Case Studies

You don’t have to do anything just put another log through it, it’s low maintenance and low cost. We have processed in excess of 10,000m3. This processor is way ahead in every aspect and it handles the hard wood easily. It’s very gifted and smart people who designed this and it’s a credit to them.

After traveling to New Zealand in 2014 for a vacation I saw several locations where families were running the Mahoe sawmill. Prior to visiting New Zealand I was interested in the concept of a circular bladed sawmill. I was not sold on the bandsaw concept due to the limited size of the throat of whichever size mill I would purchase. I had been thinking of purchasing a band saw mill by Wood Mizer, but after seeing the volume of wood that was cut in New Zealand I knew the Mahoe brand was for me.

I purchased the mill in 2015 and received it in about April 2016. It was shipped to the New Orleans port straight from New Zealand. I cannot say enough about this particular saw mill. I have cut thousands of board feet of lumber doing numerous projects for me and my customers. The sawmill is extremely easy to learn and operate, the accuracy of the cutting ability is absolutely precise. The maintenance required is almost nothing, keeping the blade teeth sharp is made easy by the Sharpening system that Mahoe provides.

I purchased the mill with the intentions of mostly just cutting lumber for my projects. I am a longtime arborist and general contractor so having access to good lumber is not a problem. I have included several photos of some of my projects. Just my addition on my home along with three equipment sheds has saved me more than triple the cost of the sawmill. I do have many pieces of support equipment such as wheel loaders and skid steers. Also labor is not an issue as I usually have four or five guys helping to run the sawmill. When we are operating the sawmill it produces a piece of lumber about every 15 seconds this is way more than one or two men can handle. I am sure it could be operated solo just not in my opinion the most efficient method. I made some modifications to the mini max as you can see by the photos, I have an electric winch system set up to do the up and down movement of the sawmill also fabricated a train track system for the log clamps to roll on easily. I am very happy with my purchase of the Mahoe sawmill.

In 2016, we began looking for a firewood processor to increase our capacity and lower the overall physical workload being created by our expanding firewood business. We wanted a reputable New Zealand manufacturer and needed a machine that was very flexible in terms of wood type and size of wood rings. It also needed to be mobile, easy and safe to use, price competitive and handle the amount of custom cutting/splitting we do to suit customers fire box’s.

We came across the Mahoe Whoppa Choppa. After watching the videos of it operating, it was clear that this machine would fit the job description. We were confident of  Mahoe by reputation. Mahoe have been a pleasure to work with and the quality of workmanship impressed me from day one, we have had no issues either mechanical or structural.

I can honestly say that the machine has exceeded our hopes. We comfortably process 6 cubic metres an hour with two people. It has handled every type of wood fed to it from plantation pine through to eucalyptus hardwoods and old man pine. It is so addictive to use that I rarely get to operate it and most people who have used it can’t wait to have another go.

Sawmills New Zealand’s range of sawmills are our choice. Our timber is accurately cut, maintenance is straight forward and parts and service are excellent. We use the inserted tooth blades so we can change the worn out teeth on site ourselves.