New Timberking 1400

metljakt · January 20, 2011, 11:55:15 AM

I'm starting think I made a mistake with a Norwood purchase. I got a brochure from TK yesterday offering their new 1400 model. It will cut a 20' log and has a 16" high throat. My Norwood will cut 17' and only has a 8-1/2" high throat. The 1400 also has hydraulic feed while the Norwood is totally manual, yet they are the same price! Also the Norwood arrived on two pallets with 44 boxes and I'm still putting it together! TK brochure also states that it has a"walk-along command post" which I don't fully understand. What really gets me is that 16" throat size - which lends it better for quarter-sawing. (I need to 1/4 saw D. Fir for doors).

beenthere · January 20, 2011, 12:52:02 PM

Decisions, decisions.

The grass is always greener............

Busy Beaver Lumber · January 20, 2011, 04:29:39 PM

Buying the latest and greatest sawmill is a lot like trying to buy the latest and greatest computer.

Week after week someone keeps coming out with something better and you keep thinking maybe I should wait just a little longer and see what comes out next. If you do it long enough, eventually you will never get a mill or the high powered computer you wanted.

Better approach is to buy a name brand mill with good reputation that meets your immediate and anticipated near term future needs, and then if your needs do increase in the future beyond your mills capacity, you can always sell it for a decent price and upgrade. In the mean time at least you had a mill to saw some wood with.

My situation was completely the opposite to yours. The first mill I bought was a portable woodmizer LT-25 in excellent condition and at a fantastic price. It was a great mill and did and excellent job of cutting, but I had no need or desire to go portable and hence it took up more room in my building than I wanted to allocate to it. You can see it in the building in my picture album. About a year, and 25 logs later, I sold it and almost made enough profit on it to completely cover the cost of my brand new LT-10, which realy is perfect for what I needed and takes up about half the space in the shop, plus I had racks full of wood that I already cut with the LT-25.

paul case · January 20, 2011, 06:59:20 PM

busy beaver,
it sounds like what you did was downgrade for free!!!!!!!
some of the things you mention are good points for looking for a mill and are real considerations.my needs were different. i didnt consider upgrding or resale value when i bought my mill because i planned to keep it til itwas dead and wore out. now i am not sure i will live that long.
pc

Busy Beaver Lumber · January 21, 2011, 06:17:17 PM

Paul

That is exactly what I did, downgraded for free and pretty much got a free mill, less the few hours of labor I spent cutting the logs on the Lt-25. When all was said and done, it cost me less than $100 out of my own pocket to get the brand new LT-10 with 10hp motor, extra log dog, and box of 10 blades.

I am unlike many others on this forum. I do not saw for volume, rather I am very selective at what I spend time and effort cutting and serve niche markets. I sell very few 4/4 boards and instead sell quite a few thick slabs to bowl turners. I have a hot parafin dip tank that I use to seal the wood blanks to keep them from cracking and keep them green, as many bowl turners prefer them that way. Most of the other wood I cut is consumed in my own shop to make rustic wood furniture and beleive it or not, almost all the pine I cut is used to make cat condo's which we sell through a friend of ours that owns a pet supply business.

The LT-10 suite my needs perfectly and does not take up a huge amount of space.

Will_Johnson · May 18, 2011, 02:26:41 PM

Nice to see some buzz on our little 1400! We do really think it offers a great value in the industry. The poster has hit on what we feel to be TimberKing's great advantage: the wide cut throat which allows you to do quarter sawing and easily handle the big logs. And yes, it comes fully-assembled! So you can start making sawdust right away!

Walk-along command post means that thought you have power feed you do have to walk with the cutting head as you are operating the mill. Bigger TK Hydraulic mills all come standard with a command post at the back of the mill.

Thanks again for the kind words!

Wildcat · May 18, 2011, 04:28:45 PM

Metljakt, I see where your coming from on this, I wanted the new TK1400 but it was 4k more than my Norwood mx34, they are not the same price, took me 6 evenings working hard as nails to get it together. but its all done and cuts great!!!
I liked the TK better but was not in my buget, they wanted $1100.00 for delivery, no way
Norwood has a 30 day satisfaction but you will have to pay freight on return..
let me know if you have any questions on assembly sense it 's still fresh in my mind, :P i have been sawing for a week now..

thecfarm · May 19, 2011, 11:15:01 AM

metljakt,let know know when the sawing begins. What's the plan for the saw? What's the use for all of the lumber?
Wildcat,hope you are having fun with your new mill.

metljakt · May 20, 2011, 02:30:15 PM

Cut lots of D.Fir and Ponderosa pine here in N. Idaho. Also cut some Idaho White Pine (Pinus Monticola) for moulding grade. The mill will not quarter saw which I need to make doors. Everything in this part of the country is V.G. D. Fir. It is the heritage wood of the inland N.W. We have zero hardwoods here, nada, zip, none. There are seven species of softwoods available. N. Idaho is solid timber from Washington State to deep into Montana.