Operator Seat

[budriech]

I'm in a wheelchair and was wondering if I could operate an older LT40 from the seat well enough?  Of course I would have someone offloading.  Does anyone know of an older used seat for sale?   Thanks

[ladylake]

If you haven't bought a mill yet get one with the controls at the rear , my TK would be no problem running from a wheel chair.  Steve

[pineywoods]

If the lt40 has hydraulics, do-able. The gotcha is transfering from wheelchair to sawmill seat. Build a raised platform beside the mill with necessary ramp. PS build a wall/fence around the platform so can't drive the wheelchair off the back side. Another possibility I looked into if the mill is fixed location.  Remove the axle from the mill.  Fab a bar from the mill head to the wheelchair thus using the wheelchair instead of the sawmill seat. Might be feasible to rig a flexible pole from the mill head to the joystick control on a power chair. I had a good friend who was wheelchair bound and owned an lt40. We looked into several possibilities, but he passed away before we actually got to the try-it stage. Are you aware that adding the operator seat reduces the cut length to a realistic 16 feet ?

[boonesyard]

I just spent a good amount of time looking for a used seat, none available (that I could find). Ended up ordering a new one, should be here in a couple days.

[morgoon]

Hey I will be watching this thread. I was born with CP and use a wheelchair when I need to. 

My wife and I just bought an LT40 with the walking style controls as it was all we could find. 

I thought about making a bar that I could grab onto and just roll along in my chair, but I was afraid of getting pinched on the axle if I wasn't paying attention. However I did like that idea over transferring in and out of the seat a bunch of times throughout the day. 

I was concerned about the effect the drag of the chair as it moves across the ground and through the sawdust might have on the saw head. I wasn't sure if it would affect the cut or be adversely hard on the machine over time. 

Our plan is to start with what we have and see if we can make it pay enough over the next several years to upgrade to a mill with stationary or even (dare I dream) remote controls.

[barbender]

There was a forum member, ElectricAl I think? Anyways they had an LT40 set up stationary (axle removed) and they had a step bar of sorts, you could just step onto it and ride along with the head. That could work well for you, morgoon. 

[Crossroads]

Are you planning on transferring to the ride along seat as opposed to attaching your chair to the mill? If so, you could modify the hydraulic controls so they would be easier to reach. Keep us posted

[mike_belben]

On a concrete slab with the axle removed, i think a sawmill could walk you along in a wheelchair if youve got a handlebar to grab.

[Ianab]

Would a platform / ramp that you could roll the chair onto be practical? Basically mounted as the operator seat would be. If the ramp was lever operated it could be raised to prevent the chair falling off, but easily lowered if you needed to leave the operator position to fix a problem. 

Just thinking about the swings that some playgrounds have, where a kid in a wheelchair can roll the whole chair onto a platform, close the gate, and the whole thing then swings.  I don't know if that would be practical, or easier than than swapping between seat and chair?

[K-Guy]

I was afraid of getting pinched on the axle if I wasn't paying attention.

You could try making a track for the chair to follow and that would remove the problem and another thing to pay attention to. Just a thought.

[Sixacresand]

Interesting topic. With back problems, being on my feet is tough.  I got a stool at the hydraulic controls which I take advantage of when loading and turning.  A few seconds on my butt helps.