Thought you folks would like an update on our mission trip. We were contacted by the mission, a vocational school the teaches the boys a trade in auto mechanics, welding, woodworking etc, about a 1989 LT40 manual mill that they had. It was loaned out for a percentage of the bdft by the previous mission headmaster. It took the current headmaster 2 to 3 weeks to find it. It was in Hunduras.
They retrieved the mill and found it to be in pretty bad shape. We had a mission trip coming up so we decided this would be the place to go. They sent pictures of the mill to give me an idea on what it would need. Imagine a mill sitting in salt water for a year. This is how rusted up it was. Based on the pictures we sent what we thought we would need. When we got there we found the Lord had made sure we sent what we needed.
We converted it from gas to electric. Had to do some fabricatiing but everything went well. We got the mill running and it cut it's first board in 4 years as straight as a new one. The smiles on all they're faces made the trip worth while. We also repaired some screen windows and help the kids with they're classes and during there study time. Here are a few pictures about the trip. Thanks
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The bus arrives to get us
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Condition of the mill
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Still more rot
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And more....
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Work on the mill begins
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The kids begin on the slab we will anchor it to
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The mill converted to electric and just about ready
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The slab is lokking good
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Sawmill see's the first log in 4 years
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Headmaster makes the first cut. Look at the smile
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The crew
Looks to me like the mill had been sand blasted and then primer painted. Or .... is their rust gray colored?
Very cool, Sparks! You guys should be proud of your work down there. 8)
Yep they sandblasted it and primed it. I looked for the before pictures but could not find them. The sandblasting made it a lot easier to work on.
Paschale, we were worried when we first saw it. But everything went great. We had 2 of our fabricarors from the plnat with us. Without them we would not have had it going. We enjoyed the kids and the folks who run the school. It was a blessing for all involved. Thanks
Good work sparks, looks like anybody less would have cut it up for scrap. :)
Thanks for the update and pics Sparks.What a great Outreach.
What an amazing thing for Woodmizer to do. Way to go!
smiley_clapping
That's great!!!
8) 8) It's great to see folks do something like that. 8) 8) 8)
Next time someone asks if a older mill is worth fixin up, this thread should be the one that gets the referral, EH ??? 8) ;D ;D
Sparks, any idea what kinda logs that were being sawn ???
Fla. it was called cabbage bark. Very dense and hard. That log was cut down 8 hours before we cut it. Thanks
Sparks, were you ever able to go to Haiti and see the mill that you have there? One of my sons was a missionary near Porta Prince for three years and they had one of your mills. Often times with operating difficulties from what I would hear. :'(
Do you know if that Is the same mill that dave rowzer went and looked at on the scouting trip?
MM The mill Dave looked at was the LT20. The LT40 was not there at that time. They loaned it out.
Frank, never been to Haiti. Don't know if will will ever go there right now. A little to much hostility for now. Would like to go someday though. Have him contact our HR department about a future trip to there. Thanks all
Dave had some pictures of an LT40. could have been a different mission. I think he went to a few while he was there. It looked really bad too. We talked about taking a trip down there too. Did you guys paint it too? would like to see some pictures if you did. good job!
SOOOO, they do come in another colour "Battle ship"
i like what you all done down there, was the rail lumpy all the way along?
iain
Sparks,
What size electric motor did you install? Looks like a 7.5hp single phase.
ElectricAl
Electric Al, it was a 10hp 230vac 3phase. The control box was from an electric edger. We used it back in the 80's and it was made by Baldor.