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Woodland HM 126 vs Harbor Freight sawmill

Started by Shaggy, December 10, 2014, 07:47:11 PM

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Shaggy

I am looking at getting a sawmill and only need a small cheap mill to cut enough wood to build a house, barn and small animal housing/structures (troughs etc)... So of course I am looking at the cheaper mills like the woodland and the Harbor Freight's version. I know that the HF is a cheap knock off but is the woodlands worth $1000 more ????
Does the Woodlands cut bigger logs? is the cut better? I have seen posts on the HF saying the head moved while cutting so the boards were wavy or changed thickness. Is the clamping/locking better.... or can/is there easy fixes   for that and I can save 1K? What about adding track to cut up to 16 ft ? I can't find HF selling track so has anyone made track to lengthen log length you can cut? I can buy the HF now but would need another 6-8 months to save up to get the Woodland... (any and all help would be great)(tell me any good AND BAD about either if you have or used em.... THANXZ

WDH

There are no free rides.  There are a number of satisfied Woodland Mills owners on here.  Logs are heavy and rough and tear things up.  The re-sale value should also be taken into account.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

wilcox_11

HF mill is $2000 and the woodland is $2900. Have no experience with either. The woodland looks better built in my opinion.

goose63

I have the woodland bought the extra extension can cut 16 foot log built a trailer for it. its a tough little mill  am real happy with it I think its a better mill than the H F 

  

  I have cut some big logs on it
goose
if you find your self in a deep hole stop digging
saw logs all day what do you get lots of lumber and a day older
thank you to all the vets

Shaggy


so all the woodland ppl, is the cuts wavy or how thin have you cut? any 1/2 in. boards or even 1/4 in?

Shaggy

Quote from: wilcox_11 on December 10, 2014, 08:18:20 PM
HF mill is $2000 and the woodland is $2900. Have no experience with either. The woodland looks better built in my opinion.
Your right, i meant to say save 1000 and was thinking of the woodland price of 3k, sorry for the misprint ya'll, I'll fix the original post....

Dave H.

I own a woodland mill. I looked at both for a while before decideing. from what ive seen the HF mill will need upgrades right out of the box(about $200).bed system is very light duty(I don't know of being able to by extentions so they might have to be fabricated?)also the big point for me was dealer support.hf has basically zero.shipping is also something to be considered.woodland mills does front door delivery(includes off the truck service)HF ,I believe that's extra or you will have to figure out how to get it out of the back of a semi.in my opinion the extra cost is money well spent.
as far as cutting ive had very little issues(most being operator issues)ive also cut several 1/8 slices(for fun) with no problems.

reswire

That Woodland mill looks pretty impressive, but cutting enough lumber for all the tasks you have listed will be no easy job.  Remember support equipment, how you'll find and move the logs, and where you will set them to dry, (additional time and money), all add up.  I'm sure you can accomplish your goal, but it may be more to cutting  out lumber for your home than you imagine. :)  I'm just saying the mill might not be the only cost you'll encounter.
Norwood LM 30, JD 5205, some Stihl saws, 15 goats, 10 chickens, 1 Chessie and a 2 Weiner dogs...

jwcracker

I have enjoyed my Woodland Mill HM 126.  The key to this mill is to keep a sharp blade, a tight drive belt, and don't flood the blade with lubricant or the blade will jump off.  My Woodland Mill does great on pines (that we have plenty of around here).  Hardwoods challenge it.

Sawyer4fun

Hi, I also have the HM126 and am very happy with it.  I have not had any issues with the head dropping, the head locks with both the cams on the legs as well as the crank itself.  Properly adjusted it holds solid throughout the cut.

One major thing with Woodland Mills is the customer service, it is way above average and they are extremely easy to deal with.
Woodland Mills HM126, grew up visiting my Grandfather's mill and always loved the smell of sawdust :)

StimW

I know Woodland is a sponsor and I don't like to go against someone who is paying the way, But.
I have had the HF since last spring and am very happy for the money that I paid.
It was on sale for $1900. , I used a 25% off coupon (if you can't find one google for it)  and with shipping and sales tax it was $1607. to my driveway.
It comes with a 10 hp Honda knock-off motor (Preditor HF Chinese Brand)  and will cut 9' 6"" boards, is packed very well.
I mounted it to a frame with a removable axle and added an extension so I can cut 16' boards.
If you check my gallery pics (click on the little camera to the left) you can see it from the crate to assembled and cutting.
I did have some problems with a oak log and it cutting wavy but the oak is like cutting iron! I gave scraps to  friend for firewood and he can't even split it with a wedge!
I since have been cutting pine with great results.



  

    
New HF Band Mill
Branson 35 hp 4 WD Diesel Tractor W/Attachments- Backhoe, FEL W/ Bucket or Forks, 4' Tiller
4000# Clark Forklift W/24" Tires
Promark 6" Brush chipper W/18 hp Kohler

mikeb1079

i've run the woodland mill but not the hf mill but even looking at stim's pic i can tell you the woodland is way better built.  we cut cherry at my buddys property all day and the woodland mill was flawless.  i was impressed.  get the woodland, it'll have more resale when you decide to buy a superhydraulic anyways.
:D :D
that's why you must play di drum...to blow the big guys mind!
homebuilt 16hp mill
99 wm superhydraulic w/42hp kubota

goose63

Quote from: Shaggy on December 10, 2014, 09:08:22 PM

so all the woodland ppl, is the cuts wavy or how thin have you cut? any 1/2 in. boards or even 1/4 in?
Shaggy mine  don't get wavy keep a sharp blade on and it will cut good

  and this thin if you want had to dig this out of the burn pile was 10 inch by 8 ft
goose
if you find your self in a deep hole stop digging
saw logs all day what do you get lots of lumber and a day older
thank you to all the vets

shawnr

I really liked the looks of the WM, but I just got a 25% off coupon from HF (friends and family discount).  I'm not a friend or family but the coupon can be used by anyone and is good through Sunday.  Let me know if you want it and I'll email to you.
Kioti CK30 TLB, lots of Stihl Chain saws, WM LT 15 Wide

Kind Regards,
Shawn

RM Farm

I own the Woodland Mills. This is a great saw for what you are wanting to do. I do believe you can make money with it, but as someone else stated, logs are heavy and they shake things up a bit.  For what I use mine for it's great (hobby sawing), and I have not had any wavy cuts. Hope this helps. :)
Thanks, Robert

Woodland Mills HM126; Kubota L3200 with FEL, quick attach forks.

nrp0450

I have the Woodland Mills too. I've been very happy with it and happy with the customer service until they messed up an order I placed for guide bearings. Their mistake put the mill out of service for 3 weeks. The bearings are supposed to come in tomorrow!

To cut longer logs I went to our local steel plant and bought two 20' steel angle pieces of the same dimensions as the track that came with the mill. I drilled holes in it and moved the bunks to it. I can cut 18' with that setup. And when I need to, I mount the old track to one end to cut even longer.
Woodland Mills HM126 sawmill
Husky 450 and Stihl MS250 chainsaws
Foley Belsaw 985 planer/molder
Kubota M4700 tractor

John357

Hi Shaggy,

I have the Woodland Mill and have had wavy cuts.  I thought it was from sawing small diameter logs (branches!) as the wave tended to follow where a branch was.  Now I think it was from pushing through too fast.  I have since done several branches and with a real slow cut, can get straight boards. 

I picked the Woodland because it was a little more expensive than the HF, assuming I'd get little thicker steel, better cables, etc.   I also liked the video's demonstrating all the design features such as lowered hand crank (from an earlier WM model) track sweepers, and now they ship with adjustable feet. 

I'll second the comments about log handling.  I have a stationary setup, and thought I'd be able to handle 8' logs, but even those are pretty hard to move around without dedicated machinery.  Just something to keep in mind.

John
Woodland Mills HM126

Ga Mtn Man

Quote from: shawnr on December 11, 2014, 02:05:23 PM
I really liked the looks of the WM, but I just got a 25% off coupon from HF (friends and family discount).  I'm not a friend or family but the coupon can be used by anyone and is good through Sunday.  Let me know if you want it and I'll email to you.

Better read the fine print on that coupon.  High priced items like sawmills are often excluded from those big discount coupons. :-\
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

StimW

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on December 11, 2014, 05:27:33 PM
Quote from: shawnr on December 11, 2014, 02:05:23 PM
I really liked the looks of the WM, but I just got a 25% off coupon from HF (friends and family discount).  I'm not a friend or family but the coupon can be used by anyone and is good through Sunday.  Let me know if you want it and I'll email to you.

Better read the fine print on that coupon.  High priced items like sawmills are often excluded from those big discount coupons. :-\

I was skeptical about the coupon but they did honor it for my mill.
New HF Band Mill
Branson 35 hp 4 WD Diesel Tractor W/Attachments- Backhoe, FEL W/ Bucket or Forks, 4' Tiller
4000# Clark Forklift W/24" Tires
Promark 6" Brush chipper W/18 hp Kohler

StimW

The big log on the right is on the mill.



 


I added more pics today. I have this cant on the mill now trying to decide what to cut next. ??
The slab on the ground I am going to stand up and cut into 2 X 4's , cant and slab are 16' 4"" long.



  

 
New HF Band Mill
Branson 35 hp 4 WD Diesel Tractor W/Attachments- Backhoe, FEL W/ Bucket or Forks, 4' Tiller
4000# Clark Forklift W/24" Tires
Promark 6" Brush chipper W/18 hp Kohler

hunterbuild

I have the HF mill for a couple of years now. have cut a lot of logs with it. I did have to do some fixing, but nothing any one couldn't handle ( see my earlier post on this). The 20% coupon works for the saw. Mine was about $1700 delivered to my door. Not much for customer service is true. I found two pieces of angle 20ft long and made a new track to cut 18'. If I had it to do over I would do it again. It paid for its self in first job I used it for. I've sawed 20"plus Oak with it, but mostly am cutting pine. It will cut 22"     

Shaggy

I guess I should have said that I've done logging and I have an ol'e Farmall 130 tractor and a Stihl saw... I know it can pull the logs I want out of my woods as we used her back when a little storm called Katrena hit the land mass between New Orleans and Mobile. (yes we still remember that weather channel) The only oak I couldn't move with the Farmall was a huge water oak that was over 6' in diameter... (that was the same tree that turned a mudbog truck w/ 44's tires to a GMC that was less than 6" tall once that tree centered her :'( ) The branches were   almost 3' in diameter n were 60' up (when the tree was still alive)... But I couldn't cut her up w/ even a 24" stihl 066 saw.... made me sick to watch all that wood just rot in what used to be my driveway... and NO  ONE w/ a mill would even look at my wood as ppl w/ 100's to thousands of acres took them away

But I digress, I will build the barn first to house the mill and the dried lumber and use an old greenhouse to be a solar kiln. I have only hardwood on my land though and I'm still leaning towards the woodland, but I got the money for the HF now n I want to see sawdust flyin.... but reason says to get the better built n go with the Woodland. its just hard to know I could be milling now but I gotta wait 2-3 more months to get it instead of the HF now...(I think the bug has bitten me ya'll LOL)

Nomad

     Shaggy, have you considered looking into a used mill?  Maybe you could get your "fix" upgraded and still save some coin.
Buying a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter
WoodMizer LT50HDD51-WR
Lucas DSM23-19

pidaster

Shaggy, I sent you an email earlier. I caught the HF mill on sale and used a 25% coupon on it, I think I paid $1500 plus tax. I've recently read that they will no longer accept coupons on the sawmill and have noticed the fine print to include that it is not accepted on them as well.
If you are close to Hattiesburg I might can meet you somewhere or bring it over to you so you can look at it if you haven't purchased one yet.

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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