New from New York

[coolerat]

Is it standard here to introduce your self??  If yes I'm Sean and if no then I am super sorry.

Which is the best mill to buy??  I want a 10hp or less mill with the stated goal of supplying all the Lowes and Home Depots within a 100 mile radius with lumber.  I have no experience, very little cash and don't like to work very hard.

Does this seem doable??

JK!!!  I been poking around some and see I can glean much information just by reading.  I have so much to learn.  My plan is to use the wood in my wood shop and possibly sell enough to keep SWMBO off my back.

One question I am gonna research is how important is parts availability.  I'm about a ½ hour from Hud-Son so if parts are an issue I can get them easy peazy.  If its not an issue then they are just another option.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Welcome to FF!  Yes, very standard.  Cant answer your question.  Nice having mill HQ nearby but at 28 miles each way, better to spend $10 on shipping.    WM NY HQ in Hannibal is only 58 miles each way that's good too.  Parts availability very important but how fast you get them not so important if you're not sawing every day.

[Billbob]

......Which is the best mill to buy??  I want a 10hp or less mill with the stated goal of supplying all the Lowes and Home Depots within a 100 mile radius with lumber.  I have no experience, very little cash and don't like to work very hard.

Does this seem doable??

Welcome to the FF.

Do you have access to a chainsaw, pulp truck with hydraulic log loader, trees or logs?  If the answer is no then...yeah, its doable.

[thecfarm]

coolerat,welcome to the forum. How soon do you need a mill? There will be some shows next spring to check the mills out.

[samandothers]

Coolerat
Liked your post.  With a sense of humor you will fit in great her!  Try several saws and look for a dealer you like!

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, coolerat.

[blade69001]

Welcome to the forum Sean,   As for your joke... I love it, and plan to share with my sons who are more interested in two legged deer than working.
Because I am sometimes as blond as I look could you clarify "SWMBO" for me? I am sure it is staring me in the face but all I came up with was
Single
White
Male
Boss
Overlord

Yep I laughed at it too.
Sean P.

[thecfarm]

blade69001,She Who Must Be Obeyed.  Google it. 

[blade69001]

Ahhh I see now, I don't really have one of those.....YET!

Thanks cfarm
Sean P

[Sixacresand]

Welcome to the Forum, Coolerat.  Since you are close to the Hudson and WM dealers, you should try some mills to see which ones you like.  (don't try a hydraulic mill or you will spend a lot more money  :D)

[RM Farm]

Welcome coolerat! 

[Raider Bill]

Welcome!

FF Member Dave Klish [also his user name] lives in Oneida

[petefrom bearswamp]

Welcome to the forum.
But beware, sawdust is very habit forming.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, coolerat.   8)

I love your sense of humor.   :D

[dgdrls]

Welcome aboard Coolerat,

The Hud-Son shop in Barneveld is a pretty cool place,
Great folks at the shop.

Best
DGDrls

[coolerat]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

I looked up Dave Klish, under the name Mapleflats.  I'm actually gonna have to make an effort to find this gentleman.  Its a super long and boring story how I got to be where I am now but something on his website is of some concern.  How I am getting to be able to buy a sawmill is we are leaving Oneida because our house was destroyed and then rebuilt and now being destroyed again.  And as it turns out the new place we have picked is on the same road as Dave lives and he mentions flooding on his website.  It does look like he lives much closer to the crick then our new place is to be.  Its the same crick as got us before.

I been dreaming of a mill for years and I'm not gonna lie, I dream of a Woodmizer.  I can't afford one, now or ever, but thats the dream.  I am willing to settle for whatever mill lets me cut some wood.  Hud-Son blows up our local Craigslist so I know what they cost and they are doable.  But I kinda like the Woodland one as well but they are in Buffalo which is about 3 hours away.  Thats kinda why I'm thinking about parts.  If I get some time and I'm gonna saw logs and a part breaks 3 hours vs a ½ hour could be a deal breaker.

[hunz]

You really had me going there with the first paragraph. I thought "this guy's dreams are beyond  anything they even make an answer for"!

Concerning the relative closeness to mill manufacturers. As long as you are within 500 miles of one, I don't really see an advantage of being very close to one when considering a mill to go with. Like one of the others guys mentioned, even 50 miles each way is too far for me to drive considering fuel cost, just eat the $10 shipping, save a few hours of driving, and do something else more valuable with your time.

  Some manufacturers think its a great selling point that you can pick up their parts at tractor supply. To me all that says is that your engineering only went that far.....by the time a guy drives to town and back to pick up say a bearing, he has spent $15 in fuel and wore $5 off his tires. One of the big mill.manufacturers like TK, Woodmizer, or Cooks can have it at your door step in 2 days for $10, or overnight it if need be. Just my $0.02 ;D

[kelLOGg]

blade69001,She Who Must Be Obeyed.  Google it. 

Well, it predates "Rumpole". I learn something new everyday on the FF.
Bob

[coolerat]

Welcome coolerat! 

At my "real" job I lift about a million pounds a day on a busy day using hydraulics. I'm tired at the end of the day but less so then moving it by hand.  So I am familiar with the principle and like it.

However economics dictate my log cutting be powered by a strong back and a weak mind.

[dboyt]

Coolerat, welcome to the forum!  I think the biggest advantage to being near a dealer is that you can see the mills in action.  Other than that, not so much, as long as you can get parts delivered to you in a reasonable time.  Most of the commonly replaced parts-- belts, spark plugs, filters, etc. are available locally, and you'll probably keep some on hand.  As for working hard, I'm with you on that.  I don't work hard around my mill at all.  Don't know why I'm so tired at the end of the day!  Keep us posted on your search for a mill.

[Farmer Jim]

Welcome to the forum.  Helpful supportive folks everywhere you turn here.  Now my 2 cents.  I own a Hud-Son mill.  I bought based on size it could cut (36", which turned out to be incorrect as the head only lifts 31") and cost.  I have used the mill since 2000 and immediately returned the original track when quality control issues became obvious ( the lack of uniformity in the angle iron was not dealt with during construction, so when the track was assembled the head would go higher and lower while rolling down the non-uniform track) I had a custom welder fabricate an accurate and solid track.  The lift mechanism at that time was an ATV winch which is hard to get stopped at the same thickness each time.  The hold-downs they were using didn't work well and required customizing.  The guides would not stay in adjustment and I finally got a set of Cook guides for it.  The 20 HP Briggs V-twin engine has been nearly problem free and I have been happy with it.  It is not my intent to bash the company, my whole point is to suggest you look at as many mills as you can, watch them being operated and look specifically at the areas I mention, because the procedures that get repeated over and over while sawing are critical to efficient sawing, quality lumber, and a lack of frustration while doing something as fun as making lumber.

The lift mechanism must be user friendly and have repeatable accuracy.
The track must be fairly precisely built or the lumber won't be uniform.
The hold downs must be effective, because having to fiddle with any thing over and over while sawing leads to frustration and wastes time.
The guides must be well made or lumber quality will suffer.

Again, just my 2 cents.

[manoverboard]

Welcome to the Forum, Coolerat. Lots of good advice here. My peeve is customer service, after the sale. I've learned allot from WM and bought some books and videos. Your definitely in the right spot for knowledge and research, a plus is that is all free here! Good luck! By the way, Ill be in Accord towards the end of December, you close?

[scully]

Wood- Mizer is in Hannibal not far from you stop up and check it out

[coolerat]

Welcome to the Forum, Coolerat. Lots of good advice here. My peeve is customer service, after the sale. I've learned allot from WM and bought some books and videos. Your definitely in the right spot for knowledge and research, a plus is that is all free here! Good luck! By the way, Ill be in Accord towards the end of December, you close?

Until this moment I had not heard of Accord NY.  I'm in Upstate NY, that looks to be near the city.  I'm about 3 hours north/west.

I've heard some bad chatter about the Hudson hence my concerns with regards to parts and such.  One thing being poor teaches is if your gonna go cheap go real cheap so you can fix it.  I love looking at high dollar stuff and respect it. But what I hate is low dollar stuff at a mark up.  Not saying at this point Hudson is that.  I was actually gonna head up there today but ended up looking at the Kubota dealer daydreaming.  Haw I mentioned I daydream alot??

In a minute I'm actually gonna watch some Youtube videos on a real cheap mill.  I'm interested because its cheap enough I can both afford it and not be afraid to "make it mine".

In the interest of full disclouser last night I watched some Woodmizer LT10 videos and I got the orange fever pretty bad right now.  It just makes sense to me as all my current outdoor equipment is Ariens and Husqvarna with Kubota on the way its almost as if Woodmizer is my destiny.   

[coolerat]

Well I am about videoed out for one day.

The folks who run the mills for the videos know what they are doing and they all look good.

Then I run into opinions.  Mine and others.  Mingled with facts that are hard to find.  One thing I'm having a hard time getting around is Woodland is striaghtup made in China.  WM seems to be US.  Hudson is US and local to boot.  But made in US out of steel from China and on and on.  Plus I ain't half against China as I once was cause half the stuff I buy comes from there.

Super cornfusing.  Still fun though.