Mill Choice Help - Range-road 22" vs Woodland Mills 22"

[bgreenall]

Good Afternoon!

I'm looking for a bit of advice, I'm thinking about buying a portable sawmill for my acreage and I need some advice. I'm in the market for a 22" mill (the biggest logs on my property are 20" or smaller) and I'm looking at the range-road industries RR5022A mill vs Woodland Mills HM 122 mill.

My situation is as follows - I have 30+ acres of woodlot near Edmonton Alberta and I'd like to start taking advantage of it. My trees are on average 14-20" in diameter Aspen, Poplar and Spruce with some Birch and Manitoba Maple on occasion. End game is to harvest and process enough lumber to build a bunch of calf shelters and perhaps produce the lumber for a simple pole barn.... and a dog house to sleep in should I upset the Mrs

My question is which saw should I buy? There's a bit of a price difference with a complete setup from RR being almost $1000 less and local.... however I couldn't find any reviews and I don't know anyone who owns one. The reviews from Woodland Mills seemed really positive.

I would appreciate any advice

[SawyerTed]

The lack of reviews and absence of owners around would make me wary.  But if  Range-Road is local, go see them, check them out.  You might find a great local company with a great product.  But I would want to know how long they have been in business and how long they've been building mills.  They  should be able to tell you who has purchased mills in the area.  Also look closely at the engineering, fit and finish and for proprietary parts.  Ask about support and warranty etc.  Resale might be an issue especially if the company doesn't continue building mills for some reason.

On the other hand, Woodland is an established company with quite a few owners here who are satisfied with their mills.  Woodland makes mills that make true lumber and they support what they make.

[Nebraska]

You might also look at the Champion mills they are Canadian  made and look like a good product, An EZ Boardwalk JR is really happy with 20 inch logs, made a couple elm bench slabs and  some misc lumber this afternoon out of one. Was good therapy.

[dogbo2013]

I own a Woodland Mills HM 130 XL and have been very happy with it. Customer service has been excellent and I would recommend them to anyone. With that said, I agree with SawyerTed, if the Range Road mill is made or sold locally I would definitely give them a close look. They may make a great mill but if warranty and parts aren't available, that would be a big concern because everything man-made will need to be repaired eventually. Price was a big concern when I was looking but don't sacrifice performance by being cheap on the front end. Buy as much horsepower and capacity that you can afford. You will be much happier with a mill that has the horsepower to cut through the logs without bogging down. 

[DDW_OR]

my 2 cents.

look for Hydraulic up-grade-ability.
log loading
log turner
clamp
carriage, up/down and travel

get the biggest engine offered
and longest trailer

[frazman]

I have purchased the HM 126 late last year. I haven't cut any logs at this time but have assembled the mill head. I was very impressed with the construction of this unit.

Now looking at the construction between the two, I wouldn't want to be the quinea pig and have to write a bad review on the Range-road mill, just saying. I just do not like the 2 post construction of the mill head but this is just my opinion. Having only 4 bolts to hold the head in place when milling. ? ? ? These are new models they have introduced last year if I'm not mistaken.

I find you have allot for the $ on the HM 122 Woodland mill with the new 2020 model. As previously mentioned, if you have the chance in looking at the model in person, go for it.

Make your choice at that time. Good luck. Keep us posted. Curious on my part.

[KenMac]

I just saw an HM122 on Craigslist not far from me for $3600, Said it will cut 20 feet long. Not any help tp you in Canada I don't guess.

[bgreenall]

Hello!

So I went to Range-Road industries in Eckville, Alberta yesterday to take a look at one of the saws available. The owners son was very helpful and we got to see a 26" band saw mill in action on a log - looked pretty good from my prospective. That said there were a few red flags I wasn't loving;

• No reviews from owners online - I couldn't ask anyone if they actually liked their saw
• They had only been selling the mills for a year which made me worry about replacement parts (our economy is in trouble and I'm not sure they will be around in 5 years)
• No subject matter experts had heard of them before that I could find
• Not a lot of features compared to similarly priced sawmills
• Adjusting the machine seemed a lot more complex than mills produced by other companies

Long story short I placed my order for a Woodland Mills saw today based on the feedback I've received, the youtube videos I've watched, the reviews the saw had received online and from my personal instincts.

Thank you for all your help!

[SawyerTed]

Great news!  We hope you will be back posting photos of your mill in action and participating with the rest of us!

[frazman]

I think you made a excellent choice in the mill you ordered. Would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the HM 122 after you saw the other mill in person.

[dogbo2013]

What Woodland Mills model did you end up ordering?