Woodmizer Depreciation

[btulloh]

More cowbell!! Bruno, you're crackin' me up!

You've gotten a lot of nice upgrades this year. More cowbell seems like a reasonable request.

[barbender]

Standing at the head of that mill, you should be able to get some cowbell going, Bruno!😂

[Bruno of NH]

I couldn't mill today :(
My mill area was full of sawn wood and flitches .
Had to go around and make room for customers orders and move logs for tomorrow's orders.
Got 2 more new orders today and need boards for weekend sales

[Brandon1986]

BTW, it's easy for us to spend your money. ;D

Yes, it is. :D :D :D :D :D

I am kind of getting that sense too... 
I have watched every sawmill video from every company there is out there.. Both swing blade band and circle.  I always felt like I could do the log handling as fast as the slow electric motor hydraulics do.. Its most likely because Im used to seeing and working with machines with multiple high flow pumps that look a lot less clunky than these little things do.. 
My father in law just bought an lt35hd, I'd like to go run his for a day.. Unfortunately he lives 325 miles away.. Im positive I can turn a log faster than that clunky looking claw thing.. I would however like the hydro clamp.. If I could just have that without the rest of the stuff it would be a no brainer for me.. 
Somebody hit it right.. I have a lot of other more lucrative things to do for most of my time, so I don't want to be a servant to this thing.. I want it to serve me.. If I HAVE to run it I will be going backwards.. If I buy it and for whatever reason I have to just let it sit for a while I don't want to look out my window and curse that $30-$40-$50,000 nice clean shiny investment sitting in my yard just hanging out.. 
I think that no matter what I choose it seems like the investment will be safe from what you all are saying... Thank you for putting that piece of mind in place for me.. 

[Southside]

Im positive I can turn a log faster than that clunky looking claw thing

Maybe for the first log, but by the time you drag off all of the lumber that won't be the case.  If you want to see what it's like spend $150 and buy a Log-Rite, which you would want no matter what mill you buy anyway so it won't be wasted money.  Then go and roll around a couple of  18" diameter, 16' logs with a slight bow in them, try to position it just right, get it over the 3" proud knot that was left on one face - you get the picture.  It would be worth your time to find a way to spend a day with a hydraulic mill and even a manual one. 

A few sawmill shoot outs back Wood-Mizer had a LT-15 team saw something like 1050 BF / hour, but you are talking about a team that trains together and both guys were flat, plumb, wiped out, at the end of it, my point being that just because a number can be achieved does not mean it is a sustainable goal.   

As I type this there is an ad at the bottom of the page from Sawmill Exchange for an '06 LT-40 hydraulic, 700 hours and $21,500.  Hard to beat that.

[Bruno of NH]

You can't go wrong on the resale of any Woodmizer sawmill.
Buy one that fits your budget you won't go wrong. 

[Magicman]

Im positive I can turn a log faster than that clunky looking claw thing

Don't sell that claw thing short.  I have been clawing for over 16 years and would not change if it was offered to me.

[btulloh]

That Lt40 at the bottom of the page looks pretty tasty, SS.  Might be a long haul to Alaska though.

IT"S PRETTY DANgD CLOSE TO ME THOUGH!!!!  Upgrade fever!!!   8)  More Cowbell!! 

[Brandon1986]

That's just the thing though, we don't have that much 16-18" wood around here.. If we do its nearly arrow straight.. I do already have some good cant dogs.  
Yeah if I could buy one out of the states we wouldn't be having this conversation.. I would have bought a good mill after running mine for a year.. 
I wish I could custom build one.. It would have a hydro clamp and the chain turner and that's it.. 
So different question comes up.. I like the debarker, and it shows as an option for the 35 manual.. How do they run the debarker without hydraulics.. The motor can easily be a 12v high amp electric motor, but the arm it rides on isn't.. So is it indeed an option or is it a miss print on the site or am I just a doofus not looking at it right?

[Bruno of NH]

The debarker is electric in and out

[Southside]

The cutting motor is basically a heavy duty starter motor and the in out is a gear motor with a spring flex system. 

[Bruno of NH]

The debarker works wonderful it ripps 

[YellowHammer]

If you want to know how to turn a manual mill into a hydraulic, look up an old post I did where I started with my basic LT15, added a winch driven claw turner, hydraulic two plane clamp from a boat steering system, etc.  even with those basic mods my productivity jumped considerably over just my manual milling, and the effort went down.    

On another note, in 2014 I had total hip replacement sergery at 51 years old.  I was an college athelete, pretty good shape, and as I was laying in the bed I calculated that year alone I had manually handled 1.14 million pounds of wood.  Not saying that alone caused my problems, but it sure was a contributing factor.  So as they say, the most important piece of equipment is your body.

Another thing to think about, is that the general rule for log weight is 6 to 8 tons per thousand bdft.  So if somebody was to go into a gym and tell the trainer that they wanted to do 8 hours of 20 to 30 lb reps, all day, with only a break for lunch, the trainer would say he was crazy.  However, that's exactly what a person with a manual sawmill does with no hydraulic help.  200 bdft per hour (or whatever the mill and miller can do), 8 hours day, all day, that's a lot of reps.  

[GAB]

Im positive I can turn a log faster than that clunky looking claw thing

A few sawmill shoot outs back Wood-Mizer had a LT-15 team saw something like 1050 BF / hour, but you are talking about a team that trains together and both guys were flat, plumb, wiped out, at the end of it, my point being that just because a number can be achieved does not mean it is a sustainable goal.  

If my memory serves me correctly (if I'm wrong again please let me know) that was Dave and Barry out of the Hannibal, NY office.
I believe they used 30' of track to saw 12' logs.
Sawed on the last 15' and pulled the boards to be edged onto the first 15' so they would not have to reload them.
If 4 boards had not been rejected by the judges they would have had a higher bdft/hr rate.
Both guys were flat, plumb, wiped out, at the end of it and they only sawed 4 logs.
GAB

[GAB]

I got orange fever  8) I need more cow bell :D

Jim:
It is my opinion that you started coming down with Orange Fever on 9/30/2018.
You watched those 4 orange mills in your yard and you were in disbelief.
The edger also got your attention.
I drove by all the piles of wood that had been sawed that day and I thought it was impressive.
It's interesting what can happen when a group of individuals, many of which met for the first time that morning, can accomplish when they put their minds to it.
My gut feel is that you did not sleep at all that night.
Gerald

[Bruno of NH]

GAB
You are right Sir 

[GAB]

Brandon:
I do not know your financial situation and I do not want to know.
That said, I would suggest you visit with your accountant and using last year numbers see 
what the difference would have been if you had depreciated a mill of various values last year.
Is it possible that it would be to your advantage to purchase one even if it generated no income?
It's your money and I do not blame you for wanting to use it wisely.
Gerald

[Magicman]

There is very little that can/will happen to a sawmill that will cause much depreciation.  Yes, it is sorta intimidating to be out of your comfort zone and stuff does happen.  On my last long road trip job (236 miles from home) I had a seal failure in the log turner's hydraulic cylinder causing it to creep up.  I pulled the cylinder about mid-morning Thursday, had it in the shop that afternoon, picked it up Friday morning, installed it early Monday morning and was ready to saw by 8:30.

On a job about 50 miles further away, I had an alternator failure.  Wood-Mizer "overnighted" a new alternator to my motel and I was back to sawing by noon the next day. 

The point is that there is very little that can happen that will delay sawing much over a half day.  I now have a spare Lombardini Diesel sawmill engine and even that is only one day to replace.

My 1998 sawmill is now 21 years old and this is my 17th year of owning it and sawing.  Keep everything "ship shape" and there will be very little if any depreciation.

[Oddman]

It's good to remember that this is an internet forum...such are generally used by enthusiasts of whatever the forums focus may be. As such, mill enthusiasts are generally going to recommend the bestest, fastest, shiniest, coolest mill that the prospective buyer could possibly afford....

[Magicman]

Sawmill "bells & whistles" do much more than make noise. 

[Southside]

Agreed, they make money.

[Bruno of NH]

From having a manual mill 2014 till 2 weeks ago.
I know one thing I like standing and sitting at the command control and watching that little claw thing flip them big logs over while I'm yelling to my tail gunner I need more cow bell  :laugh:

[Stephen1]

Like lots of us here, I started with an old Norwood manual, realized that if I wanted to keep sawing I needed Hydraulics, even looked at a peterson.
I went to a sawmill shootout and it convinced me very quickly that a WM, because of the cantaliver for live edge ugly logs, and Hydraulics was needed.
I sold the Norwood for more than I paid in 2 hours. 
I ran 1993 WM LT40 HD mill for 7 years sawing wood all over the countryside, and sold it for the same as I paid for it. The new guy completly rebuilt and painted it and I bet will resell it for way more than he paid.
I bougt the LT40HD Wide and have absolutly no regrets and in fact I wish I had bought a new mill sooner. The boys at WM Canada said I am the busiest mobile sawyer they deal with and tried to sell me a new mill for years. They were always shipping parts all over for tha mill as I slowly rebuilt it,  I wish I had listened. I will sell this mill for what I paid when ever I want to get out of the buisness. 
You need Hydraulics 8)

[Brandon1986]

Brandon:
I do not know your financial situation and I do not want to know.
That said, I would suggest you visit with your accountant and using last year numbers see
what the difference would have been if you had depreciated a mill of various values last year.
Is it possible that it would be to your advantage to purchase one even if it generated no income?
It's your money and I do not blame you for wanting to use it wisely.
Gerald

That has to be the most professional answer to date... You're awesome for thinking I have an accountant  :D :D  I'm not heavy enough in business for myself to pay for one unfortunately.. The family business may have one.. I do not.. 
So I had to step away from the computer for a week left lots to catch up on.. Once again thanks guys you're all awesome to walk through this thought process with me.
Recap..
-Lots of great enthusiasts willing to spend someone elses money to buy the coolest gizmo on the market.
-Basically no matter what I buy I can sell it with little depreciation leaving an out should I buy a manual and later decide on a hydro
-Buying a Manual will save me many many bucks in gym memberships because along with processing a few hundreds of cords of firewood every year by manual and mechanical means, I will also have moved a couple million pounds of lumber by hand.. Look at me I'm one bad mosheen at that point.. 
-Debarker is electric that's great as I can better justify not buying the expensive hydro one right away..
-Looks like I'm still buying a 35 of some sort after I get my new house built. 

[starmac]

Keep your eyes open and be ready when one pops up. From the sounds of what you need, there is no need to spend a fortune on a mill.
Deals do pop up on one that would work great for you. I was at an auction a couple of years ago when a lt 40 hd in nice shape went for 13,000. I did not realize until the next day when I was picking up what I had bought what all went with it, as it was not in one place. It had among other things a 12 foot extension with it.
If I had of known, I very likely would have bought it and sold mine.