Japa 300

[Dan76]

Evening all,

 

Looking for a bit of advice...found a second hand Japa 300 road towable processor, 2 and 4 way split. It's a diesel Lombardi engine, key start and a 2008 model.

 

The guy is looking for £4500.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks all in advance

[Chris Sheppard]

The Japa 300 is just a mirror image of the hakki pilke Hawk. I had the hawk (as a petrol towable) and it was OK.

 

Bit slow as you have to let the ram go all the way out and back before you can start cutting the next log - but there is an easy way to make it only half stroke by swapping one of the spacers under the top cover for a longer one made of a bit of flat bar (it's a few years since I sold mine so can't really help much but if you're even half mechanically minded it'll be obvious once you have a look under the bonnet so to speak.

 

Certain woods it didn't seem to like splitting 6 ways, but to be honest, if you needed the 6 way it usually meant you were about on its limits diameter wise anyway. 4 way it handled anything, though did flex a bit worryingly on occasion. Though it has a 13" bar, sub 10" is the optimum ideally.

 

Other thing I remeber is that logs used to jam in the end of the elevator fairly easily - once had one slide down the inside and that took a fair bit of removing.

 

On the whole it wasn't a bad machine, but it was fairly light in construction (as per most scandinavian processors) and slow in comparision to a tractor powered machine.

[Dan76]

Cheers for your thoughts.

 

I guess most things, splitters, processors etc that have a donkey engine are slower than those run off a tractor.

 

Would you say £4.5k is a reasonable price for it?

[Chris Sheppard]

Cheers for your thoughts.

 

I guess most things, splitters, processors etc that have a donkey engine are slower than those run off a tractor.

 

Would you say £4.5k is a reasonable price for it?

 

It wasn't so much that it's run off an engine, more that most of the tractor ones are of a higher spec with powered infeed and you can be sawing the next log while the ram is out - the hawk/japa 300 wouldn't even spin the cahin til the ram was all the way back in. I know you could get a tractor powered 300 but on the whole I've not seen or heard of many as most people went for the next one up or the Hakki Pilke 1x37.

 

Dunno on price, I know they'll have gone up loads since I bought mine (must be 5-6 years ago or so I reckon), do know the diesel engine added a fair bit to the cost so. I'd guess a new one of the same spec (if you can still get them) will be getting on for nearly double what the guy wants for it (though that's purely guessing).

[Dan76]

Cheers for your thoughts.

 

That was one thing I noticed, no powered infeed.

Had a look in the interweb and as you suggest the new ones are pretty much double the price.

Will have a look at it working before I decide.

[Chris Sheppard]

Cheers for your thoughts.

 

That was one thing I noticed, no powered infeed.

Had a look in the interweb and as you suggest the new ones are pretty much double the price.

Will have a look at it working before I decide.

 

If it's not been short stroked, it will look painfully slow, like get bored waiting kind of slow. Shortening the stroke totally transforms them.

 

A 2008 might be old enough not to have the extended guard on the infeed side which looks like it would make it a lot more awkward to use, though no doubt safer. The older ones could be interesting when cutting the last log on small diameter timber

 

Th other thing is that they aren't really a nice shape to make work with a deck, loading by hand off the floor does get a bit tedious after a while.

 

If you look at it for what it is (a basic, entry level machine) then it's great, but if you want mega production, then look at something else.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Chris Sheppard

[Dan76]

Cheers for your thoughts Chris.

 

No, not looking for mega production, just something to work away with for myself and folks.