# Hud-Son Sawyer bandsaw mill update.



## Reilly (Jun 12, 2017)

I thought I'd start another thread in case anyone is interested in getting a hobby level entry saw mill. This is my second weekend with the mill now and have gone through all 20 of my logs i had decked and the mill has been perfect! After every 3rd log i retorque all the bolts and check all the adjustments. So far i haven't had to adjust anything yet. The Irontron (honda clone) motor runs flawlessly and the blade is still razor sharp. For lube I'm using water mixed with 10% pinesol and i have no pitch build up on the blade. For $2100 delivered to your door I'd say this saw is an absolute bargain for the hobby level sawyer!


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## Johnmn (Jun 12, 2017)

I've been looking into band saw mills and hudson was on my list. Thanks for posting this


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## Reilly (Jun 12, 2017)

You're welcome. I was trying to decide between this and the harbor freight saw mill and I am very happy I chose this one. Assembling it was a lot of work, but the best part about that is if anything goes wrong I know how it comes apart lol...


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## olyman (Jun 15, 2017)

Reilly said:


> You're welcome. I was trying to decide between this and the harbor freight saw mill and I am very happy I chose this one. Assembling it was a lot of work, but the best part about that is if anything goes wrong I know how it comes apart lol...


what made you go Hudson, instead of HF??? just que.....


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## Reilly (Jun 15, 2017)

olyman said:


> what made you go Hudson, instead of HF??? just que.....



To be honest It was mainly that I see a bunch of the HF units out there, and their many "upgrades" that people are doing to them, and I had not seen any of the Sawyers. So I decided to try it and see for myself. A buddy of mine ordered the HF unit about a week after I ordered my unit. Being able to do a side by side comparo now I'm pretty happy with my decision. The HF unit "seems" more stout, but in reality while in use ithe Sawyer has far less freeplay between the main unit and the track, and the guides for the blades on the Sawyer are much better, allowing for perfectly straight and flat cuts. He also was bummed that there was a $100 delivery fee for the hf unit lol...


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## 30DaysTDY (Jul 31, 2017)

I found this web site and your post while researching this low-end Hud-Son saw. Thank you for initiating this thread, which lead me to this site! I am a former WoodMizer owner, and while I like their products, I don't feel I can justify that much capital committed to a hobby tool. I ordered one of the Sawyer mills from Hud-Son last week, and I'm working on getting a trailer set up to make it mobile, once it arrives. I look forward to following your progress with yours and comparing notes!


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jul 31, 2017)

That's really cheap for a mill. The Woodmizer we run was about 25x that price!


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## Reilly (Jul 31, 2017)

30DaysTDY said:


> I found this web site and your post while researching this low-end Hud-Son saw. Thank you for initiating this thread, which lead me to this site! I am a former WoodMizer owner, and while I like their products, I don't feel I can justify that much capital committed to a hobby tool. I ordered one of the Sawyer mills from Hud-Son last week, and I'm working on getting a trailer set up to make it mobile, once it arrives. I look forward to following your progress with yours and comparing notes!


 Awesome! Just as an update I have cut 35 10ft lengths of Doug Fir as of this last weekend. I just changed the first blade out this weekend so I'm pretty happy about that. The motor is awesome, it starts first pull every time. I am using aviation 100LL fuel in it though, as to keep the ethanol out of it. I have a 20x55 lean too full of drying 2x8x10's right now and i couldn't be any more happy with this Sawyer. I can imagine If I was going to use a mill for anything BUT hobby level that I would instantly max out this things potential but so far so good. I am considering installing a 14 hp twin cylinder motor ( Honda clones on sale here locally for $399) only for the fact that as I have been getting into fresh cut trees with lots of pitch the motor does slow a bit. Good luck with you build, let me know how it goes and if you have any questions about the assembly.


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## Reilly (Jul 31, 2017)

I can honestly say that If I needed to build a house with a mill, in even a slightly remote area, it would have been with a much bigger and more capable mill.


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## 30DaysTDY (Jul 31, 2017)

Reilly said:


> Awesome! Just as an update I have cut 35 10ft lengths of Doug Fir as of this last weekend. I just changed the first blade out this weekend so I'm pretty happy about that. The motor is awesome, it starts first pull every time. I am using aviation 100LL fuel in it though, as to keep the ethanol out of it. I have a 20x55 lean too full of drying 2x8x10's right now and i couldn't be any more happy with this Sawyer. I can imagine If I was going to use a mill for anything BUT hobby level that I would instantly max out this things potential but so far so good. I am considering installing a 14 hp twin cylinder motor ( Honda clones on sale here locally for $399) only for the fact that as I have been getting into fresh cut trees with lots of pitch the motor does slow a bit. Good luck with you build, let me know how it goes and if you have any questions about the assembly.


I like your idea on the aviation fuel, but we have some vendors here in central MO selling 91 Octane free of ethanol for all the boaters we have around here. I think that would eliminate the ethanol worry just as well and for less $.


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## Reilly (Jul 31, 2017)

30DaysTDY said:


> I like your idea on the aviation fuel, but we have some vendors here in central MO selling 91 Octane free of ethanol for all the boaters we have around here. I think that would eliminate the ethanol worry just as well and for less $.



Oh absolutely..


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## 30DaysTDY (Jul 31, 2017)

Reilly said:


> I can honestly say that If I needed to build a house with a mill, in even a slightly remote area, it would have been with a much bigger and more capable mill.



Absolutely! My WooMizer LT25 had a powered head carriage, but the log handling was all manual. If I was building a house or barn, I'd buy a full hydraulic log handling package. There aren't enough hours in the day to waste wrestling logs and big cants. If I ever really go beyond hobby work, I think I'd go with the TimberKing 1600.


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## Reilly (Jul 31, 2017)

30DaysTDY said:


> Absolutely! My WooMizer LT25 had a powered head carriage, but the log handling was all manual. If I was building a house or barn, I'd buy a full hydraulic log handling package. There aren't enough hours in the day to waste wrestling logs and big cants. If I ever really go beyond hobby work, I think I'd go with the TimberKing 1600.



So, one of the "upgrades " I have done to my mill trailer was I bought one of the truck bed crane lifts from HF for $120 and bolted it to the middle side of my trailer and now I have a one man easy load operation for the logs. I can take pics of it tonight to show you if you'd like.


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## 30DaysTDY (Jul 31, 2017)

Yes, please, I would like to see that. I ran into a guy yesterday that has one mounted on a flatbed used to haul 55 gallon drums of used oil.


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## john taliaferro (Aug 1, 2017)

I put one on the right rear of my f250 ,found a bearing with a snap ring slot for the top made it swivel nice also a 3000 lb remote winch . a full oil barrel is a load .


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## Brian72 (Aug 1, 2017)

Seems like a nice mill at a very affordable price. I just got a chainsaw mill recently. It's great for bigger logs but far too labor-intensive for just cutting standard lumber. I may have to look into these. Could you possibly post some pics of your mill? I can't seem to get any good pics on the Hudson site. Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


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## Reilly (Aug 1, 2017)

Brian72 said:


> Seems like a nice mill at a very affordable price. I just got a chainsaw mill recently. It's great for bigger logs but far too labor-intensive for just cutting standard lumber. I may have to look into these. Could you possibly post some pics of your mill? I can't seem to get any good pics on the Hudson site. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk



Sure, here's my original thread from when I first got the mill. It has pics. 

http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...or-hudson-sawyer-sawmill.309936/#post-6270829


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## 30DaysTDY (Aug 1, 2017)

Brian72 said:


> Seems like a nice mill at a very affordable price. I just got a chainsaw mill recently. It's great for bigger logs but far too labor-intensive for just cutting standard lumber. I may have to look into these. Could you possibly post some pics of your mill? I can't seem to get any good pics on the Hudson site. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


There are a couple of customer videos on YouTube, I believe, and Hud-Son has an assembly video you can access in their site.


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## Reilly (Aug 1, 2017)

Hey 30Days, I just noticed your question on the other thread and yes, I welded automotive screw jacks to all 4 corners under the trailer and I have it set up slightly leaning towards the back of the trailer to where I don't really push the mill head, I just sort of guide it. Make sure to put the rail stops on though! lol!!


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## 30DaysTDY (Aug 1, 2017)

Reilly said:


> Hey 30Days, I just noticed your question on the other thread and yes, I welded automotive screw jacks to all 4 corners under the trailer and I have it set up slightly leaning towards the back of the trailer to where I don't really push the mill head, I just sort of guide it. Make sure to put the rail stops on though! lol!!


Operational experience with not using the stops, eh?


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## 30DaysTDY (Aug 1, 2017)

Reilly said:


> Hey 30Days, I just noticed your question on the other thread and yes, I welded automotive screw jacks to all 4 corners under the trailer and I have it set up slightly leaning towards the back of the trailer to where I don't really push the mill head, I just sort of guide it. Make sure to put the rail stops on though! lol!!


My OE - also remember to lower your log dogs before the blade tries to do it for you!


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## Reilly (Aug 1, 2017)

Yup, almost rolled the mill right off the trailer when I was first setting up the screw jacks lol... 

Yea, one of my dogs has a nick out of it cuz I was watching the other side lol...


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## Brian72 (Aug 1, 2017)

Reilly said:


> Sure, here's my original thread from when I first got the mill. It has pics.
> 
> http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...or-hudson-sawyer-sawmill.309936/#post-6270829


Thanks. Much appreciated. Very nice.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


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## Reilly (Feb 15, 2018)

I'm not sure if anyone is interested, but just in case you are I have been using this mill like crazy every since I got it last May or June. I have only swapped blades once, changed the oil in the motor and that's honestly about it. I haven't even checked all the bolts in the last few months because I've been using this thing about 30 hours each weekend. I have just under 4000 bf processed as of this last weekend. I now have stacks of lumber on all 4 sides of my shop, inside the shop, along the back side of the house and pretty much anywhere else I can fit it lol... I also just used some of the very first lumber processed this weekend by building a 2nd level inside my shop. It's pretty awesome how hard the screws and lag bolts bite into this wood. I CANNOT EXPRESS MY OVERALL HAPPINESS ENOUGH WITH THIS MILL!!!!!! I would never hesitate suggesting this saw to a weekend lumber warrior like myself.


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## Sawyer Rob (Feb 15, 2018)

So, you have been sawing for 9 months, at 30 hours a weekend and you are on your second band???

That's two days at 15 hours a day!

Now, that would be impressive!

SR


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## Reilly (Feb 15, 2018)

Yup, in fact this last weekend my middle son and I were in milling logs just before 6 am and my wife brought us dinner in the woods at 11pm. We've kind of got it down where we drop the trees during the week, limb them, skid them to the mill and mill all weekend long. I've got a 5 year plan, and it's going to take 2 years of milling and drying so times a wasting 


Sawyer Rob said:


> So, you have been sawing for 9 months, at 30 hours a weekend and you are on your second band???
> 
> That's two days at 15 hours a day!
> 
> ...


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## Boomer 87 (Mar 26, 2018)

You may have mentioned it here already, but can you buy track extensions for this unit? This is the mill I was going to go with but id like eventually to go longer


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