Bandsaws (lumber)

[charlieb]

Wondering if anyone on here has much experience of them.  For a few years now we've taken the odd larch log down to a friend 5 miles away with a woodmizer.   Hey presto, it turns into just the sort of useable timber we need on the farm.  (fencing rails, 2x4s, tree planting stakes, etc.) And at surprisingly little cost.    But the friend is busy and in any case thinking of giving it up, so I'm looking into getting a saw of my own.     I've heard lots of good things about woodmizer, but their smallest non-electric saw is several grand and too much to take a risk on.  So I'm looking at the Timbery M100, petrol engine. WoodmizerUK have recently started importing it from North America and I saw them do a demo at the APF show last Autumn.  9HP gas engine; Max log 500mm (440 in half); Manual push system.
   Looks like a v simple piece of kit - no hydraulics to break, etc, which would be a good thing for us given it wouldn't get a lot of use.      And the £3k cost would be paid for by a few thousand tree stakes or the timber for the Dutch barn I want to build as a firewood shed...

So, any thoughts on the Timbery much appreciated if anyone knows them.  Or general thoughts on sawmills:

• Is cutting 1 1/4 inch stakes feasible on a basic saw like this?
• Are bandsaws the sort of machine that needs to be used regularly?

• Do you reckon there's any second hand value in these?
• Will we end up spending a fortune on maintenance / extras?

[charlieb]

http://www.woodmizer-planet.com/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=311

[oliver90owner]

Is cutting 1 1/4 inch stakes feasible on a basic saw like this?

Not looked on u-toob?  Clearly will, but the sharp ends will need doing elsewhere?

Will we end up spending a fortune on maintenance / extras?

You might, especially if you don't have a metal detector!

[charlieb]

Sharp ends is fine.  I do them on a hand held disk saw stuck in a vice. Does the job and produces nice kindling.  It was getting a bundle of planks turned over and upright with the basic log rest and clamp that I was worried about. Woodmizer man seems to think it'd be fine though.

Cryptic on metal detector..   Nails in the trees shouldn't be a problem.   Can't work out what else I'd need a metal detector for??  (Funnily enough it's something else Ive wanted for a while and was thinking of posting on here about).

[oliver90owner]

Sorry, but cutting through steel with a wood cutting blade surely cannot be seen as enhancing its cutting life?

[jotec]

 I have made up a frame to use with a big chain saw as a chainsaw mill. It cost nothing as it was from scrap I had about and works fine. We have converted oak to boards 3/4 thick and 16+ inches wide. I don't think it will go much less than 3/4 on long boards.
Posts are easy.
Not as good as a bandsaw mill or as fast but perfectly usable ( I have just done a double oak door with some). A big ad vantage is that it is easy to use in the wood where the tree has fallen or been felled.

[charlieb]

Yep, I have an alaskan mill Jotec.   Great bit of kit, and very satisfying, but not good for doing any sort of volume - and volume's what I need for tree stakes in particular.   This Timbery mill I'm looking at is basically a step-up from the Alaskan. 

Oliver, I still can't work out why I'd be cutting through any steel. It's clean plantation larch (and the occasional hardwood.)   Blades don't seem to be too extortionate: £100 for a box of ten. (Sharpenable, but only by sending back to manufacturer I think.)

[charlieb]

Hi all.
Thought I'd update as I was busy working our new saw at the weekend. It was delivered just after Christmas and I've now cut 7-8 sleepers (8'x10"x5"), 15 'scaffolding' planks for compost heaps, about 2-300 tree planting stakes and a few fencing rails. (I am miles from full time doing farm stuff.)   So it'll take a while to repay the £3,500 cost, in simple money terms anyway,  but  I'd definitely recomend it to anyone who's contemplating. Really straightforward machine, all the adjustments are nice and logical (and mechanical), and the quality on the important bits seems to be pretty good.  The satisfaction of going from a standing or windblown tree to a pile of stacked and drying lumber is enormous.