What static band sawmill would you buy?

[topchippyles]

11 hours ago, HB98 said:

Thank you for this. Very helpful. I will likely be dropping you a message soon with a couple questions if that's okay. I am planning to go and see a Trak Met in action.

The trak-met uk dealer is up in hereford real nice guy to deal with. The saw he had there when i visited 3 years ago was built like a tank and would cut up to 7.5m long with a wide very wide cut. The one dave (Johnsond) purchased looks an animal compared to other mobile saws i have seen. 

[Johnsond]

10 hours ago, topchippyles said:

The trak-met uk dealer is up in hereford real nice guy to deal with. The saw he had there when i visited 3 years ago was built like a tank and would cut up to 7.5m long with a wide very wide cut. The one dave (Johnsond) purchased looks an animal compared to other mobile saws i have seen. 

I think the guy really needs to sit and think what he wants wants Les and how often will a 1m plus diameter log be on the bed!! as the whole wide throat/cut thing is a capability that comes at a price in many ways. Pushing a 1.1mm thick band ( which has to be spot on set and sharpening wise)through an up to 1150mm wide bit of ( in my case) Oak or Elm etc is not a quick process and to be honest whilst I do use that width it’s not an everyday thing. I knew when I bought mine what I wanted it for but I do miss the capability to push hard and cut quicker for a higher production rate on smaller softwoods 🤷‍♂️in my case it’s a compromise I can live with and it comes with no financial penalties. if it’s a high volume primarily softwood operation the OP is looking at then I’d just go for a standard 800 or 1200 model or the 600 premium which in reality will do 99% of logs, I think a standard 600 premium will handle 900mm diameter. The urge for wider and wider cut’s sometimes drags you down the wrong path bud. I’ve put  a little 130max in static mode at home I use for smaller stuff Les rather than having to set up the Trakmet every time I want to cut something. I find that far easier and zero hassle to do a few cuts or a couple of beams etc on  up to 500-600 stuff if I need to. 
Ps before you comment Les the vertical supports in the centre of the opening are temporary for when we we were working on the roof 😄

Edited August 20, 2023 by Johnsond

[topchippyles]

10 hours ago, Johnsond said:

I think the guy really needs to sit and think what he wants wants Les and how often will a 1m plus diameter log be on the bed!! as the whole wide throat/cut thing is a capability that comes at a price in many ways. Pushing a 1.1mm thick band ( which has to be spot on set and sharpening wise)through an up to 1150mm wide bit of ( in my case) Oak or Elm etc is not a quick process and to be honest whilst I do use that width it’s not an everyday thing. I knew when I bought mine what I wanted it for but I do miss the capability to push hard and cut quicker for a higher production rate on smaller softwoods 🤷‍♂️in my case it’s a compromise I can live with and it comes with no financial penalties. if it’s a high volume primarily softwood operation the OP is looking at then I’d just go for a standard 800 or 1200 model or the 600 premium which in reality will do 99% of logs, I think a standard 600 premium will handle 900mm diameter. The urge for wider and wider cut’s sometimes drags you down the wrong path bud. I’ve put  a little 130max in static mode at home I use for smaller stuff Les rather than having to set up the Trakmet every time I want to cut something. I find that far easier and zero hassle to do a few cuts or a couple of beams etc on  up to 500-600 stuff if I need to. 
Ps before you comment Les the vertical supports in the centre of the opening are temporary for when we we were working on the roof 😄

As always dave setup looks good. Trigs mill looks like a lego toy compared to that one you have he must be drooling all over the place trying it out. 

[Johnsond]

46 minutes ago, topchippyles said:

As always dave setup looks good. Trigs mill looks like a lego toy compared to that one you have he must be drooling all over the place trying it out. 

Les to be honest that logosol of Andys cuts brilliantly bud, faster than mine in comparable size logs for the reasons I mentioned previously. Obviously the Trakmet will take bigger and has the hydraulic assistance etc but I’d not knock those logosols, he hammers that and it’s yet to fail. I’d have loved one of those if the 130 I’ve just installed hadn’t popped up at right price off a pal. I’ve not had chance to get down to his with the Trakmet due to our work schedules tending to clash but im sure I’ll get the chance at some point. 

[topchippyles]

3 minutes ago, Johnsond said:

Les to be honest that logosol of Andys cuts brilliantly bud, faster than mine in comparable size logs for the reasons I mentioned previously. Obviously the Trakmet will take bigger and has the hydraulic assistance etc but I’d not knock those logosols, he hammers that and it’s yet to fail. I’d have loved one of those if the 130 I’ve just installed hadn’t popped up at right price off a pal. I’ve not had chance to get down to his with the Trakmet due to our work schedules tending to clash but im sure I’ll get the chance at some point. 

Only pulling his leg you know what he is like Dave 🤣. Did you do anything with that motor bike after Tom my lad went on the back of a quad bike this week and loved it.

[Johnsond]

57 minutes ago, topchippyles said:

Only pulling his leg you know what he is like Dave 🤣. Did you do anything with that motor bike after Tom my lad went on the back of a quad bike this week and loved it.

Sold Les I’m afraid 

[topchippyles]

1 hour ago, Johnsond said:

Sold Les I’m afraid 

Who did you sell it to dave hedge mong was it 😏

[doobin]

22 hours ago, Johnsond said:

I think the guy really needs to sit and think what he wants wants Les and how often will a 1m plus diameter log be on the bed!! as the whole wide throat/cut thing is a capability that comes at a price in many ways. Pushing a 1.1mm thick band ( which has to be spot on set and sharpening wise)through an up to 1150mm wide bit of ( in my case) Oak or Elm etc is not a quick process and to be honest whilst I do use that width it’s not an everyday thing. I knew when I bought mine what I wanted it for but I do miss the capability to push hard and cut quicker for a higher production rate on smaller softwoods 🤷‍♂️in my case it’s a compromise I can live with and it comes with no financial penalties. if it’s a high volume primarily softwood operation the OP is looking at then I’d just go for a standard 800 or 1200 model or the 600 premium which in reality will do 99% of logs, I think a standard 600 premium will handle 900mm diameter. The urge for wider and wider cut’s sometimes drags you down the wrong path bud. I’ve put  a little 130max in static mode at home I use for smaller stuff Les rather than having to set up the Trakmet every time I want to cut something. I find that far easier and zero hassle to do a few cuts or a couple of beams etc on  up to 500-600 stuff if I need to. 
Ps before you comment Les the vertical supports in the centre of the opening are temporary for when we we were working on the roof 😄

The 130 max has really impressed me as an entry level machine. Combined with decent blades, a concrete yard and a forklift the output is pretty good, and so far  I seem to have gotten away with spending 5k rather than 20k for a premium brand with hydraulic assistance.

 

It's obviously a different story for the OP who is doing this as a full time commercial venture. But I can't say I'd have got 10% more output from a Logosoll never mind the 100% extra cost.

 

I'm aware that I wll probably have to spend more time maintaining it however. But it's simple enough, and if bearings fail I'll replace them with top quality. Most of the complaints I see about Woodland Mills are from hobby sawyers who have so little mechanical know how that they shouldn't be allowed a power drill never mind the mill.

 

The amount of posts on the FB group about the importance of the mill being dead level. Idiots thinking that they can tell dead level with a tiny magnetic bubble level stuck on the blade. Long posts about how they made their cinder block base just right.

 

Fk that. Decent subframe, weld the nuts to it and string line it to setup. It'll never move, if it did you'd just adjust a lock nut. You can chuck it down literally anywhere and the only thing level matters for is to stop the mill rolling when you don't want it to.

Edited August 21, 2023 by doobin

[Johnsond]

2 hours ago, doobin said:

The 130 max has really impressed me as an entry level machine. Combined with decent blades, a concrete yard and a forklift the output is pretty good, and so far  I seem to have gotten away with spending 5k rather than 20k for a premium brand with hydraulic assistance.

 

It's obviously a different story for the OP who is doing this as a full time commercial venture. But I can't say I'd have got 10% more output from a Logosoll never mind the 100% extra cost.

 

I'm aware that I wll probably have to spend more time maintaining it however. But it's simple enough, and if bearings fail I'll replace them with top quality. Most of the complaints I see about Woodland Mills are from hobby sawyers who have so little mechanical know how that they shouldn't be allowed a power drill never mind the mill.

 

The amount of posts on the FB group about the importance of the mill being dead level. Idiots thinking that they can tell dead level with a tiny magnetic bubble level stuck on the blade. Long posts about how they made their cinder block base just right.

 

Fk that. Decent subframe, weld the nuts to it and string line it to setup. It'll never move, if it did you'd just adjust a lock nut. You can chuck it down literally anywhere and the only thing level matters for is to stop the mill rolling when you don't want it to.

Yeah great little machines for the money, I did the same with the frame as you describe on my first one. That’s a nice height to work at on the mill in the pic.

[HB98]

Has anyone had any experience with a Boldrew mill from Cibor woodworking machinery??