hudson or woodland mill?

wilcox_11 · June 07, 2015, 02:50:24 PM

was wondering what is the better mill Hudson HFE 21 or the woodland mill? Looks like more length and diameter on woodland. Prices are about the same. Just wondering on the workmanship and customer service with them both. thanks

sandsawmill14 · June 07, 2015, 03:27:06 PM

i cant speak about the woodland mills but i have a hudson oscar 228 that i bought years ago and have been very well pleased. it has cut a lot of lumber. we have done a lot of work to it now put all hyd chain log turner, backstops, electric up and down. its almost nice as the timberking b20 now

justallan1 · June 07, 2015, 03:52:50 PM

I owned the Hudson HFE-21 and loved it. The folks at Hudson were more than happy to answer questions the couple times that I called. The only reason that I sold it was to get a bigger mill and I went with an EZ Boardwalk Jr.
That being said, I just compared the two you mention and if I had to do over right now between the two I'd go with the Woodland HM126. It will saw a bigger log and it has a bigger engine and at that HP every bit of it counts.
The things that I would find out before going to far is what is your shipping difference out of Canada going to be, if any, and I think more importantly can you get common replacement parts over the counter near where you live.
I think another thing to look at real good is what size logs you want to saw and add about 6" to the width to make up for sweep. Come to find out, most trees aren't straight and having the extra width in your tracks is the difference between sawing 3 logs in a day and sawing 10 in the same amount of time.
Hope this helps a little.

fishfighter · June 07, 2015, 05:00:48 PM

I new to saw milling. Real green. I shopped around for the best bang for the buck. My needs were to be able to saw up a lot of oak. Bought the Woodland 126 back in Feb of this year.

Sawed a lot of wood. Out of 10 blades, I down to my last two. The only problem I had with the mill was that the fan belts that come with it are cheap china made. I called them and they sent me a new USA made set for free. Also, any and all questions were answered up front when I bought the mill. If you go that way, do buy at least extra track and a pack of 10 blades. You're going to hit the back stops sooner or later. ;D

As far as the other one, I know nothing about them other then what I had read up on.

Phase1 of a camp I'm building

21incher · June 07, 2015, 05:10:26 PM

I have the Hudson HFE 21 and have been happy with it. Mine came with a Subaru 7 hp and I have had no problems yet so I don't know about service. 100% American made. I built my own trailer to get portability and a longer cut. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another product from them. But on the other hand Hudson is no longer a forum sponsor so I would take that into consideration.

soutz · August 17, 2015, 05:30:40 AM

had a woodland mill for 3 years.
great little mill.
top firm to deal with, and great for the money.

depending on what your doing the Peterson jp is and awesome mill, and another step up again. we trial the jp for two weeks again. again great firm and fantastic value. depends on your budget and what your after

Magicman · August 17, 2015, 08:51:18 AM

Woodland Mills is a FF Sponsor. 8)

dboyt · August 17, 2015, 10:16:05 AM

Why limit to those two? Check out the links to FF sponsors for other options.

btulloh · August 19, 2015, 10:30:18 AM

Ditto dboyt's comment. Check 'em all out. Some of us have only used one brand so it's really hard to know about the others. I bought an HM126 a few months ago and have been happy with the mill and the company. But I don't have any first hand knowledge about the others. Now that I have one, I would know what to look for, but I didn't know that before. No getting around that I guess.

Definitely get track extensions though. You'll need them and (with Woodland Mills anyway) the fixed price shipping covered my extra track and pack of blades, which is significant. If I waited to order the track it would have involved a hefty shipping charge.

From what I've seen on the forum, everyone is pretty happy with their mill whether it's a HUdson, Woodland Mills, EZ Boardwalk, etc. Some of that is just human nature, but if someone was really having problems you'd see it on the forum.

I must say that the fit and finish of the HM126 is very good but I don't know how that compares. The company and personnel have been great to deal with.

If there's any way you can move up to the next tier - which seems to be around 7,500$ - you won't regret that either. That extra money goes for bigger HP, stronger bed and frame, and what not. YOu do get what you pay for, but I don't regret getting this mill at all. Jump in.

SpyderGreen · September 21, 2015, 10:35:52 PM

Very new to milling. Green you can even say.
Been lurking around FF for years and finally decide to make a profile so I can get in on some of the conversation.

This one is of particular interest to me, since I am still looking at mills and trying to pin down the one. I am leaning towards the HM126 from Woodland Mills, for the price mainly. I can't see spend more since I am going to mill mainly for personal use. Build a barn, a few sheds and a chicken coop.

To get to the point and stop my rambling, would you (FF members) suggest the HM126 as a starter or have you ran into any issues since own the mill?

CharlieP · September 22, 2015, 08:52:44 AM

Spydergreen, We got our HM 126 back in Feb. of this year ,I see your location is in Western NC ,if you would like we are in Stecoah off of 28 and 143.
This way you could see the mill before you purchase one.

Magicman · September 22, 2015, 09:32:01 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum SpyderGreen and CharlieP.

We have many very satisfied Woodland Mills owners here on the FF.

SpyderGreen · September 22, 2015, 01:30:11 PM

CharlieP, I am going to have to take you up on that offer. I am actually on the other side of Stecoah Gap in Robbinsville. Call or text me at 735-1015 when you get a chance, because I would like to see and try one out in person. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.

Chuck White · September 22, 2015, 03:33:34 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, SpyderGreen and CharlieP!

It's a great idea getting some hands-on before going out and buying a mill! ;)

Magicman · September 22, 2015, 04:21:19 PM

Now that is what the FF is all about, and it's value is being enjoyed by two of our newest members. Congratulations!! 8)

sawmilljoe · September 22, 2015, 07:38:54 PM

As an owner of the woodland mill I can say that they are a great mill for there money. I would not compare them to most of the other starter mills around the same price that I have seen(it is closer to the next level) the only one I haven't seen running is the Hudson. The woodland is built way stronger then most of the others. Only thing I would recommend is to build a heavy frame for it to set on . You do not want it to move when loading logs. Come to the dark side and join us all making sawdust.

CharlieP · September 22, 2015, 08:31:56 PM

Spydergreen and I are going to meet on Thursday, I have some poplar already down and cut to length ,so he will be able to tryout the Woodland mill. That way he will have some hands on experience , it could help in making his decision.

fishfighter · September 23, 2015, 06:35:35 PM

Great. After having my 126, I'm having dreams of a bigger mill. :D

SpyderGreen · September 24, 2015, 07:55:24 PM

I want to thank CharlieP for letting me have a taste of what the mill bug is all about. I was great to be able put hands on and cut some wood to get an idea of what I was getting into.

From the specs and review of the HM126, I had it at the top of a short list of mills I would buy. Not having seen or been around a Norwood or Woodmizer I can't testified to them, but to day I did get to mill over the HM126. My first impression was it is a beefy setup that I though. The pictures does not do the mill justice as to how thick the L brackets are really. The cross braces are not as thick as the tracks, but feel study enough to handle the logs sized for cutting.

There is definitely no bells or whistle on the HM126, but a bare-bones sawmill is what I am looking for at a good price. The price is what really keeps me leaning again and again towards the HM126. For the price of a Norwood LM29-0014G $4897 (on sale no shipping no extension figured in); I can get the HM126 with a track extension to cut 16', 10 pack of blades, Woodlands auto blade sharpener, and freight shipping for $398. Not that is a sticking point.

Now there are some features that I like about the Norwood that I want on the Woodlands, but it's nothing that makes the mill cut any better than what I can tell. It just makes it more refined, like the combo throttle and lube in one lever. As far as this greenhorn can tell, the wood I cut was cut as good at the next machine on the market. I guess it not what you cut, but how you cut it.

I will end my rambling now and give somebody else a chance to chime in. I look forward to yes's and no's and everything in between.

Thanks again, CharlieP for the demo.

Magicman · September 24, 2015, 08:01:51 PM

The Wood-Mizer LT10 is $4395.

Thefarmer76 · September 26, 2015, 03:40:28 PM

With the HM126 are you using wedges or a smartly placed bottle jack under the logs when you run into a ununiform log?. A pro mill I used once had a jack built in..... Cheers