What mobile mill does this?

[TreeNuts]

VERY versatile mills indeed. The are essentially a petrol driven circuar saw on a superb ali frame that you build around the log. The saw cuts to a max depth of 8", and can be set vertically or horizontally pretty much at the flick of a switch, hence you cut slabs or beams directly out of the log.

[ Home ] LUCAS MILL Portable Timber Sawmill

 

Just watched some of their promotional videos. They look to be just the job. Thanks for the info.

[Joy Yeomans]

a chap on here or ebay i think selling a peterson, just like a lucas for reasonable money

[TreeNuts]

a chap on here or ebay i think selling a peterson, just like a lucas for reasonable money

 

Thanks Baron. I need to investigate further, which may mean visiting a dealer for a demo first, but if the Peterson does practically the same job than the Mizer then it's the current contender. Do you happen to know if Peterson is a British company? Are there any British mobile sawmill companies out there?

 

If anything, I now understand the difference between a swing saw and a band saw, which is a start. Most opinions favour the swing mill due to the lesser cutting time.

[agg221]

If anything, I now understand the difference between a swing saw and a band saw, which is a start. Most opinions favour the swing mill due to the lesser cutting time.

 

The big difference between the swing mill and the bandsaw is the maximum width you can cut. If you don't need anything wider than 8" then a swing mill is ideal, and it's much better suited to making feather-edge etc. A swing mill will also tend to cut much truer edges as a band will always flex, lifting and diving a little with the grain of the timber.

 

However, if you want wide boards you need a bandsaw. Cutting wide boards doesn't necessarily mean using wide boards. It also makes it much easier to cut around defects such as shakes, knots and rot which are inevitable if you're sourcing your timber from domestic and farmland situations rather than forestry. It also allows you to be more efficient in working to a cutting list of different sizes, as you can get some bits side by side, and you can take account of the waney edge after sawing, rather than having to err on the conservative side.

 

Alec

[tommer9]

The big difference between the swing mill and the bandsaw is the maximum width you can cut. If you don't need anything wider than 8" then a swing mill is ideal, and it's much better suited to making feather-edge etc. A swing mill will also tend to cut much truer edges as a band will always flex, lifting and diving a little with the grain of the timber.

 

However, if you want wide boards you need a bandsaw. Cutting wide boards doesn't necessarily mean using wide boards. It also makes it much easier to cut around defects such as shakes, knots and rot which are inevitable if you're sourcing your timber from domestic and farmland situations rather than forestry. It also allows you to be more efficient in working to a cutting list of different sizes, as you can get some bits side by side, and you can take account of the waney edge after sawing, rather than having to err on the conservative side.

 

Alec

 

If your machine is set up properly and blades are correctly sharpened this is not an issue. Swing mills are also more wasteful having a thicker cut, and I think i am correct in saying that they are slower overall, which is why most commercial mills nowadays use bandsaw mills.

[Rob D]

I have a Peterson winch production model.

 

It does take a thicker kerf than a bandsaw mill. You can cut up to 8" with mine (although you can get a model that cuts up to 10").

 

For making beams it is very fast and very accurate in the right hands. It can also cut up to 5 foot diameter logs.

 

But you can't mill wide boards. You can double cut boards out the middle using a double cut method but this is a PITA.

 

So you're limited with a swing mill in terms of width of cut but it is rapid.

 

I tend to use it in conjunction with an Alaskan mill.

[agg221]

If your machine is set up properly and blades are correctly sharpened this is not an issue. Swing mills are also more wasteful having a thicker cut, and I think i am correct in saying that they are slower overall, which is why most commercial mills nowadays use bandsaw mills.

 

I very much agree on the kerf issue. On the cut accuracy, I agree with the theory, but in practice, unless you change bands every cut, you have to be lucky in my experience to work out that the band is going to stop cutting straight, as it's not as simple as it just slowing down in rate. If the first part of a cut is dead straight grain and easy then it only starts wandering when you're halfway through and into areas which had side branches, i.e. have knots and wavy grain. Of course you can then change the band at the end of the cut, but by then you've got two slightly wandering faces. It seems to be particularly bad when cutting thin boards (under half inch) which seem not to support the band straight in the cut as well as a thicker board does, allowing it to wander more easily.

 

I should also mention that I've just cut all the feather edge cladding for our extension as 1/4in to 3/4in taper over 8in width in oak, straight from the log, with a bandsaw, so it can be done without a swing mill, but it is a lot more fiddly.

 

Personally, for small quantities of mixed cutting I would go with a bandsaw as it's more versatile and produces less waste, but it depends very much on the usage.

 

Alec

[kimtree]

peterson is a kiwi made mill

lucas is aussie,they also now do a 10'' mill

you can double cut with a lucasmill but it is also a Pita

if i want a wide board with straight edges i slab it then usually secure it to the log and cut it with the circular saw.alot of mucking about

 

a swing mill cuts slower than a bandmill and wastes more wood however it is a versatile unit.

 

a few years back a woodmizer was here milling African Mahogany for floorboards.as a side job he slabbed a small tree for a mate.7 slabs 5 litres of saw dust.in maybe ten minutes

with my slabbing attachment we would have only got 5.

if you can afford it get a bandmill preferably with hydraulics