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Lucas Mill

Started by kdf101, July 28, 2009, 10:43:04 AM

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kdf101

Hi everyone, I am considering a portable mill in the near future and am leaning towards the 8 inch Lucas mill. I have read just about everything I can find on the various types of mills and have DVD's/catalogs/brochures from darn near every manufacturer out there, so I have a reasonable idea of the strengths of the different types of mills. As I stated earlier, I am leaning towards the Lucas mill, and the mill will be for personal use. My question is this (finally):
Those of you who bought a Lucas mill, do you ever wish you had bought something else? How does the mill handle smaller logs? And is set-up as easy as the videos make it seem?

Thanks.

brdmkr

Welcome to the forum!

I have a Lucas 618.  It is a good mill.  I have used it to make some money on the side and to cut lumber for my shop and home that is currently under construction.  It really shines at cutting dimensional lumber from large logs, and customer service is excellent.   I think I made a good choice with this mill for my needs.  If confronted with the same situation again, I would likely buy the same mill.  However, things change and I hope that I will someday own a fully hydraulic bandmill.

There are some drawbacks, and the fact is that no mill is perfect for all jobs.  Double cutting is a pain as you have to rotate the entire saw carriage.  Also, it is not as efficient at cutting smaller logs as a bandmill might be.  However, you can load multiple logs at one time, making small-log-cutting not so bad. 

I suggest that you anticipate what you will be cutting most (species and size) and evaluate any equipment that you may have for material handling.  Then, look at, and operate, as many mills as possible before you settle on a mill design and manufacturer.

There are enough FF members here that there should be a number of mills close by for you to see.

Good Luck!
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

SamB

I'm not a Lucas Mill owner, but since my needs/wants for buying and research on which way to go were very similar I'll offer some advice. Two important factors IMO are your age/physical condition and do you have support equipment or help for log handling. I've helped and watched swing mills in action IMO there's a bigger learning curve to becoming a skilled sawyer than with a band mill, also IMO swing mills are more demanding physically. On the other hand I've seen experienced swing mill operators produce a product that rivals any I've seen come off of any band mill in both quality and quantity. It's good to get some real time experience with any mill before purchasing.
There's a good article in latest issue of Sawmill & Woodlot Magazine about sawing small logs with a swing mill. Good luck, happy sawing and welcome to the forum :)

revnell

     Hello KDF,

     I have owned a Peterson ATS for two and a half years. The saw has been a joy to learn and operate, they are easier to master than a bandsaw and much less expensive to run ($1 per 1000 bd ft vs. $12 blade cost). The accuracy is unmatched, the safety factor is similar to mowing your lawn (CE certification). Swingmills make all other mills obsolete (this is my speech when I demonstrate it). You would be well advised to look into the original swingmill, it is better and usually less expensive. Peterson has the best technology in blades and the mill itself. Believe me, you will be double cutting and you will kick yourself for not making it easy and enjoyable. Check the website at left

islandlogger

I very nearly bought a Lucas when I went shopping for my mill, then I discoverd and  bought a Peterson WPF 8" and never looked back...friend of mine has a Lucas and sure there a good mill but in my opinion the Peterson is superior in the Swing Blade industry!!

mometal77

I saw a mill like this at hills to mills in deming a few weeks ago.  Ran on a chainsaw blade.  I was not impressed.  These mills will only do up to 16ft in length trees?
Too many Assholes... not enough bullets..."I might have become a millionaire, but I chose to become a tramp!

mcfcfan

Quote from: mometal77 on July 28, 2009, 06:27:39 PM
I saw a mill like this at hills to mills in deming a few weeks ago.  Ran on a chainsaw blade.  I was not impressed.  These mills will only do up to 16ft in length trees?
.

The Peterson runs a swing circular saw blade, so does the Lucas.
The chainsaw you may have seen could be the Clip-on slabber attachment.
All Paterson sawmills cut 20ft length logs standard, in fact the WPF version has unlimited length.
Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."

Firebass

Do you have to turn the whole saw head around on a Peterson also to double cut? 

mcfcfan

Quote from: Firebass on July 28, 2009, 09:51:06 PM
Do you have to turn the whole saw head around on a Peterson also to double cut? 
.

Hi Firebass,
No you do not have to turn the sawmill head around, you can double cut from the operators end of the mill, no log turning either.
It is as simple as removing the sawdust deflector (2 bolts 2 minutes). there is a demo on the Peterson website. The blade cuts on both sides.
Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."

wtf

Welcome to the Forum KDF.
I looked at a Lucas for about 10 seconds and then decided on a Peterson WPF.
1ST. you do not have to turn the mill head around to double cut.
2nd. you have 1 winch to adjust height instead of 2.
3rd. stainless steel and aluminum don't rust.
4th. support is fantastic.
5th. the engineering is topnotch.

These are some of the main things that I considered when I bought bought my Peterson 7 years ago.

Good luck and if you have an questions, I would be happy to try and answer.

Russ
Russ

Firebass

I bet even with Lucas double cutting not being as easy as the Peterson you can still cut more lumber in a day than you can nail up in a day :).  You really only need to double cut when you need boards wider than 8" anyway.   You might compare prices and availability for replacement parts on both mills..   Got me craving to go cutting but 107 degrees here in Washington State.   I like my hobby in cool weather.

Firebass

islandlogger

Double cutting with the Peterson is no problem at all, and at least in my case it's not often I get orders for anything over 8" As far as length you can bye endless extensions to cut up to however long you want, I am looking to lenghthen mine up to 40' soon as I can get around to it, folks are getting into long hefty beams round here, great for the board foot count but tough on my tailer lol The simplicity of the Peterson and the overall quality of welds and design are in my mind unbeatable, parts arn't that hard to find, Petersons is based in New Zealand but they have reps throughout the States. The breakdown time for this mill (as in moving from site to site) is very fast to, it's just a beuty of a mill all around!!

kdf101

I do not have any big machinery to moves logs any distance with, that is why the swing mill appeals to me, since it can be set up over or very near the log.  I haven't looked into the Peterson mill yet (info packet is on the way) because I was under the impression that they were priced out of my league.

Captain

Good Luck with your research kdf101.  As you can imagine, there is alot of similarities to a "Ford vs Chevy" debate going on here.  The mere fact that discussions such as this are taking place is why this place is so great. 

If wide boards or large beams are not something you need to saw on more than an occasional basis, don't let the double cutting ability sway your decision.  What the Lucas may lack in double cutting ability, it makes up for in ease of taper compensation.  If you will be operating by yourself, the additional steps required to lower the rails on a Lucas are worth considering.  If you are going to saw with a quality helper, this concern is negated.

The fact is both are fine mills with good customer support.....and budget is certainly a consideration  :)

Best regards,

Captain


ErikC

 I have a peterson wpf, and what Captain said about the brand debate is pretty much my opinion. As far as I am concerned, the peterson is a better mill, but parts are a little harder to get. Captains store is a good place for a lot of stuff though, and to tell the truth, they just don't need much in the way of repairs. Most of my parts have been upgrades, not breakdowns. :) I doublecut quite a bit, and it's pretty easy with the wpf. On the Lucas, some guys have devised a way to lower the saw head a couple clicks with the blade in the middle of the log, rotate the head on that, and realign the height. Better get the details from one of them, but it sounds pretty easy to me. Brand aside, I think a swingmill is the best mill for the money hands down.
Peterson 8" with 33' tracks, JCB 1550 4x4 loader backhoe, several stihl chainsaws

Firebass

Quote from: ErikC on July 29, 2009, 11:36:34 AM
Brand aside, I think a swingmill is the best mill for the money hands down.

Me too! ;D

bandmiller2

I tend to agree with Eric and firebass ,bang for your buck its hard to beat a swinger.Some of the manual bandrigs are close but the included sharpening of the swingmill tips the scale.Done cutting take it apart and stow in the garage.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Meadows Miller

Gday

The lucas is hard to beat on price if you putting it against a ats peterson and as your only parttime sawing for a start i would go the lucas but if your looking at it becoming your main source of income id seriously look at spending the little extra coin on a Wpf peterson your legs will thank for it  ;) :D ;D

But if your in small logs under 20" butts most of the time i would also look at a good new or used bandmill  ;) ;D

or another option yet would be a good used manual Circ mill but thats if you can count on having a second pair of hands there whenever your sawing they are low cost and deadly effective at knocking out a fair amount of timber in the rite hands  ;) ;D

It all comes down to what you feel works for you Mate

Reguards Chris
4TH Generation Timbergetter

hogs4hobby

i have owned a lucas 618 & it was a great saw very productive. I sold it to buy a new mill was dead set on buying a fully hydr band mill, research a bunch of them. but when it came down to shelling out the cash i bought a new lucas 1030 which will cut a 10" board in one pass. i look at the petersons also but went with the lucas, very great customer support when needed. set up is a piece of cake.
  just make sure you have a stacker or two to help if you plan on sawing hard, it will produce the lumber quicker than it can be stacked.
  my first job was sawing red ceader logs about 8" tops sawed about 175 of them 8' long. i had to build a set of dogs to hold them small ones. but had no problem cutting them

kdf101

Thanks for the info guys.  Another question:
On the Lucas mill, with the independently adjustable end frames, do you have to adjust both ends every time you change the thickness of the cuts?  The Peterson seems to have all of the adjustments at one end.

ErikC

 Lucas --each end separately. .

Peterson WPF--height adjustment is on the carriage. ATS is like the lucas.

  Pros--taper compensation. Cons--2x walking, more chance for a mistake causing uneven lumber.

Keep asking, you'll narrow it down and make up your mind :)
Peterson 8" with 33' tracks, JCB 1550 4x4 loader backhoe, several stihl chainsaws

mcfcfan

Quote from: ErikC on August 02, 2009, 11:11:07 AM
Lucas --each end separately. .

Peterson WPF--height adjustment is on the carriage. ATS is like the lucas.

  Pros--taper compensation. Cons--2x walking, more chance for a mistake causing uneven lumber.

Keep asking, you'll narrow it down and make up your mind :)

ATS has both adjustments at the operators end.And also has a winch at the far end for taper
Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."

ErikC

  I didn't realize that, and I have seen an ATS in action ::)  Was it always that way, or is it a recent change? Thanks for pointing it out, by the way.
Peterson 8" with 33' tracks, JCB 1550 4x4 loader backhoe, several stihl chainsaws

mcfcfan

Quote from: ErikC on August 03, 2009, 10:48:13 AM
  I didn't realize that, and I have seen an ATS in action ::)  Was it always that way, or is it a recent change? Thanks for pointing it out, by the way.

Hi Eric, the original Peterson mill was called the Islander, developed in the jugles of Fiji by Carl Peterson, this mill did indeed have winches at opposite ends simular to the Lucas.
At the end of 1999 the ATS was developed and was manufactured with winches at the operators end, but still had a small winch at the other end for taper adjustment.
This is still the way it is manufactured today 8) 8) 8)
regards
Lee
Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."

kdf101

I get the idea of the ATS, adjustable at both ends to compensate for uneven ground.  How well does the WPF handle slightly uneven ground?  Or does it need to be on a permanent or semi-permanent pad?  Is there any difference in cut quality between the two?

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