Stihl vs Husky? ...no... Ripsaw vs Skillmill
After digging around some more on the net, got a little bigger picture of the Skillmill. Trying to be as unbiased as I possibly can, comparing the Skillmill to my Ripsaw/csm combo is sort of apples and oranges. Never having seen a Skillmill in action but taking into account others assessments from those who HAVE seen it, like Sawyer Rob, here is how I see they compare if one was inclined to match them up.
Ripsaw/csm combo including saws is between $1800 and $2300 cheaper than Skillmill/csm combo depending on whether you buy used saws or new ones, and whether you include the cost of a 5KW generator.
Power to punch through rock hard wood and tough knots... Ripsaw/csm have it, Skillmill apparently doesn't
Ripsaw moves through 10 inches of oak about 10-12 seconds per foot, Skillmill apparently slower than that and even then only a 4 inch cut. My csm (395/36"bar) will move through 24 inches of oak about a foot a minute, in 8 inches twice that, which might be slower than the Skillmill, don't know. So overall I'd guess the Ripsaw/csm combo is much faster than the Skillmill, probably many times faster if you are comparing bd ft output per hour or day.
Cost to run? At $115 a pop, depends on how many of those expensive proprietary blades you go through. With only 2 teeth per blade, probably easy to sharpen, but then with only two teeth, do they get dull quicker? $115 buys 6+ Ripsaw blades which with one re-sharpening each should mill you 2000+ bd ft of lumber. Will one Skillmill blade mill 2000 bd ft with one resharpening? Don't know. If I was a betting man, I'd say no. Csm with big bore drinks a lot of mix, Ripsaw (60cc) not as much. 5KW genorator... don't know how thirsty they are, so maybe a tossup here. Too many variables.
Skill mill max cut is 4", so even to get an 8" you have to double mill (tick tock tick tock). Ripsaw will slice you up to 14" wide board one pass, and way faster. I have to admit I usually don't use many boards in the woodshop more than 8 inches wide, but there are times when I do. However, it is more effecient milling wider boards and then ripping to smaller widths in the shop than milling lots of small boards (and thus all the extra handling in between) in the first place.
Portability. Never carried or assembled one, but after seeing the video, I'd say the Ripsaw/csm combo, even including all the accoutrement's like the aluminum guide bars that come with it, are more easily carried to the log than that Skillmill frame and motor unit, not to mention the hassle of lugging that 5KW generator back into the woods. I can guarantee you fitting that Ripsaw aluminum guide bar on a log to start milling will take way less time than assembling that Skillmill frame.
What the Ripsaw/csm combo won't do is mill those fancy specialized boards like they show on the website by tilting the blade. However, when would you be making them out of wet lumber that will shrink and move as it dries, in the first place? I suppose there are situations. (rough cabins and chicken coops?)
What the Skillmill won't give you is exhaust fumes and ear damaging noise right in your face like the Ripsaw/csm combo will. But then a Logosol won't either if you have the kind that cranks your saw down the frame as you stand back away from it.
So... the Ripsaw/csm combo is less expensive, faster, more portable, and will mill larger boards without the csm kerf waste.
OK, enough Skillmill bashing... like many other types of mills, I'm sure there is a niche out there for this thing. I'm looking at it from MY perspective, with the final results tailored to MY woodworking, my portability expectations, my bang for the buck expectations and my space limitations. Obviously, necessarily a somewhat narrow perspective.
