# Hello all, wondering if anyone can help identify what I have?



## AltaGame (Sep 27, 2012)

Hey folks, cool forums. Just wondering if anyone can assist in identifying these things. I've tried to look it up on a search but am coming up empty handed.


I've been told its part of a Saw Mill or lumber Yard but can anyone confirm this or assist me in identifying brand, year or make? Is it even a part of a Large Scale setup?

Really neat stuff! 

Pictures:

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3


Any help is welcome. If you need better pictures of anything, or anything I should be looking for, please let me know.
Thanks!

Chris - AltaGame
Edmonton, Canada


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## digger (Jan 2, 2008)

Sure looks like a sawmill to me, with powered infeed and outfeed rollers. I don't recognize it as being from any kit I've ever seen, so I suspect that it's a one-off custom built setup. It's a beautiful model!


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

If I had to guess you have a model of a saw mill. It would help greatly if you would take the pictures with a ruler. That might help someone who knows something about saw mills estimate the scale. 

Chuck


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

1 and 3 are a sawmill. In #2 the top one is a planer and the bottom one is an edger... they appear to be motorized. 

Somebody put a LOT of work into those


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

As everyone said, it looks like a model of a sawmill..very nice model too!  

brand, year or make? 

Brand: home-made, scratch built, not a commercial model, probably one of a kind! 
year: no way to know, unless someone can identify it and determine the builder. 
make: whoever made it!  

part of a Large Scale setup 

We need to know how big it is to determine the scale..can you give us some dimensions? 
overall dimensions would be a start..photos with a ruler placed next to things would be good, 
and dimensions that of parts that look like they "fit" a person would be helpful..there appears to be a workstation with a seat in one of the photos.. 

Scot


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## AltaGame (Sep 27, 2012)

Hi Folks, sorry for the delayed response on this. I had to dig it out to get more pictures. Please see the attached.

Also, note I'm including pics of the train set that came with this, however, I don't think they go together, I think it was just a coincidence that they were together, but I'm no pro so those of you how are Anyway, hope the new pictures help unravel the mystery!

Thanks all!

Mill 1
Mill 2
Mill 3
Mill 4

Train Set 1
Train Set 2
Train Set 3
Train Set 4


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

the train set is basic HO scale old junk ... not worth anything hardly 

mill is a much larger scale .... home made ..... also not worth much money wize ..... but is kinda neet


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Interesting!
yes, the HO scale trains and the sawmill are absolutely, completely unrelated..
The HO scale trains are pretty basic & common, the whole thing is probably worth about $100 or so..
(got the makings of a nice layout though! its a great "starter set", if you want to set up a HO scale layout)

But in HO scale, a 6-foot tall person stands 0.8" tall, so you can see the mill doesn't match HO scale...
a 0.8" tall person would definitely be WAY too small for that mill..

Someone clearly made it to go with "Large Scale"..generically called "G scale"..
its still hard to get a read on the exact scale used, because there isnt much that gives a "human scale" to the model..
On the photo labeled "Mill 3", look for the big circular saw blade on the right, with the teeth, then to the right of that is something
that I suspect is a stool for a person to sit on, the round thing with the single pole attaching it to the floor..
that looks like a workman's stool at a workstation..

The stool looks just a bit taller than one inch..lets say its 1.25" tall, and its meant to represent a stool that is 30" high (stool height varies)..
that works out nicely to a scale of 1/24..
In 1/24 scale, a 6-foot tall person would be 3-inches tall (1/2 inch equals a foot)
that looks pretty close! make a paper-cutout of a 3-inch tall person and place him in various places around the mill, I bet he look pretty good..

Im going to vote for a 1/24 scale scratch-built model of a lumber mill..
it matches Large scale trains fairly well..

Scot


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Oh My Goodness Man
You have a very dangerous machine that has the capability of removing fingers or complete hands, or even worst could be fatal, with the possibility of killing your whole family.
As a good and honorable citizen, I will send you a self addressed and post paid box, and you carefully place this very dangerous contraption in the box and carefully use the special provided tape to secure the box lids to prevent this contraption from injuring any UPS carrier.
I WILL RESCUE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY OF POSSIBLE DEVISTATION.







I will sleep better tonight knowingly I will save you and your family of the greatest amount of horror...









Seriously you have a very nicely scratch built sawmill of some type, it may be completely designed by the builder or may be designed from a prototypical mill. You are very lucky to have found a very nicely built model. 
Congradulations
Dennis


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

From what I can tell, your mill is operable... not just moving parts, but actually capable of sawing wood (or at least softwoods... and fingers!). 

As for "not worth much", that would depend on finding the right buyer. There's a LOT of cheapskates out there. And a lot of guys who'll try to get it dirt cheap so THEY can make a fast buck.


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

The one with one saw blade is a head saw and carriage. The one with the two or more saws, I can't see if there are more than 2, is a gang saw. Both are for turning logs into what are called "cants" and then the “cants” go to the band saws and planers to be turned into finished lumber. Quite a nice looking model.


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## AltaGame (Sep 27, 2012)

Wow folks, some really great information! I plugged some items in and turned them on, no question this thing can cut some wood in addition to some other stuff! (Video to come), that is a mikota blade, logo is on the back side. Scott, I did the 3" figure thing and they still look a little small, I will post some pictures later on today. 

I contacted a few places around here to see if they can help me set it up and fix whats needs fixing. Does anyone know what I'll be looking at in parts value? Like most expensive item to cheapest? I have no clue what any of this stuff costs. Keep in mind, I'm in Canada and things are typically 20% more here. 

Ok well I guess the big question is what is this things worth? In its present condition and fixed? I have a strong feeling these guys are going to try and offer to buy it or consign it. If this was yours what would you be looking to get from it? 


Thanks to everyone for the information, very informative group!


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

For the value of the saw mill, its hard to even guess.. 
its clearly scratch-built, and probably one of a kind (although its possible the builder made more than one, but probably not) 
so "rarity" and uniqueness would suggest a high value.. 

but.. 

It's also something that probably isn't in very high demand..how many people want a working model of a saw mill?  
some people yes, but the number is quite low.. 
so there is little demand, which suggests a low value...so its really impossible to say!  
if you only have one buyer, its whatever they offer..if you can find several interested buyers, the price could go up.. 
I wont even make a guess... 

As for the HO scale trains, those are a lot clearer! 
Its very "basic" stuff, Tyco, AHM, Model power..and it also looks somewhat old, probably 1970's or 1980's vintage..not much value at all really. 
I see this kind of used rolling stock at train shows all the time.. 

Rough estimates: 
The Red CP diesel - $10. (US dollars) 
The two steam locomotives, $5 to $10 each. 
the freight cars, $2 to $5 each. 
the buildings and the mountain, pretty much zero value. 
the power packs, $5 each. 
the turnouts, $2 each. 
the rest of the track together, $15.. 

If you want to take the time to to sell everything separately on ebay, you might get $100 for the whole lot.. 
If you sell it as a group, you might get $50. 

If I was into HO scale and wanted that stuff, I would offer $40 the whole thing and would feel that was a good deal. 
but even among HO scale modelers, this is not desirable material..its old, its used, and its common.. 
just no major value at all..a kid just starting out in the hobby would love to have it! but that's about it.. 

Scot


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

I recently had a box of "junk" HO scale stuff, left over my my childhood and teenage years.. 
I kept my "good" locomotives, my Athearn and Atlas diesels, many of which I had painted and decaled myself, 
and a couple locomotives that had sentimental value, but no monetary value, simply because they were my first-ever trains.. 

The rest, a fairly large box of low-end but serviceable Tyco and AHM freight cars from the 70's, (most still with the original "horn-hook" couplers!) 
and random track bits, I gave to a guy I know who runs a small hobby shop.. 
I asked him to *give* away the material, to any kids he knows who might be new to the hobby, but aren't particularly rich.. 
hand them out as he sees fit..a few at a time or all at once.. 
He said he would do so!  and im sure he did..(it wasn't worth it for him to sell either!  
and he has lived in the community for 70 years..he knows everyone.. 

So that's always an option for material like this.. 
see if you can give it to any kids who might be into the hobby, perhaps just starting out, 
but cant afford a $100 Atlas locomotive. 

Scot


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

You have basically ordinary HO train stuff and is not worth a whole lot of money. Non of it looks to be DDC ready so it's pretty basic. Folks will pay more for the newer HO items. I'm in the process of selling all my HO equip some sells better then others. Later RJD


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## AltaGame (Sep 27, 2012)

Thanks again. I will most likely just take the advice and donate the HO stuff, good idea, people helping people, love it! 

Its really the saw/mill at this point. I hear what you are saying about demand and uniqueness. I guess more of what I'm wondering is, if a guy offered me $100 for it, should I be insulted? If he offered me $1000 should I take it and run? LOL

If anyone on here is interested by all means toss me a PM. Not sure how tricky customs would be, but if you wanted it, I'm sure we could make it work.

Chris


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## AltaGame (Sep 27, 2012)

Hey all, sorry its been a while to get back to this. If anyone wants to pick this unit up make me an offer, please shoot me a PM or reply and I will be in touch with you shortly. 

Thanks everyone. 

Chris


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