Logosol 260 or 360?

lost in the woods · February 03, 2012, 10:28:40 PM

Hello Everyone!
This is my first post, but I have been visiting this forum for many years and have learned a lot. I have 45000 bdft of dried oak and pine in our machine shed, ready to be milled into tongue and groove for flooring, walls and d-log siding for our new house. I am ready to put an order in for a Logosol (they have a pretty good promotion right now), but am unsure whether to get the 260, or spend a little more and get the 360. I plan to use it for our own house and for our 4 kids when they build theirs. Will probably do a little extra work on the side, to compliment our sawmill. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Doug Wis · February 04, 2012, 10:53:33 PM

I was in the same position a bit ago. Was ready to order a 260 or find a used one when the 360 came out. They had a intro promo then and the 360 was only a couple thou more than the 260 and alot more machine.Have only planed about 5k so far but really like it.

DGK · February 05, 2012, 07:26:38 AM

I originally was waiting to purchase the 360 last year but then with a change in circumstances and business plan, I ended up with the 260. The deciding factor was how much was I going to use it, and did I have the space for it? The 260 is a smaller footprint, especially without the attached feed tables.

Meadows Miller · February 05, 2012, 07:36:13 AM

Gday

We will most likely get a New 360 or a good used 260 as there are some ones going at good asking price atm for doing our own planning and molding down the track I have tooled up n run a 260 in the past and its a bloody good machine that will do alot more then you think for the price but the extra capacity in the section size is the thing with me as I saw the demo one when I got back to Baileys and its a Heavy Duty Machine for the price as we will be chasing selling larger sizes down the track ;)

Regards Chris

lost in the woods · February 05, 2012, 08:18:48 PM

Thanks for the replys, its really appreciated. The 360 with the chip extractor is about 5,000$ more than the 260, both with free phase converters now 8). After 30 years of farming, I have found that the cheaper way isnt always the best way, depending of course how much use the machine will get. The 360 is around twice the weight of the 260, which is usually always a good thing! I have been watching for a used one, but haven't found it yet.

Lost

Doug Wis · February 05, 2012, 10:31:37 PM

where are you at? You are welcome to come look at mine . I'm near grantsburg.

lost in the woods · February 06, 2012, 07:51:39 AM

Thanks Doug for the offer, I would like to take you up on that offer.Im from northern Chippewa county. How does your tomorrow or wednesday look? Im new at this, is there a way for us to contact each other direct?

Doug Wis · February 06, 2012, 10:24:52 PM

try 7156892373. We have cows so are usually around

slohand · February 06, 2012, 11:00:24 PM

The 360 is a great machine. I've never run a 260, but having the top head move up and down rather than the table is a huge advantage. Because the bottom infeed table is more or less always at the same level you can design a wood flow system using rollcases, conveyors etc for production efficiency.

As I've mentioned in other posts, the only thing I ever have a problem with is the Logosol blower which can clog up on some species due to the impeller style.

I expect it will be some time before you see any used 360's around. That is usually a good sign that the machine is working out well for buyers.

lost in the woods · February 07, 2012, 09:30:09 PM

Thanks for the reply Slohand, I agree the 360 looks to be a lot more machine than the 260. My wife and I visted Doug WIS today and saw his 360 as well as toured Red Oaks Lumber setup. Sure appreciate their willingness to take time out of their busy day and share their knowledge with us!! ;D

sherpa · February 08, 2012, 06:41:54 PM

If I were to do it again.............I would go with the 360. I have the 260 in a single phase model and it is underpowered for wider material hardwoods. Softwoods it is great. I primarily run hardwood flooring and some trim in hardwood and 90% of my product is cedar and pine v match paneling, 1/4 log paneling and S4S. I run approximately 70,000 board foot of material through per year and my 260 is 6 years old. No major problems with it. The only complaint is underpowered and the feed motor is a weakness in the single phase model.

The 360 has a lot of things I like.

lost in the woods · February 10, 2012, 07:22:03 PM

After looking at a 360 this week there is a quite a bit of difference between the two. Sherpa, it sounds like you run a fair amount of wood through yours in a year without to much trouble, thats good. I put in the order yesterday for a 360, so we will see soon how well it works.
Thanks again to everyone who replied. 8)

red oaks lumber · February 10, 2012, 08:00:39 PM

congrats dave 8) now that your not a slave to the cows, you can be with planing wood. once you get it call me i'll come help with the maiden voyage :D heck i havent wrecked a logosol yet ;D