TK B-20

[island boy]

Going to look at a used B-20 (see listing below) this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Wondering if any of you TK owners can give me a heads up on what to keep an eye open for, other than the usual. While I have checked out several manual mills by other manufactures I have never seen a TK in operation so any advise from those with experience on the hydraulic mills would be much appreciated.

"Timberking B-20 Hydraulic Bandmill. 2005, 1 owner, 210 hours on the clock. 27hp Khoeler gas, 36 inch X 21 foot log capacity. Blade grinder and tooth set jig. Approx 15 blades. This is a very accurate mill when used properly. Log tongs, choke chain, peavy, all sold as complete set for 16,000 firm."

[MotorSeven]

Looks like the going price on the Saw Mill Exchange website
  .........      But that seems high to me for a used mill.

I think I would spring for a new LT35 for a few thou more:
http://www.woodmizer.com/cs2/SAccessories.aspx?i=LT35HDG25&identity=81547&e=G25&g=LT35%20Hydraulic&pn=SAccessories.aspx

[nas]

Seems pretty fair to me considering all the extras

Nick

[redbeard]

B-20 is alot of mill for that price. Is there a debarker and setworks? The lt35 is more comparable to TK 1600.

[ladylake]

 The price isn't too bad for the low hours and all the extras, with 210 hours it's almost new.  I have around 8000 hours on mine with VERY few problems and it's a nice simple mill that just about anyone can fix with a lot of off the shelf parts. I think they all came with setworks which  need a industrial cordreel or a setup like Redbeard has to work all the time, sure wouldn't be without the setworks.  Another BIG plus is the chain turner,   I sawed 8 hours on Wen for a new customer who told me it was the best turner he's seen. Steve

[rph816]

The only complaints I have about ours is the setworks and the attachment of the loader arms.  We don't saw enough (don't do any commercial sawing... yet) to really worry about setworks so we've disconnected it for the time being.  Ours is an '01 or '02 and it has the old-style loader arm mounts.  The loaders work very well, but you have to manually pick up the arms (150#+) to load them for travel.  They make a kit to convert to the newer style semi-self loading ones so that's not too bad either.  I don't know when they converted the design, but it would be worth looking at.  It is truly a fantastic mill, well ahead of its time.  Running ours makes me wonder how amazing the 2400 must be...

Agree with others on the price.

Ryan

[redbeard]

Mine is a 06 and Iam very happy with it. Iam a one man operation and it fits all my needs for a sawmill. The rolling toe boards a a big help in leveling logs and removing cants and stacks of lumber. The chain turner is really nice it has awesome control and dogging the log capabilitys. The hydraulic feed is infinite speed control and gives you pleanty of feel on how hard your pushing your blade. The setworks is on the money and gives alot of capable settings when making repetitive boards. After you raise the head and return it you can find your exact height you started with. It is a very simple mill to work on as ladylake mentioned. The B-20 is probably there best seller it has proven itself.

[island boy]

Thanks everyone, especially you Red Beard your advise and shared experience will certainly come in handy. Will be seeing the B-20 tomorrow morning.

[Paper Maker]

   One thing you should look at is to see if it has flat, belted, or crowned wheels. If it has flat type wheels on it they could cause problems down the road.I'm not saying it will, butt mine like to have caused me to go over the edge. smiley_bouncing_pinky If they ever get out of alignment it will take more than just a notion to keep a blade on. Steel flat wheels in my opinion  are not very forgiving.On the other hand, steel wheels with a crown on them are very user friendly and so are belted wheels. Hope this is of some help. 

[ladylake]

It will have belted wheels, my 2002 came with belted wheels.  Not sure when they switched .    Steve

[ladylake]

One other thing the B20 has about a 32" log capacity not 36.    Steve

[zopi]

That would do me in...very often I have to pass up high grade logs simply because they are too bloody big...I cannot wait until I can handle the bigger stuff...

[ladylake]

The 32" capacity has not  done me in at all in the last 9 years as I might have had 10 logs bigger than that most of which 10 minutes with a chainsaw would go though. Other areas of the country might have way more bigger logs.    Steve

[island boy]

Saw the B-20 last weekend and this was my experience. Since the owner had said he had not used the saw for the past two years and was going to pull it out from under the overhang, I assumed it would have been well cared for and would look "clean". I saw a dirty piece of equipment which sent up a red flag. He then started both the Kohler 27 hp, which started and ran fine and the Briggs and Strattan pony which sputtered and continued to run rough. When I found out he put the mill away without draining or stablizing the gas it explained the small engine problem and confirmed the ole saying about assuming. Anyway, we got the filter and carb cleaned out and the B&S then ran fine. I also noticed several other issues that would need to be addressed:
1. the plastic lubrication drip line was hanging from the tank unattached at the blade side and out of position.
2. one of the log stops did not come up due to it being bent.
3. the lights on the trailer along with the electric brakes where not working.

Unfortunatly, by the time we got the gas problem solved and had an overall look at the mill I had to leave and catch the last boat back to the island (it was starting to get dark by now). I will be headed back this weekend and will get a demonstation of it in action.

Questions:
Are the problems seen and encountered an indication of future issues I may run into?
Are any of these issues a reason to look more closely at any particular part of the mill?
Are any of these issues a justifiable reason to ask for a lower sale price and if so approximatly how much (asking $16,000)?
Any other comments or advice?

Thanks, Island boy

[redbeard]

The lights and lube tube are no big deal. You might have to do a little wire chasing or maybe battery on the hitch for brakes could be problem. The bent log stop sounds bad. Is it not coming up all the way or is it actually bent. I would call TK see how much a new one is. Deduct that for sure. If a log bent those it surely did damage to parts that keep it straight check that closely.  If it just not coming up level with other two it just skipped some teeth on sproket. Usually its the forward one because a log slammed down on it not a big deal. Those stops are really stout cant imagine bending one unless they weren't raised when moving mill that wouldn't be good.

[island boy]

Just found out the stop got bent when he was moving the mill. It was down and got hung up on a frozen bank of earth on the edge of his driveway. I am concerned about any twist or other damage this may have caused to the frame. I will try and post some pictures.

[island boy]

Here are some photos of the used B-20

[leroy in kansas]

IB, it's a bit difficult to tell from a pic but from what I can see in that last pic it looks like everything, the log bed is lined up nicely. Good luck.

[JP135]

You'd be surprised how impact energy can be transferred to parts of the frame that are nowhere near the bent stop.

An auto body shop with a laser frame measuring system could check the frame for you and either give you peace of mind or definitive information about damage that might not be visible to the naked eye.

[fstedy]

All of the problems you mentioned seem minor. I've had my B 20 since 2004 and its been thru some tough events. The bed is built very strong and that bent stop would not rack it. I have replaced a bent log stop without any difficulty its a simple repair and inexpensive repair. Its a great machine and does not require constant maintanence. The problems give you an opportunity to deal on the price, I would try an offer of $14,000 and go from there its a buyers market.

[ladylake]

I'd think a press would straighten a bent stop in a couple of minutes, as mentioned the B20 is built well.  Steve