Lt 35 hydro

rwepinetree · June 26, 2016, 05:55:12 PM

I am looking at a new Lt 35 hydro and want to know the pros and cons of this mill

Sixacresand · June 26, 2016, 08:41:10 PM

I have a LT40 and probably would have been just as happy with a LT35. Even with the hydraulics the cons are you will be tired at the end of the day. :D

WV Sawmiller · June 26, 2016, 09:36:44 PM

I bought mine 18 months ago and am very well pleased with it. I have a little over 300 hours on the engine and a little over 40,000 bf of assorted lumber types cut. My biggest boards cut were several 20'6" 2"X12"s I used on my lumber shed.

It is possible to bog down and choke down the 25 hp Kohler engine if you cut wide wood too fast and I gather the diesel option would have more torque and less likely to do this. That being said in every case the machine "told" me it was time to slow down or even replace the blade if worn dull so operator error is actually the cause.

I have not had a log on it my hydraulics would not handle. The claw/turner seems to work better with the bigger logs than small ones and you likely will want to keep a mill special cant hook under the front of the mill and just turn small cants by hand. Short logs (under 8') are harder to clamp than long ones and you may need to use a scrap board or two to help clamp them. Oh yeah, when edging you need 2" or more for the clamp to hold well so again a scrap board is handy if you are edging single 4/4 boards or such.

I find the location of the various knobs, switches and toggles to be well thought out placed conveniently for you to use. I struggled with the fact I had to have my head at the front of the mill for the hydraulics to work at first but experience has finally taught me to properly use them and I rarely find this to be an issue any more.

I love the simple set and use it religiously on everything but the opening cuts. Maintenance is straight forward and the machine does not require an engineering degree to service and maintain it.

Other machines have some features the LT35 does not which would be helpful but for the price I think the machine is a very good deal and I have no regrets about buying mine. I thank my wife daily for talking me into getting the hydraulics instead of the manual mill.

If you have specific question feel free to post or PM me and I'll answer what I can.

Stuart Caruk · June 28, 2016, 02:38:40 AM

I've had an LT35 hyd for a bit over a year. Wished I'd bought a 40. It cuts just fine, but I do a lot of big beams. If you look inside the throat, the LT35 has a 45 degree diagonal chunk that stops you from getting a full width cut. About the biggest you can cut is 19" or so x 9". The blade guides keep you from cutting anything over 23" wide x just over 10" deep. The LT40 would be more versatile for me. A couple guys locally cut the LT40's and make them even wider. They take the stock LT 70 blades.

Mt406 · June 29, 2016, 09:29:07 AM

I have 100hrs on mine, just finished a mobile job of 12-13000 bf.
I am happy with the mill it did every thing I put though.
I have cut some 32 in logs with it loaded them well and cut good.
I can see were cutting big beams could be a issue with the smaller throat.
Hyds work great glad I have them.
at the end of the day it can cut more than this body can stack.
I bought LT 35 as a entry machine, not knowing were my market would be. I was planning to run it for 2 years and then move to the unit that fits my market.
Had a issue with the unit WM and Rocky Mtn WM went way beyond with the customer service.

That's My 2 cents
Good luck

Weekend_Sawyer · June 29, 2016, 04:22:00 PM

I had the pleasure of running my buddy's LT35 with simple set for about 30 hours this spring. I milled over 40 logs, white oak, red oak, red maple and ash. I really, really liked it. I found it's layout to be comfortable, enjoyed the hydraulic loader and log management. The Kohler gas engine performed as expected.

As my username implies I'm just a weekend warrior/hobby sawyer.
I own a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 manual mill and don't see myself upgrading as long as I'm bull enough to push it through and turn logs.

... but if I were looking...

Jon

Crossroads · July 01, 2016, 10:34:55 PM

I guess this is my intro and my story. I have an old manual Lt30 and I've been looking at the Lt35 hd, but I don't cut enough at this point to honestly consider upgrading. I went to the dealer last week and fondled one though and think it would be a sweet machine to run. I found plans on this site to build a hyd. Log turner/clamp, that would make my life a lot easier. Also, I'm going to add 2" to my bed rails so I don't have to shim up the last 4" with a 2x so I can make a 2x on the last cut. Good luck on your choice!