July, 2006 

A note from Trudi . . .

We survived. I'm alive, and still walking (just), and the New Zealand National Fieldays are behind us for another year. It was a long week, standing outside battling the torrential rain and gale force winds, but we did it as a team - we survived.

It turned out to be a huge week for Peterson's, with over 1000 people coming through the site, and nearly 800 enjoying cutting a board (for many, it was their first board ever) on the new SKILLMILL. This is the name of Jake's latest creation that we proudly launched at the show last week.

BTW: That's me in the background up top, in the red t-shirt talking to my mate Jim, behind Jake who is taking one of the many contestants through their paces on the Skillmill.

I can't say that I am not pleased now to be back in the cosy confines of my warm office though, with now cherished ammenities such as heaters, clean toilets, carpet, and chairs. It is these things that I am enjoying as I write this, our first of hopefully many 'notes' from different members of the Peterson 'family'. We wanted to invite you behind the scenes to see a little more of the daily life of the Peterson factory, as part of our newsletter makeover that also includes a simpler layout, and a few extra features that will be coming out in the next couple of issues. 

I hope you enjoy. Feel free to send through your feedback.

The SKILLMILL is here . . .

We couldn't hide it any longer, so it was with great pleasure that we unveiled Jake's latest creation at the New Zealand National Fieldays last month.

The SKILLMILL is an affordable little mill that allows speciality cuts like none other, with 18 different angle options. Plug it into your power source in your garage, or run it off a generator, the new mill is going to be every woodworkers dream.

For more information check out the Forestry Forum thread, and then head over to the official Skillmill website.

Photo of the Month & Miller Profile . .

Chris DeStephano has been sending through some awesome photos of his new ASM in action and we thought we had better share them with you as well.

The photo has Chris and his fiancee enjoying the 'good life - sitting down on the beach, cutting a few nice slabs, and enjoying the sun.

We've also included a Miller Profile on Chris to show more of his operation at home, and down on the Gulf, salvaging logs that were blown down by Katrina and Rita last year.

For those of us who have seen or operated bandmills, chain saw mills, or conventional circle mills, the cutting concepts for a swing mill operation may seem strange, but they are certainly interesting - and they work!

Swingmills dismantle a log in a way that is similar to multiblade "dimensional" sawmills. Originally designed for use in countries where average-sized sawlogs would . . . . Read on.

Peterson's news . . .

* Check out the world show schedule to find the
    next show in your area.
* Pat Hosman has sadly had to resign as our
    Regional Centre in Arizona. Ironically he has
    become too busy with his sawmilling business
    and doesn't have time for us anymore!
* We released a new-look home page on our
    website this month. Google have kindly

    powered our new search engine, to help
    you find what you need faster.
* Stay tuned for announcements next month of new agents in Europe and Canada,
    and Regional Centres across Australia.

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