iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

New member

Started by Coalsmoke, November 21, 2009, 01:24:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Coalsmoke

Hi guys, just thought I'd introduce myself. I found the site while searching for info on Woodmizer's LT40s. I am in the small scale stationary sawmill business and currently run a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 with the 20HP Honda and a 65 hp tractor with loader for handling. This looks like a great place with a lot of talk about mills in a small business atmosphere. I have been on the arborist website for some time now, but think that this is a better fit.

Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

Dave Shepard

Welcome to the Forum Coalsmoke!
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

fishpharmer

Glad to have you here Coalsmoke.  This place is just crawling with LT40's.  I cannot imagine a question about them that cannot be answered here.  They are really nice mills.  I hear good stuff about the Norwoods too..
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

Coalsmoke

Thanks guys. I feel Norwood is one of the better mills out there for what they cost, but I'm fast outgrowing it. I'm constantly carrying a 2-8 week backlog of orders. Last month I watched a manual LT40 with the gas engine operate at a local wood show and was impressed with its cutting speed while still staying accurate. It got me thinking that an upgrade might be in order this spring.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

Chuck White

Welcome to the Forestry Forum Coalsmoke!

This is a great place with lots of answers for most questions!
Two years ago, I ran my FIL's manual LT40 mill it had an 18 hp B&S engine and in general it's a wonderful machine!
Last year (08) I bought my own mill, LT40HDG24 and love it.  The hydraulics takes most of the bull-work out of sawing and log handling!

Overall, this is as good or better than most sites for questions & answers!
So, if you've got questions, just fire away, I'm sure you'll get replies!

Again, welcome to the Forum!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

nas

Welcome Coalsmoke
I just made the upgrade from a Norwood to an LT40HD25 8)  I would definitely look for one with hydraulics.  The Norwood is the best manual mill for the money, but you can't compete with hydraulics.

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

Don K

Welcome to the Forum, coalsmoke. I just upgraded from a LT15 to a LT40HDD35. I can saw without being so tired now.

Don
Lucky to own a WM LT40HDD35, blessed to have a wife that encouraged me to buy it.     Now that\'s true love!
Massey Ferguson 1547 FWD with FEL  06 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4X4 Dozer Retriever Husky 359 20\" Bar  Man, life is getting good!

Magicman

Coalsmoke, Welcome to FF..... 8)  Glad to have you aboard..... :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

paul case

welcome . sounds like you already love making sawdust, good luck in your upgrade hunt. pc :)
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

fstedy

welcome aboard. with that much of a backlog sounds like you need a hydraulic mill.
Timberking B-20   Retired and enjoying every minute of it.
Former occupations Electrical Lineman, Airline Pilot, Owner operator of Machine Shop, Slot Machine Technician and Sawmill Operator.
I know its a long story!!!

bandmiller2

Welcome Coalsmoke,checked out your website your a pretty active dude.My feelings on the matter a manual mill is for dubbing around for your own lumber if you plan on selling much by all means go hydraulic.Swing mills or mobile dimension mills are an option,or rebuild an old circular mill if you want to go all the way.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Coalsmoke

Thanks guys. Sorry for the delayed post, I haven't figured out how to get the forum email notifications yet, I'll go hunting for it after this post.

A hydraulic mill would be nice, but I'm not sure its the best decision at this point. I'm on a fairly tight budget, and the extra money on a hydraulic mill would take that much longer to work up, without maxing out every dollar of credit I have. My thoughts on the lt40 manual are that I have a fairly large tractor that handles the log handling and loading fine, so a hydraulic loader is not something I would really need. I don't mind dogging by hand. The two things I would like are an increased cutting speed with a power feed and a power log turner. Those are the items I can see really improving my daily sawing operations. I have an idea of mounting an electric ATV winch on the manual log turner to power it. For the smaller logs a peavey is fast and I have the energy to use it ;)


One big question I have in my head right now is in regards to the diesel vs gas engine. I'll start a new thread for it.

Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

Coalsmoke

Quote from: bandmiller2 on November 22, 2009, 06:51:10 AM
Welcome Coalsmoke,checked out your website your a pretty active dude.My feelings on the matter a manual mill is for dubbing around for your own lumber if you plan on selling much by all means go hydraulic.Swing mills or mobile dimension mills are an option,or rebuild an old circular mill if you want to go all the way.Frank C.

Thanks Bandmiller. As for the mills, I'm pretty well set on another bandmill. Its what I am used to, I have all the supporting blade management equipment for it, and its versatile enough to handle all my needs. In fact, I couldn't be happier with a bandmill vs circle / swing, etc.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

Chuck White

Quote from: Coalsmoke on November 23, 2009, 02:47:12 AM
Thanks guys. Sorry for the delayed post, I haven't figured out how to get the forum email notifications yet, I'll go hunting for it after this post.

Coalsmoke; If you want to send someone a PM (personal message), just put your pointer on their name and a msg will come up "view the profile of (persons name), click on it and scroll down to the bottom of their profile and you will see a couple of options and one of them is send a PM.  click on that and type away.  When the person opens their email, they'll have a message that they have received a PM.

Chuck
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Coalsmoke

Thank's Chuck. Turns out my span filter was eating the instant email notifications. Good to go now.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

fishpharmer

Finally had a chance to check out your website.  Looks good.
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

Coalsmoke

Thanks fishpharmer. It started a few years back when I was running a mobile welding rig and wanted a way to show family and friends what I was up to.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

nas

I have found that the hydraulics are the bigger time saver for me than the increased feed rate.  Being able to turn large logs with the claw turner is great, but I use the 2 plane clamp a lot more to turn cants.  Have you seen an hydraulic mill in action?  I would look for a used LT40HD with relatively low hours on it.

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

Dave Shepard

I really like the two-plane clamp. 8)
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Coalsmoke

Hey Nick. I've seen a 40 hydraulic at a wood show a couple years back. I'm not saying I don't want one, but a person has to consider economics.

Most of my market is softwoods, so I'm not flipping cants as much as say if I were grade sawing hardwoods all day.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

nas

yebbet, If you are considering a diesel on a manual LT40 you might pay the same for a gas hydraulic, which I think would be faster.

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

Coalsmoke

Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

captain_crunch

Coalsmoke
Never know where you will turn up next How goes your battle with the mud ? was not bad here in Oregon till last week end when we got dumped on big time. Haven't even been up to mill since Friday nite. Would post some pics of the the old Bellsaw now that I got shed finished but me and the picture part have issues. Hopefully it will dry out some so I can load deck up again but in the mud 40,000 pound tracked log loader makes a BIG mess fast >:( >:( Sawed up an 18 ft log about 30" on small end and decided 24" is big enough ::) ::) ::)
Brian
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

Coalsmoke

Hey Brian, how are you doing, fancy seeing you here! We've sure had it wet here on the west coast lately eh. One day last week we got 6" of rain overnight. I'm winning against the mud. I brought in 120 yards of stump hog, a coarse hog fuel. Last week I took 5 days off from milling to dig out the 8-12" of mud and have been refilling with stump hog and packing it. It was getting to the point that I was loosing too much time to the mud. I'm glad I have a wheeled loader now and not tracks. As much as I like tracks, the wheels keep packing this new base material every time I go over it instead of scrubbing and kicking it up.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your shed. I'm looking forward to getting my mill moved over to the new site and in the saw shed (yet to be built). I'll probably have it done by the time the spring rains are done  ::)

The way I see it 30" logs are for guys with hydraulics or lots of helpers. I've done up to 36", had to do a little chainsaw trimming first to get it down to 31". Really though I find the mid teens to the mid twenties are my preferred size ranges.
Visit Coalsmoke's website at www.coalsmoke.com

2008 Norwood Lumber Mate 2000 with Honda 20HP engine.
White 2-60 Field Boss > 65HP Tractor with loader.
Husky Chainsaws 353 and 395XPG heavily modified.
Loving wife who endorses all of the above :)

Magicman

captain_crunch (Brian)  Glad to see you posting.  Welcome to FF..... 8)  I guess that coalsmoke "smoked" you out..... :D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Thank You Sponsors!