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What's your favorite Sawmill, and why?

Started by Nate Surveyor, February 15, 2007, 07:26:59 AM

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Nate Surveyor

I was working about 50 miles from home yesterday. On the way, I happened to notice a mill off to the side of the road, with a bunch of sawn wood. It was a Timberking 1220. It had a 20 hp Kohler, and maybe around 12-16 ft of track. It probably had less than 100 hrs on it, judging by the wear on the tracks. It looked like a well built piece of machinery. There was nobody around. I stopped and looked briefly.

I have a Peterson Swingmill.

I have seen a few mills, but there really are alot of neat ideas out there, that COULD be incorporated into ONE mill. I liked the idea (on the Timberking 1220) of pieces of rubber, (like pieces of rubber tire) that scrape the tracks, to keep them clean. I think I could rig some of those onto the Peterson.

Anyway, what is your favorite sawmill, and what are some of the features you like best about it?

As I see it, all sawmills are in a state of partial, and continuing refinement, and improvements are almost always welcomed by the customer.

So far, my favorite is the ...

And my favorite feature(s) are...

My digital camera recently died, so pics will have to wait a while of some of the things I have designed.

Thanks,

Nate
I know less than I used to.

tcsmpsi

My most favorite mill of all time is.....MINE.

My absolute most favorite feature of it is that......IT WORKS.  (and it's paid for)

                                                  :D

                                     
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

Nate Surveyor

Aw man, I start this thread, then fail to mention my favorite.  :D sorry.

My favorite so far is the Mobile Dimensions.

The reason is sheer production. Good for a 1 man show.

I did not buy one, because to get one in good shape, with the trailer for portable milling was out of reach financially. Even for a good used one.

The Peterson came along, and I bought it.

It was my favorite, for the money. My favorite item about the Peterson is the ability to mill BIG logs, that the local mills cannot touch. I used to have a Logosol. I did mill some BIG ones. (Turned it upside down) But it was alot of work.

I wound up wasting some big logs, because of all the time it took to mill them. They rotted in the yard.

Hopefully now I won't waste any more big logs.

Nate
I know less than I used to.

Bibbyman



Orange with and LT in the model name....  ;D

Why?  Because we can make enough income with it to allow me and Mary to quit our old office jobs.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

thurlow

Frick, Corley, American, Lane..........and any of the dozens of mills that no longer exist.  Of course, I also like the old music, old movies, REAL pickup trucks, my Grandma's cooking (when she was still with us), etc.  Read something in a magazine last night about old folks;  how the changing world is ever more confusing to them so that they become ever more opinionated and close-minded.
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Tom

I like a lot of the new band mills.  I sure would like to see one of the old band mills that cut 10' diameter logs.

I love the circle mills that used to be in everybody's back yard here.  There are still a few.  There is an intrigue about that wood handle moving that whole log back and forth on the carriage, the drag chain majically moving the sawdust from under the blade onto a 20 foot teepee shaped pile outside, contained sound of the engine  and flat-belts under the short shed that allows just enough headroom to operate, the singing of the blade in the wood, the rattle as it re-saws on the gig-back, the hefty slam of the flitch as it falls onto the conveyor and the absence of voices.

They all have the same smells.  :)

leweee

 :D My favourite mill is "someone elses" because I don't have to fix it. :D :)
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

treenail

I'd have to say that from a nostalgic point of view, that Lane sawmills are definitely my favorite mills. Although I'm quite happy with my Norwood sawmill in this day and age, I sure did like watching my father run his Lane circle mill when I was a kid. Can remember how easily and fast that his rig used to saw up anything that made it to the carriage.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 sawmill , Ford 4wd tractor,Grimm/Leader maple sugaring equipment, Ford F-350 12' flatbed truck

Ivey

 The same thing that tcsmpsi said, and for the same reasons. However, Like Tom said those old mills sure do have a way about them!!
Logmaster LM-4 , New Holland 4x4 w/FEL , Ford L-9000 tandem w/ prentice TS-33 loader, Nyle L200M, Cook's 4" board edger, John Deere 310se backhoe w/ forks

brdmkr

Quote from: Ivey on February 15, 2007, 03:34:49 PM
The same thing that tcsmpsi said, and for the same reasons.

smiley_flipping smiley_flipping
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

333_okh

I have been looking at a TimberKing 1220 due to the carriage it has.  How does this compare to other similar mills such as WoodMizer, Norwood, Hud-Son, Baker, Petersen, etc?

Nate Surveyor

Well, with a 5 minute investigation of the Timber King 1220, I noted:

It has a SUPER heavy frame, and a real good track system. The track rails are maybe 5/8" round metal, welded down to other heavy metal.
The carriage wheels contact the track on both sides of the 5/8" round piece. This forces the wheels to center on each track. It is much tougher than the aluminum ones on Peterson.
The wheels on a Peterson are a wear item. Made of some kind of super fiber, and cut out with a lathe. The wheels on the TK 1220 are probably going to last 1000 hrs +.

The up-down motion is chain drive, with a gear box like a cars steering system. Hand crank.

To push it while cutting, you turn a crank. Aircraft cable, and a rigging system. Real slick.

I am thinking about a way to set up my Peterson on a Permanent track here. And use STEEL rails for it. Keep the Aluminum ones for portable. Maybe make a set of wheels for it, that have BOOTS that fit over the current ones, that way I can have the fiber wheels on it all the time, and the boots with METAL wheels for here. This would eleminate the fiber wheels wear, here. In a word, I liked the tracks and wheels better. I'd bet the Peterson would be heavier if it were like that.

The Kohler motor was 20 hp. It looked like a substancial mill.

Best I can do for you, as a new to milling guy. Someone with more experience with a 1220 would probably say more.

Nate


I know less than I used to.

wwsjr

I
like my orange machine that has almost paid for itself in 10 months.
Retired US Army, Full Time Sawyer since 2001. 2013 LT40HD Super with 25HP 3 Phase, Command Control with Accuset2. ED26 WM Edger, Ford 3930 w/FEL, Prentice Log Loader. Stihl 311, 170 & Logrite Canthooks. WM Million BF Club Member.

C and C Sawmill

Cooks!  They make a good, very sturdy, mill.

MikeH

 LT 70 with a seat,there is somthing nostalgic about sitting back in your seat riding along the side of a big log with the wine of a turbo being pushed by 62 horses 8)

arj

My favorite mill is the one I have (hudson) not quite a fair question , my real  favorite
would be a hyd. with all the bells & whistles. I`m not complaining just getting old. My
mill will do anything I need it to do. Runs well and doesn

arj

Ooops I don`t know what I did.  As I was trying to say it runs well doesn`
give me much trouble. It`s only a hobby (some what out of control) but
I enjoy cutting lumber.
                                              arj

PineNut

I like my Cooks MP32. A well built mill and excellent customer service. I would like to have hydraulics but since I don't have to make production, I can live without it.

fat olde elf

I agree with everything Pinenut says with one addition . I love my mill because it paid for.........Cooks have always responded fast and fairly.........
Cook's MP-32 saw, MF-35, Several Husky Saws, Too Many Woodworking Tools, 4 PU's, Kind Wife.

PineNut

Mine is also paid for and that is a big plus.

Nate Surveyor

Mine AIN'T paid for, and to add to that, my wife is expecting in 5 wks.

I can see that many of you sawyers don't like payments either! (good!)

I'm trying to come up with features that could be incorporated into our existing equipment, with little or no cash outlay. Like the rubber tire track scrapers, made from pieces of old tires. I'm gonna try that.

I'm trying to compile a helpfull list of refinements.

at 41 yrs old, I hope I have time to assemble stuff before I get too old and feeble to do it.

Nate

I know less than I used to.

RMay

LT-40 with a seat  ::) setting down and loading a log & cutting an turning all  the way to the bed with out getting out of the seat log after log ;D
RMay in Okolona Arkansas  Sawing since 2001 with a 2012 Wood-Miser LT40HDSD35-RA  with Command Control and Accuset .

Rail-O-Matic

My faviorite bandmill was the one I made myself with the help of another forum member you can see this guys work at www.alaskabandsawmills.com and the one I made for myself here http://www.chainsawmills.co.uk/4_stroke_powered_mills.htm.

She can go right into the wood on the back of any ATV do the job self contained and take the converted lumber back home again, a truly efficient system at a very reasonable price, I have only just finished it two weeks and it has paid for itself already.
Logg-saw bandmill, Stihl 088, Stihl MS880, Stihl MS660, Stihl 017, 018,  Husky 385XP, Husky 395, Husky 350, Echo WES 350ES, Echo CS 27T, Jonsered 2150 Turbo, Jonsered 111S, good old saw still going after more than 20 years hard service.

DanG

Quote from: Nate Surveyor on February 16, 2007, 11:24:06 AM


at 41 yrs old, I hope I have time to assemble stuff before I get too old and feeble to do it.





:D :D :D :D :D

I started sawing when I was 55.  You otter have it sorted out pretty well by the time you're 80 or so. ;D :D
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

dail_h

   IIIIIIIIIIIII duunno Dang,I started sawing when I was 16,now at 55,some times I wonder if I know as much now as I did then whiteflag_smiley whiteflag_smiley
World Champion Wildcat Sorter,1999 2002 2004 2005
      Volume Discount At ER
Singing The Song Of Circle Again

LeeB

course you don't dail. at 16 we knew it all. :D :D :D
                     LeeB
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

brdmkr

Quote from: LeeB on February 21, 2007, 01:03:54 AM
course you don't dail. at 16 we knew it all. :D :D :D
                     LeeB

I been gettin dumber ever since!
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

tcsmpsi

One of my buddies has been questioning me relentlessly for the last year or so about my lathe and mill, and this and that and all what have you.  He finally made his mind up and just got himself a new lathe to help give him something to do (according Mrs. 'buddy', he already had more than enough...not so subtle hint) when not at his day job over to the courthouse.

This past Sat., had a big shindig over at a popular catfish house to celebrate his 80th birthday.

We just don't speak of 'old and feeble' around these parts.  Ain't got time for it.   :D
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

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