Sawmill repair
The Harbor Freight Central Machinery sawmill in it's 2012 rendition is exactly the same as the Woodland Mills sawmill, without handle grips and a few other niceties. I ordered mine in early July 2012 and received it mid July 2012. I paid about $2200 including shipping. It arrived in cardboard and welded steel packaging. I cut up the steel and kept it for future projects. The mill took a couple hours to assemble and was pretty straight forward. The only problem was the cross bar for the clamping system. It was about 1/2" too long. Once I shortened it everything went together fine (though the clamping system kinda sucks). After about 50 cuts the elevation control failed. The hand crank is attached to a threaded rod, which drives a threaded brass "nut". The brass nut stripped, allowing the saw head to fall onto the log I was about to cut. The saw head is really heavy.
Following is detailed description of how I remedied this problem. This fix requires steel grinding equipment, steel cutting equipment, and welding equipment. A file, hack saw, and welder will do it, but an angle grinder and welder make it easy. Also required is about 15" of 3/4-10 all thread and a matching coupler (nut that is about 2.5 inches long). Both are readily available at hardware stores. I live in a town population 2900 and the local (very small) hardware store had both. The end result is your hand crank will be opposite of what it was (cranking direction) and it will be just under 1/4" elevation change per handle rotation. 5 cranks per inch. If this is unacceptable, get left handed all thread and a left handed coupler, expect to pay a lot more. It took me about 30 seconds to adjust to turning the crank the opposite direction. This repair took 63 minutes, and I was doddling. I have included photos, but I have no idea what order they'll be in.
Engage the saw head locks, then turn the hand crank to make slack in the cables. Remove the cables from the pulley wheels. The extending arm of the elevation control can be removed by turning the hand crank till the extending arm comes off the end of the threaded rod which controls it. All the way up. The brass "nut" in the extending arm, as well as the crank handle, are held in place by steel rivets. Grind or file off one side of the rivets then punch them through with a small steel rod, nail set, or drift pin. Have a rag handy as both should be covered in grease. Cut off the elevator rod in the area between the threads and the smooth section. Weld on a matching length of 3/4" all thread. The beauty or ugliness of your weld doesn't matter because nobody will ever see it. Make it strong, there's plenty of clearance. I clamped mine in a piece of angle iron to make sure the pieces lined up perfectly. Align the the 3/4" coupler in the end of the extending arm that the brass "nut" threaded block came out of. Weld it in place as straight as possible. I'm guessing it's not that critical cause mine worked the first try. You might wanna spot weld it then install it on the mill to make sure it works before filling in the welds. Clearance is a bit of an issue here. I grinded my welds flat. Once the coupler is welded in place, smear grease the length of the threaded rod, and put it all back together. If you've made it this far I probably don't have to describe the reassembly. I sprayed paint the grinded areas to prevent rust. I tapped in the rivets as a temporary attachment for the crank until I get some bolts and nuts to replace them. I made a couple cuts and everything is working better than before. Previously there were times when the hand crank would stick or become hard to turn. Now very smooth.
I have more photos, so if something doesn't make sense, email me.
Good luck. Email if any questions.
[email protected] I'm also working on an improved clamping system and it's looking good so far.
