Turbosawmill

[Rich]

I've been trying out my weekend warrior turbosawmill the last few days. Although I've got it set up in the workshop at the moment, the big selling point for me is the ability to move it relatively easily with two people into the woods. Taking the mill to the tree means you can get to and process trees where you wouldn't ordinarily get a mobile bandsaw or heavy extraction equipment. The mill's power unit is a chainsaw which runs a circular sawblade by replacing your drive sproket with with a pulley and belt to a prop shaft all on a swinging arm. The model I got cut's 8", but you can double cut by moving the mill to the other side of the log and raising the guard.

http://turbosawmill.com/

I'll be posting a full review in due course in the meantime here's a brief video of milling an oak gate post.
Thanks to Mike Pepler for his video skills!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55eH5YZA2o

[Wendelspanswick]

Very nice piece of kit, I almost bought a used Peterson swing saw at auction about 6 years ago for £2000 but I couldn't justify it at the time as we didn't own a woodland then.
I would jump at the chance now!
I think for the output I require I still prefer wide band saw technology, I have a matched pair of balanced cast iron 24" flywheels, 4" wide, that I am toying with the idea of using as the basis for a static operation, travelling head bandsaw.
Have to finish the barn first though.

[oldclaypaws]

Mmmmm.....very interesting.

Have you actually bought it Rich, or are you part of the current pre-release evaluation process?

[Rich]

No I've bought it, they have now got their CE approval for europe.

[Wendelspanswick]

No I've bought it, they have now got their CE approval for europe.

Did you manage to offset the cost with a grant?

[oldclaypaws]

I think this is a welcome development which could introduce another option to owners and small scale operators wanting to have milling kit without breaking the bank. As I've said on another thread, it seems sad that most of our hard-woods are being used as fuel when they are potentially a valuable resource. Something like a Woodmizer is big bucks, beyond the budget of a small wood owner, and chainsaw milling although affordable has limitations, this seems to fill the gap.

A few interesting points;

Anyone whose bought American kit will be frustrated to find that the UK price is often as much or more than the dollar price, so you're paying about twice what they do over the pond. I checked the $NZ prices on the warrior, converted to £UK, and theres not a huge mark-up, it seems fair value compared to other options. Although you're looking at around £6K inc VAT, that could be recouped from 2 or 3 large oaks once planked and seasoned.

There are plenty of different options, I noticed a 10" blade available, so with double cuts you could do 20" boards or beams. There's also a 'slabbing' 60" chainsaw bar attachment, which is in effect just using the frame as a brace and doing the same action as an Alaskan. Frankly I think the Alaskan is the better bet here, the only advantage from the Turbosaw slabber is it might be a bit more rigid and precise, but its the same kit doing the same action.

They seem to go for the Husky 3120 or the Stihl 880, the big boys, same as with a big Alaskan. Speed of cutting looked impressive. What sort of width is the Kerf on the sawblade Rich? Is it comparable to a bandsaw? One of the attractions of bandsaw v chainsaw mill was the far wider Kerf of the chainsaw meant you were losing a lot of money on wood turned into dust- more than the cost of hiring the bandsaw.

Appreciate you'll do a fuller review, but if you have a mo the kerf question would be interesting and I'd also like to know if you did chose to wander into a wood with it, how long do you think it would take to set up round a felled tree? (And the grant question is also interesting...)

NZ kit seems generally sturdy in my limited experience, great to have someone on the forum with a Warrior Turbosaw to discuss their experiences of it. Might go for it myself.

[Wendelspanswick]

I think this is a welcome development which could introduce another option to owners and small scale operators wanting to have milling kit without breaking the bank. As I've said on another thread, it seems sad that most of our hard-woods are being used as fuel when they are potentially a valuable resource. Something like a Woodmizer is big bucks, beyond the budget of a small wood owner, and chainsaw milling although affordable has limitations, this seems to fill the gap.

A few interesting points;

Anyone whose bought American kit will be frustrated to find that the UK price is often as much or more than the dollar price, so you're paying about twice what they do over the pond. I checked the $NZ prices on the warrior, converted to £UK, and theres not a huge mark-up, it seems fair value compared to other options. Although you're looking at around £6K inc VAT, that could be recouped from 2 or 3 large oaks once planked and seasoned.

There are plenty of different options, I noticed a 10" blade available, so with double cuts you could do 20" boards or beams. There's also a 'slabbing' 60" chainsaw bar attachment, which is in effect just using the frame as a brace and doing the same action as an Alaskan. Frankly I think the Alaskan is the better bet here, the only advantage from the Turbosaw slabber is it might be a bit more rigid and precise, but its the same kit doing the same action.

They seem to go for the Husky 3120 or the Stihl 880, the big boys, same as with a big Alaskan. Speed of cutting looked impressive. What sort of width is the Kerf on the sawblade Rich? Is it comparable to a bandsaw? One of the attractions of bandsaw v chainsaw mill was the far wider Kerf of the chainsaw meant you were losing a lot of money on wood turned into dust- more than the cost of hiring the bandsaw.

Appreciate you'll do a fuller review, but if you have a mo the kerf question would be interesting and I'd also like to know if you did chose to wander into a wood with it, how long do you think it would take to set up round a felled tree? (And the grant question is also interesting...)

NZ kit seems generally sturdy in my limited experience, great to have someone on the forum with a Warrior Turbosaw to discuss their experiences of it. Might go for it myself.

Have you been down to Loglogic, they are down in Cullompton, Devon so not far and they are the importers of the Peterson Swing saw and the manufacturer of the Trekkasaw.
http://www.loglogic.co.uk/index.php/pro ... n-sawmills
Well worth a visit if you are down that way and they have some nice kit.

[oldclaypaws]

Good idea Wendel'P. I might end up going full circle here. It was actually a call to Loglogic enquiring about local mobile millers in my area that first put me on to the idea of planking and seasoning my oak. The chap who answered the phone (the M.D. I think) was extremely chatty, encouraging and helpful and was the first to make me realise the full potential of what I'm sitting on. I told him about my oaks and he said "Well that's your pension sorted then, don't sell the butts to a contractor, plank it yourself and you're sitting on a small fortune if you process it right". He also referred me to a chap in the Forest of Dean who mills and does pretty much what I want to do, he's also been very useful. At the time I think I ruled out the possibility of spending a few thou' on milling kit without realising it could be a worthwhile investment, so I didn't take it any further- you've jolted my memory cells to another option. I think I was obsessed with slabbing rather than planking and dismissed the diameter restrictions of a swingmill.

Does anyone happen to know the main differences between the Peterson and Warrior Turbosaws; I presume the Petersons have their own dedicated power unit so cost more. Certainly worth going over there and having a butchers + looking at whether they have any viable options. Cheers Wendel'P. They also have some cool tracked vehicles. Better leave the debit card if I visit.

[Rich]

Did you manage to offset the cost with a grant?

No there was no grant money around last summer when I ordered it, remember it's got to come all the way from NZ, I think there maybe some grant money around in the spring, but I didn't want to wait another year on a 'maybe'!

[Rich]

Appreciate you'll do a fuller review, but if you have a mo the kerf question would be interesting and I'd also like to know if you did chose to wander into a wood with it, how long do you think it would take to set up round a felled tree? (And the grant question is also interesting...)

The kerf on my 8" blade is 5.7mm less than a chainsaw, but I don't think as little as a bandsaw, does a different job though, you've got to turn the log with a bandsaw this one has a swinging arm.
Specs are on here,

https://www.dropbox.com/s/373d60k7uyc6r ... 2.pdf?dl=0

page 26

Set up would depend, it might take a couple of you half an hour or so to set up in the wood, not really sure yet. Obviously depends how far you've got to carry it. It's always going to be best to move the mill to the bigger trees, but I guess there'll be a size point where once set up it will be easier to take the tree to the mill. I'm thinking of some of the overstood coppice chestnut I'm cutting at the moment.