Whats your experiance with this mill

[andybuildz]

http://mobilemfg.com/about.html
video-> http://mobilemfg.com/videos.html

Seems like an amazing mill. I'd like to hear both the up as well as downside to it from anyone that's experianced it.
Thanks
andy

[zopi]

sumbuddy said it looks like a VW mating with a radio tower.....

There are a couple of guys on here who have them...i'm sure they will
be by to spank me for that...

Uh oh..

Gotta go!  :D

[brdmkr]

Andy,

You are talking about a mobile dimension mill.  They can really produce some lumber in a hurry.  DanG runs one of those and I am sure that he will be along shortly to comment.

[andybuildz]

Andy,

You are talking about a mobile dimension mill.  They can really produce some lumber in a hurry.  DanG runs one of those and I am sure that he will be along shortly to comment.

What I like is the true portability of it and how its set up at the log of any size.
I really do wonder how replacement parts and service are for them though.
I've heard mixed reviews but usually what I've heard....is what other people heard...loll.
You know how that is smiley_argue01

[thecfarm]

It's the great Dodge,Ford,Chevy debate.I only saw one run at a show.I was quite impressed by it.

[oakiemac]

I own a model 127 or 128 I can't remember. The Mobile Dimension saw is a very good mill in my opinion. I sometimes wish that I had a nice band mill and sometimes a swinger but overall I think the MD's are hard to beat.
As far as service goes I think they do a great job. I have called and talked with Ron (the owner) and sawmill john (on the forum and used to work for MD) many times and have had great response. Parts ares shipped out next day and I've always had good luck of them having what I need.

If you have any specific questions just ask, I've been running my mill for about 5 years now.

[andybuildz]

The Mobile Dimension saw is a very good mill in my opinion. I sometimes wish that I had a nice band mill and sometimes a swinger

Care to elaborate?
Thanks
andy

[Steve]

Although I don't own one now, I have spent many years running two different mills starting in about 1979. I do like the very simple design, easy to work on, but maybe a little under engineered in places. The endstands and up and down motor/gearing always wore more than I thought it should. I will say I probably used it more than was intended as I mainly quartersawed with it and that seemed to require more of that.
I think one of the handiest, simplest features was the ability to align the track with the log just by disengaging the linkage between the ends. You can also raise and lower each end individually if necessary although that is more problematic.
For general milling of dimensional lumber they are really straight forward and quite accurate. They are possibly the most bastardized mill you will see as most owners fix/change them in lots of ways.

Keep them sharp and the blades adjusted and you shouldn't have any troubles making great lumber. And use a manure fork for the sawdust- lots easier than a scoop shovel.

Steve

[ErikC]

 Here in Northern CA there are quite a few of those. I know 3 0r 4 people who have them, and I was there when they were running a few times. With bigger logs I don't think you can beat them on production, and be so portable. A couple things I noticed was rougher cuts, a lot of sawdust, and there was some heavy waste slabs. I never delt with one in detail, so that may have been the operator. They cut lumber faster than one man can stack it though!

Erik

[DanG]

The Mobile Dimension saw is a very good mill in my opinion. I sometimes wish that I had a nice band mill and sometimes a swinger

Care to elaborate?
Thanks
andy

I think I can elaborate for him. ;)  Everybody that has only one of the several types of mills wishes they had all the other types, too. :D

Welcome to the forum, Andy.  I've had my MD model 128 for about 6 years.  I think it is one of the easiest mills to become competent on, and is also one of the easiest to operate without any help.  The sawyer stands in one place to operate it, and the board return pulls each board to him so he can do his own offbearing.  The controls are straight forward and easy to get the hang of.  Maintenance is very minimal, considering the level of automation involved.  Support and parts availability are and always have been excellent.

The mill, like any other, does have its limitations.  As I think you have seen, it does not cut all the way through the log like a bandmill or conventional circle mill.  It is limited to a 12" deep cut vertically, and either 4" or 8" horizontally.  This can be a big handicap if you're trying to "grade saw" hardwoods, but I find that most customers don't even want that many 12" boards anyway.

The MD was one of the first portable mills on the market, and has remained pretty much unchanged through the years.  My mill is a 1986 model, and is almost identical to the new ones.  That is due more to a good solid basic design, than any "lack of advancement" on the company's part.  Not that there are not improvements that could be made, but it is just a good machine that they chose not to mess about with.  Since it has been around so long, there are a lot of good used ones on the market at all times, and for very reasonable prices.  It definitely bears taking a look at.  ;)

Erik, the rough cuts are a blade maintenance issue.  The copious amount of sawdust is just a circle mill doing its thing.  The heavy bottom slabs can be recovered, but it is a lot of trouble and not usually worth the effort.  It will definitely cut more than you want to stack! ;D

Zopi, that VW has the radio tower right where he wants it. :D

[oakiemac]

DanG pretty much said it. I some times want a band mill for cutting big beams and wide boards or thick slabs, a swinger for cutting huge logs with out having to move the log. My md will cut just about any log that can be found in Michigan (I've cut a 53" oak once) but you have to have something big enough to pick the log up.
Over all pretty good sawmill. Is it for everyone? Probably not-just depends on what you want to do and what you have available.

[StorminN]

Hi Andy,

I have an older MD model 127 and I love it. The guys at the factory are great to work with... when I first bought my mill, I drove down there (four hours from me) and spent a day there where they showed me all the ins and outs, tips and tricks... we ran one of their mills there. They have told me to bring my mill down there any time and they will go over it with me, but I haven't done it yet... it seems they will do this with anyone.

My mill was dissassembled and in poor shape when I bought it, so I've ordered my fair share of parts... it's always been a next-day delivery deal, which is really nice. They've never not had a part in stock. Last summer I sent them a badly-worn edger shaft (my fault)... they got it on Tuesday... they welded it, machined it, heat treated it, and sent it back rebuilt with new bearings and collars... I got it back on Thursday... I was pretty impressed. As oakiemac said, Ron the owner is very helpful.

If you're looking to buy one, the newer Model 128's are a lot nicer than the older 127's, or even the older 128's. The newer 128's (as off a couple of years ago?) have a wider truss and are beefed up in areas that could use it... they are stiffer and stronger and made for higher production cutting. The older 127's like mine are all belt-driven... they are slower and less powerful than the newer ones, but they still cut great lumber. The 128's are all hydrostatic drive... so you can speed up, slow down, stop and reverse the carriage, all from the head end of the saw... pretty nice.

Like DanG said, the thing I like best about the MD is that they are made for operating solo. Every piece of cut wood is automatically returned to the operator... you stand in one place and run the saw and offload lumber. No walking back and forth all day, like a swing mill or manual band mill, no bending over to pick up lumber... and no relying on someone to show up and help you for you to have a productive day, like with some other mills.

The other nice thing about the MD is that it has three blades, all cutting at once... so you really have to try to screw up somehow to get crooked lumber. Wavy lumber is nonexistant. The three blades also mean that for every pass of the saw, you get a piece of rectangular lumber... no recutting, no stacking flitches to edge later. One person sawing alone can produce thousands of bf a day, especially if you're cutting 8/4 wood. You quickly run into the problems of how quickly can you load logs, where do you stack the lumber, and where do you put the sawdust.

Speaking of sawdust, the number one downfall (in most people's minds) of these type of circle mills is the saw kerf... at least 1/4" for the main saw (5/16" is normal for a MD) and 1/4" for the edger saws. However... as previously stated... there's no wavy lumber, and it's easy to get lumber from the outer parts of the log that would normally be slab wood on a bandmill. The only slab that is left is the bottom slab, and that can be minimized by how you clamp the log. With an MD mill, your sawdust pile will be bigger, but your slab wood pile will be smaller.

As with every mill, they do have their limits. Like DanG said, they are not made for cutting wide lumber. If you don't mind rolling the log, (all manual, unless you've got a custom hydraulic trailer / setup) then you can cut one cant of any size... you basically use the bottom edger blade to surface each side of the log. I have done this with cedar... milled battens and 1x3's out of what would normally be the slab wood, then rolled the log and did this to all four sides, then I've taken the cant to a band resaw, and cut cedar siding on the resaw... for thin boards, this makes sense... 0.100" kerf vs. 0.3125" on my MD main saw. It's becoming my opinion that a MD mill and a band resaw is a very good combination.

Hope this helps...

-Norm.

[andybuildz]

Thanks for the thoro explanations guys. I get it totally now.
From watching their video I was also impressed with how the blades get sharpened.
The teeth actually come off? to be sharpened? So you don't need to toss and entire blade if you get a few messed up teeth? That was one concern I thought of. Probably pretty expensive to buy entire new blades. I'm wondering how if compares $$$$ with band blades over-all. I'm guessing the MD blade upkeep is less expensive and easier to deal with?
I sent away for some info from the company $$$. Probably helps a lot being within hours of the factory for service and support but that is what it is. I'd guess they have authorized service centers around the country? Although I  didn't see anything about that in their web site unless I missed it.

Good idea Dan about possibly buying used being they seem to hold their shape well over the years. Lots to weigh out when the time comes but its nice to have all the facts way ahead of time so one can assess the situation more clearly as to what your needs will be over-all. I spose' the biggest neg would be the limitaion of the cut width.
How many table tops would I make though anyway...lol? For me I think it'd mainly be for construction lumber in the timber framing area as well as stick built construction.
Thanks again for all the great information :P
Be well
andy

[york]

So,your from Long Island,ny.....Do you really need such a portable mill???

[andybuildz]

So,your from Long Island,ny.....Do you really need such a portable mill???

LOLl ...I wish i knew about this contest last year https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,25337.0.html
I'd have some pretty funny stories to write about why I want a mill.

It's my ticket to get off of Lawng Island.. 8) ...finally. Not really..but kinda,sorta.
If you look at my web site in my profile here you'll see what I've been doing for a living the past 30+ years...and this current house I finished thats now up for sale is in my site too. Its one of the oldest houses on LI...maybe even in the country...maybe in the world even...loll. Circa:1680. It's a timber frame (oak). One of the few around here.

I spose' it's one of the things that led me on my current journey...or is that joinery..hmmm. I got kinda tired of doing "just" your conventional building and wanted to get more involved in timber framing even though some say its a "young man's sport". Screw that. My wife's always asked me why I have to do "everything". Why I can't buy some things already made so when I got it in my knot head that I wanna build my next house as a timber frame abd THEN that I wanna cut my own timbers...well...I could just hear what she was gonna say when I sprung that on her  smiley_hanged

She kinda flipped..hee hee. then I shot her some emails of timber framed homes. Her tune changed and she now says she can't imagine living in anything else...ut oh...me and my big mouth.
But now she says we should buy the timbers already cut. I say..but look at how much money we'll save if I do all the cutting on my new toy...I mean tool.
anyway...you get the picture. Probably 99% of the peeps in this forum feel the same way I do...we're all slightly demented.
Wait'll I tell her I wanna grow my own trees too...hmmmm...how old am I again? 57 in March...how long till the trees are big enough to harvest?...OK...so maybe I won't grow the trees too.
We've been looking in the Asheville area of North Carolina on line the past year or so.
Praying that this house sells before the next ice age.
Here's a link to the Virtual Tour thats in my RE listing if you want.
Pretty much every single thing you see in there I did including building the cedar fences to insatlling over 40 sq of cedar roof shingles to all the siding and painting nd the additions and porches and and and...next
Just click the word that says click "here" (in red on the top right). Even has music.
http://www.vifp.com/p/panorama.php?Branded=0&agent=8628&mls=1987084&r=1

[DanG]

Andy, blade maintenance cost gives MDs and other similar mills a big advantage over bandmills.  With a band, you have to either have special equipment to sharpen, or ship them out.  The sharpeners and setters are pricey, and the process is time consuming.  I sharpen my teeth on an ordinary bench grinder, and it takes about 5 minutes to do a whole set of 18.  I can saw all day on one set of teeth and it only takes about 10 minutes to replace a set.  I haven't kept up with how many times a tooth can be sharpened, but it is a bunch.

As far as portability goes, most MD saws are used as stationary mills these days.  Mine is mounted on a trailer, but hasn't moved in 5 years.  You can take it apart and mount it on a huge log like they show in the ads, but I don't know of anybody that is doing it.  

[andybuildz]

Dan..or do your friends call you Dang? loll...sorry...couldn't help myself.

I wonder how safe the teeth are from flying off and killing you :'(
Seriously though...that must be a consideration, no?
From what I've been told...the people at the factory that demo these mills for you are covered in full body armor. Yes, no?

[jim king]

I got one and it works great. We cut everything that is to hard for the band mill.

Service has been great even being South of the Equator.  I bought it for $1500 because the guy who owned it could not read the English manual to put it together.
It is a 1984 model.  The accuracy is perfect.  What is surprising is that the yeild per log usually exceeds the scaled footage.

[andybuildz]

I got one and it works great. We cut everything that is to hard for the band mill.

Service has been great even being South of the Equator.  I bought it for $1500 because the guy who owned it could not read the English manual to put it together.
It is a 1984 model.  The accuracy is perfect.  What is surprising is that the yeild per log usually exceeds the scaled footage.

Really nice set up Jim. What is that some Honduran Mahogany?
Thats one thing about living in South America...exotic wood is so much cheaper there...loll.
Do you ever get sick of perfect weather all year long?

[DanG]

Andy, you can call me most anything you like.  Around here, most folks call me DanG, and they tend to take my name in vain a lot. ;) :D

I have lost 2 teeth from my mill in the six years I've had it.  I have never found either of them, and have no idea where they went, so I guess it is possible to be hit with one.  I do try to wear safety glasses when I remember them, but I don't wear body armor.  The MD throws everything away from the operator, so the likelyhood of being hit by a flying object is slim.

[jim king]

andybuildz :

The wood is Andiroba, it looks and acts like Genuine Mahogany from cutting when pink to changing to the mahogany color with time and a lot of people who think they have bought Mahogany over the years actually have this species.  It is selling even better now that Mahogany cutting has been virtually made a crime.  It grows thruout the Amazon up to Mexico.

[Steve]

Over the years I have had several teeth as well as shanks come loose and never was hit with one. The dangerous area is at the far end of the log you are sawing. The saw can spit a board or edging like an arrow if it catches it just wrong.

Don't think of anything but what you're doing when sawing and you should be alright.

Steve

[StorminN]

I have thrown two teeth & shanks while sawing also... but that was when I was a REAL newbie... before I realized that the shanks should fit with a certain tightness, and there are such things as over-sized shanks, for those of us with 36 year old saw blades where the sockets are a little worn!

Once I sent my old blades to the factory and had them hammered and fitted with the right shanks, I haven't had any further trouble... also, I now mostly sharpen the teeth while they're still on the saw, so I'm not removing the shanks any more...

-Norm.

[ErikC]

  A man I know in town here called me to see if I could give him a hand running his MD mill yesterday. He had one log to cut but it was pretty big and could I give him a hand moving it? Well I went over there on the backhoe today, and  it was a fir 60" diamater and 16' long. A friend had delivered it from a cull deck this fall, and where it rolled off his trailer is where it stayed until I got there. I couldn't lift it, but was able push it and roll it around.
  If anyone has doubts about these mills watching him cut that log into 2x6 and 2x8 would change your mind. Nobody hurried much, but 45 min. after the first cut there was a pile of lumber and no log! almost 2900 bf   This mill was tuned up and must have got hungry sitting there the last couple months!

Erik

[andybuildz]

Erik...I guess you must have forgotten yer camera huh? Some sight that must have been.