swing blade mills

[Norm]

I don't think there's any such thing as too many pictures, especially when wood is involved.

[Jeff]

Jake, you got that optimizing thing down. Nice detail and still, under the limit that nasty webmaster set. ;D

[Swing_blade_Andy]

Jake

That looks a well finished piece of equipment. Nice Job.

Tell me how does it cope with saw pinch, or when you hit something hard and need to back off quick. Also can you alter the feed rate say when you are using the slabing bar or when cutting something extra hard?

Andrew

[KiwiJake]

Andy, the speed control is infinitly variable so you can go as slow or fast as you want within it's limits, resistance can be felt in the lever when the mill is struggling so you can get a good feel for it. Let go of the lever, it stops. If the blade bogs down, you withdraw the lever which frees up the blade or press the big red button to kill the motor if you jam it too hard.

Blade pinch, if you are returning boards to the operator (vertical first horizontal second) you can get a bit of blade pinch on the horizontal if you're trying to cut big ass sleepers this way, I find a simple wedge at the operators end will solve this though. Cutting with horizontal first and pushing the sleepers the other direction causes no problem and no need to wedge.

In normal operation, I think what you are refering to when you say pinching, does the vertical cut pinch? No, because the whole frame is being pulled equally and diagonally through the HI TRACK and LOW TRACK giving relative equal load distribution. Also there are quick connection clamps for setup which clamps the mill down equally without doing any adjustments. Once it's clamped it stays in that position with out any twist. The clip on slabber on this unit is a great labour saver!

[Swing_blade_Andy]

Jake

THanks for that. I am sure that you will do well with this design.

What is the biggest log you can accommodate ?
What about track extentions - up to 12 meters possible?

Why is it that you decided to add more teeth than the 5?

Do the 10" blades suffer any more from distortion than the 6,8s or 9s.

By the way what is the porojected price range of your fine beastie?
Just curious you understand.

Andrew

[KiwiJake]

Andy no worries and thanks for asking, you can go as long as you want with track extensions, it's just the longer you go the less portable the mill becomes. The standard 4x4 tracks hinge onto itself and get clamped to gather for transportation. If you were to go 12 meters ideally you would want 6 meter solid and 3 meter end sections which hinge on to the six. You would also require one extra removable high track centre support. All that is required for extensions is longer chain and standard track extrusion with tongue insert (this can be added later).

The 10" model, we say can do a 1.5meter diameter log, the 8" will do a 1.6meter log. (but they can do a much larger log by chalking up).

The 10" mill's frame is designed alot bulkier with a heavier blade thickness, larger collar, and slightly larger kerf. This mill will also cut slightly slower obviously than the 8" but offers alot more flexabillity in your cutting options. With this sized blade it is crutial to have a positive lock to resist down drag as down drag causes distortion and burnt out blades. There is no extra distortion in comparison to the smaller blades, unless tension is lost of course.

The 5 tooth was originally designed for the low hp high rpm chainsaw circulars, research and ongoing tests have moved us along from this direction. However the five tooth is fine for hardwood (we offer a 6 tooth equivelant).

The 8" will be priced around about the same as the Mobile Dimension or that of it's similar equivelant.

[Mobilesawyer]

Hey Kiwi:

Sorry about the delay in responding to your earlier post but time does go by when your busy. A blessing no doubt.
You are correct I did buy my mill from Lou Brown (it sounds like he is no longer your dealer in Canada?) and have been pleased with the training and the mods. he has made to the mill.
My contacts with Peterson directly have been few, but after all I have only owned the mill for 18 months or so. I spoke with someone there a while back about the retipping jig but decided to let the pros handle the blade repairs. I will, in the next few days post to your used mill web site and thank you for the suggestion.
As to your question of the blades I'm using two different blades. I have two Peterson 8 tooth blades and two Pacific Hoe 6 tooth blades. Neither one is head and shoulders better than the other. I find the Peterson to be better in the harder woods with the brittle chips or saw dust, while the Pacific Hoe blade seems to clear the chips better in the softer species.
The ASM looks interesting but with your last post finding out where it will be priced (similar to the Mobile Dimension saw) it will probably not be in the near future for me..
I intend on buying a used MD if I can sell my Peterson . Though I will continue to watch for it's release here in North America.
I hope everyone understands that I am in no way unhappy with my mill but as SD_Saw said in his post I may be outgrowing it.
I look forward to your comments.

[Jim_Wahl]

Hi Folks,

I have had a 9 inch WPF Peterson since November of 98. I seriously considered a Lucas before deciding on the Peterson. Baker in Missouri was handeling Petersons at the time, and was a factor in my decision so I was a little miffed when Baker dropped them shortly after that. What few parts I have needed since then always showed up in only 3 or 4 days even though they had to come all the way from New Zealand.
One of the main reasons I chose the Peterson over the Lucas
was that I expected to be working alone most of the time, and it was obvious that sizing and double cuts were much
quicker and easier with the Peterson. At the time, the Lucas
mills were under powered in the 8 inch size, and had more
plastic and less stainless steel than the Peterson.
I don't make my living from sawing, but do as much custom milling as comes my way with the intent of making the mill pay for itself eventually, which was the most important factor from my wife's point of view and it was soon obvious
even to her that that would not be a problem.
I have never regreted my decision and would never even consider selling it unless I would be replacing it with the new automated mill. That will have to wait a few years though. Our daughter has just started college and expects to get a phd in physics before she is done, and costs have gone
up by at least a factor of ten since I went to school.Ouch!
I hope that helps to answer a few questions, but if not, let me know and I'll try again.
This is a great forum, btw. I read it all the time, but don't get enough time to contribute much except on rare occasions. Besides, I still consider myself to be on the far left side of the learning curve.
Jim Wahl

[Tom]

Jim, we're all on the far left side of the learning curve. :D  Anybody that thinks they know all there is to know about this stuff is lost way out in right field somewhere.  Sawing is fun to anybody who enjoys wood.

You must have realized that you don't have to have some great piece of wisdom to share when you post on the Forestry Forum.  We run our mouths about most anything.  That way the important stuff gets in there too.  What is not important to one fellow might be earth shattering to another.  We try not to make the distinction as to what is not important to other folks. :D  That's why we talk about food, cooking, travel and family. :D :D

Glad you are on here talking about your Peterson.  A lot of us want to know about the swing saws but the conversation is always minimal and the manufacturers are usually missing at the shows.  We are gleaning a bit from these threads from time to time but its going to take the swing saw owner, like you, talking about your saws to educate us enough that we can ask a question.