Logosol PH260

[Coed y Cardi]

Been contemplating getting a Logosol PH260, does anyone happen to have any experience with this machine? Pros and cons!! Any advice appreciated 👍

[agrimog]

a good machine, logosol market mortenson under there own banner, capable of some very good work, the moulder knives are available a lot cheaper than logosol supply, takes a bit of time setting it up, but will punch well above its weight, great for turning average wood into expensive custom mouldings, if you've got the market for its output a great bit of kit

[wills-mill]

Yup, I've spent quite a bit of time on my Moretens 260 (same machine). Mine came second hand from a workshop up in Galloway, it's quite an early machine but has given me no particular grief. They are definitely a 'finishing' machine that needs to be presented with really good straight edged blanks to perform well. The more exotic and expensive joinery shop machines like Weinigs will take a lot of twist and bow out of dry boards that a Logosol won't. They also run timber through quicker, but may use 4 times the power and weigh 4 times more.

On anything air dried, or if I'm dubious about some inconsistent board thicknesses, I'll run everything through a thicknesser to munch off any high spots and give the PH an easier time of things.

 

Having said that, the PH excels on damp timber and there's nothing I've seen that does the same job for such a small power input, low weight, compactness and easy storage. They really do have an exceptional timber capacity, and it keeps me moving at a good lick when I have to unstack, brush off sawdust, feed, remove, stack again. I wheel mine around or pump it up with a pallet truck to tuck it out of the way when not needed, which is another handy thing.

 

Really good extraction is vital, if chips get mashed backed into the boards surface you can end up with dents in softwood jobs. I probably use more power to run the extractor than the 4 sider. It'll fill three oversize extraction sacks in under and hour, so make sure you can get rid of the shavings somewhere!

 

It takes a bit of time to get the setup right, and there are big savings to be made on knife costs if you use standard Euro cutter profiles (£12 ish a pair) rather than Logosol's catalogue knives. The standard Euro knives are worse steel and don't last particularly long, but they are great to get your head around things and sort out small batches before putting tonnes of cash into knives that might not get much use.

 

EDIT: for decent moulding knives in the UK, I use a few patterns from Whitehill. Anything that is a 'B' type knife will fit the machine. My local saw doctor also uses Whitehill B blanks for making up knives for me.

 

I also use a holder system so I can fit disposable double edged planer knives to the thicknessing head, the planer knife change is now loads quicker- as standard I think it's fiddlier than most planer thicknessers to get right.

 

I'm running mine (and the extractor) from a single phase supply through a second hand rotary converter, and it's all behaved really well.

 

 

From log to finished cladding - Woodlouse Industries - Locally Sourced Timber Products

 

I'll try and get some pics of machined bits up for you...

Edited March 3, 2016 by wills-mill

[Coed y Cardi]

Thanks for the response! Appreciate the information 👍

[Big J]

We've run one for a few years and I'd say that whilst it can be reasonable in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, it's a delicate and underbuilt machine that won't stand any abuse or any timber that isn't perfectly straight. Worth considering certainly, but know it's limitations.

[wills-mill]

We've run one for a few years and I'd say that whilst it can be reasonable in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, it's a delicate and underbuilt machine that won't stand any abuse or any timber that isn't perfectly straight. Worth considering certainly, but know it's limitations.

 

They are definitely a one man band sort of machine.... Good for someone that cares a bit, not so good if you expect a herbert to stand beside it and smash hundreds of boards through per day.