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My new sawmill adventure

Started by sweetfarm, May 12, 2020, 10:40:52 AM

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sweetfarm

 

 

 

 
My sawmill adventure actually started back in 2005 I bought a Norwood lm29.  I used it to make alot of lumber for our own use.  When we moved in 2009 we made the decision to sell the mill and buy another mill after moving (we moved 900 miles away to a rented house).   I have been telling people that I was going to buy a new sawmill since then. I have been saying it for so long, my friends probably think I'm crazy.


Fast forward to 2019.  My boys are now 21 and 23 and are as excited about a sawmill as me.  We started the process of looking for a new sawmill.  We went to the Paul Bunyan show last October and was able to put our hands on alot of sawmills and equipment.  I decided that there were a few things that I wanted in a new sawmill.  This time I wanted full hydraulic log handling.  My boys may be young but, I am not getting any younger and I remember how heavy logs are!
I also spec'd a new mill with 1 1/2" blades, a debarker, 24' cut, and a computer setworks.

We were working through the process of ordering a new Cooks sawmill this spring.  We were waiting on a list of owners to visit. I have never actually seen one of their larger mills in person and wanted to see it work before committing.  Then all this lockdown stuff happened. As I was Iooking on Craigslist I saw a logmaster LM2 sawmill for sale.  It was 3 1/2 hours away from me.  I  set up a visit as soon as they were available.
When we arrived at the sawmill I was pleasantly surprised. The sawmill was unbelievably set up exactly as I wanted it plus a CAT diesel and only 500 hours on the sawmill.

On the way home from looking at the sawmill I  called both Herman and Edward Gibson (the owners of Logmaster) to talk about the sawmill.  

I was very impressed with how helpful they were and encouraged that they have, can get, or direct me to any parts I may need.

We made the trip back down that same week and brought my new sawmill home!

I am now looking forward to many more sawmilling adventures with my boys. As for now I just wanted to introduce myself and show off my new sawmill!

I am sure that I will have many questions about sawing and setting up the sawmill.  I  will hopefully also become a contributing member of the forum rather than just reading.  I also understand "pictures or didn't happen" so I've  attached a couple pictures for you.

Onthesauk

The mill looks like new!  Good find and you do your homework don't you!  Enjoy.
John Deere 3038E
Sukuki LT-F500

Don't attribute irritating behavior to malevolence when mere stupidity will suffice as an explanation.

alan gage

Welcome aboard and I hope the new mill treats you well.

I see red brackets extending horizontally from the loader arms. I suppose they act as a bridge as the logs roll onto the mill and a shelf to hold boards that need to be edged later? Need idea. Are they spring loaded?

Alan
Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

sweetfarm

Quote from: alan gage on May 12, 2020, 10:59:54 AM
Welcome aboard and I hope the new mill treats you well.

I see red brackets extending horizontally from the loader arms. I suppose they act as a bridge as the logs roll onto the mill and a shelf to hold boards that need to be edged later? Need idea. Are they spring loaded?

Alan
They are a bridge when loading and are spring loaded

sweetfarm

Quote from: Onthesauk on May 12, 2020, 10:50:43 AM
The mill looks like new!  Good find and you do your homework don't you!  Enjoy.
It is in very solid condition.  Everything that is wrong with it is actually broken from abuse and not worn out.  The original owner let his inexperienced boys use it and they broke anything they could drop a log on.  The man I bought it from was his personal friend and fixed all the big things (several hydraulic hoses and 8' of the energy chain!).
When you have 10 years to research you look at everything! ;D

VooDooChikin04

such a nice looking mill!  Definitely appears solidly built!

thecfarm

Looks like that critter will eat some logs!!!
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

dgdrls

That mill's a dandy 8)

congratulations,

D

frazman

Looks like a beast. Congrats on the mill.

tacks Y

Sweet, Nice looking mill. I have a LM3 for sale and trying to see what is different. You have a debarker, you must have a set works also. If you have any questions I can help with let me know. What Hp is the Cat? Are you running 1 1/2" blades?  Good luck and welcome,

Tom

tacks Y

Also watch the breather on the hydraulic tank. Mine leaked water in so I changed all the oil. The breather idea is fine but the way it connects could be better. What year is your mill?

sweetfarm

Quote from: tacks Y on May 12, 2020, 09:12:29 PM
Sweet, Nice looking mill. I have a LM3 for sale and trying to see what is different. You have a debarker, you must have a set works also. If you have any questions I can help with let me know. What Hp is the Cat? Are you running 1 1/2" blades?  Good luck and welcome,

Tom
Do you have a chain turner on the LM3? That is the only option that mine does not have that I am aware of.  Mine did come with the computer setworks and it has the weather board option.  The CAT is 34hp model.  It is set up for 1 1/2" blades which I am planning on running. 

sweetfarm

Quote from: tacks Y on May 12, 2020, 09:15:50 PM
Also watch the breather on the hydraulic tank. Mine leaked water in so I changed all the oil. The breather idea is fine but the way it connects could be better. What year is your mill?
The mill is a 2011. We did check the hydraulic breather because we noticed that it is one of the highest things on the mill.  That and the fact that the first owner had broken the fuel line off the tank made me think I should check everything!

tacks Y

No chain turner, and I have not missed it(had a TK 1600 with one) but I did like it. Mine has the taper option also and the 34hp. Photo eyes which I like.  Previous owner ran 1 1/4" bands so I do also, would need to change guide wheels to run the 1 1/2".  I LOVE the 34hp with the 30" wheels it just rolls on through. Was the mill you have one of the last before they went belly up? I am surprised they do not make the bigger mills now, simple,sturdy, dependable. The breather had a small flange not sealed well. 

tacks Y

Also I changed to a fast sprocket on the head up and down.

sweetfarm

The head does move slowly.  So I could see speeding that up in the future.  For now I'm not very good with it.  So slow is okay  ;D
That was one of the things that liked about the Cooks was the 2spd head.
The very last hydraulic mills that logmaster built were 2013 I believe.
You can be really good at building things and still make bad business decisions.

tacks Y

I think they made a great mill. Maybe still do, have not seen one. I had to look at the catalog I have from 2008. The LM 2 and LM3 are the same in there but the 2 is gas and 3 is the Cat. I have never seen a another LM3 so later they just called them 2s with the diesel. Look at the pics of mine in the for sale section same mill. The sprocket change was simple and I could have went faster. If you want I will count teeth on mine?

sweetfarm

I Have sawdust in my pockets!
I have had the mill for far too long to not be making sawdust.  We had a long list of things to fix (and still do!).
We have been doing big things. We upgraded all the wheels and tires to ones properly rated for the mill. The old set were within a few hundred pounds max weight of the actual mill weight. 
We changed out and adjusted all the belts to new factory specs. We adjusted and lubed all the chains.
We changed all the filters and fluids in the CAT and installed a new air cleaner set up as the old one was damaged.
We also cut off the hitch and built a new adjustable hitch. I'm not sure what they intended this to be towed with that would be as tall as the original hitch was?  My 4 wheel drive suv with a huge raised hitch was still 3" short of level!
I am also in the process of converting it to 2 axle electric brakes instead of the single axle surge set up that it came with.

 
But we decided it was time to get cutting!
I immediately hit metal in the first 30 seconds.  The stops were adjusted too high so that the blade could actually hit the carriage if you went all the way down (below 1").  I of course pushed the lever instead of pulled and immediately zinged a brand new blade!  After setting the stops and double checking the scale to blade height we were off and cutting.  The second log that we loaded I hit and entered the log with far too much speed. This resulted in the engine bogging,  the blade climbing,  and ultimately coming off!
I am very new to having and running a hydraulic sawmill and am learning with every cut. We just laughed it off and slowed down to be careful and accurate.  
We are still adjusting everything.  We reset the mudsaw/debarker today as it was over 2" higher than the blade! We also cleaned the drip system and got it dripping sort of consistent.   We are going to keep fixing and adjusting it until me and the mill improve!

Durf700

that thing is a beast!!  what is the width you can cut and max length?   it looks like its in great shape!  welcome back to the milling world!

tacks Y

Glad you are up and running. You must have hit the log fast to bog it down as I do not remember mine bogging down. You do need to watch the stops as mine would sometimes not travel the same. I just ran a drip on mine also, but my new mill went to a felt wiper. I like it better. You did see the grease fitting in the clutch right? I had also mounted a led light aimed at the blade, it cast a shadow on the log so I knew when it was there.  Yes the hitch was high.  Have fun. 

sweetfarm

I was going far too fast. :o
 I am not very good with the controls yet!
After cutting a few logs I was actually getting a feel for what lever does what. I did notice the back dogs move independently of one another if you have pressure on them. I found backing off the clamp a little kept them together.  But definitely something to watch!
I can finally flip a log without having to read labels!  :P
I have a very large ash on the property that should properly max the mill out.  We are actually thinking of cutting it 24' long just to get the experience of cutting max log (36") and max length!

sweetfarm

Quote from: Durf700 on September 23, 2020, 08:32:37 AM
that thing is a beast!!  what is the width you can cut and max length?   it looks like its in great shape!  welcome back to the milling world!
Most of the mill is in good shape and solid.  The original owners did bend and smash a lot of things though.  Working on fixing those. I have a new fender to put on. Replace a few broken door latches. Several lights they broke and, the weather board attachment is bent in multiple places. Relatively easy fixes. I also brought several gallons of paint. So I will be cleaning and re-spraying the trailer portion shortly.  

sweetfarm

After sawing in my driveway for 3 logs we decided that we needed to drop some trees and start sawing anywhere else!
So here is the new spot for now.

 

sweetfarm

I went to talk to my neighbor today. I heard that they are building a new house. They have installed a new 800' driveway and are clearing a lot at the back. I wanted him to know that I have a sawmill and see if he had any logs.
He has been cutting everything into firewood!
He told me that he felt like there might be some value in saving a few of the logs and started setting some nice cherry and white oak logs aside.
He then tells me that he cut up a black walnut for firewood  smiley_dizzy
Told me that it was so pretty that he took pictures of his firewood!
I told him "I'm not gonna lie...as a sawyer that hurt a little on the inside!"
Hopefully we are going to be sawing some nice logs soon!

quadracutter222

That is a cool looking bandmill!  Those spring-loaded loading bridge arms are a great idea.  When we had our Woodcraft bandmill I was constantly forgetting them in the up possition and crashing the carriage into them ;)

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