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Every floor and the type of character used -
is custom blended for each room - for every homeowner.
We have owned our Logosol PH260 for almost two years. I have made mostly flooring, but v-groove paneling, decking, crown molding, base boards, and S4S have also been produced. Stock knives have worked very well, though we did have the tongue and groove shortened at a local shop on the flooring knives. I hone the cutters by hand on a Tormek grinder several times to clean them up after 8 hours of molding. Side cutters last a long time, but the flat planer knives need regular sharpening due to occasional dirt in the bark on some blanks. I change them once little ridges appear on the flooring.
If we are careful when preparing the blanks, the molding operation goes smoothly. Rough and irregular blanks take more work to finish. Turning our salvage of dead, crooked, knotty trees into $10,000 per thousand board feet is worth the effort. This machine turns straw into Gold!
With our forest to finished flooring business, each machine works just once in a while. I don't have all that much time operating the Logosol to have good statistics on its production, though it certainly performs well for me. It is a perfect match for my business. Having total control of my business is priceless!
We have a 5 hp chip collector for our workshop and it can't quite keep the Logosol clean. I have an air compressor nearby and occasionally shoot some air in to blow away accumulated chips. Chips need to be cleaned regularly, but that is not a problem. Every time I open up the top of the machine, I wax the bed and side fences before resuming operation. A little paste floor wax really helps keeps the boards sliding through smoothly.
We have a chop saw to cut out defects both before the blanks are inserted into the Logosol, and for trimming waste after the piece is molded. Sometimes we load the finished wood right into the truck for delivery to a home, or the wood may be stored in the humidity controlled room upstairs. Usually, we handle the flooring as loose pieces but occasionally bundle and strap several hundred square feet together for handling with the forklift.
Our store room in the barn is 30'X60' and holds over 20,000 bf of lumber. We heat the air in the winter, and dehumidify in the summer. Wood is stored right at 40% relative humidity, maintaining 6%MC, so it can be used for any project immediately with no "acclimation" period. Different regions with different climates may use wetter or drier wood for flooring. You need to know the equilibrium moisture content for wood in a modern home in your region. Most old flooring traditions (narrow strips, clear wood, relief cuts, end matching�.) are needed if wood is not carefully dried and stored in a dry room. Solar cycle kilns and careful storage let us do mixed species, wide plank, character grade, custom crafted flooring with great confidence in our product.
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