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After the 8th week of waiting on a listed 4-6 week lead time, I cancelled my order. Owner said they were moving into a new shop and things were crazy... I think he should have taken that into account. I guess that was a year or two.
That's why they were late 3 years ago, is that when you were trying to get one, or recently? When I got my GB from Baily's, it only took days, not weeks. 36" mill, Joe.
 
:thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpictures: Will the 72" mill cut 6 foot diameter or ??
Don't have any pics on my new phone but we have cut a log around 52" or so. I think the 72" doesn't include what you lose at the tip of the bar.

We had to drill holes to keep it in place and now it doesn't cut perfectly square but nothing that can't be fixed when flattened. The biggest bar we've used so far is a 5' one so that's as far as we've gotten.

I'm tempted to get a hud-son mill that can slab some bigger wood. Just need to justify the cost.

For those of you who haven't seen it there's a guy Matt Cremona who built like an 80" band mill or something. Worth checking out if you're interested in big slabs and woodworking. He has a YouTube channel.

Andrew
 
For those of you who haven't seen it there's a guy Matt Cremona who built like an 80" band mill or something.

For the lazy folk out there who can't bother searching, here's a link to one of the videos. Certainly worth a look:

 
Don't have any pics on my new phone but we have cut a log around 52" or so. I think the 72" doesn't include what you lose at the tip of the bar.

We had to drill holes to keep it in place and now it doesn't cut perfectly square but nothing that can't be fixed when flattened. The biggest bar we've used so far is a 5' one so that's as far as we've gotten.

I'm tempted to get a hud-son mill that can slab some bigger wood. Just need to justify the cost.

For those of you who haven't seen it there's a guy Matt Cremona who built like an 80" band mill or something. Worth checking out if you're interested in big slabs and woodworking. He has a YouTube channel.

Andrew
Boy, that guy is doing some cool work, thanks for the name. I've gotten so fed up with people on youtube. They walk around a piece of junk for 23 minutes to show you how to pull the spark plug out, and then do another video to put it back in. His videos are quite long, but at least they show you something really cool, Joe.
 
This is the form email that I was sent shortly after ordering mine on May 21st.

"HI thank you for your e-mail,� due to the volume of calls and e-mails please allow a few days for a response. Please note we are EXTREMELY busy at the moment. The panthermill 2's will most likely ship within 14-28 business days of your order, the panther pro mills, carriage only option should ship within 10-30 days, 30" or bigger panther pro mills( carriage style), or mills with track may take longer as well as custom orders. Please note you may not always get a auto conformation from us when we receive your order. We are working to rectify the problem, but please e-mail us if you need to. Also the size denoted by the mill in inches is the maximum size the mill will cut, i.e. 30" mill will cut up to a 30" diameter log. Typically you'll want your bar to be 4-6" longer than the mill size or your anticipated cut.

Also these lead times are estimated and are usually pretty accurate, but we do have the occasional rush which may delay shipping your items out. In Instances where additional shipping is needed it is for shipping only and does not include taxes or duties.

We appreciate your understanding at this time."

They were upfront about being slow to ship.


Upfront? That's the email you get AFTER you order. In tiny letters it says 2-4 weeks on the website, I missed it. I'm sure many others did as well. In my mind being up front would be putting that message in big bold all caps on the top of every page of their website. Not after you order.
 
Don't have any pics on my new phone but we have cut a log around 52" or so. I think the 72" doesn't include what you lose at the tip of the bar.

We had to drill holes to keep it in place and now it doesn't cut perfectly square but nothing that can't be fixed when flattened. The biggest bar we've used so far is a 5' one so that's as far as we've gotten.

I'm tempted to get a hud-son mill that can slab some bigger wood. Just need to justify the cost.

For those of you who haven't seen it there's a guy Matt Cremona who built like an 80" band mill or something. Worth checking out if you're interested in big slabs and woodworking. He has a YouTube channel.

Andrew


I messaged Matt a couple of times through social media, as he was building his bandsaw mill. I was asking him some questions on little details about that build. He said he had $7800 into that thing... pretty cheap for an ~80" bandsawmill.

The Hudson homesteader 36 is about $6500 and it will cant a 36" log. It won't slab a 36" log though.

I looked into a bandsaw mill but I figured I'd start with the chainsaw mill and work my way up to a bandsaw mill.
 
In tiny letters it says 2-4 weeks on the website, I missed it.

I really don't want to cause trouble, but I was curious if they were trying to be deceptive there as you seem to suggest.

The lettering used to state the delivery time is the same size and font as the rest of the description. Yes its on the last line, but its not like its a massive page full of content. Are you saying this info should be on the top line? or put somewhere within the description content? It also states "30 day guarantee" and "lifetime support" in the same manner on the same line.
http://www.pantherpros.com/panthermill2.html

They also state on the next line that shipping to the lower 48 is included in the price. Yet somehow you aren't complaining about that.

Yeah, I agree the page layout could be better (mainly to highlight the guarantee, support, and free shipping selling points), but its a small manufacturing company, not a web design firm.
 
I really don't want to cause trouble, but I was curious if they were trying to be deceptive there as you seem to suggest.

The lettering used to state the delivery time is the same size and font as the rest of the description. Yes its on the last line, but its not like its a massive page full of content. Are you saying this info should be on the top line? or put somewhere within the description content? It also states "30 day guarantee" and "lifetime support" in the same manner on the same line.
http://www.pantherpros.com/panthermill2.html

They also state on the next line that shipping to the lower 48 is included in the price. Yet somehow you aren't complaining about that.

Yeah, I agree the page layout could be better (mainly to highlight the guarantee, support, and free shipping selling points), but its a small manufacturing company, not a web design firm.

I doubt they are purposely deceiving people, that's a pretty awful habit to get into as a business, and would probably cause serious problems for them in the future. I was just simply stating they should have an accurate
Time posted, and posted so it's impossible to miss, so you know you're in for a 2 month wait... before you order. I also didn't even see the free shipping until I checked out.

I don't care if the mill takes 2 months to get here. I just want a company to be honest. Don't tell me 2-4 weeks and expect me to be happy in 2 months when my mill ships. That's just a ****** way to operate. In my line of work that won't fly, I guess that's why I'm mad about it. My grandfather taught me at a young age that If I say I'm gonna do something then I have to do it. All we have is our word.
He had an oak tree cut down when I was 14 I said I'd split it all for him for $100. After 4 hours I realized I'd never "profit" from it and I told him I didn't want to do It anymore. He said how could I take you serious when you tell me something in the future. It took me ~6 days of splitting (at 14 mind you) but I finished it and I got my $100. I learned a lot from it and I'd like to think it changed my outlook on life. He gave my dad extra money that he put into my bank account.
 
I was just simply stating they should have an accurate
Time posted, and posted so it's impossible to miss, so you know you're in for a 2 month wait... before you order.

Hey, I hear ya, man. I'm not saying they are gonna make satisfied customers if they have a more-often-than-not habit of making people wait longer than "typical", and if the Panther guys were reading this, I'd say that if they forsee such delays as being somewhat common, then they should state a shipping time that reflects this.

And though it seems to be a re-occurring theme to wait longer than expected with Panther, as with any business, usually its the dis-satisfied people who go out of their way to say something as opposed to those who got their stuff on time and/or relatively quickly. And while I'm not saying excuses should be the norm, but its pretty obvious that Panther is a small operation, and anyone who ever was in business for themselves knows that just a small little hiccup like catching a cold, a family situation, or single one of the few staff being unable to perform for a couple days due to injury/sickness... such stuff can wreck havoc on one's schedule.
 
Hard to complain when you're getting a mill at such a good price point. No where will you find a csmill that can handle a 6' bar for under 300. That's how I looked at it at least.

Andrew
 
Surely they aren't that busy that they cannot keep customers posted about their order.
Something like a week before the 28 day deadline, unless the order has been shipped they should send out a progress report. I get that sort of service when ordering a $2 part from Chinese eBay sellers.
Some provide an actual delivery profile, i.e. a distribution of delivery times to different parts of the world. Or maybe that just shows what you can do with cheap labour?
 
I don't have their product. I know they had a problem with their delivery schedule several years ago. They didn't change the schedule, and they still have a problem with it. Seems they leave an exceptable delivery time on their order form, knowing once you make the order you're hooked. If some one says 2-4 weeks, that's one month. Place order on June 1st, have product on July 1st. If you only work 5 days a week, that doesn't mean 4 weeks are really 6 weeks, and you, the customer should know that, everybody in the universe knows that. That's just a slight of hand, shell game, deceptive means of doing business. What if your neighbor tells you they scheduled to take down a big Oak tree and the tree service is coming in 4 weeks and you can have the log. In four weeks the log is on the ground, no mill. In five weeks the log is on the ground, grass under it is dying, grass around it looks like hay, no mill. Neighbor gets mad at you and pays to have the log cut up and hauled away, no mill still. Mill arrives with note, enjoy your new mill. On what, the log is gone. How come when the tree guy makes a schedule he's there when planned. My mechanic tells me to bring my car in on a given day, work is done that day. True lawn calls and says take your pets in, we'll be there tomorrow, they are there. I grew up in a small family owned business too, we had schedules too, we made them too. These guys know exactly how long it will take to get your mill to you. They've been doing it for YEARS now, and haven't fixed the one big problem they have. They used to sell on Ebay, and they had a terrible feedback rating. Now they don't sell on Ebay, maybe they don't need to. All they have to do is be honest and tell people how long it really takes, end of story, no conjecture here to talk about, Joe.
 
I messaged Matt a couple of times through social media, as he was building his bandsaw mill. I was asking him some questions on little details about that build. He said he had $7800 into that thing... pretty cheap for an ~80" bandsawmill.

Yeah, not a bad price for band mill with that capacity. Especially if you consider other slabbers prices.

Compared to an Alaskan it's still way up there. I don't think most could justify it. Not just the price but most couldn't feed it with enough oversize timber.
 
So I ordered my panther mill 32 days ago and have not gotten it yet, or even received an email that said it was being shipped. Should this be cause for concern? Did they take my $200 and run or are they just 2 weeks behind their 2-4 week schedule?
Don't panic. My 4 weeks took 8, same with my Dad when he ordered his. They come through in the end.
 
I got the mill today, on the 73rd day after I bought it. It was just zip tied together no wrap or anything in between it so a bunch of the paint is worn off, not great looking but I'm going to be using it on a chainsaw so I wasn't expecting show car quality paint. I'm going to assemble it tonight, and try and use it before I go away for the weekend.

I'll update this in a little
 
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