Woodland HM126 -- First saw mill for me.

Started by DanMc, October 12, 2016, 09:28:26 PM

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DanMc

A lot of firsts with this post!

This is my first post here on ForestryForum.  I just bought my first saw mill - the Woodland HM126.  I had done a little bit of web searching and found an excellent post on reddit that listed a large number of models of mills.  The author of the post listed the Woodland machines as his favorite.  That led me to spend a bit of time looking on the Woodland site.  Seeing all the positive reviews and the excellent work people are doing along with the generally excellent quality of everything that Woodland does convinced me to agree.  Then when I found a 1 year old HM126 for sale on Craigslist I could not contain myself.  The seller bought it and put it up for sale when he developed serious health issues.  Here it is on my trailer.  Now I have a lot of homework to do.   



I have done a bunch of reading everywhere, so now I have work through a few things for my application.  Please bear with me as I come up to speed.

Building a frame for the track:
We have a beautiful 28 acre wooded parcel up in Conway, NH where this mill will probably spend most of its time.  But I also want to be able to use it here at home in Holden, MA (3 hours away).  I know that these mills are not designed to be portable, but I can easily haul it using the trailer that it is on now.  I just need to build a rigid frame that can carry the track and hold it in a reasonable degree of alignment so I can slide it off the trailer and set it down on blocks or whatever I set it on. 

The first consideration was to pick up 2 heavy steel square tubular rails welded together by steel cross-members.  The mill has one extension on it, so it measures 20 feet in length.  That's about $400 in steel for just the two steel rails. 
The second consideration began when sanity returned to my mind and I remembered that a mill is designed to cut wood, and I could use the mill itself to cut long beams.  Then perhaps tie the two beams together using some steel cross members.  Welding to wood would be problematic, so some steel plates and threaded rods would be needed.

I also considered how to get a 20+ foot beam out of a mill that can only reach 16.  I only have to do two of these, so I'm going to have to do some shifting of the log to get that final 4 feet (am I crazy?) cleaned up.  Its a lot of extra work, but if I can do this, then I should be able to do just about anything. 

Maybe I'm just goofy thinking that I can bounce around all over the place with a non-portable mill, modified to be rigid, sitting on a car carrier trailer.  Maybe I'm nuts to think that I can use the mill down here in Holden, MA, when the tractor is up in Conway, NH and logs are nasty heavy.  Maybe I should leave the mill up in Conway all the time and haul the Holden logs up there?

Maybe I'm crazy for buying a mill (no, nobody is ever crazy for buying a saw mill!!!).

It's the learning that makes this so much fun.
LT35HDG25
JD 4600, JD2210, JD332 tractors.
28 acres of trees, Still have all 10 fingers.
Jesus is Lord.

thecfarm

DanMc,welcome to the forum.
That looks brand new!!!  Nice trailer by the way. What else do you haul with that?
And what's the plan for the lumber?  :)
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

DanMc

Like I said, the mill is like new, only 1 year old, used very little. 

I bought that trailer used late last winter for $1K.  It was rusty and tired.  I went over every square inch cleaning up all the rust and repainting it.  All new undercarriage linkages and hardware, wiring and lights, new tires, new chains.  So yeah, the trailer is better than new since I used much better paint than original.  Even put on new decals from the manufacturer.  Now with the mill, I could mill new decking if I come across some white oak.

I bought the trailer to transport the tractor between NH and MA.  It's a long way to haul it, but I can have it at one place for a while, then move it and get stuff done on the other end.  The tractor is a JD 4600 with loader and backhoe, so it has no problem moving most logs.

The plan for the lumber?  Our place up in Conway needs a shed for the tractor, and perhaps an addition to the 1-bedroom cottage that's already there.  A second bedroom, or possibly a small second cabin, or bunkhouse would be helpful.  I'm not rich, so producing the lumber from trees on site will make it a lot more doable.  You might think I'm rich, having a JD4600 tractor, but that was bundled in with the listing when we bought the land in Conway.  It was kind-of a once-in-a-lifetime thing. 
LT35HDG25
JD 4600, JD2210, JD332 tractors.
28 acres of trees, Still have all 10 fingers.
Jesus is Lord.

DanMc

First Log:  Had a good buddy drop over over the weekend and help out with getting the track levelled out a bit, and wrestled the first log up onto it:  a nice straight 11 foot 10" ash log.  This was the smallest straight one in the pile of logs I bought for firewood.  The prize from the mill is this 4x6x11 foot beam, with virtually clear grain, along with a few smaller planks as we worked it down.

That little piece of curved scrap in the background creates an optical illusion that makes it look like the beam is curved.  It is actually quite straight. 

Best "firewood" I ever bought!!!!!!!!  This weekend it gets hauled up to Conway, NH to mill the logs we have up there.
 
LT35HDG25
JD 4600, JD2210, JD332 tractors.
28 acres of trees, Still have all 10 fingers.
Jesus is Lord.