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Woodland Mills HM126

Started by hech, June 17, 2016, 11:14:16 AM

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hech

Hi, was wondering if any of you gentlemen have experience of the Woodland Mills hm126 or hm130. It is a small, budget end mill but then I'm at best a beginner with bandsaws though Ive had a Logosol chainsaw mill for several years. Your guidance would be much appreciated. I mean to build a cabin with douglass fir and cut a little oak. Cheers from the UK. ???

fishfighter

I have the 126. Good hobby mill. Sure is not a production mill. What you want to know?

Magicman

Hello hech, and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.  You will be in heaven here with a Woodland Mills because there are many owners/users.  Ask away.

Adding your location to your profile always helps with questions, plus we want to know.   ;D
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

goose63

Hi hech I bought my 126 3 years ago and love it. Tell us where your at may be your close enough you can come over and run mine to see what ya think.

Oh and welcome to the Forestry Forum 8)
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

sawmilljoe

Welcome too the forum.  I have had my hm126 for almost 2 years and it is a great mill . I mounted mine to a very heavy duty trailer made from 1/4 inch walled tubing  which I would recommend.  I do custom sawing with mine around my area for other people. So have really put it to the test. It passes  every test I put it too. With a helper I saw around 300 be an hour which is much higher then I every expected. Would recommend there mill any day . If you have any questions  feel free to contact me.

bags

Welcome to Forestry Forum.

I have a Woodland Mills HM130 and I'm more than pleased with the unit.

Its not a high production hog like the mill Magicman and some of the others operate--- but you can run a decent amount of board feet out in a day and have a good time doing it.

Last Tuesday (should I have been cutting boards on flag day?LOL.) I milled an 8' X 12' deck--- joists and deck boards, and a 12' X 16' shed with board & bat siding out of Doug-fir. That's a good day of cutting for a manual mill.

My HM130 is a well thought out product, cuts strait and customer service is great.

Timster

Welcome to the forum

I have an HM130 and am very satisfied with the mill. It is my first mill and I am finding it very easy to figure out. I am still learning but having a lot of fun. If you get one I would suggest getting an extra length of track it makes loading logs a lot easier, glad I added it to my order.


btulloh

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your new venture into bandmills.

I bought a HM126 about a year ago and have been very pleased with it.  It seems to be a good value and I think it's a good piece of machinery for the money.  I have had a few minor issues, but nothing serious and the support from the people at Woodland Mills was superb.  All in all I'd say it's well worth the money. 

I had my eye on more expensive mills for quite a while but always found a reason not to jump in.  The price of the HM126 hit my comfort zone, since for me it's just a hobby.  Of course I'd like to get a nice LT40HD someday, but really can't justify that price level. 

I see the features on the new HM130 and I think they are worth the extra money as long as that fit's your budget, but I'm still happy with HM126.  My only regret is I didn't buy a bandmill ten years earlier.




 
HM126

hech

Must say that I am surprised by the number of welcoming replies this, my first forum post, has received.
My sincere thanks goes to those who took the time to respond to what must seem a fairly mundane want of information. Here in the UK (Scotland) the pro sawers are cagey with their experience and looking to protect their operation from incomers (I assume), so I have a 10 week wait until the nearest sawman comes to town wanting $1200 for travel and a day's work with his lt40 woodmizer. Am not complaining at all just pointing out the costs of milling timber here in this cool and wet, remote part of the country.
The chainsaw mill works ok for cuts upto mebe 8", but cutting a 12" plus, 10ft softwood log takes 15 minutes minimum with a stihl640 and narrow 0.325 chain and bar. Per cut!
So the 9hp Woodland mills hm126 might do the job better, or is the hm130 the better long term option. I wanna build a cabin or maybe two plus oak when I can get it. Also can I weld a couple of suspension units and a towbar to the stationary mill for very local transport?
Much obliged for your comment. regards hech. ???

fishfighter

If you looking to mount the tracks to a trailer, Woodland has plans on there web site. You bolt the tracks down on the trailer. Welding on the tracks can warp them.



 

By welding some square 1" tubing across the trailer and lining them up with the holes that are in the track, you just bolt them down.



 

I been having my mill about 18months. Really enjoy it. Having some support equipment to move logs and load the mill helps big time. By installing the mil on a trailer, That has helped a lot on my back. ;D

I agree about ordering extra track. One extra set will let you saw logs to about 16'6". The track is milled flat where the wheels roll on.

If you have anymore questions, just ask. Some great members here that has helped me.

hech

Cheers Fishfighter, atrailer makes alot of sense. Trouble is by perching the mill up on legs you need to bring your own front loader. Was hoping I could remove the wheels to bring the logbed lower to the ground. How does the hm126 9hp motor compare with the hm130 if it came to milling 18" oak, timewise?
cheers, hech.

fishfighter

Don't know anything about the 130. There is no problem sawing a 18" oak. I have sawed up to 30" oaks on my mill. A lot of work once you get logs that are wider then 24", but it can be done. I saw a lot of different oaks. Time wise, all depends what you want out of a log. A pass on a oak log that is around 18" wide and 16' long, I can make it in about 90 seconds if I have a good blade thru the cut. For me, the best blade has been the Kasco, 7 degree blades. Oak or pine, no problem.

As far as a trailer, you could build one to be able to remove the hubs/tires. You don't have to install springs if you don't have bumpy roads.

This is how I had set up my mill before a trailer.



 



 

 

 

That oak if I remember was around 24"

btulloh

Quote from: hech on June 18, 2016, 01:07:12 PM
How does the hm126 9hp motor compare with the hm130 if it came to milling 18" oak, timewise?
cheers, hech.

More HP is always better, but I doubt it improves the speed in oak by more than 10%.  It looks like the frame on the HM130 is stronger and less prone to vibration, but without using both it's just a guess.  The HM130 looks to be worth the extra money, but that may be better spent on extra track for the 126.  If you plan on sawing a lot of 16 foot logs (which usually need to be longer that 16' by a few inches at least) you should get two extra track sections.  It certainly will saw 16ft with one extra section, but only 16'6" and that's it.  It requires perfect positioning of the log fore and aft, which can be annoying if you do it a lot.  Here in the US, the shipping is a flat fee, and extra track sections don't increase the freight charges.  I don't know how that would work in your case, but it's always cheaper to order track with the mill rather than a few months later.

Between the 126 and the 130 I think it comes down to budget.  Either one will be substantially faster than what you've been using.  Like the great philosopher Eric Clapton once said: "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."  I'm pretty sure he was pondering the relative merits of the different bandsaw mills. 

HM126

Bill Ragosta

Man, I really hate using my second post to call out another board member, but wasn't Steven Stills the one that said, "love the one you're with"?

rlahaise

I have had my 126 for several months now and I am pretty impressed. I have been sawing old growth fir into beams and strapping for a barn and it cuts clean and accurate boards, doesn't work really great on 1" steel rod buried in the center of a log and the log stops clear off the teeth on a blade in a hurry :-)

I just came in from sawing a 16' long 33" diameter fir that required some trimming with a chainsaw but I have a nice bunch of 2x20 fir planks for some future project.

It does rock a bit when sawing really wide boards and I am finding the blade is gumming up quite a bit making it drag even more..

Overall great mill, fantastic customer service, and the company has been quick to get back to me anytime I had questions..

Kbeitz

Quote from: rlahaise on September 02, 2016, 04:10:49 PM
I have had my 126 for several months now and I am pretty impressed. I have been sawing old growth fir into beams and strapping for a barn and it cuts clean and accurate boards, doesn't work really great on 1" steel rod buried in the center of a log and the log stops clear off the teeth on a blade in a hurry :-)

I just came in from sawing a 16' long 33" diameter fir that required some trimming with a chainsaw but I have a nice bunch of 2x20 fir planks for some future project.

It does rock a bit when sawing really wide boards and I am finding the blade is gumming up quite a bit making it drag even more..

Overall great mill, fantastic customer service, and the company has been quick to get back to me anytime I had questions..

If your going to be sawing much iron I would drop down to about
16 teeth per inch on your blades.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

btulloh

Quote from: Bill Ragosta on September 02, 2016, 02:16:24 PM
Man, I really hate using my second post to call out another board member, but wasn't Steven Stills the one that said, "love the one you're with"?
So do I. :D  Thanks for setting me straight though.  I'm beginning the think my perfect memory is slipping.  ;)
HM126

btulloh

Quote from: rlahaise on September 02, 2016, 04:10:49 PM

It does rock a bit when sawing really wide boards and I am finding the blade is gumming up quite a bit making it drag even more..


Two post mill doesn't have quite the lateral stability.  I just back off a bit when it does that.  I started using 7 degree blades and they are much better as far as that goes - not grabby.  You may even want to try 4 degree blades for resawing those old timbers.  (Maybe you are already . . .)
HM126

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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