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Slab mill comparisons

Started by TWG, February 17, 2020, 08:16:28 AM

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TWG

I have been reading the forum and learning since I got my sawmill. I am now in the market for a slab mill, but I would like one that has the capability of taking a planer attachment and sanding attachment.  I have looked at the Lucas, but attachments have to go on the swing blade mill and slab cut is less than 48".  Does anyone have experience with DL timbertech slab mill.  It can take the attachment on the slab mill.  The larger slab mill has a 6' bar and 35 hp motor, that should cut some wood. Would  appreciate any comments,  Pros and Cons.

longtime lurker

The standard Lucas slabbing attachment will cut to 60" wide, or at least on the bigger mills it does.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

Stephen1

Check out the Peterson. My neighbour does 60". They also have a dedicated slabber that goes on the same frame. Some keep them stored at opposite ends of the track. Thay way they can use slabber then planer/sander
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

TWG

My understanding on the lucas is that the attachments only go on the swing mill. I will check out the peterson thanks

Ianab

Quote from: TWG on February 17, 2020, 12:57:07 PM
My understanding on the lucas is that the attachments only go on the swing mill. I will check out the peterson thanks
Lucas has a both a "clip-on" slabber that bolts to the swing mill, and a "Dedicated" slabber which has it's own carriage and engine etc.  Both carriages can run on the same rails. 
Peterson's system is similar with the 2 different versions. 
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

John S

I think TWG is concerned about the surfacing (planer) attachments for the Lucas not being compatible with the slabber or not having the same capacity.
2018 LT40HDG38 Wide

longtime lurker

Quote from: John S on February 18, 2020, 07:27:53 AM
I think TWG is concerned about the surfacing (planer) attachments for the Lucas not being compatible with the slabber or not having the same capacity.
The Lucas swing mill takes a 5' clip on slabber, as well as the other attachments like the planer.
The Lucas dedicated slabber is exactly that - all it does is slab. There are options there out to 9 foot wide.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

NZJake

Hi,

Just to throw another option out there. Turbosawmill makes a nice dedicated slabber. Here is an early video. Now we offer it with a simple hand crank making feed very easy.

You can actually put as many posts and lengthen it to whatever you need.

We do offer the larger engine. It cuts 1.6m wide.

Bar is angled 15 deg. Chain speed is geared up.

https://youtu.be/fwvkR7Jetik

Many earlier version limitations have been addressed with this new model. Just food for thought. 
Wife says I woke up one morning half asleep uttering thin kerf and high production, I think I need a hobby other than milling?

TWG

Yes John I am looking to be able to plane and sand with this saw head.  I thought the lucas swing mill slab attachment was only 4'. i will check it out .  I don't see anything about a planner or sander on the turbo saw.

NZJake

We make a planer but have no plans to do a sander. It's under the accessories page on our website.

Wife says I woke up one morning half asleep uttering thin kerf and high production, I think I need a hobby other than milling?

longtime lurker

I don't cut slabs as part of my product line but inevitably we do a few for valued customers with a log thats worth the trouble. Somewhere in there I got the right bar preload/tooth angle/feed speed combination and they started to come out consistently flat. Real flat:


 


 
That much deflection over 5' wide flat.

At that point all you have to do is stack them and weight them and mostly they'll stay.... flat within reason. I've got a guy up the road with a 3 axis CNC router can flatten a slab 10x faster than I could. I don't even use him much now - I go direct to guy with wide belt sander and just give them a couple extra passes.

There's a law of diminishing returns around tying up the machine that cuts the wood doing finish work on the wood it's cut.... finished slabs are worth more but while you're finishing slabs with your saw you aren't cutting more with it. There's also a rule about the machine thats good at everything being great at nothing.

Doesn't matter whether it's Jake's mill or Lucas or some other mill.... you can get a lot of work through someone else's specialised equipment for the cost of all those attachments if its just a hobby. And if its your business there are more specialised machines for those tasks out there that work out cheaper pretty quick. So personally I've never worried too much about the attachments - attachments have I none, and I don't want any either. I'd rather just take the time to cut them well and save on finishing time later.

Just a stray $0.02 worth.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

Jcald327

So the smallest lucas mill (the 6 incher) has a 48 inch slabbing attachment.  
The 8 and 10 will come with the roughly 60 inch slabber (most say it's around 63 max).  The dedicated slabber will go up to ginormous (sorry, offered in 60, 76, and 108 inch). 
I have a lucas, for anyone with one, or contemplating getting one, take the raker DOWN.  I was getting 4-5 30 inch oak slabs around 8-10 foot long per sharpen, and it was slow going.  Took the angle grinder to about 1/3 of the raker height, and it really walks the dog through the log.  Probably cuts twice as fast, and I was able to get 10-12 slabs on my last job and the chain still has a hell of an edge on it.  Sounds crazy, but best I can tell is if the raker limits contact, to 20-30 thou of cut, having 60-90 thou means you have 3 times the edge doing the cutting, so it should hold the edge 3 times longer.  Definitely a little more violent getting into the log, and I will be keeping a few at 30 thou for smaller slabs, but for the 30 inch and up logs, I went from pretty unimpressed with the slabber to tickled pink.
Lucas 8-27 w/ slabber
Husqvarna 395xp 32, 42 inch
Rancher 455 24 inch
Stihl 271 20 inch
Grandberg 66 alaska mill
Lowrider cnc 4x8 capacity
Logrite mega 78 and 60

TWG

Thanks for the comments and 2 cents.  I am a little undecided now and will cogitate on it some more.  

jeepcj779

Well, my vocabulary got better today. Added a new 5-dollar word: cogitate. Thanks TWG.

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