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Peterson Factory Visit

Started by Ianab, September 19, 2004, 02:59:23 AM

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Ianab

We have just got home from a little road trip taking in a visit to the Peterson factory for their open day :)
We caught up with all the Peterson crew and had a look / play with some of the new toys.

This is the new factory building.

They had 6 mills set up for demos, this is a standard ASM with a decent sized Redwood log ready to saw.

This is a new version of the ASM with a 35? hp diesel, it was flying thru this big knotty Redwood.

This is another new model, it's an automated WPF. The carriage movement and the blade swing are automated but the lift and sideways are standard manual adjustments. It's simpler than the ASM but still saves the walking  :) All the manual adjustments are made when the carriage is back in front of you.

Playing with the Auto-WPF. My left hand is on the drive lever and I'm concentrating on stopping the thing in the right place.

Another shot of the Auto-WPF in action.

Guess who this is offloading some boards during a demo ;)

We had a great look around, lots of new toys and saw some of the other stuff Jake is working on... But that was all top secret  ;)

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Norm

Thanks for the look see Ian, did they get you to leave a down payment. ;D

scottr

Hey Ian , I've heard that Peterson is developing a thinner kerf blade , did they give out any up dates ? Scott

Fla._Deadheader

Mmmmmm, A TOY factory.  ::) ;D ;D ;D ;D

 Nice post, Lan ;)  What model did you order ???  :D :D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

ScottAR

Diesel....   yummy....  

Auto WPF... That sounds great...   Production availability??

Is the WPF diesel too?
Scott
"There is much that I need to do, even more that I want to do, and even less that I can do."
[Magicman]

Rod

have they tried a 10 hp single phase eletrice motor on one of there mills yet?


Ianab

Hmmm.. was rather tempted I must say... just seems I'd accidentaly left my check book at home ::)

Both the ASM and the Auto-WPF were running the thin kerf blades, the ASM with the big diesel and thin kerf was pretty impressive. The general idea with the thin kerf blade is that there is an extra reinforcing boss at the centre of the blade, so an 8 inch thin kerf blade will only cut 6 inches deep, and the 10" model makes 8" cuts. You can still run a normal kerf blade for full depth cuts of course.

All the WPFs are available with the diesel engine, the demo one had a 27hp Kohler fitted, and availability.. well the demo one was for sale, so I guess they are in production now.

I believe they have sold some mills recently with 3 phase electric power, but it sorta cuts the portability down a lot. Still it would be a good option if you had a nice dry shed to work in  :)

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

ScottAR

What kinda diesel is it?   Sorry for so many questions but diesel mills interest me as I've never had much luck with small 4 cycle gas engines.  Many thanks...
Scott
"There is much that I need to do, even more that I want to do, and even less that I can do."
[Magicman]

Ianab

Hi Scott

I'm sorry I may have put everyone wrong on those engines.
I think the Kohlers are actually petrol powered
It must have been one of Jakes 'experiments' that I was thinking off with the diesel  :D  ;)

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

DanG

Great post and photos, Ian! 8)  Surprised that you were able to scoop the Peterson folks with the first look at their new digs. :D  Everything I'm hearing about them is impressive, and I'm looking forward to seeing them at Moultrie. 8) 8)
"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."

Rod

 Ianab,it rains here just about every day,then then we have winter with snow and rain. And I can't get 3 phase.

Ianab

Hi Rod

I guess there is no reason you couldn't run one with 10hp electric, mine runs with 8hp chainsaw . They just vary the number of teeth on the blade to match up with the horsepower. Of course 24hp with 8 teeth is gonna cut faster than 8 hp with 4 teeth, but it will still work.

And rain is not an unknown thing in NZ either  :D

ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Wife

Hi to Ian and all. ;D

Husband here, stealing the Wife's mail again....

Ian, sorry that I didnt get to say hi and talk to you on the day,  :(there were more people there than we expected. :o
To help you out on a few of the questions here is what I know. :P

The mills are all petrol powered, sorry if ya wanted a diesel.
The NEW one on the ASM was a 35hp V-twin Vangaurd, and boy that thing could move.(Just between us I cut mostly 6/4 stock, 6" & 10" out of the redwood log which was 55" in dia and 13ft 6" long and had it chewed up in 1 hour of machine running time) 8) 8) 8) You do the math, I did, THREE times.

The Electric option mills use 3 phase motors, (15hp), we found the 10hp would trip out if you tried to push them too hard. :-[ The motors that we use are sealed and water proof for obvious reasons. ;)

The (thin) MicroKerf is going great, I will be trying to bring one over for the US Road Show (gotta check my weight).Cant wait to try it out in USA timbers 8). Either one can only do a 6" deep cut though, due to the bigger boss reinforcement. :-[

The AutoWPF is brand new, and was supposed to be a secret for anyone outside of NZ - won't be released for a while yet Internationally. It's basically the standard manual WPF with the ASM's automated track feed. All sizing still manual at your end. A nice mill for those that really really want a swing blade :D, but dont want to walk :-/, want a Peterson with all those features 8) but cant afford the luxury of the ASM :'(. It is actually a great mill which is beyond simple to use. :) 8)

I hope this helps with some of the questions out there.
BTW, I do have a small piece of that log left, my brother wants to make a table, I'll try to get Jake to send you all some pics.

Looking forward to seeing you all in the next month or so, remember I have some Marmite with me, you bring the toast,

Now if I just bang "post" real quick before the Wife catches me....guess you'll know if you get to read this!  ;D

Cheers, Chris
Kerris, in the background....
Petersons Global Sales Ltd
15c Hyland Cres
Rotorua, New Zealand
www.petersonsawmills.com
kbrowne@petersonsawmills.com
Ph +64 7 3480863

Rod

Chris ,I figured a 10 hp would trip the breaker if it was ran to hard but I would think that a gas motor would stall if worked to hard too. :D  :o,With a gas motor you can tell when its working hard,eletric you can't.If you could stick and  amp meter some were you could tell how hard the eletric motor is working . :)Also not all 10hp motors are the same.

Ianab

I think a 10hp would have enough power to drive the saw, but it would be easy to over do and trip it out. When you overload the pertrol engine or hit some big knots it looses revs and torque and you HAVE to slow down and let it catch up. With electric the torque increases as the revs drop so it wouldn't be as obvious and soon you are drawing  40 amps into a 1/2 stalled engine.
Reading a gauge would be fiddly when sawing, but what about a big orange light on top that comes on when 35 amps is being drawn  ???

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Captain

OKAY Ian,  I don't think you were supposed to know about that diesel   ;)  Jake's mad scientist R+D lab, a must stop on any tour.  

You know, the email invitations for the open day just kept coming.  Maybe next year.....some trip for a 1 day open house.

Looks like fun was had by all.  I had some fun with an ASM this weekend too, pulled it out of storage for a little check over before the US Road show.  Just a little over a week before Nelsonville..... ;D

CAPTAIN

Rod

lan,good idea on the big orange light thing. ;D :)

Wife

yes Ron you are correct that not all 10hp motors are the same.
The one that I used was an ABB motor, very nice and did go well. I was trying it out on very old hard knotty d/fir. And it did take an hour at least before it tripped on me. Oh, and i was REALLY pushing the poor thing. Alot more than if I were to be doing it full time, so it may well be fine if you aren't rough like me.
Chris
Kerris, in the background....
Petersons Global Sales Ltd
15c Hyland Cres
Rotorua, New Zealand
www.petersonsawmills.com
kbrowne@petersonsawmills.com
Ph +64 7 3480863


Buzz-sawyer

Not a bad motor for only $3,315.............. :o
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Rod

and you don't need a $2000 rotary phase converter to run it :D ;D

The motor really cost $2000.they just put those high prices on their to make you think your getting a deal when you call for the real price. :)

Wife

 :oWOW, heavy little sucker!! The one I use is only 123 pounds.
Thanks for the info, good food for thought as we say down under. As you say great for those who dont have the 3 phase or the 2k for the rotary converter ;D
Chris
Kerris, in the background....
Petersons Global Sales Ltd
15c Hyland Cres
Rotorua, New Zealand
www.petersonsawmills.com
kbrowne@petersonsawmills.com
Ph +64 7 3480863

Rod

So Chris,do you think its to heavy for the peterson :o :o :) ???

Wife

Not the PETERSON, but if you dont have enough TE that makes it heavy for a PE..RSON :D ;D
Kerris, in the background....
Petersons Global Sales Ltd
15c Hyland Cres
Rotorua, New Zealand
www.petersonsawmills.com
kbrowne@petersonsawmills.com
Ph +64 7 3480863

sawmillsi


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