“There’s money to be made with this machine”

I met brothers John and Ron Arnett at the Logosol open house in Jackson, Mississippi last summer.  They had just finished a job resurfacing the bleachers in a local high school gymnasium and were looking for ideas on other ways to use the PH260 in their business.  So how were they doing?  I drove up to their business near the tiny northwest Missouri town of Philadelphia to find out.  Coming in from the blowing snow, the first order of business was to “inspect” their old pot-bellied wood stove.

By David Boyt

John Arnett installs a set of knives for a new trim pattern.  He says it takes about thirty minutes to change the knives.

John Arnett and his brother Ron inspect a test piece from the PH260.  Ron’s son Zach is learning about the business.

John Arnett (right) puts a board through the PH260 to test the knife settings.  His brother Ron (center) and nephew Zach watch the outfeed.

Ron Arnett shows the final trim test piece.  They are now ready to start production.

The shop is a 40’ by 60’ sheet metal building housing a variety of production equipment, including table saws, radial arm saws, a band resaw and, of course their PH260 moulder/planer.  The Arnett brothers have put a lot of thought into the flow of materials when they arranged their machines.  Although the shop is small, it is not cluttered, and material flows easily from one machine to the next one.  All guards and shields in place, and the Arnetts have added to them to make it almost impossible to get a finger near the blade.  “When we start our next production run, we plan to have some of our kids working with us.” explained Ron.  “It gives them a little spending money, and it keeps them out of trouble.”  While my hands thawed out over the wood stove, Ron talked about his experiences with the PH260.
“There’s money to be made with this machine,” he says.  “We bought it about this time last year [Feb 2007].  My brother John found it on the internet, and we got a job refinishing bleachers in a gymnasium.  What he bid on the school job was double the price of the Logosol, so we knew we could buy it and pay for it and put the other half in our pocket.  We took the old boards off, ran them through the Logosol to clean them up, applied a new polyurethane finish, and put them right back in place.  John and I had our kids, plus three nieces and nephews up there helping.  We brought the Logosol to the school and set it up right in the gymnasium with a rotary three-phase converter and dust collector.”  After that, they started to look for other ways to use the machine.
Things had changed quite a bit for the Arnett brothers since we met at the Open House.  They visited several local lumber yards, one of which produced its own moulding on a high production six-head machine.
 The owner showed Ron a sample of his moulding and asked what he thought of it.  “It had ripples in it and some tear-out.  I think he may have pushed it through the machine too fast,”, said Ron.  “John told him that in our shop, trim that looked like that went into the wood stove.  John is a little too direct, sometimes!”  His direct approach, followed up with some samples of trim from the Logosol convinced the owner of the lumber yard to shut down his production moulder and buy his trim from the Arnett brothers.  “This looks like a good, long-term job for us,” says Ron.
Ron and John make trim rings that they can leave with potential customers.  This is a set of 8 inch sample trim sections on a short length of chain.  Ron writes the knife numbers on the back of each piece for reference.  “When a customer wants a certain piece of trim, he can read off the numbers, and I know exactly how to set up the machine,” he said.  Matching trim is also a strong selling point.  “We just trace around the trim on a piece of trim and fax that to Logosol’s knife maker, and he can grind a set of blades for that profile.”  More than a dozen pattern knives hang on the wall behind the machine.  “They [the knives] are expensive,” says Ron, ‘but we’ve got more on order.”  To sharpen the blades, they send them out to a local sharpening shop.
According to John, it takes about 30 minutes to change the knives.  The focus is on producing a high-quality product. 
“We generally run this at the slowest feed rate-- I think its about 11 linear feet per minute-- to give the smoothest cut.  We don’t push it,” said Ron.  “I think the lumber company probably lost quality because they were pushing the trim through their machine to fast.  They were set up like a factory,” he concluded.
The positive response to the quality of their products has resulted in a few changes around the shop.  A new band resaw sits next to the Logosol.  “When we started it up, the lights in the shop just dimmed.” recalls Ron.  “We’ve got an electrician coming in tomorrow to put in some heavier wiring for us.”  They are also considering installing a chip bailer.  “Hopefully when we do that, we’ll be able to sell the shavings for bedding.  There’s money to be made here, but you have to look at every possible aspect of it, including the waste,” says Ron.  “By this time next year, we’d like to be in a building twice this size.”  One thing is certain—the PH260 will be in it!  According to Ron, “We hope that the Logosol lasts a long time, but at the same time, we hope to keep it busy enough that we wear it out!”
There’s nothing better than words of wisdom from someone who has been successful.  Ron says that the best approach is always to be honest with your customer and produce a good quality product.  “The biggest thing is don’t feed the customer a bunch of bull.  Just be yourself and show ‘em what you’ve got.” *

2 600 metres of planed 8 x 12 inch timber

What do you do when the building material you have consists of 2600 metres (8530 ft) of timber, sawn from large-diameter logs and by three different methods, with different surfaces and varying measurements?
“The only solution was to plane the whole lot,” says the timberman Per-Arne Ragnarsson.

– Per-Arne Ragnarsson and Peter Hall are building a log house of 270 square metres.
Building a house of 270 square metres is an extreme project, even for an experienced timberman as Per-Arne Ragnarsson.
Peter Hall is the customer, and he owns a Logosol PH260 four-cutter planer/moulder.
This is the photo that Per-Arne took with his cellphone , showing the planing of a 12 metre long beam with the measurements 8’’ x 12’’.

Per-Arne makes a living by renovating and building log houses, and manufacturing windows. He lives south of Vetlanda in Sweden. At the moment, he is building a log home of 270 square metres (approx. 2900 ft2). The customer’s name is Peter Hall, and luckily he owns a Logosol PH260 four-cutter planer/moulder.

Grind the knives often

"The logs were cut with chain, circular saw blade and frame saw. It would not look good with all the different sawing surfaces," says Per-Arne.
He phoned Logosol and asked if it is all right to use the four-cutter for planing beams that are up to 8 x 12 inch. The answer was "Yes, if you know what you are doing". Per-Arne knew what he was doing and went ahead with the project.
A couple of days later Logosol received an e-mail. It was Per-Arne who sent a photo he had taken with his cellphone showing the planing of a 12 metre long beam with the measurements 8’’ x 12’’. The photo had the accompanying text: "Sending a photo of how to use a PH260".
It almost looks unreal when such a long and thick beam comes out from this relatively small planing machine.
It was not only this beam that was planed. Altogether it was 2600 metres of the dimensions 6 and 8 inches. The only problem was that large-diameter timber of this size often has sand and dirt in the wood.
"You have to have double sets of knives and grind them often," says Per-Arne.

Sawing is relaxing

Building a house of 270 square metres is an extreme project, even for an experienced timberman as Per-Arne. Normally, he works with smaller houses and produces the timber on the spot using his Logosol M7. When he works on commission he uses a petrol chainsaw; at home he uses Logosol’s bandsaw, about which he has only good things to say.
"It works really well," he says.
Per-Arne also runs a small joinery shop in which he manufactures windows for his house projects. Here, too, his home-cut timber comes in handy. In addition, the Logosol M7 has another advantage that is appreciated by a craftsman.
"Sawing is relaxing, somehow. And furthermore, I can beat any sawmill when it comes to measurements and surface of the timber, says Per-Arne Ragnarsson.

Sheriff’s Office with a solid desk of oak

Leake county, Mississippi sheriff Greg Waggoner has what may be one of the most elegant offices of any sheriff in the country.  The desk, cabinets, shelving and trim were all cut on the PH260 planer/molder and installed by volunteer inmates at the regional prison next to his office.

This book case and media center show off the quality of the trim and the attention to detail that Steve and his crew put into the office.

The woodwork at the Leake county sheriff’s office is as functional as it is elegant.

Steve Whittle supervised the inmates who volunteered to cut and install the trim in the sheriff’s office.  According to Steve, the PH260 was easy to learn to use, and was a central part of teaching the inmates skills that they could use when they left prison.

Walking into the office, Olof Almstrom, Charlie Griffin, and I were struck by the elegance of the wide crown molding, wood paneling, and beautifully built book cases. A hand crafted solid oak desk dominated one side of the room. With a cowskin rug on the floor and Remington prints on the wall, the office was one that any Texas lawyer would be proud to work in. 
But this is the office of Leake county, Mississippi sheriff Greg Waggoner.  And in spite of its elegant appearance, the office was built and furnished on a very limited budget.

By David Boyt

Sheriff Waggoner has the sort of no-nonsense personality that commands respect from first eye contact.  He extended to us the gracious hospitality for which the south is well known, kindly taking time from his morning schedule (which included a meeting with the Governor) to visit with us about the role the Logosol PH260 played in furnishing his office, as well as the rest of the building.

Built with volunteer prison labor

When the new sheriff’s office was proposed two years ago, there were the usual questions of how to keep expenses to a minimum.  The one thing not in short supply was labor.  Other than the concrete, brick work, and sheet rock finishing, the entire office building-including the electrical, plumbing and heating & air conditioning-was built with volunteer prison labor.  The inmates are generally glad to get out for a while, says Sheriff Waggoner.  "The only problem was finding the ones who wanted to work."
"We wanted the office to look nice, but we knew we couldn’t go out and buy all of the materials.  For example, the cost of the trim and cabinets would have been about $37,000.  So we decided to buy a four-head planer molder."  Steve Whittle, who supervised the project, recalls "We had the inmate labor and access to oak, so we decided we could save a lot of money if we bought a planer/ molder.  I got on the internet and searched for machines.  I found a company called Logosol located in Madison [Mississippi], so I went up to look at it.  They gave a demonstration, and we bought one."
Over the next eight months, Steve and his group of volunteers produced and installed trim and moldings for the office.  Not satisfied to stop with that, they built the cabinets, book shelves, tables, shelving to hold evidence, and even a built-in wash basin for the Sheriff’s office. 

Covered the old desk with oak

The desk in the office was absolutely beautiful.  "They took an old surplus desk, and covered it with oak," the Sheriff explained.  "This [workmanship quality] was a lot more than what I expected.  You could call Steve a perfectionist.  The crown molding in my office looked fine to me, but the next morning, Steve had taken it all down and was having the inmates re-install it."  "It wasn’t sitting against the sheet rock just right," recalled Steve.
This attention to detail paid off in more ways than one.  "We had a lot of good inmate labor." says Steve.  "By the time we were finished, they had a lot of pride in their work." 
He continued,  "A lot of these are good guys that just didn’t get raised to stay out of trouble.  They get out here and get some good supervision.  I’ve gotten calls from several after they got out to tell me that they’ve gotten jobs installing trim."
 It is obvious that Steve takes pride in more than just the woodwork.  With the job finished, the machine is idle, for now.  Soon, they hope to use some of the inmates to teach others how to run it, and continue to use it to teach a useful trade.

"I used my PH260 for all the woodwork in the house"

Mr. Raymond Leroux.

I try to use the same profile knives for many products.

The bathroom is beautifully finished using cut offs.

Red Oak in the living room.

Mr. Raymond Leroux is the fourth generation growing up on his farm in Casselman, 50 km outside Ottawa in Ontario, Canada. He took over the farm in 1979 and is now working as a professional logger on the private woodlots in the local area.

"A modern harvester is too expensive for this type of forest," says Mr.Leroux, "so we work with conventional chain saw and skidder methods.
Farmers still find it economically beneficial to transfer forest land to agriculture land and we often get this type of logging. In this area, man made forests started early on. Today you can find nice stands that were planted 40 to 50 years ago.

Build a new house

There are some big trees around.  I cut five White Pines but needed two truck loads to move them.  There must have been over 5,000 board feet between those five Pines.
In May last year my wife and I decided to build a new house.  After searching the market we decided to purchase a Logosol PH260 4 -sided planer moulder.
Through my work as a logger I have access to all sorts of logs, "tells Mr. Leroux. " I have a small sawmill and saw White Pine, Red Oak, Sugar Maple, Black Cherry. White Ash, Elm, you name it !
I extended my garage with a wood shop where I keep the PH260 and also dry my lumber.  I heat the house and workshop with an exterior wood fired furnace.
The exterior of our new house is covered with White Pine Siding.  To use the wood optimally, I used both 8 inch and 6 inch wide boards that I run through the PH260.
"I placed three 8 inch wide boards in a row and then a 6 inch wide board to make it look nice."
To optimize the use of the wood is an important factor for me, "says Mr. Leroux". 
I can save a lot of money by doing so."
I made the deck from local Cedar that I rounded in the planer.  I planed the boards when they were green but they did not warp at all. My wife and I decided to open a Bed & Breakfast. We put in three rooms with baths in the basement, that we will rent out.  They look out over the 90 acre farm land where you often see deer feeding.
Our community has an outdoor summer theater and one problem has been for visitors to find a place to stay.  Hunters are also looking for local lodging in the area during the fall. The Bed & Breakfast will be a nice complement to the income. 
I used my PH260 for all the woodwork in the house, the Red Oak floor in the living room. For the kitchen floor I made narrow boards out of Maple.

More and more requests

The bedroom has a spectacular Black Cherry floor that will only develop into nicer colours over the years. I saved smaller cut-offs and used a few basic knife cutters for all the patterns to save money."
The bathroom is beautifully trimmed with shorter cut-offs from the wood work.  Mr. Leroux hopes to finish the house within the next few months.
"The local building supply store phones me when they need custom work. I didn’t want to sell too much of my own wood until now as I needed most of it for the house.  The word spread and I started to get more and more requests for using the PH260 planer- moulder," ends Mr. Leroux.*

Compressed Planer Shavings Save Space and Creates Income

Lennart had no previous experience of planing when he bought his Logosol PH260. Two years later, he is a skilled pro.

– I bought the briquette press to be able to handle all the shavings from the planer in a rational way, Lennart Eriksson says.

When a small planer shop receives a big order it meets with a great problem. What should you do with all the planer shavings?

Lennart Eriksson solved this problem with a briquette press. The compressed shavings became easier to handle and in addition he got a product he could sell.

Lennart Eriksson lives outside Mellerud in Sweden. He is an instrument technician at a paper mill. A couple of years ago, he bought a Logosol PH260. His aim was to develop his own business, and his partner Annette Lundgren shared the same vision.

"Annette is a handcrafter and she was thinking of starting a shop together with a friend," Lennart says.

Big order from DIY store

The couple bought a small farm, just outside the town, for both their businesses. The old barn became Lennart’s Wood & Planer Shop, and in the dwelling house Annette opened the handicraft shop.
Just over a year ago, Lennart received a big order from a small DIY store.

It was an order for so much four-sided planing, that it was equivalent to a half-time job. Lennart resigned from his job at the paper mill, and started to plane. Everything went according to plan, with the exception of all the planer shavings. He could dispose of it as stall bedding to local farmers, but handling it was time-consuming.
Lennart is of the type who sees opportunities where others see problems. He bought a briquette press and installed it above the planer. The shavings are transported direct from the planer to a chip duct on top of the press. The finished briquettes end up in large sacks and are then delivered to be used as solid fuel.
"The volume is reduced and the briquettes are in demand," says Lennart, who himself uses direct-acting electric heating at home. "But I have installed a stove that takes briquettes."

Planing for sawmills

The contract with the DIY store was time limited, and when it expired Lennart chose to return to the paper mill, where he now works in five shifts as an instrument technician. This is an occupational group that installs and maintains measuring and regulating systems, something that suits a clever person like Lennart. In his time off, he works at the planer shop, producing customized mouldings to customers, and planing on subcontract for small, local sawmills.
"In the long run, the goal is that Annette and I can move out to the farm and earn our living from our businesses," says Lennart, who has several other ideas about developing the business.

10 years with the PH260!

This year, Logosol’s four-cutter planer/moulder celebrates its 10-year anniversary. You could read about this occasion in the last issue of Fresh Cut.
The constructor Bosse Mårtensson means that in most cases PH260 is better than a large industrial planer!
At least when it comes to small-scale wood processing.

– PH260 is better than industrial planers when it comes to small-scale wood processing, the constructor Bo Mårtensson says. His company manufactures both PH260 and CNC-controlled machining centres for joineries.

PH260 is celebrating its tenth anniversary. It is better than industrial planers at professional small-scale wood processing.

There are few four-cutter planers/moulders that are as spread over the world as PH260. Today, it is mass-produced in Östersund in Sweden.

"There are few planer/moulders that are as spread over the world and used under as varying conditions as the PH260. It has proved itself to be durable and easy to service and maintain," says Bo Mårtensson.

The development of PH260 started in 1993. Bengt-Olov Byström, founder of Logosol, was in the process of drawing up the outlines of a planer/moulder that would have the low price of the SH230, be easy to use and give high-class results. He met Bo Mårtensson at a trade fair, and their cooperation resulted in a small, innovative four-sided planer/moulder.

Logosol launched PH260 in 1997. Consequently, this year the machine is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

The statement that PH260 is better than a large industrial planer when it comes to customized producing of  building timber and mouldings, is well founded. Here are the proofs:

1: The size.

PH260 does not require large premises. Fit wheels on it or place it on a pallet and move it away when you are not using it. Industrial planers require concrete foundation and heated facilities.

2: Weatherproof.

PH260 is reliably rust protected and stands condensation. You can use it outdoors and store it in cold rooms. Industrial planers are built for standing in the warmth, and contain parts that rust.

3: High efficiency – low amp.

Even though PH260 has a total continuous output of 12.2 kW, it only needs 16 amp fuse, 400V three-phase. There is enough electricity in an ordinary private garage. Industrial planers require 63 amp, which costs a small fortune just for the connection and the standing charge.

4: Well-arranged.

Everything is gathered under one raisable protective cover. You can see and have access to the whole machinery without difficulties.

5: Large dimensions.

PH260 manages to process thick and wide boards. The planing width of an industrial planer is normally 160-230 mm. PH260 can process 260 mm wide work pieces. PH260 also surpasses industrial planers when it comes to handling thick work pieces, since it can process pieces that are 230 mm thick.

6: Better result.

Quite contrary to what many believe, a small cutter gives a better surface finish than does a large cutter. The reason is that the board springs every time the knife enters the wood. A larger cutter produces more springing. The less springing the better surface finish. The limitation of the small cutter is the feeding speed, but when producing on a small-scale basis it is more important to have a high-class result.

7: Simpler to mount knives.

It goes without saying, that a small planer/moulder is easier to set up than a planer/moulder with large cutters and many knives. The largest industrial planers require a crane when knives are to be replaced.

8: Smaller working radius.

All wood becomes more or less bent when it dries. In a long machine the boards are forced straight during the machining, otherwise they do not become parallel. Long boards cannot be straightened, since they then become pointed at the ends. A short distance between the cutters makes the board wriggle its way through the machine, and by this it becomes parallel.

9: Lower cost.

The price label on Logosol PH260 speaks for itself. In reality, PH260 becomes even more advantageous than a second-hand industrial planer. It needs less and cheaper tools, it does not require any conveyor belts and no special-built house. Not to mention the spare parts and the maintenance, which only cost a fraction compared to an industrial machine.

10: Stable construction.

Everything is bigger on an industrial planer. It is easy to believe that this makes the large planer more stable. But PH260 is very stable by its construction. The cutters in an industrial planer are suspended on one end to be easy to replace. The cutters in PH260 are suspended on both ends. The difference can be compared with holding a rolling pin with one hand or with both hands.

A REAL PRO MACHINE

An increasing number of owners around the world can add more advantages to this list. But on one point there is no difference between PH260 and new industrial planers.
 "The components are of the same quality. PH260 is a pro machine, only it’s smaller," Bosse Mårtensson states.