1400 Timberking users

[54Dutchman]

Does anyone have the Timberking #1400 sawmill?  I am getting the sawdust bug bad and may not wait to get a Swing blade mill (cost) and like what is said about the Timberking 1400 on Timberkings website.  The only thing that has me cautious is that I have not found a used 1400.  Should I be looking at the next step up (1600 features) or down (1220 better for budget).  Any views would be great.

[j rock]

The TK. 1400 has'nt been out vary long, thats why there's not any used ones-yet-. The 1600 has been around for some time, and is a great  small to mid. size mill. I have'nt heard to much about the 1400's.  J.

[rockman]

Welcome to the forum.

[54Dutchman]

Thanks for the replies and welcome - I'm green and it shows :D :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Your not that green DUTCHMAN, it's just a little mold. That'll go away when it warms up! 

[eastberkshirecustoms]

Welcome DUTCHMAN. Just don't let the mold go too far or you'll become spalted!

[Select one]

I tried out the 1400 demo model.  I am the one in the video helping the tk guy.  The hydraulic feed, blade up and down and electric clutch were nice.  I did not care for the log loader winch system, but overall a nice machine.  I ended up buying a used tk  b20 with all the hydraulics and i dont regret. we arent getting any younger, therefore i recommend getting the features now.

Tim

[medic]

Dutchman
    I upgraded to a 1400 from a 1220 back in December.  The answer to your question kind of depends on what you want to do with the mill.  If you want to make a living milling full time then the 1400 isn't the mill you want.  If your main focus is to mill for yourself with occasional small parttime jobs milling for other folks then the 1400 will do a great job.  It has the same bed length as a stock 1600 and almost the same size engine and cut throat as the 1600.  Properly set up and maintained it produces good lumber.  Like somebody mentioned earlier, the biggest negative is the winch log loader.  It will load anything that the mill will saw, however the bigger the log the slower it's going to get it loaded.  Same thing applies to the manual chain log turner.  It works well up to about a 24" log, after that you're better off using a cant hook to turn logs. 
    I used my 1220 for about 5 years.  The 1220 is a solid, well built personal mill but since it is all manual it's slow.   The 1400 is a big improvement over the 1220 in terms of speed and how much it saves my back.   
    I went with the 1400 instead of a bigger mill because I didn't want to have to worry about getting enough work to pay for the mill.  I typically do small jobs that the guys with big band mills around here don't want due to their small income potential.
    Like has been mentioned many times on here, unless you're deadset on a new mill, keep your eyes open for a bigger used mill with more hydraulics.
Hope this helped.  Scott

[54Dutchman]

Medic, thanks for the information.  There is not that much potential for commercial sawmilling in my area (the view changes from corn fields to soybean fields) :D :D.  Did you look at the Woodmizer models?  What features of the Timberking appealed most to you?  I like the idea of having direct hydraulics - the manual functions can be changed to hydraulic..  ;)  In my other life I am hydraulic applications engineer.

[Magicman]

54Dutchman, I missed you back on the 26th, so I need to add my Welcome.  Looks like you are finding that plenty of information and opinions are readily available here.       

[54Dutchman]

Thanks Magicman, I made good friend of a gentleman from Jackson - he moved back to Jackson after a winter season - his blood was to thin.  We're having nice weather this year 25 degrees today.

[Handy Andy]

  Just look for a used 1600.  My neighbor got one that was advertised in the Grass and Grain, a farm paper.  It had sat till the engine wouldn't run, but after he cleaned it up, had a good mill.  It doesn't have any hydraulic turner or loader, but he has a skid steer.

[medic]

54Dutchman
#1.  Yep, I looked at WoodMizers also and wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I ran across the right deal.  Both companies make good solid machines that do what they're supposed to do if you take care of them.  Customer service with both companies is very good.  It came down to personal preferance combined with TK running very good offers on both mills when I was ready to pull the trigger on a mill purchase. 
#2.  Probably one of the things that appealed to me a lot was the direct action hydraulics.  I like being able to 'feather' the lever to make fine adjustments. 
If you're a hydraulics engineer then if you wanted to change the log loader and turner over to hydraulics down the road it shouldn't be an issue. 
Good luck
scott

[grweldon]

Hey Dutch,

Did you buy a mill yet?  I took delivery of a 1400 a week ago...

[kgbond]

Hi Dutch, I just got the TK2000. I looked hard at the 1400 and 1600 units. The reason I spent the extra cash is I can't wrestle these logs like I once did. I need all the log handling capabilities I can get.After using the mill about 30 hours, I made the right choice. The hydraulics save my back, and hands. Get the most mill you can afford.

Kimball