've got one big job pending, but last Saturday a fella rode by my place and must of noticed my mill because he contacted me and wanted to know if I could saw a couple of walnut logs for him.  I said sure and hooked up the mill and towed to his place which just happened to be a block off of the town square.  This was around 1:00 p. m. and before I knew what was happening, there must of have been 8-10 passerbys in the cars pulled over watching me.  The next thing I knew a guy comes over as I was finishing up and wanted to know if I could saw a pine for him the next day.  We agreed to some terms and Sunday afternoon I head over to his place which just happened to be on the busy bypass that goes right through the heart of town.

I was a little surprized when I got there though, because the tree had not been felled yet.  This was a 70' Loblolly Pine that a storn had pushed over a bit.  The fella was inside his home watching the Daytona 500 when I got there and he came outside in his socks.  I told him that I didn't cut down trees, but I would gladly saw it for him after he had it felled. He said okay, grabbed a chainsaw off of his porch, walked over to the tree, made three cuts and felled the tree.  He then put on his shoes and commenced to limbing and bucking the tree while we set up the saw.  He pulled the logs over to the saw for us to start milling.  These logs were about 14' long and about 25" in diameter on the big end.  Took me and my father-in-law about 2 hours to mill those logs into 2 x 4's.  While doing this, cars were pulling off the bypass to watch.  My wife was there and she started handing out business cards and talking about us.

When we got home, we were a little tired and little more experienced at sawing.  Oh and we were covered in sticky pine sap.  But we did have a lot of fun.  My wife said it was like watching our sons on a playstation.  I must admit we had a blast.  Then the call came.

A lady had a tree felled and wanted to know if we could saw the tree and remove it from her backyard.  This was Monday.  She said she couldn't pay us, but that we could have the lumber.  It was an old pecan tree.  We said sure because we need the experience and the exposure and I could use the pecan in my furniture shop.  So on Tuesday we stopped by her place and saw laying in her backyard a pecan tree that was 54" in diameter and about 40' long.  The limbs on this monster were about 30" where they connected to the trunk.

I own a Stihl 029 chainsaw w/20" blade. 8) and thought this saw would cut the mustard.  Boy was I wrong.  I ordered a Stihl 066 with a 36" blade today and it will be here tomorrow.  I hope this saw will do it.  

Anyway, my point was to wish you well.  Woodmizer is a great company.  Even though I bought a used mill, they have treated me like I bought directly from them.  One of their reps even said as long as our name is on it, we will support it.  

Best of luck!

[Bud Man]

Joey ==What a great series of events ===At just the right time for me too, cause I ordered a mill and the wife thinks : "I'm Crazy as a Betsy Bug." ===  She's not really a Doubting Thomas type but is one of those thats wants everything ironed out on the front end !! ==== She's called me crazy through 35 years , 3 kids, and many other escapades and while I'm fairly immune to her voices of caution . I'm going to copy this and hope she can sleep better, at least tonight.  I'm really tickled for you==Wish much success to you and the milling."                Thanks for the story !!

[Bibbyman]

Old story often told.  Back in the fall of 93 when I got the idea to get a band sawmill,  Mary was agin' it.  >:( It was a long hard sale - taking about 6 months.  Her family thought I was nuts. : But I won and by Easter of 94 we brought home a new Wood-Mizer LT40G18.  I had managed to talk her up for a LT25 to a LT30 and then an LT40 but  I couldn't talk her into going for the HD model.

We got the mill and I sawed up some sycamore on the farm to line the inside of our new machine shed.  Then we took it over to my brother-in-laws to saw out some barn and fencing lumber.  His place was on a gravel back road with only local traffic.  We set the mill up behind his house in the mouth of a little valley.  There was only a few seconds of opportunity for anyone passing by to see the mill back there.  But they did.  Local farmers stopped in to see what that thing was and what was going on.  

We had the mill there a couple of weeks as we were just sawing on the weekends and a little on some evenings.  Our engagement was extended a couple of times because the local farmers would bring a wagonload of logs over and dump them off.  By then I'd had sawing commitments elsewhere and essentially the same thing happened.

Mary soon got on board with the sawmill idea.  She even went overboard and quit HER good paying job about six months after we got the mill. :'(

Things escalated from there and we've always been somewhere between busy and overwhelmed.  That's why the first piece of advice I give everyone getting their first mill is: If you have your own project in mind, do it first before telling anyone else you have a mill. ;)

[macurtis]

Gentleman, I have the orange and black WM in the driveway!
Yesterday I had a one on one session with a woodmizer
rep.From 7:30 until 1:30.  they go over every aspect of
your mill with you. From the front to rear, side to side,
underneath and to the top. We looked at every nut and bolt
on the machine and went over what everything did and why.
I have been around alot of machinery in my life and this was
the best training I have ever had. Stayed overnite and went to
seminar today.Well worth the time and money.
Bibbyman, the accuset fried my head. I think when I learn
to use it ,it will be great. But man what button do you push!!!

[JoeyLowe]

I called the store where I ordered the Stihl 066 to see if it had arrived yet.  (It was promised overnight!)  The rep kind of hesitated and said "yeah it's here!"  I took off to the store where I learned the saw guys were giving it the once over.  They don't get to see these too often.  Anyway, this saw made quick work of the log.  Tomorrow I'll pull the WM over and mill that puppy.  Macurtis, I know that you are gonna have fun with your mill.  Just remember to watch the dogs.  ;D

[Bibbyman]

Macurtis,  I TOLD YOU SO!  

As far as the Accuset – start by patting your head and rubbing your tummy and hopping on one foot!  
8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Well,  it ain't all that bad.  I found it about as confusing as getting behind the wheel of one of those rice-burner cars they rent you now days with every control on some lever on the steering column or on the steering wheel.  The car I learned in had "three on the tree" and a dimmer switch on the floor. :

Mary has ran it a lot more than I but you start to get a place where you like to put your hands so they kind of take over and are on the right switch or button at there right time.

Thanks for the feedback.  You're off to a great start!