89 LT40 Restore - 35 years of Compost

[Chiselbut]

This week tear down and restoration  of the 89 LT40 began.  This picture shows the built up and damp sawdust inside the main beam behind the tow hitch assembly.  It measured 2-3/4" deep.  I was expecting more yet the bottom interior beam is none the worse for wear.

Parts arrived to repair a hydraulic switch, main drive bearing assembly, bearings and more.  Overall - for 35 years and 3,000 plus hours of loading logs and offloading dimension material - its in fair to good shape.

Field repairs need repairing, some neglected areas, rewiring, and replacement of worn parts is all that is needed including stripping paint and rust,  and spraying fresh paint.

I will post sub-assembly repairs as i proceed to help others with an older mill.  I am sensing the learning curve is just slightly starting to level off with the electrical and hydraulic issues and with that a little more optimism.

[Ben Cut-wright]

You've mentioned "helping others" a couple times. Does that mean the repairs you are doing on your sawmill are intended to add repair information to benefit others?

Reason I ask is because you write "the learning curve is leveling off". Prior experience with portable sawmills or mechanical repairs might enhance the diagnosis and repairs.  If this is the first encounter you have had with WoodMizer mills or sawmilling, the learning curve isn't steep, but it has never leveled off for me.

You have begun several threads now relating to this particular repair.  It's not hard for me to keep up with, but it's much more convenient to keep up with fewer threads.

"tear down and restoration"  It appears you have begun dismantling the mill.  Have you determined the faults you asked about or hoping to discover those as you go along?

[Chiselbut]

You've mentioned "helping others" a couple times. Does that mean the repairs you are doing on your sawmill are intended to add repair information to benefit others?

Reason I ask is because you write "the learning curve is leveling off". Prior experience with portable sawmills or mechanical repairs might enhance the diagnosis and repairs.  If this is the first encounter you have had with WoodMizer mills or sawmilling, the learning curve isn't steep, but it has never leveled off for me.

You have begun several threads now relating to this particular repair.  It's not hard for me to keep up with, but it's much more convenient to keep up with fewer threads.

"tear down and restoration"  It appears you have begun dismantling the mill.  Have you determined the faults you asked about or hoping to discover those as you go along?

Thanks for the feedback.  Might be best then to limit how I share this process and the steps I am taking to strip this down build it back up. 

Certainly don't want to detract or create postings that are inconvenient in this forum and i see that I need to improve how to best organize any sharing I do here.  Thank you.
 

[Ben Cut-wright]

My comments are solely my own views, not meant to instruct or limit others' contributions in any way. 

[SawyerTed]

Keep on documenting your progress.   I think the idea is to do so in one thread.   This one seems to have a good title to document your journey.  

Most threads get viewed by a lot of Forumites so questions more than likely will get responses.  There's lots of experience levels here with newbies lurking and reading all the time.  Just because you might not get feedback does not necessarily mean your posts aren't helping someone. 

[barbender]

 Right, I think what was meant was to keep your updates on the sawmill rebuild in one thread. I didn't understand for sure, but read the beginning of your post to mean you might have written elsewhere about the beginning of the journey. I wanted to know, but I wasn't going to go look for it either.

Good luck with it, it's always great to see a neglected piece of iron resurrected👍

[Chiselbut]

Right, I think what was meant was to keep your updates on the sawmill rebuild in one thread. I didn't understand for sure, but read the beginning of your post to mean you might have written elsewhere about the beginning of the journey. I wanted to know, but I wasn't going to go look for it either.

Good luck with it, it's always great to see a neglected piece of iron resurrected👍

Got it. This 89/LT40 started out as an isolated repair and question posting... but  its best to adapt the project to a more thorough rebuild.  what has developed from singular repair and technical questions has morphed to a change in approach...and volunteering to share it here. 

Going to step back and think about what and how to best share this process if it would be beneficial. 

I'm sure there are others that would like to acquire an older mill at a more affordable price level and would need to roll up the sleeves and bring it up to their standard of reliability and operation.

Thats' my intent here; to show what's involved- not hesitate to ask questions that come up and apply solutions.

I appreciate the feedback and will adjust so that whatever I write; it can be effective and helpful. All of the feedback is helpful. 

[Old Greenhorn]

By all means keep it up, and don't worry too much about your format. Folks will figure it out and get what they need or ask a question if they don't. At the very least you have already showed a clear lesson in that making the effort to rebuild equipment with good bones is worth the effort. There are a lot of such machines sitting in woods and overgrown grass or behind barns that have been neglected and are very restorable. The biggest roadblock is the electronic controls, which can be pricey. But if you weigh it against the cost of a new or working used machine, you still come out a winner.
 A similar case in point: I got my SxS for $500. of course the engine was in 4 cardboard boxes with every nut and bolt disassembled. I had never worked on a Kawasaki engine, never even saw one. SO I got a shop manual, ordered some parts and went to work. 40 hours later I had a running engine and a working sxs that I have several thousand hours of run time on now.
 So yes, carry one and keep everyone informed . Hopefully it will be in one thread for your own sanity if nothing else.

[barbender]

 Yes please carry on- it will be informative for anyone interested in restoring stuff and WM mills in particular. Don't worry, a conversation will form around it. Food may even become involved😁 

[Southside]

Absolutely post away and document everything you want to share.  Some day down the road someone will come across this post and solve a problem they are tackling and nobody else can help with.  There are many, many, older posts on here that have helped folks decades later.  The whole reason the photos are kept on the site and not hosted 3rd party is so that they will be here in the future when that unknown someone is trying to figure out just how something is supposed to be.