sawing speed on an lt40 w 24hp onan

WDH · January 08, 2012, 09:31:31 PM

Paul,

Do you normally tally and track your production? I always record the BF and the engine hours that the mill actually ran as my LT15 does not have an hour meter. My long term average has been 108 BF per sawmill engine running hour for 4/4 hardwood, but that does not count all time spent prepping, moving, and getting logs ready to saw. That is the average with and without an offbearer. I cannot average that by myself when cutting 4/4 hardwood. I know that is not much, but somebody has to be small potatoes :D. I don't cut pine much at all, and 8/4 pine is where you can really make hay! Cutting pine is like cutting butter with a hot knife.

I enjoyed your posts about the EZ Boardwalk mill. From what you have shown, I am impressed with it. Hopefully it will go to a good home.

paul case · January 08, 2012, 09:44:52 PM

Floors are real hard packed dirt in the buildings. I can move stuff around real efficiently with my forklift, but it burns gas too, and I am trying to eliminate some of the running it. My slabs will go in the same racks i used before and be moved outside and sold by the bundle.
WDH,
I have really enjoyed using that EZ boardwalk mill. I put 600 hours on it in a little more than 3 years. I ''cut my teeth'' with it, and it is by all means a good stout made mill that I can without reservation recomend to anyone wanting a manual mill.
I intend to cut for some level of production with the ''new'' one and I hope to get almost double what I have been sawing. However that may only be 4000 ft a week since I spend time logging and other farm stuff too. I have not kept track of the bdft. that I cut with it since quite a lot of it has been ties and cants, it would likely be a lot.
I quit putting up square baled hay and straw about 11 years ago because my shoulders were starting to give me a lot of pain, and lately sawmilling has been giving me the same pain or worse. I have high hopes that this will help me continue milling and not have to give that up. I really enjoy it.
Once again thanks for all of youalls encouraging words. PC

terrifictimbersllc · January 09, 2012, 05:15:40 AM

Just seeing this now, very happy for you, push them levers (& get yourself a spare hydraulic micro-switch)!

stavebuyer · January 09, 2012, 05:55:53 AM

Congrats on the mill upgrade Paul. The hydraulics will make life a little easier to be sure..and I hope you prove me wrong ....but I don't see the mill itself doubling your production in the products your producing. Banding and moving slab bundles, double handling the boards to be edged, how your set up to stack the cants & ties all probably take a toll on both your back and your production. Without decks and an edger; I would wager some of the better production numbers quoted were obtained from sawing longer length logs and or framing lumber(2x8's etc). The mill will cut more lumber easier and faster but if your working by yourself every board, slab, and cant still has to be handled. I have an LT70DCS and when I am cutting oak ties and 4/4 grade lumber by myself the mill does good to run two hours out of eight. The rest of time is stacking,banding, moving logs and or bundles.

paul case · January 09, 2012, 06:38:58 AM

I have put a lot of thought into this and found with the manual mill I was spending 1/3 of my time rolling and clamping logs. The lumber I edge had to be dragged back on the mill by hand. surely throwing the flitches on the loader arms and edging after every log will be a big help.
I have helped a friend who has an 97 lt40 some and his production was more than double mine. Surely it will help. Plus I can go mobile now if I choose. PC

slider · January 09, 2012, 07:33:22 AM

Bet your going to enjoy this mill paul.Be sure and get the manual with it.It makes a big difference when you are trying to get this thing cutting perfect.I started with a 40 and loved it.Mine had tow boards but no rollers .That was ok,my 70 came with roller tow boards,man what a difference.That and the drag back that customesawyer mentioned would make a big difference in your total Daley bdft.good luck al

Peter Drouin · January 09, 2012, 07:34:20 AM

Best of luck to you PC , have fun

Magicman · January 09, 2012, 07:43:55 AM

I think that you are on track to definitely improve your "smile factor" at the end of a work day.

paul case · January 11, 2012, 11:15:26 PM

Well today I wasn't smiling too much at the end of the day. It felt like having a new job.

I have been over the saw some and replaced the wheel belts and greased and lubed and changed engine oil as well as fixed the muffler and a few other maintenance issues. I sawed a log with it last night and did ok but today was another story. I was trying to saw up a 14' post oak about 19'' sed. I needed some 2x8 for a trailer flooring order. It seemed like the saw wasnt sawing as good as I thought it should so I put on a new blade. It was better but not what I expected. The 6/4 scale on the mill yeilded boards that were 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 instead of 1 1/2. I was still having trouble with the lube set up I put on it.
The motor ran fine and was quiet compared to before. The up down was a little hard to get used to. The hydraulics worked good. I about had a fit getting the toe boards to work until I figured out the release was still open. The log was tapered so that when I sawed the second face and went to roll it wanted to go over the backstops, so I put a piece of pipe over the backstops and it rolled right over then. My back isn't sore but my mind is spent. It is just like learning a new trick. I am just a little bit older of a dog than the last time. PC

Jeff · January 12, 2012, 12:06:13 AM

I'm pretty sure the scales on the wood-mizer are grade scales. So 6/4 is going to return 6/4 plus an eighth.

Chuck White · January 12, 2012, 05:46:21 AM

The scales on the WM's allow for shrinkage.

Good thinking Paul, on using a length of pipe to extend the log stops!
My mill has a roller on top of each of the hyd. log stops.

Suggestion: Read up on the sawmill tricks and tips. There's a lot of good Wood-Mizer stuff there.

WH_Conley · January 12, 2012, 06:23:44 AM

See if your scale is held where you want by a wing nut. On my 97 the scale will come out and turn over. One side is for grade sawing, the other is actual thickness.

Magicman · January 12, 2012, 09:23:54 AM

Lower the toe board before turning the log, and yes, my scale has two sides.

paul case · January 12, 2012, 07:29:11 PM

I sawed a couple hours today but it was just too cold, 22 degrees or so.
i took the scale off and the other side was blank. I will have to do some adjusting on the scale, because it leaves the dog board 1 3/4 when set to cut at 1 /58 for a 1 1/2 board. I got along a little better with the cutting. I figured out that the lube wasn't working good enough so I will have to work on that some. the last blade I put on had sap build up on it real bad and wasn't cutting well through knots. With a new blade it cut fine.
The crossways set up isn't going to work. This saw does saw considerably slower than my ez boardwalk, so I thin I will be able to unload the boards from most logs while the saw is working. Even if I can't I still need both ends of the mill open so I can slide lumber and slabs off into stacks. This will put me throwing the sawdust toward the wall but I was planning to get a dust colector/ blower set up on this mill anyway. If I don't I could just pull it out and clean the dust out and then put it back. I may even be able to keep it a loader bucket width from the wall and take a sweep through there when it gets built up. Thats how I do on the ez.
Still working on learning this mill. PC

customsawyer · January 12, 2012, 07:47:48 PM

Don't get to frustrated as all new tools/equipment has a learning curve. I have every confidence that you will figure it out. I know that when I go from cutting with the mill in Hazelhurst to my portable mill there is always several mistakes. All are from my slow thinking ability.

paul case · January 12, 2012, 07:59:06 PM

I like to blame my shortfalls on the incompetent help. That would myself and I. Me does the sawing. ;D
I do feel better about the thing today. Yesterday I was ready to sell it for parts. I cut a log on the saw today and thought to turn it as a cant and it continued to measure true on each side as the opposite side. PC

paul case · January 14, 2012, 09:09:13 PM

I have figure out some of my troubles. I borrowed a couple blades from a neighbor and ramped up the water to the blade and that helped. Then I took to trying to shorten the first backstop. So much for a new blade. Rookie mistake. I have been spoiled by ez boardwalks fool proof saw. PC

Meadows Miller · January 14, 2012, 11:31:35 PM

These things happen Mate ;) Jake was laughing his butt off when I left one off the tapers up and was gearing up to just start peeling boards off on the 70 ;) :D :D Took the first cut out off it and was thinking that should be alittle thicker down the far end ???

>:(

he took pics too ;) :D Just dropped the taper and started boarding off the rest off the log which didnt take long its the first time I had been back on a WM in about 5 years though ;) ;D ;D 8) 8)

paul case · January 24, 2012, 11:35:36 PM

I got along with the new mill real well today. Most of the problems I had been dealing with is sap build up on the blade. I am not used to the water deal and I still don't have it down pat, but I am getting there. Sometimes the sawdust between the boards is a little dusty and then sometimes its muddy.
The sawing speed is a little slower than the boardwalk mill, but those hydraulics are the cat's meow! I am still working a few little bugs out but overall I am real happy with the 94 LT40hdg24 and I am sure it will give many more hours of good service.PC

plowboyswr · January 25, 2012, 12:57:46 AM

Glad to hear that youre getting along better now! :D Thanks for treating my father inlaw so well he had nothin but praise for ya sunday when i saw him. 8)

bandmiller2 · January 25, 2012, 07:16:50 AM

Paul,you have those dandy big chicken houses,but I would consider building a smaller building over your mill.You could setup exactly what you want.Having a nice long dead deck will improve production.Something isn't just right with the WM,it should handily outcut the EZ,is it lack of power or band related,do you sharpen your own?Theirs a learning curve,don't beat your head agenst the wall it will come. Frank C.

ladylake · January 25, 2012, 07:32:06 AM

If the hp on your EZ is close to 24 it sure could saw faster than the WM as it's not running a HD alternator and maybe the onan is tired or needs tuning. Steve

paul case · February 10, 2012, 08:38:39 AM

Well now I know.
I got another order for 100 3x4 10'6'' cants on Tuesday. I was in the middle of 2 other orders and I didn't have any 10' logs. So I called the guys at the construction site where I had gotten quite a few logs and they said they could load me on Wednesday. Cants had to be done by Friday, today. On Wednesday I called and they said not today. So I didn't get the logs till Thursday at noon.
I got started about 1 and by 4 I had 50. I took a half hour break and started again and had another 25 by 6. Then ate supper and it took from 7 to 830 to cut the last 25. A coupleof the logs may have been bigger than when it took mejust over 8 hours to cut 100 cants with the ez boardwalk mill, but it only took 6 hours with the WM. Also there was no bark restriction on the last bunch from the ezboardwalk , but the ones I cut last night could not have any bark, so I spent quite a bit of that 6 hours cutting bark off the edges with a knife or hatchet.
Oh and did I mention I didn't feel good yesterday? my whole family has been dealing witha sinus infection and flu bug and I got it. I couldn't have sawn very much with the ez boardwalk mill yesterday without hurting a whole lot. I was tired when I got done last night but I wasn't totally exhausted.
The whole point is it definately is better. Easier on the body. I do find myself doing some of the offbearing while the mill is making a cut and that helps speed things up.
PC

Meadows Miller · February 10, 2012, 09:01:42 AM

Gday Paul

Its a good trick aint it Leave the mill cutting the next board while your tailing out Mate thats why I say 35hp plenty on a smaller mill when your working alone most off the time as the saws just getting through the cut quicker ;) :D :D

Regards Chris

Stephen1 · February 11, 2012, 12:43:18 PM

Quote from: Mooney on January 07, 2012, 09:00:13 AM
Congrats on your purchase Paul! Glad you were able to get a deal and upgrade to the hydraulics. Feel free to call in today (before noon) or next week to get the mill transferred to your name and get your parts/blades ordered in. You'll also get a Owner Pack from us once you do.

Right now we're also scheduling our service loops for this year. It wouldn't hurt to check on how much it would run to have Bob swing through and get your mill running like new. He'll be servicing Arkansas/Missouri in September, and you're real close there.

Owner Pack...a freebie 8) sign me up, I never got an owner pack for registering my used LT40 Do I have to live south of the border for that?
I am picking up my mill tomorrow at the Canadian head office, it has been in for a tune up before a big job that starts tuesday