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"Fabrimo"

13/10/2006 12:51 PM

Woodmizer advise

Hi everyone,

I have the following business scenario:

1. Species to be cut: mainly Wenge, Rosewood and Iroko (tropical
hardwoods)

2. Logs' dimensions:
Length: from 3 meters up to 6 meters
Diameter: 50cm up to 80cm

3. Cutting thicknesses: 1''/2''/3''

I want to buy a Woodmizer but I am not sure if the machine will handle
the job properly due to the hardness of the woods. One of the points
that worries me most is the cutting accuracy. Is it easy to cut exactly
1'' boards? After a while, does the machine need to be calibrated?
Furthermore, could anyone tell me how many m3 of hardwoods timber will
I cut per each 8 hours shift.

If anyone has got any experience with this machine and hardwoods,
please share with me its experiences and its know-how.

Thanks,
Michael


This topic has 5 replies

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"Andy Dingley "

in reply to "Fabrimo" on 13/10/2006 12:51 PM

13/10/2006 2:37 PM


Fabrimo wrote:

> I want to buy a Woodmizer but I am not sure if the machine will handle
> the job properly due to the hardness of the woods.

With appropriate choice of blade, then no problem. You need to have a
local saw doctor who knows their bandsaws.

I use a friend's woodmiser LT-15 for both timber framing (larch, some
oak) and furniture making (English hardwoods: oak, ash & beech). It
will cheerfully saw thick veneers! We regularly use it to resaw wide
stock like tabletops and it's impressive just how accurate a cut you
can make on 2' wide stock. Resawing to 1" is trivial, resawing to 1/8"
is a bit trickier and thinner is certainly possible (with a large
kerfage loss).

> After a while, does the machine need to be calibrated?

There's a lot of poking at it to be done, whenever you break for a
brew. Particularly if, like this one, it's stored outdoors under a
tarpaulin and used infrequently. Generally it doesn't need to be
calibrated, but your first cut can be a bit tapered. It's not a machine
intended for making parallel cuts against a fence from an existing
edge, but it's certainly competent for repeated parallel cuts.


> Furthermore, could anyone tell me how many m3 of hardwoods timber will
> I cut per each 8 hours shift.

It's generally quicker to cut than it is to stack timber, or especially
to load round logs. If you're through-and-through sawing on a large
log, then the time will be quicker than anything that doesn't cost as
much as a house and need a building to put it in. Certainly we can saw
a 10' log 2' wide in under a minute. Quarter sawing is much slower,
because you're turning the log and often re-arranging the clamps and
stops. The LT-15 doesn't have any hydraulics either.

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"Andy Dingley "

in reply to "Fabrimo" on 13/10/2006 12:51 PM

13/10/2006 4:59 PM


Wilson wrote:

> There are many
> others that use four post heads to support the saw...stronger and more
> accurate, in my opinion. I have seen the Woodmizer head climb and dip in
> response to irregularities in the wood.

OTOH, the single-sided cantilever design of the Woodmiser head is less
sensitive to a track that's not perfectly level or might have some
twist in it. If you're doing rapid setup on-site, that's an advantage.

The head is also carried on adjustable rollers. If you want a floppy
head, let the rollers get out of adjustment. It's not a piece of
precision setup by any means, but you do need to maintain the things
and keep these runnign snug without excess play.

I've also been unimpressed in the past with the welding quality of
Woodmisers. I've seen a lot (like half of the machines I've seen) with
cracked welds around the head. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the
more flexible machines might have had problems in this area.

HR

[email protected] (Ross Hebeisen)

in reply to "Fabrimo" on 13/10/2006 12:51 PM

13/10/2006 10:58 PM

the wood mizer is a great machine, and with sharp blades and clean logs
will cut with accuracy. how ever no way will cut a 10' 24"
log in less than a minute. perhaps he's speaking of making one pass with
the blade in soft wood. i have used a LT40 SH and i Know a quite a few
people that use the same in biz
3000 ft of red oak 4/4 a day is a pretty good day.
ross
www.highislandexport.com

Wi

"Wilson"

in reply to "Fabrimo" on 13/10/2006 12:51 PM

13/10/2006 10:47 PM

I've hired a woodmizer for making my framing and flooring. It's a nice
machine, but overhyped by an excellent marketing department. There are many
others that use four post heads to support the saw...stronger and more
accurate, in my opinion. I have seen the Woodmizer head climb and dip in
response to irregularities in the wood.
I would get a four post head if I were buying.
Wilson
"Fabrimo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have the following business scenario:
>
> 1. Species to be cut: mainly Wenge, Rosewood and Iroko (tropical
> hardwoods)
>
> 2. Logs' dimensions:
> Length: from 3 meters up to 6 meters
> Diameter: 50cm up to 80cm
>
> 3. Cutting thicknesses: 1''/2''/3''
>
> I want to buy a Woodmizer but I am not sure if the machine will handle
> the job properly due to the hardness of the woods. One of the points
> that worries me most is the cutting accuracy. Is it easy to cut exactly
> 1'' boards? After a while, does the machine need to be calibrated?
> Furthermore, could anyone tell me how many m3 of hardwoods timber will
> I cut per each 8 hours shift.
>
> If anyone has got any experience with this machine and hardwoods,
> please share with me its experiences and its know-how.
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
>

Ds

"DouginUtah"

in reply to "Fabrimo" on 13/10/2006 12:51 PM

13/10/2006 7:23 PM

Join www.forestryforum.com and ask the experts.


---------------------------------
"Fabrimo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have the following business scenario:
>
> 1. Species to be cut: mainly Wenge, Rosewood and Iroko (tropical
> hardwoods)
>
> 2. Logs' dimensions:
> Length: from 3 meters up to 6 meters
> Diameter: 50cm up to 80cm
>
> 3. Cutting thicknesses: 1''/2''/3''
>
> I want to buy a Woodmizer but I am not sure if the machine will handle
> the job properly due to the hardness of the woods. One of the points
> that worries me most is the cutting accuracy. Is it easy to cut exactly
> 1'' boards? After a while, does the machine need to be calibrated?
> Furthermore, could anyone tell me how many m3 of hardwoods timber will
> I cut per each 8 hours shift.
>
> If anyone has got any experience with this machine and hardwoods,
> please share with me its experiences and its know-how.
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
>


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