Hello everyone I finally made my choice and ordered an LT15 today. I'm pretty excited but kind of sick at the same time over spending the money. I would like to thank everybody who provided me with the feed back on the different mills I asked about. Now, I will be bugging you all on how to use the thing. I 'm green when it comes to sawmilling. I will post some pics in a week or so if I can figure it out.
Thanks again
Don
Congratulations! You will forever have sawdust in your pockets now! I always end up leaving some behind whenever I pay for coffee at the store, I tell them it adds character to the place. :D
Dave
No worries, osage!!
If you had spent the money on a bass boat, it would sit in the garage all week, all winter and you would have a heck of a time getting your money back. Maybe some when you sell it.
The sawmill can be a toy, a learning experience, a business, the talk of the town and has great potential for return of your money.
You did good! Put that sucker to work. :D
Congratulations on getting the new mill. 8) Keep us posted.
John
Congrats on the first step to a new addiction. There are much worse things to spend your money on. You could be wasting it in the bars and running the roads, getting DWI's. At least it will keep you out of trouble.
WAY TO GO DON! Not so sure about it keeping you out of trouble, as LeeB suggested, but at least she WILL know exactly where to find you from now on.
Now, you'll probably want to practice some before you start sawing up that pretty Bodock, so I'll see what I can do to get a load or two of poplar dropped off here and..... ;D
Did you try to get them to throw in some of those 4 degree hook bands for free? I'd rather have that than a cap.
Congrats, and take pics,
Greg
congrats don hope you enjoy it as much as we all do,good choice on the lt15 you wont be disappointed!
Osagedon,make sure you take picture when it is brand new and sawdust clean.Than saw some logs and take more pictures. 8) What's the big plan for the lumber? Have trees to saw or need to buy logs? Hope I did not ask this all ready.
If you need help with the picture posting,someone will gladly help you with it the same way someone will help you with sawing.Both look like alot at first,but when you get into it's not all that hard. Have fun.
SWEET! ;D just remember, it looks alot better when the bunks are scratched up and covered in sawdust and bark..and where the paint comes off the mast from the bearings rolling...don't sweat it..keep sawin'!
just yell if you get stuck puttingit together or getting started...you shouldn't have much trouble..mine came pretty much perfectly aligned...once i got it together it sawed fine right out of the box.
did some 16 ftx21 inch wide cypress yesterday....gonna rip em to 8x, except maybe a chunk of one that is particularly pretty..
that hose you are looking for is under the tank...only took me two days to find it.. ;D still don't know what the little rubber strip is for...tourniquet for when you cut yourself? :D
didja get a logrite?
thecfarm, I plan on cutting lumber for sheds and a workshop. Other than that I will be cutting Osage orange for long bows. Zopi, no I did not get a log rite hook. Greg, I tried to talk up some freebies and other discounts but they wouldn't budge. I'm not that great at wheelin and dealing.
Thanks guys Don
congrats on the LT 15 great choice..... you can pay for it in less than a year w/o a problem...
I like my wife's attitude toward the mill. She says it is cheaper than a bass boat, a sports car, and another woman! Seriously, I think your concern shows that you are responsible with your money. If you are, you will use and it will make you money.
Congratulations.
You wanted it and now you've got it. Feel's good, huh? As far as overspending goes, don't worry the mill is only the beginning. There's hundreds more things to buy, and thousands of dollars more to spend. :D
Erik
Quote from: ErikC on February 25, 2008, 09:57:52 PM
You wanted it and now you've got it. Feel's good, huh? As far as overspending goes, don't worry the mill is only the beginning. There's hundreds more things to buy, and thousands of dollars more to spend. :D
Erik
:D :D Thats so true!
Congrats on the new mill, welcome to the club!
Quote from: brdmkr on February 25, 2008, 09:30:43 PM
I like my wife's attitude toward the mill. She says it is cheaper than a bass boat, a sports car, and another woman! Seriously, I think your concern shows that you are responsible with your money. If you are, you will use and it will make you money.
Congratulations.
that is pretty much my wife...she saw an opportunity to get something she wanted (floors for her addition, and new sides for the barns for me.)while I get a varsity league toy that will pay for itself...we can go through some wood...made 500 lft of
shoe molding the other day from cypress I sawed out...for a house we are remodeling...likewise the toe kicks for the kitchen cabinets...saved about 300 bucks, that I would have spent for 50 bucks worth of (basically) toothpicks..
I'll grant that, all told I've got almost 8 grand wrapped up in the mill, but count up the 16 ft 1x12's (that are hard to get),
the 17ft 2x10's, assorted spalted pecan, misc log bunks and stickers..etc..every stick of it higher quality lumber than
Ye Olde Box-o-Misery store can hope to provide..once you get a few good stacks going and do some math...the $$$ justify themselves rather neatly...but ya gotta be $awin' to get there.. (I'm crushed..can you tell? ;D)
Just to add to what Zopi said. My wife wasn't too hot on buying the mill either, but went along anyway. She was sold the first time we did a project (our back porch roof and railing) that saved us a few hundred bucks. And you will be too, even if you don't plan on ever getting paid $1 to run it, all the projects around the house will put you in the black.
Erik
Better get them projects around the house started first. Once ya start sawin for $$$ your stuff will just have to come last. My house looks like a test site. :-\ :'( ::) ..........................:D
I still remember the night I put the deposit on my first WM. ;D :-\ ;D :-\
Couldn't sleep half the night. One minute it was, "Wow, I actually did it." Next minute it was, "Dang, what if this doesn't work out."
Finally my wife muttered, "Go to sleep. You'll figure out how to make it pay." And she was right -- not that I got any more sleep that night :).
Osagedon,
Cutting wood is pretty easy to get started. Sure, someone who saws all the time knows more and might do better - but you will do fine when you start - and you will learn. And, your experiments will usually still be good.
But, please understand that it is considered bad form to cut into the sawmill - but I have noticed it seems to be a pretty common thing around here...
Our mills is always singing and we are about to get really, really busy. We have more than 400 logs to cut inside our farms this year. Most of these aren't very large - 10 inch diameter or so - but there are some really big ones too - like 3 to 5 foot in diameter.
We have about 120 days of cutting I suspect to finish this year.
Welcome to the club, Osagedon 8) 8) 8)
Your long bows will now have a meaning they just could not have had before.
Enjoy the ride! Have some fun 8) 8) 8)
Way to go...! Best money you ever spent.
You'll be ready come spring while others are still wishin'. ;)
Osagedon .....You lucky guy..... I,m still wishin' but my days will come. Please ask many questions to the members.....I,ll use their replies and won,t look that green...hahaha Congratsssss Roger
Congrats, OsageDon!!
I sure hope you didn't get the last one!! I'll be just a few weeks behind you picking up my new LT-15. 8) 8) 8) I'm just waiting for all this snow to melt. No place to even put a mill, right now. Post some pics when you get er' up and runnin!
Good on Ya', OsageDon. I'm still a little amazed at how much lumber I've made over the last two years with my LT15. Chech out my "Building a Cabin in the Mountains" thread to get an idea of what that LT15 can do. If I can answer any question...give me a holler. Have fun and buy plenty of blades.
Quinton
Thanks guys for all of the positive feed back. Im already feeling better about spending the cash. As for all who offered to help with new mill questions just let me know if I become too much of a pest. As soon as the mill is here I will start posting some pics. I remember reading some where that you all like lot of pics. :D
Don
Did somebody say Pics??????,,,Where Where?,,, :) bedway
Bedway,
The mill is suppost to be at the Fed Ex loading dock tomorrow (Friday) at 9:00am. Probably take good part of Sat. to get things figured out. The pics are on the way hopfully this weekend sometime. The box of bands I ordered showed up today, I ve been looking at them off and on all day. They look pretty mean I'm sort of scared to uncoil one :D
Osagedon
Osagedon, make sure you wear gloves and eye protection when uncoiling them blades. Ive had em take hunks out of me on more than one occation. Would i be a little correct in thinking your a tad excited with anticipation of your mill arriveing? ;D,,bedway
Enjoy the new machine. Sawmill has been a great hobby and I've made a lot of freinds because of my mill purchase. Make sure to wear safety gear and be safe.
Osagedon,this should take you to,coiling and uncoiling band blades.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=19157.msg275038#msg275038
Since you are new you may not know about the knowledge base.Go to the upper right,find
Forum Extras,
this will take you to,
Knowledge Base,
find Milling Bandmills,
than find
coiling and uncoiling band blades.
Lots of other infro in the knowledge base too.Look around,you will enjoy it.
Tom's knowledge base article on how to uncoil a band (https://forestryforum.com/tips/tips.cgi?display:1057932493-5140.txt)
there are some pictures here somewhere, it's not difficult at all after you learn the tricks, but if you don't know the tricks, they'll tear you a new one....
it's safest to learn how to do it using a lawnmower belt they won't cut you open or smack you quite as hard!
Quote from: Dan_Shade on February 29, 2008, 09:59:57 AM
[it's safest to learn how to do it using a lawnmower belt they won't cut you open or smack you quite as hard!
but you learn faster with a band.... :D
cant wait to see you sawing great little machine!!!!