In Poland with the new sawmill...

[Big J]

How is Warranty to be addressed Jon?

 

Trak Met produce nearly all of their own parts (bearing blocks, band wheels and quite a lot of other stuff you'd expect them to buy in) so product support is excellent. 12 month warranty, and I'd need to hammer out the details of how that would be administered. I'm happy for it to go through me, and given that I'd have both a bandmill and processor, I should be in a good position to help.

[arboriculturist]

Spot on then

[delabodge]

How much are the sawmill and which processor?

[john432]

Are you allowed to sell Track Met machines all over the UK? as they have an agent in the west midlands. personally I'd buy with the most competitive price.

[Big J]

Are you allowed to sell Track Met machines all over the UK? as they have an agent in the west midlands. personally I'd buy with the most competitive price.

 

Yep. I've discussed it quite extensively with them.

 

Frankly, I'm not in it for the money. I think they make good machines (which is why I've bought one) and would like to see a bit more competition in the UK sawmill market. It shouldn't cost as much as it does for a good solid mill.

 

Clive, I'll give you a buzz in the morning.

[wills-mill]

Mill looks lovely and very impressed with some of their secondary milling machines like the edgers!

[Big J]

And it is now in my yard:

 

 

And with 2m + of me infront of it for scale:

 

 

It barely fits in the barn! About an inch of clearance all round - no exageration! It will be fired up tomorrow, but probably won't be used until Tuesday.

[Gray git]

Looks an absolute beast J!

Way different from the old stenner I used as a apprentice helpi in an estate sawmill, get some video up of it working so we can really appreciate it's size.

[easy-lift guy]

Congratulations on your new investment. Where were you in Poland, I have family in Warsaw.

easy-lift guy

[Big J]

We flew into Warsaw, but the mill was made in a town called Biskupiec, about 120 miles north.

 

I'll get some video up in the next week or so - still learning to use the beast! I feel like a novice again though as it's completely different to the Logmaster. This one is electric and electronic, whereas the Logmaster was all hydraulic. I actually prefer all hydraulic, but there is no affordable option for me in this size category.

 

We've had about 20 odd larch logs and an elm log through the mill and the impressions are very good. It's effortlessly quick. 30kw is much, much more than I had before and it shows. It did a particularly good job on the elm, even though I had a softwood blade on.

 

Comments so far are:

 

* Much quicker in cut than the Logmaster. That's the extra power and band width I reckon.

 

* Slower on log handling at the moment as I'm still getting used to the functions. The chain turners are much quicker than the hook turner. The clamps are hydraulic motor and chain driven, rather than hydraulic cylinder. The upshot is they are much quicker, but not as powerful. The driven toe boards are awesome, as is the board drag back. The back stops are all hydraulic (11 of them) but because they are on a single piston, they aren't terribly powerful. I do prefer the vertical hydraulic cylinder back stops, but it would have been daft to have 11 of them and the hydraulic system wouldn't have done 11 at a time (plus extra expense).

 

* It's built like a brick outhouse. It weighs 4100kg and feels incredibly solid.

 

* The set works are a pain in the backside. Much like any electric set works on a mill, they are tricky to navigate. I will learn how to use it, but I expect I'll mostly use the mill manually.

 

Overall, very good, but a learning curve. Looking foward to getting into some oversized logs. Have mostly softwood orders on at the moment, but with at least 50 tonnes to cut in the next month, I should get the chance to stretch the mill's legs.