Thread: Brand X sawmill, comment

thats the first thing i noticed to Allan.

Often the good ideas keep getting used, the rollers for example. A material that is resistant to the elements, self lubricating and machinable is tough to beat.

The non freight price of the 10" Lucas is about $18K from Baileys. So the two mills are about the same and the 8" Lucas is 17K so that put the very close.

In my case the numbers are very different. I obtained a $4,000 discount for making my own frame and also paying with currency. I have a good supply of steel so the material cost to build a frame was low. The freight in the US is primarily done based on pallets, long parts are expensive to move. So if a Lucas mill could be put on one 12' pallet I would be charged for 12' of truck or about 25% of the load cost. Depending on distance the cost would run between 1-2,000 dollars. Yes, there are ways around this, you can hire a special rig and wait for that truck to make a run in your direction.

Since I will be stationary I can take advantage of the steel construction, even though I can weld aluminum. Having all the setworks on the saw head is an advantage for me. With just a few parts I will be able to remotely swing the head and vary the engine speed, I will also have a variable feed speed on the table. Eventually I will add two hydraulic machines to handle the logs. The total cost of this project will be about $20K.

I have had jobs that I could have setup over the log, but those were not very common. Most of my portable jobs the logs were not properly prepared and the terrain is such that there is very little flat ground to work with. For this reason most of the jobs would not have been possible without some sort of machine to move the logs.

If it wasn't for the Lucas and Peterson Mills I would not have even considered this approach. I spent about one year looking for a Mighty Mite or Mobil Dimensions circular mills. The issue with going that direction is that you tend to spend about $14,000 on a worn-out machine that will give you nothing but trouble and cost a lot to fix. Circular mills don't normally come with log deck and those entry level machines are about $45K; the log deck is another $45K. So I am sure you can see that these swing mills are an exceptional value.

Thanks for you ideas, please send more.

Steve

Scott, your requirements are very similar to mine. I rarely do mobile work and I have the Lucas set up permanently in one location, with logs moved using a forklift or crane truck. I would love to automate the rise and fall and drive, but the Sawmill Licensing Act we have here in Queensland would prohibit that where I am. It says that human-propelled saws (like a Lucas or Peterson WPF) can cut up to 500 tonnes a year without a license and can cut for no more than 2 days at a time in the one location, which is a bit silly.

Perhaps one of these days I'll find a suitable shed so I can set upout of the weather and out of sight of pen-pushers...

You Know it looks a hell of a lot like a Rimu out of NZ only non automated

Originally Posted by itsposs

You Know it looks a hell of a lot like a Rimu out of NZ only non automated

A little I guess but the rimu is a twin blade cutting both the horizontal and vertical at the same time.

for those who want to see them Rimu Engineering | Quality Sawmill Products at Unbeatable Prices, NZ | Products

they don't look like they would be a bad machine, anyone used one?

I watched the video of both types of saw they offer that twin blade looked good but I really like their boats just watched it again I thought only one was does look good but

Steve, Just wondering, with the small diameter wheels do you need to be consious of sawdust building up on the track. I guess a "cow poker", like they had on trains, could easly solve the problem. If you have a tapered log, do you just pack the log? Be nice to have some way that you didn't have to step over those beams. If you were cutting smaller dia logs could you sit a few planks on the beams to act as a board walk? All the best, Kel.

Here is a picture of the cow catcher for the four wheels. It is funny when I write a reply the pictures is inserted in the reply but when I look at the thread it is just a link. Can someone tell me how to fix this?


The mill frames have a cleat built into them for decking. In my frame I can set the deck at any height. I was planning on setting it the same as Brand X but your inputs have convinced me to raise the deck near the top. I would guess there needs to be some room for sawdust.

Too bad about your mill regulations. I really enjoyed the Rimu Engineering web page. The drawback/guard look good. For a swing mill it would likely need to be user initiated, that is not that much more effort.

For a low cost sawmill shed, cover the frame with used billboard vinyl covering. The material is strong, water proof, white in color and only costs $.10/sqft. A 30X40' parts is only $120 here. When you have your own mill it is the cost of the roof that gets you. A sawyer in California is using this material to cover the roof and walls of yurts that he sells. I bet you can find the same material in your area too.

Steve

Originally Posted by sgschwend

It is funny when I write a reply the pictures is inserted in the reply but when I look at the thread it is just a link. Can someone tell me how to fix this?

The images are showing up ok for me in all your posts in this thread.

As long as you use the icon in the reply box, it should always show as an image.

Chris from Heathcote, sent me an idea, he suggest lowering the log skids 3" and then adding 3" of wood to the top of the skid. All of the metal parts would be below the swing. Looking at the picture the log would be on 3" stock. There would also be a deck running the length of the frame; if you can imagine the metal frame would be under the deck and the 3" stock would stand proud.

Scott, while the steel log deck may be very robust, I've learnt that being able to move your gluts to clean out around them is invaluable, as is the ability to move them to suit different logs. I use 8x8s for the Lucas, which is perfect, since the mill bottoms out about 2" above that.

The steel will be very robust,but cleaning your milling area will be a pain,I suspect.

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Except for some refinement using molded plastic knobs - that setworks looks exactly the same as Lucas setworks... it even has the same name... hmmm...what's that about?

Cmon Sigidi, don't be nieve,I know you love your Lucas as so do I but Lucas didn't invent the portable mill nor built one without inspiration from existing sawmill manufacturers.You could guarantee Lucas Mill still keep a check on other manufacturers taking notes on their ideas, as they should. You don't need to totally reinvent the wheel. Lucas didn't, this chap hasn't but hats of to those trying as in the long run we are the ones who will benefit.

I'm not naive at all