"FINALLY" getting a start on my little Woodmizer sawmill

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robinson46176
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"FINALLY" getting a start on my little Woodmizer sawmill

Post by robinson46176 »

I bought this thing new a couple of years ago then had some health problems and after getting them under control I just got busy...
It is the smallest one they make now. They used to have a smaller one the was mostly aluminum and could be hauled in a pickup but they quit making it.
This one is an LT-10, still classed as a "week-end saw". They claim about 160 bd. ft. an hour. They also claim a 24" log diameter but that is with a perfect log and good luck. :) Bed length potential is unlimited as long as you keep buying 7' sections ($$$$) and want to walk that far... I bought enough track to cut an 18' log.
My old small commercial sawmill was a Kasco that would cut a 30" log 24' long. It was a LOT heavier and a lot larger all over. Still I am impressed with just how heavy this one is.
Back when I started looking for another sawmill (more retirement planning) I looked at dozens and dozens of them and a lot of them looked to have been cobbled together by the village blacksmith, functional but not always well thought out. I also observed that a lot of them advertised that theirs came with the "great Woodmizer blades"... I thought that if their blades had that kind of reputation why not just buy the Woodmizer mill.
There was no way that I could justify or was even interested in a commercial model. The base price for this LT-10 is around $3200 and with more bed and blades etc. it ran just over $4000.
Commercial models get really $$$$$ really quick. :eek:
I finally settled on a spot to set it up (for now :rolleyes:)this morning and started moving the stuff out there. I'll sit it on a temporary base just to get started sawing. I need to build 8 horse stalls this spring and I'll be danged if I will go buy the lumber for them.
I'll try to remember to take some pictures as I go along...
I figure that it should take about 2 hours to get it sat up so maybe I will get it done in about 4 days...:rolleyes:
It looks like this one.
[ATTACH]16695[/ATTACH]
Here is a pic of my old Kasco mill when I was cutting 24' runners for a former small town post office I moved years ago.
[ATTACH]16696[/ATTACH]


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LT10Pushing.jpg
LT10Pushing.jpg (9.8 KiB) Viewed 4281 times
Kasco sawmill.jpg
Kasco sawmill.jpg (93.71 KiB) Viewed 4309 times
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farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
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cincinnati
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Post by cincinnati »

I always wanted a sawmill. Then one day a friend hired some guy with woodmizer to mill some logs. I helped out for a few hours. At the end of the day I no longer wanted a saw mill. This guy had a full automatic model and it was still a lot of work. And he sawed all day for $200. I figured I could not buy blades and gas for that price. I'll just hire him.

If I did buy one I would also most likely go with Woodmizer. Just because they are just up the road from Cincy in Indy. But I always kinda liked the Norwood saw mill. This one is about $4,200.00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1rKKz-Jvw0
"Prove to all the world Metal rules the land"
-Judas Priest, Heavy Duty.
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robinson46176
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Post by robinson46176 »

cincinnati wrote:I always wanted a sawmill. Then one day a friend hired some guy with woodmizer to mill some logs. I helped out for a few hours. At the end of the day I no longer wanted a saw mill. This guy had a full automatic model and it was still a lot of work. And he sawed all day for $200. I figured I could not buy blades and gas for that price. I'll just hire him.

If I did buy one I would also most likely go with Woodmizer. Just because they are just up the road from Cincy in Indy. But I always kinda liked the Norwood saw mill. This one is about $4,200.00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1rKKz-Jvw0


I had looked at the Norwood and it looks good. I just felt that the Wood-mizer was my best choice. They are actually closer to you than Indy. The global headquarters is in Indy (west side) but I picked mine up at the factory along I-74 just north-west of Batesville IN (maybe closer to Cincy than Indy).
I did place the order in person in Indy and when I mentioned after ordering it that we needed to go get a quick lunch someplace they escorted us to the company cafeteria and bought us a very nice lunch. For a few days we kept joking about our $4,000 lunch. :)

One of the big problems when I was doing it for $$$ was people bringing me crooked 4" logs and wanting me to cut straight full sized 4" X 4"s out of them. It just doesn't work. :rolleyes:
Blades on this one are about $20 each. If I do any sawing for anybody else it will be with the understanding that if I hit a nail or other steel in their log they pay for the blade if it ruins it. I have cut a few nails that didn't hurt the blade. I have also cut a number of bullets and musket balls without damage. I'll keep my metal detector handy.
I expect to cut a few logs on shares and may cut some odd stuff to sell but not planning on making any particular amount of money off of it. Maybe just enough to cover some of my own cost. It seems that all sorts of guys have a log or two stuck back somewhere. :)

I wouldn't have bought this one if I didn't have 18 acres of trees and a need for a lot of lumber. That and the fact that I used my original Kasco mill for 6 or 7 years and then sold it for over 80% of what I paid for it.


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I did manage to get the 21' track system put together this afternoon in spite of my back screaming about working down at ground level... So far much like Shopsmith I am very impressed with their engineering (and I am hard to impress)....:p


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--
farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
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robinson46176
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Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:00 pm
Location: Central Indiana (Shelbyville)

Post by robinson46176 »

Slowly getting there...
Note: the blocks under the frame are just temporary support.
[ATTACH]16700[/ATTACH]

This saw has a couple of interesting ways that they do things. Notice that the Vee belt drive from the engine also serves as the bandsaw tire. The blade is a 1.25" wide blade and so the teeth never run against the tire.
[ATTACH]16701[/ATTACH]

Also interesting (I thought) is that the Vee belt / tire on the idler wheel runs loose on the wheel.
[ATTACH]16702[/ATTACH]


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Woodmizer A.JPG
Woodmizer A.JPG (69.04 KiB) Viewed 4357 times
Woodmizer B.JPG
Woodmizer B.JPG (84.52 KiB) Viewed 4971 times
Woodmizer C.JPG
Woodmizer C.JPG (74.93 KiB) Viewed 4511 times
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farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
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JPG
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Post by JPG »

robinson46176 wrote: . . .
Also interesting (I thought) is that the Vee belt / tire on the idler wheel runs loose on the wheel.
[ATTACH]16702[/ATTACH]


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Bet that makes getting it on and off the pulley easier!:cool:
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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