first mill Woodland HM126

muck · March 24, 2014, 03:24:46 PM

Hello all
I have finally got in a position where I can pursue a longstanding dream of owning a portable hobby mill.
Friday I ordered a HM126 from Woodland Mills, a box of blades, and a cant hook.
This will be my first sawmill and after going through the processes of coming to the conclusion this was the mill for me
I have decided to document my experiance with a thread.

Friday morning I ordered the mill around 9:30 locally
Friday at 3:30 it was on a truck coming out of NY
now its noon monday and the saw is in Chicago.

Very Impressive start WM. 8)

more to come with pics of coarse.

richhiway · March 24, 2014, 04:28:08 PM

good luck. I sure we will enjoy your photos.

Andy White · March 24, 2014, 04:55:43 PM

Muck,
Congrats on the new mill! You will have hours of fun making sawdust with it. Follow the directions in the manual, and every thing will be OK. If you have any other questions, someone on here has a mill like that one, and will be glad to help. You may need to change your avatar because I've found that the logs will come to you when they find out you have a mill!!! Andy
PS Yes on the pictures!

Jimmy Mc · March 24, 2014, 04:58:07 PM

smiley_clapping One of the best decisions you are ever going to make. Not only do they make great lumber, they are just plan old fun to run. Welcome to the club.

JamieT · March 24, 2014, 05:09:54 PM

Go ahead and order the track extension lol, u will wish you would have!! Congratulations and good luck!!

goose63 · March 24, 2014, 05:55:29 PM

Muck when you get the cardboard off you will find a steal crate most every thing will be inside have fun getting it all out I did 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

muck · March 24, 2014, 06:49:38 PM

thanks ya all

thats right goose63 you just got one

congrats!

Am I the only one who thinks it Ironic a mill maker would ship in steal crates? :D

SawyerBrown · March 24, 2014, 06:54:11 PM

Quote from: muck on March 24, 2014, 06:49:38 PM

Am I the only one who thinks it Ironic a mill maker would ship in steal crates? :D

Yeah, that's pretty funny!

Congrats on the new mill!

Billbob · March 24, 2014, 08:42:31 PM

Congrats on the mill, Muck! Take JamieT's suggestion and get the bed extention. You won't regret it!
Bill

Magicman · March 24, 2014, 08:50:20 PM

Quote from: Andy White on March 24, 2014, 04:55:43 PMYou may need to change your avatar because I've found that the logs will come to you when they find out you have a mill!!! Andy

I wonder how Andy found that out?? ??? ;D

Freedom6178 · March 25, 2014, 04:11:23 AM

Congrats on your new mill... 8)

giant splinter · March 25, 2014, 04:30:03 AM

Am I the only one who thinks it Ironic a mill maker would ship in steal crates? :D
I wonder how Andy found that out??

That is a good one, could it be ironwood ??, Steel is a good thing ..... you can use it to build your extention ;D
Congratulations Muck, cant wait to see the photos.

muck · March 25, 2014, 10:36:30 AM

Thanks again everyone
looking forward to sharing my mill story.

this is mostly a outlet for me to learn and to set expectation for anyone who may buy a woodland mill.
with that said, don't pay for your mill with a visa card from B of A they will hit you with a 100.00
"International transaction fee" (I'm about done with B of A)

@ JamieT
yes a bed extension is in the future when I upgrade my log moving capabilitys, right now im winching into a old truck bed.

@ Giant Splinter
yes more metal please!

@ Andy white

great advice. I am thankful for this forum.

ok have a good day ya all, going to check tracking again....lol

muck · March 29, 2014, 12:31:02 AM

Got a call from R-L carriers asking me when a good time Monday would be for lift gate service (I live 20 miles out of Sac).
this is a hour later

Got it home and started to peel away the cardboard

I was very impressed by the packaging.
however two people lifting the head out of that steel cage is only going to happen if your coworkers for the Packers. :D
Thank God for my Father-in-law, he brought over his front loader.
the Instructions were good but one must be versed in exploded image ciphering and parts # lists.
the pics were great but having to refer back and forth from the explod to find the part# then the part list to find the part descript
could be simpler if the part number was listed on the pic. IMHO

All in all I am impressed with the over all Stoutness of the machine. the rails and crossmembers are particularly solid.
The build was not hard to follow and simple hand tools were all that were req. (don't forget your linemen or your mech advantage to get it out of the crate and on the rails).

just the sweepers and blade set, final tightening and lube and we are making sawdust.
here's where my saw abides.

WX man says 100% chance of showers tomorrow.(boo)
Sunday looks good tho.

Andy White · March 29, 2014, 06:44:35 AM

muck,
The hard part is over now!! You have it on the ground and together. Now make some sawdust. Set up looks good. You may want to tie the track down to the supports before you go to cutting larger logs. Looking at your ramps, do you remove the log stops every time you load another log? Build an arch, and load from the end, works really well for me. Good luck and have fun! Andy 8) 8)

xlogger · March 29, 2014, 06:51:20 AM

There is a fee for home delivery and liftgate service. You might try to get that money back since you pick it up.

Chuck White · March 29, 2014, 06:59:44 AM

Great story on your mill, Muck, congratulations!

drobertson · March 29, 2014, 07:27:07 AM

Looks like you have a good shady spot for when the temps get up. Nice mill!

justallan1 · March 29, 2014, 07:52:09 AM

Congrats on the new mill. Muck. Looks like your ready to go to work. Have fun. ;D

Allan

muck · March 29, 2014, 07:57:59 AM

Thanks ya all, imexcited.
Andy White
yes I will remove them when loading logs. I didn't want my ramps on the walking path when I push.

Xlogger, I hear ya, but @ 349.00 across the country for shipping I was simply happy they let me pick it up so I could stare at it in the rain today..lol

yes the shade will hit the mill at around 2 in the summer, and as you know it does get warm in the Sac valley.

my wife saw all the angle iron that came with it from shipping and said "good more legs for another tailgate bench"
lol. I have two teenage girls and the projects are really starting to stack up. I told the girls I would need plans and dimentions on paper, just to get them thinking.

thanks again to the FF and all the members who are encouraging and sharing their knowlodge

Magicman · March 29, 2014, 08:05:05 AM

Your Joy and Excitement is justified. Congratulations !!! 8)

thecfarm · March 29, 2014, 08:15:21 AM

That looks good. What I do with my mill I lay down some ¼ inch flat stock to roll my logs from the ramps to the mill. May have to dip into some of that tailgate bench material.

Billbob · March 29, 2014, 03:15:44 PM

Nothing like a new sawmill with that 'new sawmill smell'! :laugh:

goose63 · March 30, 2014, 06:33:14 AM

Now you did it Muck you are ready to saw and I am not the trailer build is going slow >:( had to go back to Fargo to get parts I forgot the first time when its done going to take it to Frontier have them sand blast and paint it for me hopeing by SATURADY I AM SAWING 8) 8) 8)

muck · March 30, 2014, 10:18:24 AM

Thanks everyone!
Goose63 you will be up and at it soon!
there was a steady rain yesterday but this morning looks good.
today I plan on making stickers after I double check the first cuts.
i'll take some pics
start with cottonwood stickers and hopefully end the day with some redwood slabs for benches.
well, gotta go make a huge lumberjack breakfast... its a rule. :D