# New guy, looking for a small bandsaw sawmill



## A.O. (Dec 17, 2017)

Ok, a little background...
I'm a reasonably young 62 in decent health. Have wanted a sawmill most of my adult life but either didn't have the money, or the trees, or something.
Now, we have 100 acres we bought about 3 years ago in South Carolina, a lot of it was set up as a pine tree plantation, mostly Loblolly pine, straight trunks with few low branches.. a lot in the 6-8 diameter with lots in the 12-20 inch diameter and a few larger.. so now I have the trees.
I have a Kubota 37hp 4x4 tractor with a loader with a bucket and a grapple, so I have a way to move and load logs. (hoping they aren't too heavy, not tried it out yet moving logs) I plan to drop a tree or two prior to actually buying a sawmill to make sure the tractor and I am up to the task!
I've 3 chainsaws, 1 Echo arborist , and 2 larger Stihls. Been cutting trees for firewood most of my life so I know my way around a chainsaw pretty well.
Also have a 20 foot trailer with a 12000 lb winch

So I'm thinking NOW might finally be the time, but with all that stuff I listed above.. I don't have a lot of money! ;-).
I'm looking for a small personal use sawmill, but which one. I have up to maybe $2500 to spend..
Looked at the Harbor freight one, but I think it scares me. So right now I'm stuck between a Hudson "Sawyer" model at $2195, and a Woodland mills HM122 at the same $2195 plus $299 shipping so basically $2500. Also looking/dreaming about the Woodland mills HM126... but its $2999 + $345 shipping so its a stretch... a BIG stretch!
Between the last two, I could get the HM122 plus, a 5 pack of sawblades and a bed extension to mill 16 foot logs for about $300 cheaper than the HM126 so I'm a little torn there too. The 126 is bigger, heavier, with a lot of good looking options and a bigger motor..

So what do you guys think?? or is there something out there in my price range I'm missing? Wish I could find a decent one used.. but nobody has the little ones for sale..

Thanks...


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## Brian72 (Dec 17, 2017)

Bigger engine is always better but I'd be more focused on cut width and length. What gives you more? I'd stick with a name brand manufacturer for parts and maintenance down the road. Who knows where the HF mills are built. Do some research. You may have a dealer near you or talk to some current owners. Both seem to be good choices.


Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


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## A.O. (Dec 17, 2017)

Brian72 said:


> Bigger engine is always better but I'd be more focused on cut width and length. What gives you more? I'd stick with a name brand manufacturer for parts and maintenance down the road. Who knows where the HF mills are built. Do some research. You may have a dealer near you or talk to some current owners. Both seem to be good choices.
> 
> 
> Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk



Yes, been doing research for several weeks now, HF one is out I think, the Hudson and the smaller woodland are comparable in size and horsepower, 6 1/2 & 7 HP, 21" dia logs, larger Woodlands is 26" dia and 9 1/2 HP. Length on all 3 starts at 10 feet with the option of bed extenders..


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 17, 2017)

Norwood is selling a lower priced BSM again, I used one, it's a he!! of a mill for the money they want for it.

Much of it is a "copy" of the Lumbermate 2000 that they use to sell...

SR


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## A.O. (Dec 17, 2017)

Sawyer Rob said:


> Norwood is selling a lower priced BSM again, I used one, it's a he!! of a mill for the money they want for it.
> 
> Much of it is a "copy" of the Lumbermate 2000 that they use to sell...
> 
> SR


I just went to their site and saw no mention of it anywhere..


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 17, 2017)

Call them it's a free call, it's a fairly new mill, I looked it over and also milled with it at the EXPO in October...

I was quite impressed with the build quality... They are saving money by having the parts made in China, not that I like that...

SR


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## bayard (Dec 17, 2017)

i have the woodland 126 for a few years now, it works well for part time beginner. it will cut up o a 25- 26 inch dia. the lube set up needs to be better.


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## A.O. (Dec 18, 2017)

I just got an offer on a used Timbery M100 sawmill with the upgraded 9hp engine, he's asking $3000... whatcha think?


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 18, 2017)

I think I would "at least" check out the Norwood before I purchased a lower priced mill...

SR


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## A.O. (Dec 18, 2017)

Sawyer Rob said:


> I think I would "at least" check out the Norwood before I purchased a lower priced mill...
> 
> SR


Any clue on the price?


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 18, 2017)

Seems to me, it was right around 3K, I was surprised it was that low for what I was looking at.

SR


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## A.O. (Dec 18, 2017)

Sawyer Rob said:


> Seems to me, it was right around 3K, I was surprised it was that low for what I was looking at.
> 
> SR


I just sent them an email requesting any info they might have on this, thanks..

AO


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## rarefish383 (Dec 20, 2017)

Rob, is the Norwood Frontier the new model you are talking about? They have video of it on youtube. They did mention it is their only model made outside the US, Joe.


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## rarefish383 (Dec 20, 2017)

I just checked, it's showing up under Frontier Sawmills, not under the Norwood brand, but it says it's backed by Norwoods commitment to innovation, etc.. They say the first batch sold out fast, second batch is due February 2018, $3195, Joe.


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## A.O. (Dec 20, 2017)

rarefish383 said:


> I just checked, it's showing up under Frontier Sawmills, not under the Norwood brand, but it says it's backed by Norwoods commitment to innovation, etc.. They say the first batch sold out fast, second batch is due February 2018, $3195, Joe.


The guy from norwood said it is an os27, he is sending me info, I'll let you know what I hear and in the meantime I'll go to Frontier..


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 20, 2017)

I guess we solved that mystery! lol

Sorry I didn't have better info in the first place, even though I did run the mill, I didn't remember all the details...

They aren't calling it a "Norwood", because the parts come from china.

SR


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## A.O. (Dec 20, 2017)

Sawyer Rob said:


> I guess we solved that mystery! lol
> 
> Sorry I didn't have better info in the first place, even though I did run the mill, I didn't remember all the details...
> 
> ...


So I found the video on the unit looks good, and yes the price is $3195 which is WAY at the top of my possible price point, trying to figure what shipping would be. Guess I'll have to call.
The unit looks very similar to the Woodland mills WM126 unit. A little bigger engine and a couple hundred dollars more. They brag about making it heavy duty but list no weight on the specs to compare with.


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## Sawyer Rob (Dec 20, 2017)

All I can tell you is, it looked VERY much like their old model Lumbermate 2000 and that is a tough classic BSM and the model that started, the class these models are in.

I have nothing but good things to say about my LM2000...

SR


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## Ketchup (Jan 5, 2018)

If you have the time, it's worth a couple days running various mills to compare and see what you really like. The features and adjustments make as big a difference as the motor. My Dad milled with all kinds of stuff before he finally bought a LM2000 used. Usually you can find someone happy for the help and get some experience before bighting the bullet. It's a good way to get into the used market too. He ended up buying one of the mills he tried out.

Dad also has your exact tractor. We move 24" oak with it pretty often so you should have plenty of lift. His needs a lot of extra weight in the back or it tips easily.


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## Busmech (May 10, 2018)

I have an os27 mill I purchased in march and I love it I have a friend that has a mobile dimension circle mill, he watched me mill one log with my mill and ordered one for himself sort of as a value added product. I got my mill with an exstension and 10 blades delivered to the west coast for 4500, shipping was 600 from new York.


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## Marine5068 (May 30, 2018)

I am aiming at one of those too.
Just need to work some overtime....lol
In Canada the base package goes for $3995 plus shipping from western Ontario somewhere.
The 10 pack of blades here is $250
The damn sharpeners are a lot of money aren't they?


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## Ketchup (May 31, 2018)

Blades are cheap. Just hoard your dulls and send them off to get sharpened. We have a sharpener and it's not worth the time. 

Why sharpen when you could be laying up boards?


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## Sawyer Rob (May 31, 2018)

For me, it's worth sharpening my own bands IF I didn't have some one local to sharpen/set them for cheeeep.

I sharpened them for years, but then I found some one that "makes them like new" and is consistent with a reasonable price.

I'll do it myself before I'll pay 10 + bucks to get one done some place else...

SR


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## Marine5068 (Jun 1, 2018)

Sawyer Rob said:


> For me, it's worth sharpening my own bands IF I didn't have some one local to sharpen/set them for cheeeep.
> 
> I sharpened them for years, but then I found some one that "makes them like new" and is consistent with a reasonable price.
> 
> ...


If you don't pay ten then how much do you pay him? He sounds cheap, money wise I mean. 
There was a guy at work that sharpened chains for $5 but I saw his work and didn't like it. He burned up lots of cutters in my opinion.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jun 1, 2018)

Ketchup said:


> Blades are cheap. Just hoard your dulls and send them off to get sharpened. We have a sharpener and it's not worth the time.
> 
> Why sharpen when you could be laying up boards?



Takes maybe 15 secs to stick a blade on the grinder, set it and let it do its thing.

We pay around $35 a blade and can get usually 5-7 sharpenings (run them till they break)


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## Sawyer Rob (Jun 1, 2018)

The guy that cleans, sets and sharpens my bands, does them for $7.00 ea...

He sharpens a LOT of bands and also other things, I see several guys working in his shop... He uses woodmizer equipment on my bands...

I think if I had to pay 10 bucks, I'd just go back to doing them myself...

As for chainsaw chains, I sharpen them myself...

SR


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## Marine5068 (Jun 1, 2018)

Sawyer Rob said:


> The guy that cleans, sets and sharpens my bands, does them for $7.00 ea...
> 
> He sharpens a LOT of bands and also other things, I see several guys working in his shop... He uses woodmizer equipment on my bands...
> 
> ...


every little bit helps


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## Marine5068 (Jun 1, 2018)

Sawyer Rob said:


> The guy that cleans, sets and sharpens my bands, does them for $7.00 ea...
> 
> He sharpens a LOT of bands and also other things, I see several guys working in his shop... He uses woodmizer equipment on my bands...
> 
> ...


Me too


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