New to milling trying to make a decision

[General007]

Ive been searching the forum for a while now trying to do some comparisons on mills and I think I've narrowed it down to 2 mills.  Both are Woodmizers the LT35 Hyd and a LT40 right now with the rebate on the LT35 it makes it pretty appealing for a first timer.  Just wondering if I'll regret not going with the 40 right off?  I dont plan on running this mill full time by any means but plan on milling out boards for 3 building projects I have currently planned right now with more to come in the future I'm sure.  Thanks for any input you guys might have   

[Southside]

The 35 is a great mill, started with one and still own it. The current 35 has even more bells and whistles than my 8 year old model.  In many ways the current production 35 offers more than many older 40's, so there is a lot of value there. 

Guess it comes down to your budget.  I started my business with my 35, others started with a 15, so you won't be short changing yourself by any means.  

In my opinion, if you want the additional performance difference then you need to jump up to a Super 40 to have the board drag back, faster hydraulics, etc.  But then if you are a 1 man operation without an edger behind you I don't think you can maximize on that additional output capacity. 

[General007]

Thanks for the response I've been leaning towards the 35 more and more.  Talking to the guys at Woodmizer of Maine really helped also with a lot of the small details but it really comes down to if I run the mill alone I can only produce so fast and it seems the 35 would fit the bill for what Im planning on doing.  As for used 40's I kinda felt that for used money I can buy a new 35 and most of the used 40's I've found are in the 90's and I kinda assumed a new 35 will perform as good or better than a 40 of that era just due to newer technology.  Idk

[Southside]

One advantage the 35 has over the 40 is the single mast makes putting on or removing a band a lot easier.  Downside is the head is not as stout as the one on the 40, but without a drag back it's a non issue.

You can't tell the difference between the lumber coming off of my 35 or my Super 70.  

[General007]

So I also looked at a Norwood HD36 mill and thought about converting it to full hydraulic and the cost would land somewhere between an LT35 and LT40 new.  Im skeptical of trying to build a mill for that cost but maybe the norwood mills are just as good as the woodmizers  ??? idk.  Anyone have any hands on experience with them I've never seen one first hand and I've seen a bunch of wood mizers thats why I'm leaning more that way. 

[Patrick NC]

Ive got the hd36 and so far I'm pretty happy with it. I bought it as a manual with power feed and power head , 23hp engine and 1 bed extension. (unfortunately the power feed has been on back order.) also got the trailer package and extra leveling jacks. Assembly  took 2 weekends. Probably could have done it faster, but I took my time to be sure everything was done exactly as the instructions said. Total price with shipping was about $14,000. I'm getting ready to add the hydraulic pump, hydraulic clamping and chain turner. That's going to be somewhere around $6500. 

[General007]

Most of these mills listed are not available until spring hard to believe guess I'll have to put a deposit on one and wait

[Durf700]

my LT 35 HD Gas has been great this year!  I enjoy milling with it.  like others have said, if your going to go bigger you need to go to a wide head super to make it worth the upgrade...  but when milling on your own like I do you can just only do so much.  you will still be able to crank out a lot of lumber in a day on your own for sure once you get used to it.

[SawyerTed]

The LT 35 Hydraulic is a very capable mill.  If I have good logs and good help, I can consistently saw 250-300 board feet an hour with mine.  I studied on the LT 40 Hydraulic and didn't see enough difference to justify the price.

The step up to the LT 40 Super Hydraulic would definitely be worth it if you can swing the price.  

But as much mill as you can afford and/or justify.  

Without sufficient hydraulic capacity, I would have lost interest in milling quickly.

[Durf700]

The LT 35 Hydraulic is a very capable mill.  If I have good logs and good help, I can consistently saw 250-300 board feet an hour with mine.  I studied on the LT 40 Hydraulic and didn't see enough difference to justify the price.

The step up to the LT 40 Super Hydraulic would definitely be worth it if you can swing the price.  

But as much mill as you can afford and/or justify.  

Without sufficient hydraulic capacity, I would have lost interest in milling quickly.

what would you say your average log diameter and length is to get to 250 to 300 board per hour?  I assume they are larger logs?

[SawyerTed]

Usually logs in the 16"-22" SED 12' long. One to two per hour and the average will be right around the 250-300 mark.  

[General007]

I tossed around the idea of the LT40 super just because of the rebate on it make it very closely priced to a straight LT40 but we're talking close to a 10K difference between an LT35 and going to a 40 or 40 super.  I figured thats a lot of support equipment or accessories and just money in my pocket for something I'll only be doing on weekends and off days if there is such a thing.

[General007]

Does anyone in the southern Vermont area have a Norwood HD36 with hydraulics that I might be able to come take a look at?  I'd just like to see a few machines before I make a decision thanks

[General007]

Just wondering does anyone run a diesel on an LT35 i see its an option but is it worth the extra coin for the longevity of the mill?

[A-z farmer]

General007
Docgp just got his new lt 35 with a Diesel engine.
Over two years ago I was going to order the lt35 but my wife said I should get the lt40 wide with a Diesel engine .I did not think I would use it enough on our farm projects so I went with the gas 38hp.Well it works very good but it is thirsty using over a gallon an hour .You are welcome to come and try out our lt40 but our farms are in southern Rensselaer county New York .
Best to you in deciding what flavor of band mill to get .
Zeke

[General007]

Thanks everyone for helping me out I'm still doing my research and I'm looking at Cooks mills they seem to be a very well built mill but being in the north east its not easy to just go see one of these machines.  I'm looking at the AC3238 not sure if anyone on here has any experience with this mill or not? 

[DocGP]

Love my little mill so far, LT35 Diesel.  Did have a starter/switch issue to start with, but warranty fixed it.  Less than 10 hrs so far, so value others opinions much more than mine.  My thought process was (thanks largely to all the knowledge on this site) as follows;

1.  Should be pretty much a lifetime purchase for me.   Will be under cover 99.9 percent of the time.   Will just be cutting for me,  so don't think i will ever wear it out. 

2.  I will cut a good bit at a time,  but mill may sit for periods of time.   Didn't want to fight the gas issues.   

3.  Yanmar has a great reputation,  and my personal experience has been good. 

4. I keep a 500 gal farm tank of diesel,  so always handy. 

6.  My home place has an abundance of 24-40" trees.   With the big wood (I know, relatively speaking),  power is what i wanted.   

7. If i do decide to part with it,  it seems that the extra money is easily recovered. 

Anyway,  that was my pea brained reasoning!!  Hope that helps. 

Doc

[YellowHammer]

@123maxbars 
switched from an LT30 gas to an LT40 Diesel.

[General007]

I was able to go see a Cooks 3238 in action today and they are a very impressive machine to say the least.  Very heavy built and very quick seems like the actual hydraulics on the machine are much faster than the woodmizer I went and watched but that was also a LT35 which i'd assume this cooks is more in line with a LT40 or LT40 super.  They're more money than an LT35 also and Cooks currently has a 6 month lead time on there mills so thats discouraging, but seems like all mill manufactures are swamped right now.

[Walnut Beast]

There is a wait list on all types of machinery now 😂

[General007]

So I pulled the trigger today on a 2006 B20 timberking with 1200hrs on it it had been sitting for a year under cover so its going to need a once over but everything seems to work as it should, only thing that wasnt working was the electronic cut control on the mill but the owner said he never used it so I'm not sure if I'll dig into that or not be nice if it was working seeing its on the mill but doesnt seem totally necessary.  Figured if I have to put 1000$ into it between the odds and ends and whatnot and dont like the mill I can re sell for what I paid.  Hope to have a few pictures soon

[Tom the Sawyer]

Call Matt at Timberking and give him your serial number (there is a plate on the driver's side, rear corner, on the frame rail, not the track rail).  He'll get you an owners manual if you didn't get one from the previous owner.  If the setworks is not functioning, there are a couple of steps to trouble-shooting it, Mike or Jason can walk you through it.  If you can get it working, you'll wonder why you would have considered going without.

[General007]

Thanks for the advice.  Hopefully I'll be able to dig into the mill this weekend and get most of the service done does anyone have any recommendations on blades ive searched the forum and there's a lot of information to file through I was thinking of going with woodmizer turbo 7 double hards as it seems like most people give them a positive review for general milling applications I'll also see what they recommend at woodmizer.