Advice or tips for going mobile with my wm lt40?

[TnSawyer]

Looks like I am going to have to go mobile with the mill, the  gravy's gettin thin around the stationary mill. : I'll take any advice you've got. I' m in east Tennessee and am planning to run an add in the local trader paper. Any advice from what to take with me to pricing jobs,   and quick and easiest ways to set the mill up.  I didnt think it was that easy the first time I set it up to be honest.  I will probly just saw on saturdays.  Maybe 8 or 9 hours.  Thanks guys.

[Dan_Shade]

take some slab/flitch cutoffs with you to make leveling the mill up easier.

I use a level to get thee saw close on the side to side thing.  getting the tire up in the air to make it close is the trick, I haul around some flitch cutoffs to get the saw onto that.  another quick trick is to carry a handy-man/hi-lift jack to make setting the mill up easier.

[Tom]

An LT40 can be set up without too much strain at all.
(the secret is to keep the weight of the head of the mill on the other side of the axle from where you are working)

Take the front off of the hitch by jacking the front up with the front leg until it is flush with the frame.
Drop the other legs on the front end of the mill.

Raise the head of the mill to clear the loader.

Move the head of the mill to the front, over the front leg.

Go to the back of the mill and drop the rear leg. Jack it up until the frame is level fore and aft.
Drop the rest of the legs and raise the outboard leg on the rear bunk until that bunk is level.
drop the center-rear leg and make it firm on the ground.

Using the hydraulics, raise the log loader all of the way. (it will open like scissors)
Standing by the tire, hold the round tube with your hand or chest and undo the chain that holds the loader to the frame.

Let the loader to the ground (it will be easy because it is counter balanced now.
(don't drop it! You might break the hydraulic connections)

Lower the loader hydraulically to the ground.

Move the head of the mill to be rearward  of the axle.

Level the front outboard leg until the bunk is level.

Make sure that all legs are firmly on the ground and none are sticking up high enough to hit the blade when the head of the mill is lowered all of the way.  Dig holes if you have to. The wheels will be off of the ground.

Now, click on "Forum Extras" at the top right of this page.
Then, click on Knowledge base and look for more info.

[DansSawmill]

this is more in the way of drumming up biz... worked for me for years ( west tn )
look around and find a flea market with some grassy spots in the back you can set up in.
go there early in the morning with some boards to sell, but dont expect to make much of a profit.
have a few 4' logs ( i used cedar log ends ) that you will put on the mill thru the day, fire up, and slice a few boards off to give away as samples, then shut down the mill again for 15 min or so. ( i cut mine 1/2" to make them last)
oh, and bring a friend to pass out the biz cards and keep ppl back.. its amazing how many guys heads will swivel and they will come to watch you cut..
one or two trips to the local flea market and a fair or 2 kept me a month behind on cutting jobs for 5 years... full time
just make sure to keep them back, a few stanchions with rope streatched between will help.

[Kelvin]

The big thing that has kept me from going mobile is insurance.  My buddy was rear ended by someone while he was pulling his LT-40 on the road.  He luckly didn't bend the frame, but what if he did?  No insurance.  Risk that amount of money on the road?  Being long, people don't respond very well to it, and people on cell phones don't respond to anything.  Guy turning left on his motorcylce last summer got hit by someone going 55mph, didn't touch the brakes.  Didn't see him sitting in the middle of the lane on a two lane highway.  You won't die, but your business might!  The other insurance is liability.  I wouild have to come up with about $1500 a year to cover milling on peoples property.  You can just risk it, same as the above.  Most people do, but what do you have to loose?  Don't own anything?  Don't worry i guess.  Have insurance that excedes your net asset value.  They can pick which one they want.  You insurance or the rest if they win in court.  Its dangerous business all the same, and on their site try telling their kids to stay away!
This is my first consideration. 
I've been thinking about this situation as well.  I'm planning on making stuff at my site with junky pallet wood.  I think garden shacks, garden benches, whatever will sell and keep me at home.  I hate giving my $$$ to insurance companies that will try weasel out form a claim, and drop me if i get them to pay out.
Good luck,
KP

[derhntr]

Replacement insurance for my 2006 Lt40hdg28 is only $625 a year, I can live with that. I am just to busy on my other job right now to saw :'(

[Dave Shepard]

Insurance is a very important point. I carry it for my landscaping business, and wouldn't have it any other way. In my area insurance is what sets the professionals apart from the wannabes. It is also a good selling point, after all who wants to hire someone to come onto their property without it? What happens if you drive into someones septic tank with your mill? Professionalism and confidence should also be brought to the job. When I first started in business, I had the know-how, but I wasn't a confident salesman. After being in business for a while I could have sold the Brooklyn bridge. The customer has to believe you can do the job, doing it is the easy part.


Dave

[metalspinner]

Where in east TN are you?

[TnSawyer]

I am in Hamblen county

[Minnesota_boy]

After being mobile for a few years, one thing I noticed is that I carry 2 of every tool I use.  Sometimes it's a long way back home to get a replacement for one you broke or you have a willing helper with no tools of his own.  I carry a box of spare parts too but I sometimes get surprised and have to quit early to go get something to replace an unexpected part failure.

[Kelvin]

Yes, i would second this from Minnesota boy.  First insurance, second spare parts and everything you can think of that you might need in a jamb.  2 of every tool like chainsaws, cause you can't walk back in the shop and work on the one you have.
(of course this assumes you have all the sawmilling stuff down pat!)
Oh, one last thing.  I was just reading about selling custom made furniture, and they were talking about how if you made perfect furniture, but were bad with dealing with people you wouldn't sell anything.  I think this is true with sawmilling.  I have lots of competition, so you are selling yourself to these folks.  You need to talk about your strong suits.  My biggie is this.  My competition doesn't make furniture like i do, they do not understand "grade sawing"  I will take longer sawing a given log, but i promise that you will end up with more valuable lumber per log, as i know what i'm doing.  My competition out here is what i call "whack and stack" guys.  They know nothing, nor do they care to know, about what usuable lumber for someone would look like.  After the stuff dries and the pith cracks out cause they didn't saw around the heart.  All those big wide boards are junk!
Some ideas.  You can be mediocre at your job, but get all the business cause you can sell yourself.  If you are good and nobody knows, it doesn't matter.
KP

[beenthere]

Kelvin
If you could put the positive, rather than negative, twist on how you compare your sawing to your competition, seems it would come across better when selling yourself for a job.
"My competition doesn't make furniture like I do......."
instead say "I make furniture and saw logs best for furniture grade lumber...."

"They do not understand "grade sawing""
instead say "I will grade saw your logs and leave you the best available quality wood from your logs".

"My competition out here is what I call "whack and stack" guys"
instead say "I will carefully consider the saw cuts needed and the grade possible from each log, and leave you a stickered stack of lumber ready for you to air dry"

Selling yourself by knocking your competition seems would be hard for some customers to give you the respect you deserve. What will sell your sawing, compared to your competition, is leaving them happy after you are done. Paint them a mental picture of what you are going to do for them. Make it pretty, but also make it happen too. 


It's been discussed before, here on the forum, about the sawmill brands that try to sell by knocking their competition. The message is, it may work on some, but sometimes works just the opposite for many others.

[TnSawyer]

Maybe Kelvin used to work in the timberking sales dept. :D and still uses their style of marketing.  Just kidding.  He made a good point.

[Dan_Shade]

that's funny...  i can't say how many people I've heard in my limited experience spout off the same rubbish that's on the timberking site.

i'm going to have to work on some creative marketing too.  I have competition that will saw for almost nothing.  my biggest advantage is that i'm portable

[Brucer]

Tips? OK.

Practice folding up your mill, moving it a bit, and setting it up again. It'll give you a chance to clean up underneath it as well ;D.

Practice backing it up when you shift it -- unless you've had lots of recent experience backing trailers.

Assemble some tool boxes.
- one for small sawmill tools.
- one for repair tools.
- one for lubricants, oil change supplies, etc.

My sawmill toolbox has a tray that will actually hold a 24" level. I keep the mill's jacking lever in the same tray if I have to leave the mill overnight. Don't want to make it too easy for someone to drive off with it >:(.

Make yourself some lists (I tell folks I got a long-term-memory transplant ... then I show them my pad of paper and pencil  :D). When I started out I made up a list of steps for setting up (and taking down) the mill. I tried to organize it so that I could move around the mill in a circle, getting everything done as quickly and efficiently as possible. It doesn't save that much time, but it forces you to be consistent, making it easier to remember stuff when you've lost your list ;D.

Mark your common tools with some kind of distinct marking (I paint all my handles fire-engine red). It makes it easy to spot them when I'm about to  pull out of the customer's yard. It's also helped me avoid some unpleasentness when the customer was sure he had a peavey "just like that". Not with a red handle, he didn't, and we both knew it.

Saw up a bunch of shims for the outriggers before you leave for a job. I just square up a short "junk" log and peel off boards in various thicknesses. Then I run 'em through a chop saw. I usually saw for 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1", and 2" thicknesses.

Check yer tire pressure the day before you head off ;D.

[RSteiner]

My experience with custom sawing has lead me to visit every potential sight before pulling in with the mill.  You will want to check the area you have to work in for everything; levelness, mud, size, a place to stack slabs, where to stack the lumber, ect.

Where the logs are piled will be a concern, are they dirty, who will clean them if they are muddy, where did the logs come from, is there a chance there will be hardware in the wood are all things you will want to know before you agree to take the job. 

You will need to work out what the log owners liability is should you hit hardware.  I always told them up front what the cost of hitting a piece of hardware was and told them if there is a log that is suspect to either cull it or let me know so I could keep an eye on things.

You will need to determine how you will charge them for your services whether it is by the hour or board foot.  I most always tallied every piece off the mill and charged them per board foot.  That way I had a list with each size board which made it easier to meet the customers wants.   I did charge different prices for softwood and hardwood.

Take into consideration whether or not you have to sticlker the lumber and what is to be used as stickers.  I did not dead pile lumber unless the owner was moving it right away.  I did give consideration in what I charged if the owner provided help and many times they provided lunch.  Determine how often you will be paid for your services, once a week on large jobs or at the end.  Do not leave the site without payment.  Make sure the owner understands that lack of payment means you can take the lumber cut as a consequence.

The insurance thing is a good idea too.

Randy