New machine to me, "inexpensive" 4 sided planer/moulder

[Van Huskey]

I certainly have been aware of the industrial sized 2 and 4 sided planers but have never seen a smaller 4 sided planer/moulder.

Logosol a Swedish company makes a really neat small 4 sided planer/moulder. While not exactly cheap the prices are much cheaper than I would have expected. (Que Darcy to come in and point out he bought a Stetson-Ross for $300, 4 tanks of gas and breakfast at Denny's)

It seems they also make and brand them for Woodmizer as well if you want an orange one.



http://www.logosol.us/planers/ph260/

https://woodmizer.com/us/MP260-Planer-Moulder

Attachment 387616

It does 2 and 4 sided @ ~10" and single sided at ~16".

[Martin Wasner]

I never got a price on one, but I did look at their website a while ago. It seems really lightly built.

I was hunting for a Weinig S4S and I couldn't find one for what I was willing to spend. I also thought that machine was a little lightly built. I ended up buying a Leadermac five head moulder for less than the S4S machines I was looking at. I paid $12,500, and it's in good shape. The two things that pushed me to a moulder was heavier build, (especially the spindles), and a much longer straightening table. If you're looking at only new, that Leadermac is $55k new as a reference.

[Patrick Kane]

Out of curiosity, at what point do these machines get over the cost/benefit hump? I imagine some of the used ones like Martin describes could very easily be justified for a 1-2 man shop. Not that ive seriously considered buying a moulder, but in my side hustle i spend 60% of my time milling lumber. Generally, how many bdft are you processing a year to upgrade to a moulder?

Once again, dont know much about these machines, but are moulders used more to S4S lumber or to create moulding? Ive noticed they are typically 8" width, which seems narrow for milling lumber.

[joe milana]

That Logosol machine is rated at 1200lf/hr, but at what duty cycle. I suspect it would be a pile of parts in no time. A used well maintained S4S machine is a nice addition to door & window shops. Not so much for milling rough lumber.

[Mark Bolton]

There is a local shop near me that is nearly shut down that has one and they love it. Its no massive production machine but I have a PH360 on the list for the shop here when the time is right. It would be a perfect machine for us where we could easily roll it out when needed and put it in a corner when not needed.

My shop does not need daily production molding. We may run a large job here, then not for a while. Be burried in kitchens, then not for a while. A machine like this would work perfectly in a dynamic situation like that. The big advantage to me would be the ability to move the machine near a door or outside wall and run it through a fan and just blow the chips straight outside into a trailer eliminating the dust collector all together.

I have kept my eyes peeled for a used PH360 for years and never find them.

Nice catch.

[David Kumm]

Van, did you actually buy one or just see it? I've always thought their vertical- horizontal shaper to be an interesting machine. Don't know how it holds settings but woould be handy if it does. Dave

[Van Huskey]

Van, did you actually buy one or just see it? I've always thought their vertical- horizontal shaper to be an interesting machine. Don't know how it holds settings but woould be handy if it does. Dave

I realized coming back today my title was confusing and I didn't clear it up in the body of the text, I indeed just saw it. I was looking at bandmills on the Woodmizer site and drifted over to see this. I never knew this class of machine existed, then again I rarely ever look at the S2S and S4S machines in listings. It just seemed interesting.

[Joe Calhoon]

Van, did you actually buy one or just see it? I've always thought their vertical- horizontal shaper to be an interesting machine. Don't know how it holds settings but woould be handy if it does. Dave

Dave,
That little Logisol shaper is a cool machine! I played with one at a show in Europe. It is light weight but seems to be a well engineered machine and capable of many things.

[Adam Bullington]

I actually have the Logosol PH360 in my shop and I consistantly run it at 30-50' a min depending on the cut depth and width. I s2s top and bottom from rough down to like 7/8 thick and then run it again to do flooring. its not a heavy weinig but if you keep the dept of cut to only what is necessary to make a complete profile it will run all day long. good chip extraction is a must.

[Steve Hays]

I have a PH260 and am still pretty green with it. I notice a few people on this thread are familiar with it or the similarly designed 360. Maybe one of you can help me with a question.

When using a deep cutting profile knife in the top cutter, is it best practice to make a single run--taking it all the way down to final thickness in one run--with feed as slow as possible, of course?
Or, do you advise two runs, taking half the profile depth in the first cut and finishing at final depth?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

[Martin Wasner]

There is a local shop near me that is nearly shut down that has one and they love it. Its no massive production machine but I have a PH360 on the list for the shop here when the time is right. It would be a perfect machine for us where we could easily roll it out when needed and put it in a corner when not needed.

My shop does not need daily production molding. We may run a large job here, then not for a while. Be burried in kitchens, then not for a while. A machine like this would work perfectly in a dynamic situation like that. The big advantage to me would be the ability to move the machine near a door or outside wall and run it through a fan and just blow the chips straight outside into a trailer eliminating the dust collector all together.

I have kept my eyes peeled for a used PH360 for years and never find them.

Nice catch.

I bought my moulder just for S4S and door sticking. We might make mouldings at some point, but it's not worth my time at the moment. I just don't want to have to make two passes on stuff anymore.

[Mark Bolton]

I bought my moulder just for S4S and door sticking. We might make mouldings at some point, but it's not worth my time at the moment. I just don't want to have to make two passes on stuff anymore.

No doubt. In your situation it makes total sense, you have the room, and the growth, to justify the investment of time and money. Our production is so varied I wouldnt want to be re-tooling and setting up a large molder nor do I have room/desire/energy/long term projection, or ancillary support equipment, to justify it. If the right job came along or I found one used in great shape I'd snatch up a 260 or preferably a 360 in a flash. It would be a welcome addition to what we frequently do.

[Adam Bullington]

I actually have the Logosol PH360 in my shop and I consistently run it at 30-50' a min depending on the cut depth and width. I s2s top and bottom from rough down to like 7/8 thick and then run it again to do flooring. its not a heavy weinig but if you keep the dept of cut to only what is necessary to make a complete profile it will run all day long. good chip extraction is a must.

[Doug Dawson]

I actually have the Logosol PH360 in my shop and I consistently run it at 30-50' a min depending on the cut depth and width. I s2s top and bottom from rough down to like 7/8 thick and then run it again to do flooring. its not a heavy weinig but if you keep the dept of cut to only what is necessary to make a complete profile it will run all day long. good chip extraction is a must.

What volume of chip extraction are we talking about here? I wonder if any "ordinary" cabinet shop "dust collector" would be capable of handling something like that, to HEPA standards. Whoa nelly.

[Adam Bullington]

Its currently a 5.5 hp 230v 3phase ( I run a converter ) 18" impeller, 10" inlet 10" outlet from logosol "its their recommended system for the 360" 2400CFM that blows via duct work out into a dump trailer. It works good but still requires some manual cleanup of chips after long runs. no fines are left in the machine just heavier chips that don't make it to the dust extraction holes. I would imagine any decent sized "shop sized" extractor would handle it but not if your filling bags...i started like that with the logosol ph260 and would fill a 55 gallon drum in about 20 min so unless your running it outside or into a big container somewhere it will bury you in chips.....FYI great machine though "for my needs"