4 Post Head
All Timberking sawmills come with a 4 post head, but so do a lot of other brands of portable band sawmills. To claim this feature as an advantage over your competitors you would think that it would be exclusive to your brand. Does Timberking have the right to claim an advantage for a feature that is widespread in the industry?
Having the saw-head connected to the bed in 4 places no doubt does create a very stable platform. This design does have some limitations. The biggest of these is that you are limited to logs that will fit between the posts on the saw-head. To their credit Timberking has built their mills with very large capacities to overcome this issue.
Another limitation to the 4 post design is that if you have any flex or misalignment on the log deck or bed, the head will cut following that flex or twist resulting in tapered cuts. Timberking has also overcome this with a heavy duty log bead that is welded together and rigidly built. Having overcome the disadvantages of the 4 post head design truly does give Timberking the right to claim a design advantage.
Hydraulic Controls vs. Electric Controls
Timberking makes the claim that their direct hydraulic controls will outlast and outperform other brands of sawmills electronic controls. I happen to agree completely with this claim. I have worked with and repaired both electronic and hydraulic controls on many different types of machines. The simple fact is that there is less that can go wrong with hydraulics than there is with electronics. Especially on a machine that spends it's entire life outdoors.
Moisture from rain and mud can play havoc on an electronic system. Terminals and wires on the electronic boxes corrode and deteriorate very quickly. Hydraulic systems on the other hand are virtually weatherproof. UV rays from the sun will gradually break down hydraulic lines over several years, and normal wear and tear will eventually cause seals and cylinders to fail. When this happens the repairs are generally simple and low cost, while electronics can be complicated and expensive to repair.