Norwood Owners....Please report!

inspectorwoody · December 10, 2005, 10:20:03 PM

Have been looking at the Norwood and it seems like a nice setup for the money. Would like to hear all the pros and cons...from the mill to the customer service and everything in between please ;)

Gadget

Furby · December 10, 2005, 10:53:47 PM

It'll do the job..... unless ya have real monsters!
Customer service was great.

Mine is a much older version, and I bought it used, in case it matters. ;)

PawNature · December 11, 2005, 02:56:34 AM

Mine is a Mark IV. I am just a weekend sawer and don't need or want anything more. I love it for what I do. Never dealt with customer service.

sawwood · December 11, 2005, 10:48:20 AM

Inspectorwoody JR has the MarkIV and you will see it when you come down
to have a look see at our lumber. It is a good saw that will do about as
much as any mill. The only thing is the small width between rollers. JR's
will only cut a 18" width. I think the newer model will cut widther. WE have
cut a lot of wood on it and have even cut some logs longer then the bed
lenth.

Sawwood

ohsoloco · December 11, 2005, 02:19:55 PM

I have the Lumbermate 2000, and I think the throat opening is something like 22 or 24 inches. It's a great little mill, but the saw carriage tends to shake and shimmy when cutting real wide stuff.

Cuts great lumber, but I have problems cutting small timbers...because of the clamping system I never end up with square 4x4's

dail_h · December 11, 2005, 11:55:40 PM

I use mine almost every day. While it is not the ultimate mill,it is probably one of the best mills for the money.NO SERIOUS COMPLAINTS,THE ONLY REAL ONES ARE THE LUBE SYSTEM,IF i HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN,i WOULDN'T EVEN PUT IT ON,JUNK RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. tHE SECOND IS WITH THE 23 bRIGGS,i HAVE TO BE CAREFUL i DON'T OVERRUN THE CLUTCH,AND MAKE IT BURN. (oooopps) Customer service is outstanding.
If I was going to buy a manual mill tomorrow,it would be a Norwood...

moosehunter · December 12, 2005, 07:37:43 AM

I have a 2000 with the 23 briggs. I believe the clutch problem is that the clutch was designed for the 8 or 13 horse models and is not enough clutch for the bigger motors. I also have trouble with head shake in big logs. It will cut 24" wide. It makes beutiful boards. Great customer service ( even if they won't admit the clutch problem) ;).
I still think for the $$ it is a great saw.
mh

whitey · December 12, 2005, 09:59:23 AM

I have the 2000 with 9hp honda wish it was 13 hp I use it to saw western juniper for my cabinets and furniture. well worth the cost paid for itself first year custumer service is excelent . didn't like norwoods blades went to woodmizer but that a personal problem. for a small mill you won't go wrong with norwood.

Whitey

Weekend_Sawyer · December 12, 2005, 10:08:58 AM

Mine is the 2000 wih 20 hp Honda engine, it is a fine manual mill, I have made lots of nice lumber, we sawed my brother's monster barn, all the lumber for a 20 x 25 addition on our cabin including bord and batten siding.
Many other small projects for neighbors and friends.

Mine was delivered in 27 boxes and pallets. The rails were the hardest part to get laid out. Now I could assemble them much faster.

I am looking forward to sawing a millshed for it, hopefully, this year.

I like my norwood.

Jon

Jeff · December 12, 2005, 10:29:45 AM

Jon, remember, You LOVE your Norwood.

Gabby · December 12, 2005, 03:24:52 PM

Great saw for the money. Before I bought mine I did the "Ben Franklin" close. Again for the $$$$ the Norwood beat the other 8-10 other mills I looked at. If you purchase I highly recomend air tools for assembly.

JP · December 12, 2005, 04:31:11 PM

I have the LM2000, 23 briggs-several extensions. the mill will do everything the biggies do ,jest a little slower. fun to run, make modifications to, etc. If the cants are coming out out of square the dog posts are adjustable or the operator isnt clamping properly. ( ive been there//) ( I suspect they will be dealing with the clutch problems soon) JP

DeepWoods · December 12, 2005, 07:33:30 PM

I also have the Lumbermate 2000 with the 23hp briggs. I will say that although it has a few small problems, ( Lube tank valve really needs improvement), I am very satisfied with the lumber I have produced with it. I really enjoyed assembling it myself and feel for the money it was my best choice. I have no regrets with my decision to go with Norwood. I have only had to call their customer service once, and was satisfied with their response. They have even called me (unsolicited) to see if I was satisfied with everything.

Joel Eisner · December 12, 2005, 07:41:24 PM

I have 1/2 of a LM 2000 with the 13 HP engine (purchased it with a friend). I love it. I have cut most of the timbers for our 22x40 timber frame coach house (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=15403.0) including the flooring, siding, shingle siding etc. With about 30 hrs on the clock it has paid for itself. My bigest problem is having to finish cutting all of the timber frame joints for our project and get back to running the mill.

Joel

Weekend_Sawyer · December 13, 2005, 09:17:21 AM

I have a hard time expressing emotion...

YES JEFF, I LOVE MY NORWOOD!!

An I don't care who knows... kinda.

JP · December 13, 2005, 05:02:15 PM

Here is the solution to the lube valve problem:

http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/20-868.html?id=cqQ3txzY

Jason_WI · December 13, 2005, 09:34:45 PM

At the bottom of this previous thred there are my modifications for the water lube system.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=3938.0

Jason

inspectorwoody · December 17, 2005, 07:16:00 PM

Thanks for the replies everybody. Makes the decision a lil' easier with all the positive responses.

Gadget

treenail · December 20, 2005, 10:18:09 PM

I have owned a lumbermate 2000 for almost five years. It has been a great one man saw and has done most everything that I want it to. Have made money sawing other people's logs for cash, made custom flooring, clapboard siding, dimension lumber, turning blanks, etc, etc. The saw has paid for itself over and over again.
Wouldn't part with it.

Treenail

Tom · December 20, 2005, 10:25:06 PM

Welcome to the Forum, Treenail.

I have an 83 year old friend with one and he loves it too.

I'm impressed with the workmanship of the fabrication.

Ironwood · December 22, 2005, 09:06:35 PM

Inspector, I don't own one but one of the guys I hire does. He........... doesnt care for it as I would but I really like it. We have cut lots of lumber with it. I have a few other sawyers I use, one with LT15 another with a Timber Harvester, another with a Hudson. I have used all of them, The Norwood really impresses me. I don't think you would be dissappointed. Reid

OLD_ JD · December 24, 2005, 05:34:38 PM

by using only 13 hp honda engine can u saw hard maple ???and how much bf of hard maple u can saw in hour ???

whitey · December 25, 2005, 11:21:10 AM

Old_JD

Not much hard wood around here but I have sawn big leaf Maple ,elm',.black walnut , english walnut . No large stuff mosty yard trees for freinds 10-16 inch 4 -10 ft long . I have the 2000 with 9 hp honda working by myself I average 80-100 bdft hour not real fast but beutiful lumber. beats a chainsaw all to h---.

Good sawing and happy holidays Whitey

Weekend_Sawyer · December 25, 2005, 11:56:05 AM

Buy the biggest engine you can. You will not be dissapointed. My 20 horse Honda bogs when when you first open a log. after you have a squared cant it really rips through.

I saw everything from pine to Black walnut. The hardest thing we milled, actually most tedious, was a huge white oak. We had it in 18' long lengths, had to rip it into quarters with the ol 066 then even with a Skid steer to load and manuver it was still allmost too much to mill. The lumber we got out of it was well worth the effort though!

Jon