Timberking 1220 or WOOD-MIZER LT15

[jbburd]

I am planning on buying a small personal sawmill, either TIMBERKING 1220 or WOOD-MIZER LT15.  Does anyone own one of these, if so how do you like it.  I have cheery & red oak trees (plan on using them in house renovation) and ash trees that i like to mill up before the ash beetle gets to them. 

[Bibbyman]

I don't have either mill but ... welcome to the Forum. 

[Back40x2]

   Welcome to the Forum!!!!!!!!!!  Lots of good infor here!

    I don't have either, but I do have the TK1600 and love it!!!!  My recommendation would be for the Timberking 1220.

   Good luck and keep the dust flying!!!!!!!!

[blaze83]

jbburd,

welcome to the forum I've been researching the same question, if you go to the top of the page and do a search on either TK 1220 or WM LT15 you'll pull up a ton of old threads that give a bunch of info.... let us know what you deside, I don't think you can go wrong either way.... If you havn't recieved it yet both TK & WM have very helpful info kits you can get off of their web sites...

 

[Don K]

I've had a LT 15 for 2 yrs and have cut a lot of wood with it. If you are going manual, it is a very nice mill. Get at least 1 extra bed section for 16 footers and a logrite cant hook. I have a 48 inch but will be getting a 60 incher soon. It helps with the larger cants. One day I will upgrade to hyd. if my spare change increases.  Don

[Qweaver]

I put a deposit on a TK 1600  but it was going to take several months to get it built.   TK returned my deposit when I was able buy a used LT15.  I'm happy with the LT15 but I sure wish that I had the basic hydraulics of the TK1600.
But we have sawn a heap of lumber with the LT15 over the past year and I'm in much better shape now. 
I think you'll be happy with either machine as long as you don't mind heavy labor.  My LT15 is setting on a concrete slab and has enough extensions to saw up to 22'.  Here's a picture.  It will saw bigger logs than you want to handle by hand.
Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[sgtmaconga]

I have the 1220 mill and love it. setup was quick from unpacking to cutting was around 6 hours because i was new to mills (had to read the directions more than once). since then i have had a blast discovering what's inside them ugly logs around my place. you won't be sorry for this one

[jbburd]

Thanks for the info everyone. 
QWEAVER,
i have some logs that will be close to 30"diameter, the LT15 says that it has cutting capability of 28", can this number be cheated at all ??  Also how much bed is available beyond the saw with no extensions attached?

[LT40HDD51]

Thanks for the info everyone.
QWEAVER,
i have some logs that will be close to 30"diameter, the LT15 says that it has cutting capability of 28", can this number be cheated at all ?? Also how much bed is available beyond the saw with no extensions attached?

You can always cheat a big log with some creative chainsawin 

I am planning on buying a small personal sawmill, either TIMBERKING 1220 or WOOD-MIZER LT15. Does anyone own one of these, if so how do you like it. I have cheery & red oak trees (plan on using them in house renovation) and ash trees that i like to mill up before the ash beetle gets to them.

Go Wood-Mizer, all the way. They have the people, support, parts and blades to back it up. Anyone else make their own blades? Nope. Wood-Mizer employs more people than all the other little guys combined. IMO, get a LT15 (diesel is nice, single cyl, 2 gal/day fuel) with another section to do 17'8".

[rewimmer]

Hello jbburd,
Thought I may plant a couple of seeds for you to consider. I owned manual mills for years and went through the learning curve of manual mills. Buying a mill is like putting in a swimming pool, all your friends show up that you have not seen in years. After a couple of years of loading and turning 24" dia. logs and cutting for yourself and all your friends , you will say "man I wish I had a log loader and turner on my mill". Cutting wood  at 7:00am in the morning, turning a 24" log by hand, working by yourself at 20 degrees outside, Sawing lumber does not seem to be so much fun. Most of us started out with the idea that we would just cut for ourself but it does not turn out that way. So my point is, try to get these features on your first mill if you have to mortgage the house to do so and you will not regret it. I am not promoting any brand mill but at present I am running a TK B-20.
Robert in Virginia

[Joel Eisner]

Not to derail the thread but I have been using a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 for a couple of years and really like it.  We cut just about everything for our house including all the timbers and flooring.  It will take you a weekend to assemble but you will know how to fix just about anything on it afterwards.

Just my humble opinion.

Joel

[MartyParsons]

The bottom set tooth is 27.5" from the bed rail. You have about 10 " above the band ( This is a guess) ( if you want I can go and get the exact measurement) The base mill with with two bed sections bolted together will cut 11' each additional bed section adds 6' 8" in length to the 11'. So adding one bed section would give you a cutting length of 17' 8"
Marty
How much bed is available beyond the saw with no extensions attached?  I am not sure how to answer this?

[WDH]

With the LT 15 without the bed extentsion, you can cut logs that are 10 feet six inches long.  That leaves a couple of inches to get the blade into the cut and an inch or two for the blade to exit.  So, the operational practical length is 10 feet six inches.  I know nothing about the TK 1220.  However, the LT 15 is a well built mill that has cut great for me. 

Any log over about 27 inches at any point on the log (if it is staright!) will require some pre-slabbing before you can effectively cut it.  The width gets you before the height does.  The over-wide logs impedes the saw head in its path down the bed.  If the log is crooked (all logs are gun barrel straight, right??), 27 inches is most likely too big.  Basically, the log has to be able to go thru a 27" cylinder.

[Warren]

I started off with an LT15 three years ago.  Mine had the 10 hp Yanmar diesel engine.  I would highly recommend the diesel engine for fuel economy.  It had a 1.0 or 1.25 gallon tank.  I only had 1 day in the two years I was able to burn an entire tank of fuel by myself. Regardless of the model, my preference would be the diesel.

Warren

[sgtmaconga]

the TK1220 comes with a bed big enough to cut 12" boards without ordering more bed rails. cut with is 29"

[davemartin88]

Hi jbburb- welcome to the forum. I have a LT15 mill with one extension and I'm in Northern Virginia, not sure where you are but I'd suggest you take a look at both mills before you buy if that is an option.

I've had great success with my Woodmizer- I'm a hobby user but it has done all I've asked. Others talked about the work to move large logs, I'm very lucky as I have a Bobcat with a grapple to get the log to the mill, then usually use cant hooks from there. Thinking about making a winch based log turner in the spring. I have the 15 hp gas engine and it has had enough power for all I've cut- mostly red and white oaks.

I'd think the LT15 would do a great job for renovation type work, I've cut everything from 8"x8" beams to 4/4 that has now air dryed for over a year that I'm starting to use for some furniture and other interior uses. The Woodmizer team has been great helping me with questions, etc. but don't have experience with the other guys and they may be good too!

Good luck!

[thecfarm]

jbburd,welcome to the forum.What ever saw you buy,if it's a all manual one,buy enough track so you don't have to move the log an inch to get into it or out of it.That is a big pain.I have a all manual mill that will got 20 footers.Put it on and cut.It's ALOT of work to try to move a log on a manual mill when it's not on there right by hand.I realize you might have a tractor or something such,but you don't want to have to climb on and off 2-3 time each time you put a log on.By the way,a all manual mill is ALOT of WORK and is real SLOW.But they do work well.Good luck.Let us all know what you buy.

[LT40HDD51]

Sorry if I came on too strong before, guys    It wasn't my intention, but I see how I came off. Guess I was happy to find this place and eager to get postin...

I guess the main things are that you buy something you are comfortable with, it will do the job you want it to do (and want to do in the near future), and you can fix it quickly if and when it breaks. I run a x brand chainsaw cause there's a x brand shop down the road...

Didn't mean to step on anybody's toes, guys. It's a great place here and I only want to contribute where I can.