Still a family run business since March 1994, Barnsley Timber is run by Father and son team, Darron and Daniel Walker. Original in keeping their traditional approach, they pride themselves on good customer relationships and offering a quality product, crafted through years of experience. We interviewed both Darron and Daniel about their new Stenner resaw from Daltons Wadkin, and how its helped Barnsley Timber invest in their future.
What prompted you to look for a new band resaw?
The previous Wadkin resaw had seen them through 17 years of service, but in 2019 the time had come to upgrade as the machine was too old to repair and could not keep up with growing demand. “There’s pictures of when we first got the Wadkin saw, and we had about a quarter of the stock we have now”, Daniel explained how rapidly the business had expanded over time, and it was agreed that a new saw was required to speed up production.
Why did you choose the Stenner ST100R band resaw?
After originally seeing Stenner machines in action at a sawmill in Ireland, Daniel and Darron then got in touch with machinery specialists, Daltons Wadkin, for further advice and a demonstration at their Nottingham showroom with Sales Director, Andy Walsh. “Andy invited us down to Nottingham and showed us the Stenner working, he’s a terrific guy and straight away gave us the confidence to buy the Stenner”. Darron discussed the importance of trust to his work ethic.
How has the Stenner resaw affected your production?
Production has been much quicker, almost doubling productivity. A regular project undertaken by Barnsley Timber involves a pallet of 1000 pieces of 2 by 1 timber, which need cutting to size for a lead company. “It used to take us about two days to cut these, but with the Stenner it takes less than a day”, enthused Daniel. “It cuts things bigger, quicker, and cleaner”, confirmed Darron.
What volume are you processing? 
Volume varies from day to day. The saw will work on average two or three hours a day, with busier days seeing it being used throughout. Stenner resaws are capable of running all day, every day. Darron was looking for an investment in the company’s future, which he found with the help of Daltons Wadkin and Stenner. “We knew when we bought this saw it’s the last saw we’d have to buy for the next 30 years or more. The investment was to buy a top of the range saw that we knew was going to last us for a long, long time”.
How easy have your operators found using the Stenner?
Daniel was impressed with how user friendly the Stenner resaw was for their operators to use. “It’s fool proof. The digital display gives you the exact measurement, rather than having a tape measure out, like we did before”. Like with any new technology there can be initial concerns over how intuitive it will be to use. Darron summed it up well, “a measure of how easy it is to use, is that we’ve got two 70 year old men out there who are not good with technology, but they can both use that saw very, very easily”.
Would you recommend a Stenner from Daltons Wadkin?
Darron’s final comments concluded his opinions on the Stenner and experience with Daltons Wadkin. “The whole service, from us being initially interested in having a Stenner, to having it fitted and up running and working went extremely smooth. Everything they said they could do, they did. That’s all you want”. Barnsley Timber are premiere timber merchants with strong values, which is reflected in their customer base and product quality. We wish them all the best going forward with their new Stenner resaw.
StennerFor more information on the Stenner range of band resaw machines, contact Daltons Wadkin on 0115 824 5929, email info@daltonswadkin.com or visit www.daltonswadkin.com
