akslocombe

If receipt and invoice mention Wood Mizer, then it should be a Wood Mizer. With a VIN. I think you do have a case to argue, but it is a little bit shaky. If you bought a machine with no blade covers, crappy wiring and no guarding around the main drive belt, then it's visibly not a machine that's at factory spec.

 

There are a lot of WM parts on your mill, the wheels, brake and drive shaft, up/down switches and gearbox drive, lots of the blade tensioner (in fact most of the saw head and mast) have come from a Mizer. It is not '100% this is a full copy', however, nor is it a full Wood Mizer. If the seller bought these parts in to make a machine from scratch, then there are several thousand pounds of new parts right there that Wood Mizer were quite happy to sell!

Most likely is that this is a tired old machine has been brought back into a usable state with the minimum of expenditure.

 

The quality of the welding and fabricating can't be taken as an issue- as a purchaser you were happy to pay the agreed price, so you must have been happy with what was there.

 

It's a bit like you've bought a lashed up Ford Escort for banger racing/ track use/ rallying. It is definitely not an roadgoing Escort any more, but it may well fulfill the function that it was built and sold for. Ford might not be happy if you had a car with a Volvo engine, Vauxhall running gear and a homemade rollcage, but what happens in a private sale for a machine used on private ground is probably not their concern.

 

I don't mean to sound rude, but if the mill cuts to a sensible standard and you are content with the output, then you have a machine that meets the criteria of a decent sawmill. What has happened to you is obviously really stressful and unpleasant, but it is much more obviously a non-standard/ unacceptable machine than the usual secondhand machine issue of an old dog that has been blown over with new paint and stickers.

Hi

Thanks , This is the way it seems , but it is not , woodmizer have only supplied the seller with a couple bits in recent years. In the annotated photos many bits of the bed and saw head are not from woodmizer or of their design but is a good copy . Three weeks after I purchased the saw I learnt from someone the seller was planing to make another saw, within three months there was another saw 100 % the same as mine for sale on ebay .

Im not happy with the saws performance /cut and spend to much time re-adjusting it and planing the timber , due to having to cut thicker planks than needed . Couldn't currently sell a sawn timber product from the machine.

I was stupid not to fully check out the saw prior to purchase and I know that, but I didnt have any knowledge of sawmills or woodmizer and the seller seemed really genuine . Selling up to retire etc, this was his 14 woodmizer in his life , pass on his contacts etc etc etc

Does the mill work has it been deemed safe to use could you not tidy up some of the welds remove the sticker and sell on , you could also go see the bloke who sold it to you and advise him that giving you your money back would be very good for his health and well being , I hate con men , could you not just use the saw just a few options I could think of I hope you get it all worked out do keep us posted on what happens

Regards Mark

Hi Mark

It works but not great and I dont know if its safe , probably not as this machine has no guards ! The last time I spoke to the seller when I asked for my money back in November, he said we were going to tangle etc .

I could just take the sticker off and sell it on as a diy saw that it is , but then I really still have to go after the seller for the difference in value .

Also I have no idea what a saw like this is worth and would be interested in knowing ?

A bit of a long shot but are woodmizer's still covered by any patents ?

Think so but they have left this to trading std to deal with and not gone after the seller themselves

Hi John

Thanks this is the way I want to go really and I have the forms just worry a bit as trading std couldn't pin anything on him.

To make it a bit more complicated the saw was part of a 10k deal with 3.5K for oak boards and the saw at 6.5K .

On the receipt it just says woodmizer lt40 and 100 m2 of oak for 10K total . The Oak we received was also quite poor and under in quantity ( I still have it all sticked up) .

From what someone said to me, as the saw is not genuine this breaks the whole deal so I should be able to return the Oak as well and get the whole 10 k back .

Any idea if this is true ? Just not sure if I should go for the full 10K , 6.5 K saw or the difference in valve between genuine - fake machine.

Problem might be with the oak is that I could be accused of not having the whole quantity sold to me , even though I do

Thanks

Alex

Have you got confirmation in writing from the manufacturer that it cannot be considered to be a Woodmizer? That would be your leverage if Trading Standards won't help you. Should there be an ID plate/number on it? If there should and it's not there, surely the identity of any renovated/repaired unit is not with the unit and so it can't be a Woodmizer. Hope you get a result with this.

Yes have a brief letter from woodmizer stating my saw is either a full copy or had so many none genuine parts etc it cannot be considered a woodmizer and wrong to be sold as a reconditioned one . Yes there should be a Vin plate , the seller claims to have it to trading std , why is it not on the saw god knows !

( Helpful to have a vin number though to order some genuine parts from woodmizer to build saws )

Thank Felix

Trading Standard have been a bit disappointing on this whole thing.When they visited the seller (near Hatherleigh Devon ) he had some proof that in the past he previously owned three woodmizers and claimed the one I purchased was one of these 'rebuilt ' .

Mine has no VIN model number , history etc etc

Because of this they couldn't take any action only 'advise' him on brand names and safety . Also if any more appear on the market they can then get confirmation of genuine rebuild , 1 in 1 , out by asking for more proof of latest purchase .

I know 100 % this is full copy , with a wrong woodmizer logo sticker and only the wheels being genuine .

Solicitors have also not been much help and wont advise me on good case or not, likely costs ( tried two )

Another angle was safety but HSE apparently wont travel as Im to far from the office plus only get involved in new machinery not refurbishments ' according to Trading Std '

I have had to push and push on this over the months and the action taken by Trading Std and Woodmizer has been minimal . I thought it would be the opposite and leaves me with little faith in the system

Hi

In the back end of last year I purchased ( stupidly ) what I thought was a genuine reconditioned Woodmizer Lt40 for £6500 . Which turned out to be a copy built by the seller himself , this was not the first machine he built and he built one more machine before trading standards visited to give him 'advise ' .

Woodmizer have viewed my saw and supplied annotated photos of none standard parts etc etc . Plus given me a short letter saying the machine is either a complete copy or had so much work it couldn't be considered to be or sold as a woodmizer .

The seller refused me a refund or even part refund

So I guess now the only option is small claims court .

Would anyone happen to know what rough price a secondhand DIY ( badly welded ) sawmill such as this one (photos) would be realistically worth ?

Thanks