Brand Shmand . . . .

TexasTimbers · January 26, 2007, 11:09:16 AM

I am not a brand man. My signature on a tool-related forum says

"Buy the tool not the wrapper. Superior features and performance will deliver quality and quantity much faster than brand loyalty."

I try to stick by this credo in everything I buy. When buying a sawmill though, the brand is as importeant as the tool because the service and sales behind the brand is just as important as the sawmill.

I was up real late last night. Early this morning actually looking over this wide world of internet for a mill. Man I can tell you I have no shortage of mills to choose from now. In every shape, color, size, brand, features, hours on it, you name it. I am convinced it is a buyers market.
I have found what appears to be GREAT deals on a several mills. One inparticular. it's a well known brand but I had not considered it for some reason just forgot they existed. But the thing that bothers me is that the company of this particular mill bashes another company openly and that bugs me.
I am not going to mention names. I want to consider this mill seriously but I have never done business by bashing my competitiors and I don't like to vote for politicians who do it either.

My question is this. Is there a company that I should stay away from based on your persoanl experience?

Please don't name a specific company here. PM me if you think I should avoid a certain company based on what will be my need for parts and service. Maybe some companies do not offer great service to sawyers who have bought one of their used mills. this would be info I would need to know.

Again please don't mention any specific brand names to stay away from in your opinion, I don't want to start a brand war and although I think we should be able to give our opinion regardless of sponsorship considerations the reality is that a negative comment could offend one of the sponsors and have a negative impact on their future sponsorship so PM any negative opinions if you don't mind.

I have some good deals to consider but I don't know much about most of the companies out there.

beenthere · January 26, 2007, 11:22:05 AM

Now Kevjay,

Quote...."Buy the tool not the ~~wrapper~~ advertising........

Maybe that is the way to go about the decision. :

Seems like all the mills of the sponsors are good and there is no junk, from the many posts that are on the subject. Personal preferences for whatever.

Weekend_Sawyer · January 26, 2007, 11:23:01 AM

That's one thing you do not hear much of here and that's brand slamming.

I personally have only had my hands on one brand of bandmill, my Norwood.
It works fine for me.

Like Mom used to say, "If you can't say something nice, go get a log of wood".

Jon

TexasTimbers · January 26, 2007, 11:30:44 AM

No no no guys my post is being mis-interpreted obviously. "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything" would be a disservice to someone who wants to avoid anyone who gives bad service.
I want to hear from anyone who has had less than consistently acceptable service from their company. This is one of those "No news is good news" posts but if I don't ask I won't know.

tcsmpsi · January 26, 2007, 01:15:33 PM

The guys are always helpful, suggestive and open with my mill. I've only recently had one part that needed replacing, and it was here in two days (their baby). They also, at the time I called about that part, had an upgrade which they suggested I allow them to perform on another area (again, their baby), but I opted to just get the new, upgraded parts and keep the originals and have the upgrades done to them for spares.

I know, that's not a 'stay away from'. ;)

farmerdoug · January 26, 2007, 01:41:38 PM

Kevjay,

I spent three years looking at mills and one year serious talking to people and looking at specs hard.

I can say that I did not find a mill out there that was bad. The bigger companies have their own parts but the ship quick and have good service. The smaller mills are mostly built are readily available parts that for the most part purchased locally and they still are there on the phone to help you if needed.

Older mills can be a real problem for parts if the company has no obsolete stock available though then time is required to make those parts so I stayed with newer used mills.

I went with a used mill so I could get what I wanted on the mill like you are looking for too.

Finding used mills can be the hardest part to do. Here is a list that I worked up.

Sawmill Exchange- a good place to start and get an idea on used mill prices. Call the guy and talk to him and he will help you pick what you are looking for. But the prices there are a little high because he gets a commission just remember that too.

Call the independent dealers for the mills you are interested in and those that you are not too. Alot of times when a owner upgrades his mill he tries to do better than the tradein offered. That is how I located my mill. They dealers may also know of owners that have decided to sell their mills for other reasons too.

Check places like eBay, Craigs list, etc too. You will be suprised how often a mill will be listed since there is more and more mills around now.

Try these places too.
TMS equipment sales
Woodquip

Marty Parsons is a Woodmizer dealer in PA that is on here too. Try talking to him and he may know of some used mills around for sale. One thing if buying a used mill be ready to travel a little. I did because Michigan used mills are not very common and I think Texas maybe in the same boat.

If I think of anymore outlets I will post them here for you. Feel to IM me if you need to talk more.

Farmerdoug

TexasTimbers · January 26, 2007, 01:47:17 PM

thanks guys. doug I have been in contact witht sawmill exchange in the past i really like that guy but you are right prices a little high but he has to make a living too.

i have found two other places and i will list them after i buy my mill don't want any competition just yet :D

Ron Wenrich · January 27, 2007, 08:03:58 AM

We've bought larger mills, so maybe the brand thing isn't as important. But, I have yet to find a piece of equipment that has run to my expectations. I have been blessed to have a really good industrial engineer/fabricator to help develop a better way of doing things.

Right now, we're working on an automated feed for a sawmill carriage. Its designed to relieve operator fatigue and repetitive motion problems. Unfortunately, we relied on outside engineering work, and that has caused some problems. We're hoping to get this running next week.

So, I don't think its so much a brand issue. As long as workmanship and part quality is there, the others will follow. The engineering is where I've always had problems. Rarely have engineers run equipment, so their design seems to be lacking.

TexasTimbers · January 27, 2007, 08:14:54 AM

I have gotten some feedback from this post. Good and bad. Most everyone seems happy with their flavor. One brand seems to be not as good as lore, but ya rolls your dices and ya takes your chances.

getoverit · January 27, 2007, 09:46:12 AM

I would not say that any mill is a bad one, but rather that the owner bought it for doing something that the mill wasnt designed for. Most band mills are pretty similar, and the swingers are similar, and the circle mills are similar.

On Bandmills, the differences come into play when you consider things like toe boards, log turners, log clamps, log loaders.....etc. Of course trailer packages have a few minor differences too.

On Swingers, the materials they are made out of (plastic, stainless, aluminum, etc) can make the difference. If you buy a 10" mill when all you really want is 6" material, there is some wasted capacity. If you buy a 6" mill and then want a lot of 8" material, you have bought the wrong mill.

I have not owned a circle mill, but the few I have been around and watched are very similar too. The setworks and log handling capabilities would be major items if I were to buy one though.

If you want to mill large logs most of the time, dont buy a small bandmill.

if you want to mill small logs most of the time, a swinger probably isnt right for you.

If you want high production and mobility isnt an issue, then a circle mill is the ticket.

Other than that, look at the quality of the steel the mill is made out of, look at the welds for strength, and make sure you have as many "add on options" as you can afford when you purchase a mill. Look at the strength of the hydraulics.

just my $.02 worth