Sawmill under 10k. What would you buy?

[WDH]

Have you looked at the WM LT 15?  It is very well built and a proven performer.  It is also well within your price range.  With a partner, you can saw over 1000 bd-ft in a day.  I have been very pleased with mine.....

[walexander]

It seems that on paper the mills I am looking at are more comparable to a LT-28. THis mill is around 12k. And I still don't get some of the goodies the others have for 9k. The LT-15 would probably be fine for most applications I would use it for but I will have the occasional 32" oak that I want to make 18' cants out of. I am getting into timberframing, and want my mill to be able to handle these sizes and lengths.

[WDH]

Good point.  The LT 15 cannot handle anything over about 27".

A mill that would allow you to work up off the ground would be nice for your aches and pains  :'(

[brdmkr]

I just scanned back up and I didn't notice why you had ruled out a swing blade.  You could get a Lucas 613 for the money you are talking.  A 618 would not be much over.  You could pick up used for well under what you are speaking.  Is there a reason that you don't want a swinger?  Smaller logs ???

[walexander]

I will need some bigger beams cut out of logs. Possible some 8x12. My limited knowledge on swing mills is that they cannot do larger dimensions.

[JimBuis]

You can get a Lucas swing mill that will cut up to 8 inches in one pass, a Peterson swing mill up to 10 inches in one pass, but if you do a double cut, they can cut twice those amounts.  A double cut is cutting down one side of a log with the blade in the horizontal position, then coming back up the other side with a second cut that matches up with the first.  The result then is up to 16 inches in the horizontal with the largest Lucas swing mill and up to 20 inches with the Peterson.

The way this turns out then is that you can routinely cut at the maximum depth of 8" or 10" and do the occasional double cut to make 16" or 20" without much trouble.

A swinger is worth considering.

IMHO,
Jim

[Dan_Shade]

take a look at the LT28, it's a pretty nice machine from what I've seen.

the woodmizer frame is something to brag about   8)

I got talked into hydraulics, though.  And i'm sure glad that I did get talked into them!

[Farm Hand]

I bought the mill in question. After 3 months of research I dont think that you will find that much mill with that kind of hours for that price. I leave Sunday at 4:00am for a 7 hour drive to pick it up. I feel like a 10 year old kid at Christmas, I cant wait. After speaking the owner I didnt feel like I could go wrong with the woodmizer. Has anyone pulled a lt40 that far before, if so how did it do. I have a trailer large enough to put it on but if it will pull fine there would be no reason to pull a trailer down there. The owner has a bunch of sharp blades that he is going to let me have with it. I will take some photos and report back Sunday night.

Oh yea the motor is a Onan motor, made by Cummins. Love Cummins, you can always count  on a Cummins,

[ronwood]

Farm Hand,

I pulled mine home about 250 miles with no problems. Need to make sure the lights work before you leave. Mine trails well.

Ron

[walexander]

Good Luck Farm Hand. By all accounts that was a good deal. For me it was one of those instances where you start looking and find something right off the bat that looks good...but you just don't know if you've looked enough. I think that mill started its life in NC so its on its way home!

[tcsmpsi]

Well, I imagine, given your needs, your list of possibilities have by now narrowed somewhat.

Don't know that makes it any easier, though.   ;D

Have you talked to any of them you had listed about building/modifying to your specific needs? 

[wwsjr]

I sent you a PM on your email with my phone numbers. Call me when you have time.

[walexander]

Tcsmpsi,

I have talked to a few people over the phone, checked out a ton of websites. They pretty much all can get me a mill like I want for about the same price. I guess I'm going to make a spreadsheat with prices and pros and cons. I hate to buy one just because it is $300 cheaper. The problem is that they aren't comparing apples to apples...but they are pretty darn close to it. Maybe its time to get a blindfold and a dart.

[LedlieLogs]

Farm Hand,
You lucky dog I think you are going to be very happy. I don't own any orange but if they are half as good as every owner says they are you are in luck. A lot of mills stay in one place. If that is the case take a few minutes to pull the tires, hubs and bearings. Give the bearings a quick once over and grease them up just so they don't give you a fit on the ride home. Just takes a few minutes per side and may save a few hours in the rest stop somewhere.
Congratulations,
Ledlie

[Furby]

Farm Hand,
The first post in this thread will give you an idea how well the mills travel.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=22170.0
We had the mill behind the truck for probly 99% of those miles.
But then it also comes down to what size vehical you are towing with. ;)

[Dana]

Furby I thought I had everyone beat until I read your post.   I drove 850 miles to upstate New York to get my mill.

[TexasTimbers]

We drove 750 miles to Tennessee Tech to get a 60 year old Table saw. But what a saw she be.

[Norwiscutter]

i think that if I only had 10,000 to spend and had to get a mill for that price, it would be a swinger. Having owned a manaul mill before my current one, turning big logs gets old fast. 

[Ianab]

I will need some bigger beams cut out of logs. Possible some 8x12. My limited knowledge on swing mills is that they cannot do larger dimensions.

With a bit of lateral thinking you can.

Although you dont usually move the log when sawing with a swinger, there is nothing that says you cant  ;D

My mill will let me 'easily' cut an 8x16" beam. I say 'easily' because moving it off the mill after I cut it wouldn't be easy without a forklift or similar. If for some crazy reason I needed bigger (or you only have a 6" cut swingblade) you can allways square up the top of the log, then roll it over and saw from the other side.  Just saw away everything thats not a beam! OK, you have to roll the log over, but you have to do that on a bandmill anyway. ;)

There are many ways to skin a cat  :D

Cheers

Ian

[TexasTimbers]

you could also build a live log deck to turn logs right where they lay if you needed to do it often it would be worth it.

[Polly]

   8)   i bought a lt 40 hydraulic  for 4,000 and spent 500 fixing it up cleaned up woodmizer blade sharpener and sold on e bay 1,250  the good lord takes care of us hillbellies  :D :D

[JimBuis]

   8)   i bought a lt 40 hydraulic  for 4,000 and spent 500 fixing it up cleaned up woodmizer blade sharpener and sold on e bay 1,250  the good lord takes care of us hillbellies  :D :D

Okay, I've got to ask.  You bought a mill for $4,000, spent another $500 to fix it up then sold it on E-bay for $1,250?  What did I miss?

Jim

[Dana]

I think the sharpener was what was sold. ;)

[Polly]

 8)  right a man from penn. bought it  he got a bargen it had not been used mutch i figured 1,200 would sharpen a lot of blades   we both got a bargen : :

[Furby]

No Jim, you're right.... Polly just works for the government. ;)