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General Forestry => Sawmills and Milling => Topic started by: Coast Steve on May 12, 2017, 10:37:53 PM

Title: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 12, 2017, 10:37:53 PM
Hey guys,
I have a brand new HD 36 Norwood and am only slabbing Western maple logs with it.
This band saw actually works well but I'm cutting off too much of my big logs to keep the natural edges.
I'm not crazy about the slow speed of the chain mills really either.  This mill does a 27" wide slab and I know I could get a little more but the mill is a tad light for my larger maples I'm thinking. But it is a nice little machine for the money.
I have a buyer for this mill and it's a great little mill but don't know what to get that's stronger and has a bit more width.
I do not need mobility or hydraulics (although log rotation would be nice). Anything really old you guys know of? That always seems to be the answer on strong well built tools I've found.

Thanks, 
Steve
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Magicman on May 12, 2017, 11:09:22 PM
I would research the LT15 Wide and also Hud-Son makes a Wide manual sawmill.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: paul case on May 12, 2017, 11:13:18 PM
How much more throat do you really need? The EZ boardwalk 40 swallows 42'' and cuts 36'' wide.

So does the select double cut.
PC
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: 4x4American on May 13, 2017, 07:36:21 AM
We need a budget to work with cause right now I'm thinkin Cleereman lumber pro
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: slider on May 13, 2017, 07:54:06 AM
I just had a friend purchase a new lt 15 wide head.He pored a slab and mounted a electric hoist over head for turning his big logs.The frame ,like you mentioned is not large but it is working well for him. He did get the power feed.I think for around $12000 it was a deal.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 13, 2017, 10:23:56 AM
I can spend 15-18K for the right mill.
More than a little wider it's the fact I'm taking mine to the limit in both width an weight of the logs.
I never need more than a 12 foot cut as I only make tables with the end product.

The LT15 looked light built to me from pics and sure it cuts 30" or something like that but only 1" thick. If you go down to 3" like I need you get much less I'm told.

The clearman line look full on high production to me and way too expensive. super quality though.
I'm a one man show here.
If I had that sort of money I would get the WM1000 or the Serra Africa and never need anything else.

I get big wood from time to time but more than that, the logs in the 2-3 foot range I have are not all straight poles so the bumps and lumps are always needing to be cut off or the mill won't pass over them.

The EZ boardwalk 40 looks a little lightly built too, once you get milling wide and I'm wondering about blade tension and wander on full width cuts in maple. The only demo's I've seen are softwood and small diameter. Nice price though. Maple is very hard and I would be impressed if it could mill full width maple logs with no wander.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Ga Mtn Man on May 13, 2017, 10:49:45 AM
TimberKing makes a very heavy-built manual mill.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: paul case on May 13, 2017, 12:13:07 PM
The EZ boardwalk 40 I had would cut wide and stay pretty true. I slabbed out several  10' logs on mine that were over 30'' and it would probably have less than 1/8 diff anywhere. I would imagine that it would do better with all new bands, but I am cheap and sharpened mine to death.

It has a heavy 6'' chanel iron frame that is 1 piece  to saw up to 16'. I never had any trouble out of the log weight except the timbers I set it on might need shimmed once in a great while.

Clamping a log that big was a challenge. The clamps wouldnt generally raise up enough for the handle to clear the side of the rail so I just made some angled wood blocks to put on each side until I got down to below middle some then unload the log and roll it over and put the flat down and put some clamps on the bunks to stop it from scooting off the bed.

PC
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 13, 2017, 03:29:51 PM
Ok Thanks Paul.

I do really like my Norwood but I think what I'm doing puts it to it's max abilities. I don't mind paying a little more for a tougher model.
I called them up and nothing in the pipeline for a bigger/ stronger model though. They have really been treating me well as I need things too.

I really hope to find something really old in a mill. Market is small being in Canada though. (BC)
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: plantman on May 13, 2017, 07:24:09 PM
Have you looked at D&L timber technologies or a Lucas mill ?
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: etroup10 on May 13, 2017, 08:39:41 PM
I would definitely recommend the EZ Boardwalk 40. I've cut some wide stuff and with a good sharp blade, it will stay nice and flat. Here is a short but wide Walnut crotch. The widest cut was just over 34" and it stayed nice and flat.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/30088/20170116_135545.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1484708931)

I had a total of $8200 to get my mill here with a few blades. Since your budget is a bit higher you could get a track extension if wanted or invest that extra in support equipment to make handling those big slabs easier!!
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 13, 2017, 09:18:02 PM
The EZ 40 is looking decent. But the construction looks a bit light to me.
How well does it do on blade tension over a full width cut? I cannot afford to get wavy cuts in this maple.
This maple will be harder than the walnut too. I've milled walnut before and lots of maple.

Yes I almost bought a lucas mill but it will be slug slow and I do lots of logs 3 feet or a tad under so chainsaw bar kerf would also be a waste.

I do have a Husky 3120 with a cannon 7 foot bar and granberg slabbing mill set up for the really big stuff.

I just sold my Norwood 2 hours ago so I'm good to buy a mill now.  I would much rather buy an older heavy duty model than a new one though.  For the same money I mean.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: jimdad07 on May 14, 2017, 08:54:23 AM
I have a Hudson HFE 30.  I've found I can do a 32" cut max with it.  I've run a lot of board feet through it with no issues.  It is a very simple mill but very well made, manual all the way.  My only complaint is the log dogs but that's a minor thing.  It cost me $6k out the door with 15 extra blades.  I live close enough to them to be able to pick it up myself.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: 4x4American on May 14, 2017, 10:09:48 AM
Quote from: Coast Steve on May 13, 2017, 10:23:56 AM


The clearman line look full on high production to me and way too expensive. I'm a one man show here.



See, that's why I needed a budget to work with  :D :D


On the lt15 wide, WM is not gonna put out a mill that is too light for what they say it can do.  Their engineering is spot on and it'll handle it.  As for only being able to cut 1" thick at full width, I don't see that.  To me it looks like you could cut 8-12/4 at least before you run into the guard.  I'm not sure but that's what it looks like, I've seen them cutting at the shows and I wanna say that they were cutting real wide 8/4 pieces at least.  But moral of the story, when it comes to buying a sawmill, you really have to go and see the saw cutting up close in person to be able to make a good decision.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: thecfarm on May 14, 2017, 08:19:17 PM
Thomas in Brooks Maine have been making a wide cut for years. I almost bought one,but went with thier regular sawmills.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 16, 2017, 02:59:18 PM
I'm working with these options:

The Hudson Oscar 52
Cooks AC36 or bigger.
Some other companies mills handle big logs too,  but look too light duty built for my liking so I am going to pass.
I see almost every demo is just redwood or fir and under 3 feet. I want to see hard 4 foot maple being cut at full width.

If money was no object it would be the Serra Africa. No question.
Then Woodmizers WM1000


These look decent for chain mills :
1.9 meter Lucas mill
D&L 10x20 swingblade with slabbing chain bar

Still deciding but really wish I was in the US so I would see some of these in action.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: clintnelms on May 16, 2017, 05:11:08 PM
I watched the video of the Cooks AC36 a while back and that's one bad ass machine. Wish I could afford one.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on May 16, 2017, 10:53:56 PM
You said it Clint,  I can't either....that's the problem.
I'm trying to work with them on a basic manual model that will be a bit cheaper.

Did check out D&L mills too but not right for me. Too bad they are made not far from me too.

Still looking at the Hudson 52 as well.

Thinking I would like a diesel and not the 35hp gas.

Also thinking about maybe even making a mill and getting all the parts together. Really only a few thousand in parts and steel. Then add a motor. 2-3 more grand.  So I bet it would only be about 8K in parts all in.
I see Hudson is using offshore bearings and also noticed they have no wheel tracking.
But it must work.

Cooks mills are better made for sure from what I see so far. Wish I could find a good used one that's not too far from Vancouver BC
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: johnnyllama on May 17, 2017, 07:36:11 AM
You might talk to Bill Turner at Turner Mills in Oxford NY. I have one of their manual mills and am very pleased with it. He custom builds every one and offers wide carriages, heavy duty rails, etc. You can also upgrade to full hydraulics down the road. I think he basically will build whatever you want within reason. http://www.turnermills.com/index.html
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: MbfVA on May 18, 2017, 11:49:00 PM
I went to the Turner site and I see what you mean by customization, but one thing puzzles me: they offer their mills with a 24 HP Honda motor, but I thought the biggest Honda was a V-Twin 22.1 HP, a GX690 model.  Could not find a 24 HP on the main Honda site  :P ::)
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Magicman on May 19, 2017, 08:43:52 AM
Hud-Son also makes an Oscar 60 (https://www.hud-son.com/products/product-detail/oscar-60-sawmill).  FF member redbeard has one.  LINK (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=22539&pid=223094#top_display_media)
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: MbfVA on May 19, 2017, 11:24:47 PM
Does Turner offer setworks--I don't see it on the web site?
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: dboyt on May 23, 2017, 08:52:20 AM
Sorry for the late reply... have been away from the forum for a while.  Just take off the movable guide (just takes a minute).  I've cut oak, sycamore, and honeylocust slabs 32" wide with absolutely no problem!  The blade somehow always stays on the bandwheel, though I make sure I have a sharp blade and don't push it hard.  Here's a video of how I do it.  The only change is that I have found it faster and easier to remove the blade guide, rather than swing it up out of the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7KWZf_ZsWs&spfreload=10
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: f350rd on May 23, 2017, 06:58:24 PM
Coast Steve, I have the EZ Boardwalk 40 with 8 ft. Ext. Main deck will cut up to 16 ft. I have mine set up for portable use with leveling jacks. We built a 24 x 24  enclosed horse barn with only 5 trees. They were 30 to 36" 10 to 16' long. Sawmill isn't light weight trust me. I have pics of mill in gallery.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: plantman on June 30, 2017, 10:40:30 PM
How do you like your EZ boardwalk ? I was leaning towards buying a swingblade mill but I like the look of the EZ. How long do you get out of a blade before you need to change it ?

Quote from: f350rd on May 23, 2017, 06:58:24 PM
Coast Steve, I have the EZ Boardwalk 40 with 8 ft. Ext. Main deck will cut up to 16 ft. I have mine set up for portable use with leveling jacks. We built a 24 x 24  enclosed horse barn with only 5 trees. They were 30 to 36" 10 to 16' long. Sawmill isn't light weight trust me. I have pics of mill in gallery.
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on July 17, 2017, 10:38:29 PM
I went with the manual Hudson 52. It cost way too muchwith the Canadian dollar being really bad.
Add the shipping from NY to BC, duties, and taxes ....well you know what I mean.

Bu it's here now and looks pretty decent.

I'm in the middle of making a big strong deck for it now.
I'll post pics when the deck is done. 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35964/P7090236.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500345459)
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: plantman on July 18, 2017, 02:39:17 PM
That's funny you would buy a mill from NY and ship it to BC. I've been looking at mills made in BC and want to ship them to NJ.


Quote from: Coast Steve on July 17, 2017, 10:38:29 PM
I went with the manual Hudson 52. It cost way too much, with the Canadian dollar being [I have typed a profane word that is automatically changed by the forum censored words program I should know better] and the shipping from NY to BC. Add duties, and taxes ....You know what I mean.
I'm in the middle of making a big strong deck for it now.
I'll post pics when the deck is done. 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35964/P7090236.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500345459)
Title: Re: Have HD36 need something stronger...older?
Post by: Coast Steve on July 18, 2017, 06:33:18 PM
Must be a swing mill?