Which Log Cut-Off Saw: Fixed, Adjustable or Precision?
Buyers usually ask us for “an automatic log cut-off saw” and are surprised there are three of them. The blade, the motor and the conveyor are near-identical across all three. What differs is one component — the stop plate — and that single difference decides which machine will suit you for the next ten years.
What is the difference between fixed, adjustable and precision cut-off saws?
All three LONWOOD cut-off saws use a 1200 mm blade at 1460 rpm, cut logs up to 50 cm in diameter, and run at 60–90 logs per hour. The difference is how the stop plate — the barrier that decides where the log stops before the blade drops — is positioned. On the fixed model it is bolted at the conveyor end and set at the factory to one length, changed manually in about three minutes. On the adjustable model it hangs above the conveyor and moves electrically anywhere between 50 and 600 cm in about three seconds. On the precision model it is mounted below the conveyor and moves electrically within a one-metre window whose position you specify at the factory. Fixed is the simplest and most rigid; adjustable is the most flexible; precision is the compromise.
Comparison at a glance
| Fixed LW-CS1200F | Adjustable LW-CS1200A | Precision LW-CS1200P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting length | 50–200 cm, fixed at factory | 50–600 cm | 1 m window, position customised |
| Accuracy | ±3.8 mm | ±3.5 mm | ±3.5 mm |
| Stop plate | Fixed, conveyor end | Hanging, electric | Under-mounted, electric |
| Time to change length | ~3 min, manual | ~3 s, electric | ~3 s, electric |
| Max saw heads | 1 standard, up to 6 | 1 standard, up to 3 | 1 standard, up to 3 |
| Total power | 18 kW | 21 kW | 20.2 kW |
| Weight | 2500 kg | 2550 kg | 2450 kg |
| Control panel | Production counting | Length setting + counting | Length setting + counting |
Shared across all three: Ø50 cm maximum log, 18 m/min conveyor at 680 mm wide, blade change in about five minutes using standard market blades, one operator, 380 V/50 Hz as standard with 220 V, 415 V and 60 Hz available.
When should you choose the fixed model?
Choose fixed when you cut one length all day, every day. Ice cream stick factories, match and toothpick producers, and charcoal yards feeding a kiln of known dimensions all fall into this group.
Two advantages are easy to miss. First, it takes up to six saw heads — double the others — so a single pass through the conveyor produces several finished sections at once. If your product is one fixed length, that multiplies throughput without a second machine. Second, it is the simplest structure of the three: fewer moving parts on the stop assembly means less to adjust, less to wear and less to explain to a new operator.
The trade-off is real. Changing the length means stopping and repositioning the plate by hand, roughly three minutes. Do that twice a day and it costs you nothing. Do it twenty times a day and you have bought the wrong machine.
When should you choose the adjustable model?
Choose adjustable when your order book decides your lengths. Sawmills, timber traders and general processing yards cutting to customer specification need to move between lengths without stopping production.
The hanging stop plate covers 50 to 600 cm — the widest range of the three — and repositions electrically in about three seconds from the control panel. In practice that means length changes stop being a production decision and become an operator keystroke.
The costs of that flexibility: slightly higher power draw at 21 kW, a maximum of three saw heads rather than six, and a more complex stop assembly. If you actually cut one length all year, you are paying for capability you will never use.
When should you choose the precision model?
Choose precision when your lengths cluster inside a narrow band but need fine control within it. A producer cutting mostly 80–120 cm, or a mushroom substrate operation trimming to a species-dependent length, fits this pattern.
You specify the position of the one-metre window when you order — 50–150 cm, 100–200 cm, wherever your work sits — and the under-mounted plate then moves electrically within that window. Mounting the plate below the conveyor rather than above it keeps the top of the machine clear, which some operators prefer for loading.
If your range is genuinely wider than one metre, buy the adjustable model instead. The precision model is not a cheaper adjustable — it is a different tool.
How do you decide in one minute?
Answer one question: how often does your cutting length change?
- Never, or once a season → Fixed. Take the extra saw heads.
- Several times a day, across a wide range → Adjustable.
- Often, but always within about a metre → Precision.
Then check a second thing: do you also need a feeder? All three bolt directly to a LONWOOD log deck feeder and share its control cabinet, so one operator runs the whole line instead of one person feeding and another cutting. Feeders buffer 20–30 logs and deliver about 10 per minute — comfortably ahead of any of the three saws, so the saw stays the limiting factor rather than the loading.
What about accuracy?
The fixed model is rated ±3.8 mm and the other two ±3.5 mm. That difference comes from the stop plate design, not from a difference in build quality, and for almost every application it is irrelevant — 0.3 mm will not change your product grade.
What does matter is that the rating holds over a shift. Accuracy on a cut-off saw comes from frame rigidity and a stop that does not creep under repeated impact. That is a question about steel and construction, not about the specification sheet, and the honest way to check it is to watch the machine run and measure ten consecutive cuts. We record exactly that for your machine before it ships.
Still not sure?
Send us three numbers and we will tell you which model — including when the answer is the cheaper one:
- Your log diameter range
- The cutting length or lengths you need
- Your target output per day
We build all three in our own workshop in Feixian, Linyi, at around 50 machines a month, and configure each one to your log size and local voltage. Message us on WhatsApp or browse all products.