# Got my Woodmizer LT15



## twoclones (May 23, 2010)

I finally did it. We drove to Portland, OR on Friday and picked up a brand new Woodmizer LT15. Before noon on Saturday I had it assembled and running  

"It's always something." Before my first cut I was sweating over the possibility of hitting a nail. After a little research, I ordered a Bounty Hunter Land Star Metal Detector. Made those first cuts without it though... 

I sawed some 2" slabs from Sycamore crotch and the resulting pieces are awsome! I'd like to mirror 2 of them to make a table but I think I need to buy a joiner first. Did I mention that it's always something? 

Now to get a couple of logs for the lumber for my solar kiln... 

Butch 
http://www.WoodHacker.com/


----------



## BobL (May 23, 2010)

Pics???


----------



## TraditionalTool (May 23, 2010)

Good on 'ya Butch!

Are you gonna carve the legs with a chainsaw?


----------



## twoclones (May 23, 2010)

*Pics*

I finally dulled my first blade  
Today, I decided to mill 2" thick slabs to be used for seats and backs on my carved benches. The log I had was too large for the mill so I use the chainsaw mill to remove a really big slab from 2 adjacent sides. I ended up with a 29" x 22" x 5' cant which I milled as well as milling the slabs I chainsawed off. 

My girlfriend asked why it's called a 'cant'. I said, "Because you can't roll it." I had to rotate this one with the tractor... 







The Woodmizer gave me 14 x 2" slabs, 2 x 1.5" slabs and 1 x 1" slab. 






In a perfect world, the benches I make with these slabs could net me enough money to pay for the mill. It's kind of exciting...


----------



## Ted J (May 24, 2010)

It may not be a perfect world, but you got a nice stack of slabs there!

Good going?

Ted


----------



## TraditionalTool (May 24, 2010)

Looking forward to seeing the benches Butch, I know you do nice work and these will most likely be no exception. Are you carving the legs with a chainsaw?


----------



## twoclones (May 24, 2010)

TraditionalTool said:


> Are you carving the legs with a chainsaw?



The benches will likely have carved pedestals rather than 'legs'. Some with a back, some without.


----------



## TraditionalTool (May 24, 2010)

twoclones said:


> The benches will likely have carved pedestals rather than 'legs'. Some with a back, some without.


Sounds great, will be looking for some pics!


----------



## SkippyKtm (Jun 22, 2010)

twoclones said:


> I finally did it. We drove to Portland, OR on Friday and picked up a brand new Woodmizer LT15. Before noon on Saturday I had it assembled and running
> 
> "It's always something." Before my first cut I was sweating over the possibility of hitting a nail. After a little research, I ordered a Bounty Hunter Land Star Metal Detector. Made those first cuts without it though...
> 
> ...



I have a Woodmizer LT40 -don't sweat the nails too much, I do own a metal detector as well though. I usually can get away with hitting a nail or two and the blade will still track straight, although it will slow down some and produce a rougher finish. The LT 40 has a longer band, so it might not be effected as much when the blade hits a nail, depending on the size of the nail it usually will dull around 3 or 4 teeth on my blade. I once hit 14 nails in a log, needless to say that blade was a goner!


----------



## Ted J (Jun 23, 2010)

Hmmm.... I seem to be having a problem seeing those pictures Butch....

I guess he may be having too much fun to post pics.


----------



## twoclones (Jun 23, 2010)

Ted J said:


> Hmmm.... I seem to be having a problem seeing those pictures Butch....
> 
> I guess he may be having too much fun to post pics.



All right.... Today I finished my first bench from the Woodmizer slabs and roughed out a second bench. I'll post photos of them tomorrow. 

Butch


----------



## twoclones (Jun 24, 2010)

*Bench Photos!*

Two benches and a detail photo from each. All Sycamore, slabs by Woodmizer, spar varnish. 


Bench 1. The strong bears.










Bench 2. Playing on the bench.









Butch 
Wood Hacker


----------



## smokinj (Jun 24, 2010)

Thats cool.....


----------



## HUCKLEBERRY (Jun 24, 2010)

I'm not a huge fan of most bear carvings but I really like your benches. If my wife saw those she'd be sending me to Wash. directly. Looks like your investment will definitely pay off. Good luck.


----------



## twoclones (Jun 24, 2010)

HUCKLEBERRY said:


> I'm not a huge fan of most bear carvings but I really like your benches. If my wife saw those she'd be sending me to Wash. directly. Looks like your investment will definitely pay off. Good luck.



Make the trip worth your effort and take home a dragon bench for yourself


----------



## SkippyKtm (Jun 24, 2010)

twoclones said:


> Two benches and a detail photo from each. All Sycamore, slabs by Woodmizer, spar varnish.
> 
> 
> Bench 1. The strong bears.
> ...



Great job on the benches, your carvings are well done.


----------



## Ted J (Jun 25, 2010)

twoclones said:


> Make the trip worth your effort and take home a dragon bench for yourself



Very nice benches.

I like Dragons, I'de like to see a pic of that bench.

Thanks for posting the pics.
What are your prices for benches?


----------



## twoclones (Jun 25, 2010)

I like carving dragons, wizards and such but compared to bears, those are slow sellers. So the dragon bench is still something I want to carve. Below are pics of one of my dragons painted with stone texture paint. 

Prices... Testing the waters still. I've listed them on Craigslist at $1,200 for the bears playing on the bench and $750 for the strong bears holding up the bench. I may be a little high on price for the strong bears but I think the price is good yet has a little room for haggling on the full bench. 

This is the first bench I ever made. It was sold before the varnish was dry! When the customer came back and we loaded it into his truck, I asked if he was happy with the price. ($500) He replied, "I'd have payed what ever you asked." Dang! Too late to raise the price now...


----------



## smokinj (Jun 25, 2010)

twoclones said:


> I like carving dragons, wizards and such but compared to bears, those are slow sellers. So the dragon bench is still something I want to carve. Below are pics of one of my dragons painted with stone texture paint.
> 
> Prices... Testing the waters still. I've listed them on Craigslist at $1,200 for the bears playing on the bench and $750 for the strong bears holding up the bench. I may be a little high on price for the strong bears but I think the price is good yet has a little room for haggling on the full bench.
> 
> This is the first bench I ever made. It was sold before the varnish was dry! When the customer came back and we loaded it into his truck, I asked if he was happy with the price. ($500) He replied, "I'd have payed what ever you asked." Dang! Too late to raise the price now...



You have an awesome skill set there pricing has to be difficult!


----------



## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

the dragon is awesome.


----------



## Can8ianTimber (Jun 25, 2010)

Nice work. I particularly like how you used the heart wood and sap wood of the walnut in the carving of the bears. It really brings out the features of the carvings and it looks like you put some thought into that. Good job.


----------

