forester jacko sawmill

[highlandeye]

Hi, has anyone out there used a forester jacko saw mill , these mills were derived from the larger Forester Tom Sayer mobile mill, made in the U K arround 12 years ago.  I ask as I have just bought one - made 10 years ago , with full hydraulic package , on its own original trailer frame -road leagle in U K - it weighs 1.75 tons .  the main engine on the head rig is 25hp Kholer , the secondery engine , driving all the hydraulics is also a Kholer 6HP . It has been in storage for the last 6 years and has only done 198 hours running from new !.It  uses woodmizer 1.5 ins. blades .I am very impresed with the fantastic build quality .  The reason for this question is --- because it has been in storage unused for 6 years everything req. freeing of , and lubricating , this I have now done but although the smaller engine starts fine and all the hydraulics including the power feed work well , I have no power at all on the head rig or on the larger engine . New batteries have been fitted , there are no obvious problems with wirering ect. but the pannle of lights on the main frame do not come on , therefore that end of the mill is dead.!   Any advice would be most welcome . regards  Keith Parkes   Scotland .

[mad murdock]

If you are chasing an electrical problem, then I would suggest making sure all of your connections are in good order, i.e. not corroded. Alot of times when equipment sits for log a period of non-use, the gournd (reference) connections accumulate a bit of corrosion, causing alot of "ghostlike" problems with electrical circuits, a thorough run through of checking and cleaning all connections usually solves a multiplicity of problems.

[highlandeye]

Hi many thanks for your time , I have looked at all conections externaly as it were, and could see no problems , but I take your point regarding -unseen- corrosion , I will spend some time over the next day or so thoroughly checking all connections.    Just to give you some idea of the layout of this machine , it looks very similar to the large woodmiser lt70.  New it cost over £28,000 sterling , I bought it on the understanding that it was bought as seen , any problems are mine , I am hapy with that as it was reflected in the price,  again , many thanks for your interest.  regards   Keith

[highlandeye]

Well Mad Murdock, you were quite right , I spent hours looking at and cleaning connections which looked o k  , eventualy I opend up the control panel on the main saw   disaster  , water ingress had completely corroded the contacts on the main frame , eating through the relay connections and the earth strip . Its now beyond my caperbilities and I called in an auto electrical wizz kid , he took no time at all to suss out the problems , apparently some of the wiring and the remote control panels have also been affected , he is confident that he can sort out the concidrable problems and replace the affected relays .  Just shows , a thing is often best in regular use rather than in storage , so even though it has only done 198 hours or so from new - those years standing has taken its toll.!   many thanks for your concern and interest , This is my first horizontal band saw  ( used chainsaw mills up to now ) and I am itching to start to use it .  regards  keith.

[r.man]

Highland, I just had the same problem with a household generator that I got for a very good price. After getting the engine going I still had no power from the generator. Found the problem was corrosion in the end of the fuseholder even though it looked clean. Have seen this sort of thing before, so I caught it first try. Whenever I see a metal to metal connection that has been sitting for a while I try to shine up both sides with steel wool, sand paper or in this case with limited access the end of a blade screwdriver. Very often the simplest things will get you going. Good luck with your new toy I'm green with envy.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday


And welcome to the forum highlandeye  ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) Sounds like a good mill if its a Forester it will be  ;) ;D 8) i thought the tom sawer was the smallest bandmill they made  ??? give ukjimbob a yell his dad worked there for years and he now has all the plans and drawings for them he's working on re releasing the 150 this year i think Mate

Regards Chris

[highlandeye]

Hi, thanks for the welcome to the forum ,  I followed up your contact and found him most helpfull , he sent me a complete manual for the Jacko , which is great - very comprehencive .  All problems are now sorted and I have just cut , today , my first ever tree - a Scotish Yew - I was blown away - not only by the magnificent colour and grain of this fantastic timber , but the action of cutting the timber into usable 2" slabs , seeing it majicaly appear from the unimpresive tree trunk was stunning .  Thanks to all members who assisted me , a novice , with my first mill problem . regards  Keith , Scotland.

[r.man]

Congratulations Highland on your first day cutting. Green with envy again. Is the Scottish Yew the same wood that the famous bows were made of? Would be interested in pictures of both your work and your mill.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

No Worrys Anytime Mate  ;) ;D Its great to hear the mills running well for you and that your weel on the way to having an uncurable urge to make sawdust  ;)  :D :D  ;D 8) 8) and as the saying goes round here WE Like Pics    ;) ;D ;D :D :D

Have a good one

Regards Chris

[highlandeye]

Hi, r.man, Meadows miller, and others who helped me out with a mill problem , ( now solved ) in answer to your question regarding the Yew tree I cut - yes this is the wood from which English Longbows were made , it is very tough and resiliant with the ability to bend without cracking or shaking , its of Scottish origin . This wood is beutifull when slabed and polished , it has sap wood that is yellow darkening toards the heart wood where it turns the deepest of purple , almost beetroot in dencity , When you drive a nail into the living tree - it bleeds deep red "blood" every part of the tree is poisoness, animals avoid it ( it will kill them on indgestion )When working with it , masks are a must , it is known localy ar the tree of death !   On the good side - unbelivabaly the red fruits of this tree are edible - providing you spit out the pips , they are  poisionous.Despite its obviuos hasards it is highly prised among furniture makers and wood turners for its incredible couloring and grain pattern (will uploade a couple of photos to show what I mean shortly. )It also has folklore properties which include protecting the home and graveyards from visits by the devil and his mates - true enough it is a comon tree to be found in grave yards throughout the UK. To gauge the age of one of theese ancient trees ( apart from cutting one down ) is to estimate 50 years for every insh in radious , theese are incredibly long lived trees , 500 years is just a youngster , the storms recently blew one down on the west coast of scotland - they counted 1600 groth rings               regards to all  Keith.