The time has come!

[Forest2Furniture]

Seriously thinking about a bandsaw mill but which one:

 

Logosol, woodmizer or woodlands, which one would you choose and why

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

I know good second hand stuff is rare, but thought this might be useful if you're considering second hand. Anthony recently had a mill for sale, not sure if still available. His website is:

 

Contact us | Pentiddy Natural Burials

 

Sorry, I don't know any details, phone number etc is on there.

[Wendelspanswick]

I spent ages studying which mill to buy, going to view all the major players in use, my favourite was the TrakMet but there is no petrol engine option, only an electric motor.

In the end I've dipped my toe in by buying a Woodlands HM126 and so far I'm happy. It's very capable but it's very much a manual machine, if you want to add hydraulics/power feed etc. you will need to engineer it yourself.

The problem with the established players is you don't get a vast improvement for a product that costs twice as much as the new players.

[Forest2Furniture]

I spent ages studying which mill to buy, going to view all the major players in use, my favourite was the TrakMet but there is no petrol engine option, only an electric motor.

In the end I've dipped my toe in by buying a Woodlands HM126 and so far I'm happy. It's very capable but it's very much a manual machine, if you want to add hydraulics/power feed etc. you will need to engineer it yourself.

The problem with the established players is you don't get a vast improvement for a product that costs twice as much as the new players.

 

I looked at the woodlands mills but they remind me of a mechano set I had as a kid, I'm concerned they may be a bit flimsy.

[Forest2Furniture]

I know good second hand stuff is rare, but thought this might be useful if you're considering second hand. Anthony recently had a mill for sale, not sure if still available. His website is:

 

Contact us | Pentiddy Natural Burials

 

Sorry, I don't know any details, phone number etc is on there.

 

Thanks

[Wendelspanswick]

I looked at the woodlands mills but they remind me of a mechano set I had as a kid, I'm concerned they may be a bit flimsy.

Flex is the enemy on a bandmill and there is not much difference on the lower end Woodmizers and Logosols compared to the Woodlands apart from the first two are twice the price of the Woodlands. The TrakMet is much more heavily built and ridgid but has to be powered by mains 3 phase or a large generator.

My background is as a welder/fabricator and I was pleasantly surprised by the Woodlands, it's well thought out and constructed. At the end of the day the important bit is the saw head, the rails just guide the saw head onto the log, and the Woodlands has a well thought out saw head. It's certainly not an industrial sawhead in the Stenner/ Forestor class but as a trade machine it's adequate.

The log diameter limit on the HM126 26" which is a size you can manage manually to roll on the bed, I used to work in a mill that had a Forestor Tom Sawyer and the log sizes that could handle meant you needed hydraulic handling.

How will you be loading the logs onto the mill? It's no point having a big capacity mill if you have to manually load logs onto the bed.

[Woodworks]

I spent ages studying which mill to buy, going to view all the major players in use, my favourite was the TrakMet but there is no petrol engine option, only an electric motor.

In the end I've dipped my toe in by buying a Woodlands HM126 and so far I'm happy. It's very capable but it's very much a manual machine, if you want to add hydraulics/power feed etc. you will need to engineer it yourself.

The problem with the established players is you don't get a vast improvement for a product that costs twice as much as the new players.

 

Having talked to TrakMet at the Confor show last year they sounded like they might make what you want. Might be worth an ask if they can supply a petrol motor version. I know diddly squat about mills but they offered a hell of a lot steel for the money

[Forest2Furniture]

Flex is the enemy on a bandmill and there is not much difference on the lower end Woodmizers and Logosols compared to the Woodlands apart from the first two are twice the price of the Woodlands. The TrakMet is much more heavily built and ridgid but has to be powered by mains 3 phase or a large generator.

My background is as a welder/fabricator and I was pleasantly surprised by the Woodlands, it's well thought out and constructed. At the end of the day the important bit is the saw head, the rails just guide the saw head onto the log, and the Woodlands has a well thought out saw head. It's certainly not an industrial sawhead in the Stenner/ Forestor class but as a trade machine it's adequate.

The log diameter limit on the HM126 26" which is a size you can manage manually to roll on the bed, I used to work in a mill that had a Forestor Tom Sawyer and the log sizes that could handle meant you needed hydraulic handling.

How will you be loading the logs onto the mill? It's no point having a big capacity mill if you have to manually load logs onto the bed.

 

I liked the look of the log winch on the logosol for loading.

 

The other concern I have with the woodlands is that it's made in europe and with the UK set to leave the eu, I wonder if in time there'll be issues with parts etc and whether the price will increase.

[Wendelspanswick]

I liked the look of the log winch on the logosol for loading.

 

The other concern I have with the woodlands is that it's made in europe and with the UK set to leave the eu, I wonder if in time there'll be issues with parts etc and whether the price will increase.

 

The Woodlands is made in China and distributed from Sweden to the rest of Europe, that's why it's so cheap.

The bits that wear out on the HMB, belts and bearings etc, are all off the shelf components available from any engineering supplies company.

The sawhead and frame components are all fabricated so any fabricator or engineering company could sort you out with replacement bits.

The only specific parts are the bandwheels and I am sure you could source those direct from China if Woodlands went under as there are various other Chinese built mills on the market now with identical components (Harbour Freight being one).

[agrimog]

The Woodlands is made in China and distributed from Sweden to the rest of Europe, that's why it's so cheap.

The bits that wear out on the HMB, belts and bearings etc, are all off the shelf components available from any engineering supplies company.

The sawhead and frame components are all fabricated so any fabricator or engineering company could sort you out with replacement bits.

The only specific parts are the bandwheels and I am sure you could source those direct from China if Woodlands went under as there are various other Chinese built mills on the market now with identical components (Harbour Freight being one).

yes the millis made in china, but its a canadian company, they distrubute worldwide, and we now have a uk contact, both the hm126 and the HM130 are cracking pieces of kit, you would not go wrong with any of them, backup from the company is great, tech advice, wonderfull,(how many companies will give you a drawing for a trailer because they know you can probably build it cheaper than they could supply) and the rest of there kit is starting to make the big players look again at some of there prices. lookat woodmizer, now marketing the timbrey T100 as there own sothey can get in on this small mill market. Do your research carefully, try and get a look at as many types as possible, even hands on if possible and let your own findings guide your purchase, (remember to consider the cost of ALL the consumables in your costings, not just bands, and how available they are)