Does anybody run a Lucas mill? It did real well at the sawmill shoot out in Bangor ME last year, it is cheaper than most band mills and looks like it works real well. Any comments.
Welcome to the Forum, Marchantron. We got Lucas owners and Petersen owners and all kinds of owners. Hang in there and they will start droppin outta the woodwork real soon. ;D
Hi Marchantron, welcome to the forum.
I run a Peterson mill not a Lucas, but they both work on the same principle, and yes they do work very well.
Some of the things that convinced me to get one are:
Portability - Fits on a small trailer and can be towed behind car, 4x4 or even a quad bike. Most of the trees / logs I have access to are on farms and involve a bit of offroading to get to.
Able to cut large logs - Some of the Pine and Monterray cypruss may be up to 5 to 6 ft diam but just not worth dragging out over a farm for a commercial logger. I can haul the mill to them and drag out the sawn timber. You can cut small logs too, they are more of a pain, but I think thats the case with any mill. ;)
Low Maintainance - Basically the engine and blade tips plus a couple of simple wear parts. Easy to sharpen the blades and when you wear one out (or hit metal >:( ) they dont cost too much to retip.
Down sides? You will loose a bit in Kerf compared to a bandmill and really wide boards aren't as easy and remember everything except the blade spinning is a manual operation.
If you have any specific questions about the swingblade mills, this is the place to ask :)
Ian
Welcome Marchantron,
I run a Peterson 8" Peterson WPF in Norton, MA. Where in Connecticut are you located?
Sounds like you went to the show in Bangor last year. The Lucas DID fare very well, and the Peterson not far behind. A couple of reasons might have been the HP of the 8" Lucas vs the 10" Peterson, and the sheer size of World Champion David Bolstad, wow what a brute!!
Anyhow, tell us about what your ideas are, what you will be sawing, and in what quantity. Meanwhile, if you want to see a Peterson operating, come on over. I could use some help around the mill ;D
Captain
Captain,
Thanks for the reply. I work for a tree serevice in Vernon, CT, 20 minutes east of Hartford, a good hour, from Norton. I haven't bought a mill yet, I am working on a business plan to convince my boss it is worth his while for me to turn his logs into lumber instead of firewood. I will take a second look at the Peterson mill.
Marchantron
I know Vernon, I have done some work with Scranton Motors.
Come on over anytime and go for a test drive ;D
Captain