Question for you Wood Mizer gurus

[oakiemac]

A buddy of mine is having an estate auction because his father just passed away. In this auction is going to be a WM LT-30 sawmill for sale. I am thinking of trying to buy this at the auction because I think it would add to my buisness. I would like to use it to cut wide boards (right now I'm limited to 12" max and that is hard to get), Thick slabs, and as a resaw to saw cants that come from my Mobile Dimension.
I would like to go to the auction with a general price that this mill is worth. Here is what I know about the mill.
LT-30 about 15 years old.
Has a brand new Koehler 12hp gas engine.
Has electric feed motor-variable speed.
Has a manual up/down crank.
Bed is extended so it will cut a 20' log.
Been kept outside its whole life with the engine covered.
Needs TLC as everything is rusty, chain drive is rusty and I'm sure some bearings need replaced.
Has no blade lube system. Is this need??
I'd say overall that it is in fair condition, not excellent but it does run and has new engine.

Any ideas on generally what a mill like this is worth?

[Norwiscutter]

I think you might be kind of let down by the 12 HP motor on the thing.  That is a pretty small motor for a mill like this, especially if you plan on cutting wide boards. I can't believe that sitting outside for 15 years is a good thing. I would really look it over again to make sure that no major ticket items are in need of replacement. That being said I probably wouldn't  spend a dime over 4,000 for the thing if it been in the weather for that long.

[Left Coast Chris]

When I built my home made mill I used many features from the LT 30.  I had an LT30 custom saw at my place for several years and I believe it had a 12 horse.  With manual log loading, manual turning, manual head raising/lowering it is not a production mill.   I use mine for hoby wood but it is slow when I am by myself because of handling the logs.........and I have gotten some large ones lately.   It can tire you out.  The 12 horse had to feed very slow through large logs compared to my beefed up 24 horse home made mill.    WM is a great mill though ..... if you are handy in the shop and enjoy rebuilding things.... and you are not shooting for high production..... and the price is right .... it would be a fun adventure!   Not much beats sawing crotches, burls and special logs for custom work and the suprise of whats inside when the boards roll off!

[ARKANSAWYER]

  On deals like this I look at what it would take to get me going if lots of things are bad.   You can replace most things on the mill and bearings/belts and such would cost under $500.  If feed motors and up/down are fine then the engine is your only concern.   For about $2,500 you could update it to a 20 to 28 hp.   Now looking at the price of steel $3 to $4 grand for a good frame would not be a bad deal and if you put in another $3 grand you would have a very good mill for a long time that you could sale and recover your investment.   SO I would say that $3 to $4 grand for the mill as is would not be a bad deal and is less them most little bandmills like an LT15.  Hope this helps.
  Let us know how the sale goes and what the mill brings.

[oakiemac]

Well the auction happened today. I couldn't be there but I sent the wife with instructions to buy this mill if the price was $1500-2000. This would be a real good price for this LT-30 I think. Well to make a long story short, she misunderstood me and thought I said 1100 max ??? ???
The mill sold for $1600-someone got a steal of a deal.
Oh well I guess it wasn't meant for me to have it.

[beenthere]

Sorry you missed possibly getting a mill, or you just saved someone else some money.

But I think I would be confused a bit if given a 'range' to bid on an item. A max I'd understand, but not a range.