Looks good. You would think a company that's been in business as long as Panther would have mills pre-made in stock to fill orders. 71 days is a bit too long and would frustrate the hell out of customer who have wood waiting in neighbours yards etc.
Panther mills
- Thread starter 300zx_tt
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The ridges near the red lines in the cut suggest one or more of the following
1) Uneven pressure on the mill by the operator - placing the log on a slope will help even this out.
2) mill not tightened up enough - i.e. sloppy so it moves in the cut.
3) Mill too flimsy so it deforms under pressure
1) Uneven pressure on the mill by the operator - placing the log on a slope will help even this out.
2) mill not tightened up enough - i.e. sloppy so it moves in the cut.
3) Mill too flimsy so it deforms under pressure
I stripped out a bar lug and tried to mill with it, didn't work out. Also my fiancé wanted to help with it and she pushed down on the mill, didn't realize it until after the fact! I think that might have had something to do with it.
I bought my Panther from another member on here. It has been modified slightly. I'll take some pics and share. You might want to consider a few of the things done to improve your milling experience. Otherwise nice pics/lumber.
The mill was modified so you bolt the bar directly to the end of the uprights so you don't have to work about the bar clamps slipping. A few cross braces were added in case you are milling a narrow log. The hand bar was drilled and bolted directly to the rest of the mill. The upright closest to the power head was widened to make a runner with tapered ends. The bars were slotted so you can adjust the mill width to run a shorter bar.
Hello all---
My first post here. I was Googling Panther Mill 2 and found this site/forum. Excellent info. and a lot of very useful information here. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences.
I'm glad I stumbled into here, I too ordered a Panther Mill 2 mill on Aug. 10, 2017. Before ordering I emailed the company and asked about delivery and got their automated reply, as most others have stated. I then asked to have them call me as I had some questions I would like to have answered. 2 days later I got a call from the owner and he was very helpful. I also asked what actual delivery time I could expect. He stated they were caught up from a run of large orders and were pretty much all caught up and the Panther Mill 2's should ship in 2-4 weeks. I based my activities on what the owner of the company told me.
It's now Sept. 10, 2017. No mill, no email, no response to my emails. Now---- I can sympathize with them concerning hurricane Irma and have empathy for them. But. I don't buy the small business , very busy bs they seem to have been using for last years it seems.
I have a farmer friend that saved a lot of large Walnut, Cherry, Oak and Maple saw logs for me after he had his farm logged out. So I told him I should be slabbing these by the middle of Sept.. With the hurricane I'll be lucky now if I see a mill by Dec., if at all and I have a very irritated friend. Crop harvest will begin here soon, logs have to be gone or moved.
Like many of the rest of you, I wish I would have shopped else where------ I hate being jerked around. This mill would be so easy to make I wish I would have just made my own from the very start. I will update this if/when I get a mill, right not I'm not very hopeful.
Sorry f0r the long first post----
Steve
My first post here. I was Googling Panther Mill 2 and found this site/forum. Excellent info. and a lot of very useful information here. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences.
I'm glad I stumbled into here, I too ordered a Panther Mill 2 mill on Aug. 10, 2017. Before ordering I emailed the company and asked about delivery and got their automated reply, as most others have stated. I then asked to have them call me as I had some questions I would like to have answered. 2 days later I got a call from the owner and he was very helpful. I also asked what actual delivery time I could expect. He stated they were caught up from a run of large orders and were pretty much all caught up and the Panther Mill 2's should ship in 2-4 weeks. I based my activities on what the owner of the company told me.
It's now Sept. 10, 2017. No mill, no email, no response to my emails. Now---- I can sympathize with them concerning hurricane Irma and have empathy for them. But. I don't buy the small business , very busy bs they seem to have been using for last years it seems.
I have a farmer friend that saved a lot of large Walnut, Cherry, Oak and Maple saw logs for me after he had his farm logged out. So I told him I should be slabbing these by the middle of Sept.. With the hurricane I'll be lucky now if I see a mill by Dec., if at all and I have a very irritated friend. Crop harvest will begin here soon, logs have to be gone or moved.
Like many of the rest of you, I wish I would have shopped else where------ I hate being jerked around. This mill would be so easy to make I wish I would have just made my own from the very start. I will update this if/when I get a mill, right not I'm not very hopeful.
Sorry f0r the long first post----
Steve
BigOakAdot
ArboristSite newb
Yeah all sounds about right. It's not worth the money you save when you can get a grandberg for $250. Not to mention the issues I've had with the mills depth sliding while in the middle of the cut.
What if I was cutting a one of a kind large walnut log and it dove in the middle of the cut? That's a lot of wasted lumber due to a faulty mill that took 3 months to receive. Just my opinion.
Welcome to the site. Sorry to hear your frustration. I know what I would do if I were you... Cancel the order and demand a refund. Then go buy a Granberg mill or even a Chinese knockoff of the Granberg. I've read some nice reviews of the knockoff Granberg through northern tool (iirc).
I had mine slip in a log on Saturday, shifted 1/4 inch halfway through the cut. Not the end of the world buti can see if it was a super valuable log I'd be pissed about it... If I was doing it over I'd buy a granburg 100 out of 100 times.
Thanks for the replies,
I've been thinking about cancelling my order with them but I really hate to bail on the guy. The hurricane I'm sure will hurt his business. I'm going to give him a couple of more weeks, if no response of any kind from them by then I will probably go the Granburg/knock off route. I'm unrealistically hoping it may have shipped before the hurricane hit-----but------base on other post I've read hear it sounds like 2-4 weeks has been his normal answer for years and hardly if ever produces that.
I've been thinking about cancelling my order with them but I really hate to bail on the guy. The hurricane I'm sure will hurt his business. I'm going to give him a couple of more weeks, if no response of any kind from them by then I will probably go the Granburg/knock off route. I'm unrealistically hoping it may have shipped before the hurricane hit-----but------base on other post I've read hear it sounds like 2-4 weeks has been his normal answer for years and hardly if ever produces that.
Don't know what to say? It's all been said before. I'll be milling, while you be waiting, Joe.
TheLazyBFarm
ArboristSite Operative
I ordered their oiler last March. After not hearing from them for over 2 1/2 months, I canceled the order. Had to do it not once but twice to get a response. Oh and big surprise! they had already shipped it by the time of the 2nd cancelation e-mail. Their so-called CS person, Kim, went from nice to ***** in one e-mail. I direct-returned their item and they tried to stick me with the return postage.
Fork them and Fork that ***** Kim. I'll never order from them again.
Fork them and Fork that ***** Kim. I'll never order from them again.
Amazon is listing a alaskan knockoff for less than $150 IIRC. 24" unit , I've stretched mine to 72" with longer rails & opening up clamp for the tube to fit EMT (electric mechanical tube) Just a thought. My avatar shows off the 60" bar & the stump that needed it
Mill safe & enjoy
BigOakAdot
ArboristSite newb
Hahaha their oiler is laughable. When I was ordering my monster mill from them I saw they sold an oiler for around 20. Had some pvc and stuff to make my own but figured for 2o why bother building one. Then it arrived and it was an old plastic bottle with a brass valve mounted to the bottom. basically the cheapest POS oiler anyone would ever consider making.
I'm really not the type to bash companies but their stuff is just not quality at all. All the cheap prices start making sense when you see what they're offering.
I'm really not the type to bash companies but their stuff is just not quality at all. All the cheap prices start making sense when you see what they're offering.
I'm now on 5 weeks and still no mill, no tracking number, no e-mail, no expected delivery date etc.. I now really,really wish I'd have found this site sooner. I've checked eBay and other places on the Holzzforma,Farmtec Chinese knock off mills and so far I haven't seen anything negative about them. Delivery is stated as---available for delivery --- price is nearly identical to the Panther 2 and shipping is included.
The mill I ordered is a 48" unit, I have a 660 with a 42" bar and would like to get a 48" bar for it " someday" . As of right now I plan on calling my credit card company on Mon. and have payment on the Panther Mill cancelled. I will call the Panther people also.
BTW---- for most of my adult life I have owned my own business and was fairly successful at it. Based on what I've read here and how my transaction with them is going so far I'm amazed they are still around. I didn't order from them based on price. I did watch a lot of the Matt Cremona videos on U-Tube showing him milling with the Panther Mill and the fact that it was made in the USA is why I ordered from them. In all my years of running my own business I can gaurentee that waiting for a product that takes twice as long to deliver as is stated would have ruined us. Sounds to me like he may just be bulking up on orders for discounts on larger steel buys ----- or------ he's really doing this part time as it fits his schedule. Either way---- I'm done. He wins. I'm going elsewhere. At least now " he may have a 48" mill " he can ship in a timely manner.
Thanks to everyone for all your help and insight ---- I feel like a fool for not knowing this sooner.
The mill I ordered is a 48" unit, I have a 660 with a 42" bar and would like to get a 48" bar for it " someday" . As of right now I plan on calling my credit card company on Mon. and have payment on the Panther Mill cancelled. I will call the Panther people also.
BTW---- for most of my adult life I have owned my own business and was fairly successful at it. Based on what I've read here and how my transaction with them is going so far I'm amazed they are still around. I didn't order from them based on price. I did watch a lot of the Matt Cremona videos on U-Tube showing him milling with the Panther Mill and the fact that it was made in the USA is why I ordered from them. In all my years of running my own business I can gaurentee that waiting for a product that takes twice as long to deliver as is stated would have ruined us. Sounds to me like he may just be bulking up on orders for discounts on larger steel buys ----- or------ he's really doing this part time as it fits his schedule. Either way---- I'm done. He wins. I'm going elsewhere. At least now " he may have a 48" mill " he can ship in a timely manner.
Thanks to everyone for all your help and insight ---- I feel like a fool for not knowing this sooner.
Just a quick follow up for potential buyers of Panther Pro mills.
Having been told personally by Kim Kasten that his company was finally caught up and I could expect delivery of a Panther Pro 2 in 2-3 weeks I went ahead and ordered my mill on 8-10-2017. It is now 9-25-2017. On 9-6-2017 I sent an email inquiring as to when the mill would ship. No answer. Nothing. I finally called the credit card company today to cancel payment AND I called Panther Pro and told them to cancel my order. Low and behold----- exactly 26 minutes after I called---- Kim Kasten called me back. Yes----26 minutes. Where has he been the last three weeks. Amazing huh ?
He did use the hurricane as an excuse, and, as much as I sympathize with him, the hurricane would have been a non-issue had he shipped when he said he would. And I told him so. I was then asked to rethink my position so to speak as my mill was scheduled to go out next Fri. Not this Fri , next Fri. So---- from order to receipt it would be nearly 7 weeks for delivery.
Everything was cordial until he told me I basically heard what I wanted to hear instead of what he actually said during our first phone conversation. I then let him know I wanted a refund , period. That was pretty much the end of the conversation.
My rant is over. By the way. During the time it took me to type this ( I'm very slow) I just received and email that states that I have been credited the full purchase price of the mill I ordered. Why not conduct all of your business this way ? I could have been a very happy customer. Sad.
Hope everyone is having a great day.
Having been told personally by Kim Kasten that his company was finally caught up and I could expect delivery of a Panther Pro 2 in 2-3 weeks I went ahead and ordered my mill on 8-10-2017. It is now 9-25-2017. On 9-6-2017 I sent an email inquiring as to when the mill would ship. No answer. Nothing. I finally called the credit card company today to cancel payment AND I called Panther Pro and told them to cancel my order. Low and behold----- exactly 26 minutes after I called---- Kim Kasten called me back. Yes----26 minutes. Where has he been the last three weeks. Amazing huh ?
He did use the hurricane as an excuse, and, as much as I sympathize with him, the hurricane would have been a non-issue had he shipped when he said he would. And I told him so. I was then asked to rethink my position so to speak as my mill was scheduled to go out next Fri. Not this Fri , next Fri. So---- from order to receipt it would be nearly 7 weeks for delivery.
Everything was cordial until he told me I basically heard what I wanted to hear instead of what he actually said during our first phone conversation. I then let him know I wanted a refund , period. That was pretty much the end of the conversation.
My rant is over. By the way. During the time it took me to type this ( I'm very slow) I just received and email that states that I have been credited the full purchase price of the mill I ordered. Why not conduct all of your business this way ? I could have been a very happy customer. Sad.
Hope everyone is having a great day.
Jimbo209
ArboristSite Guru
China small mill it is until I can build my own
TedSherman
ArboristSite Member
When I got mine a couple years ago, it took over 6 weeks. Communication was pretty bad; when I finally got hold of them and said to cancel the order, they said it would go out that week. It did.
I've used it quite a bit--it's a good mill, though heavy (I've got a 42" pro, I think). Getting the depth adjusted is a bit of a pain. Once I'm done with the logs I have, I'll probably sell it and get a lighter Granberg.
I know this is an older post but just updating for people thinking of buying. I ordered a Panther 2 on Dec 15 2017, and received the auto response of payment and ship date of 14-28 business days. On Jan 4 just sent an email to see progress, little early because of holidays, but just wanted to check. I received an instant replay that it would be 4-6 weeks. Feb 13 I sent another email just checking again, due to having wood on the ground and no reply. Feb 21 I sent another email and no reply. I am still going to give them a chance before canceling, but if you need a mill today, you might be better going somewhere else. I'm new to this forum so you can take this with a grain of salt, but looks like I am not the only one having issues. Thanks, and hope you all have a great day. Will update when and if I get the mill.
