Any negative comments on the Norwood mills ?

[milkie62]

been looking at Norwood mills and they seem to be the best for my plans. After talking to the company rep @ Boonville, I was told that I could buy the 36" mill and that all holes are already drilled should I want to extend it. Also should I want to add hydraulics, that there was no difference in the price if I bought the machine totally loaded vs building it should I want to improve it. Hope I made sense in the last statement. Anyway in my case, should I not want to go into the venture, I would not be out as much money. In my area there are a lot of small farms with woodlots and I think there could be a niche business in doing either go to site sawing or just doing a trailer of logs for somebody building a shed or barn, etc. I am retiring in the spring. Not looking to get rich by any means but I think the possibility of income is there. Thanks, Ed

[WV Sawmiller]

   I can't comment for or against Norwood. All I have heard has been good.

   If you are interested in taking the mobile sawing plunge here is a thread that may help answer or raise questions you need to know. Good luck. 
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=100326.msg1556227#msg1556227

[cutterboy]

Hi Milkie. I bought a Norwood Lumbermate2000 manual mill in 2001 and 19 years later it is still sawing straight and true. It's a simple machine and very sturdy and has given me very little trouble over the years. I have had good luck with Norwood and if I were looking for a new mill I would look at them first.
Good luck with your search and hopefully you will be making sawdust soon.

[farmfromkansas]

How big are the trees in your neighborhood?  On my 32" capacity mill, often I have to take a chainsaw and trim a bit on the big end of a log. If 36" will do it, fine, if you need just a bit more, think I would look at the EZ 40, for the 40" capacity. Do not believe you can buy ready made hydraulics, so be aware of that.

[arky217]

I have the Norwood LM29 mill.
It's a good mill, I like it, however it does have (in my opinion) a design flaw.
But the problem can be remedied without too much effort.

You can read about it in my post 'How I fixed my Norwood sawmill' at
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=111236.0

You might also be interested in reading my post 'My 12 sawmill mods' at
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=111503.0

Again, I think it's a good mill; I especially like the auto-locking sawhead feature.

[milkie62]

How big are the trees in your neighborhood?  On my 32" capacity mill, often I have to take a chainsaw and trim a bit on the big end of a log. If 36" will do it, fine, if you need just a bit more, think I would look at the EZ 40, for the 40" capacity. Do not believe you can buy ready made hydraulics, so be aware of that.

Is that a Norwood Mill ?

[Cappy]

Mike,

I own the Norwood HD-36 down at the Jersey shore. I have maxed this mill out with full 36" logs at 12' lengths and it handled it with no problem. The biggest issue is making sure you have the right equipment to get the big stuff on the mill. The mill is built with all prefab rails, so the extensions are endless. My mill is all manual so I can't really offer too much info on the hydraulics. If you ever want to take the trip down south and see it operate, you're more than welcome.

Bill

[mohicanww]

Hi Ed,

I have a HD36 with the 23hp briggs. It started out as just the basic manual mill but we have added all the log handling hydraulics and trailer package over the years. It is a nice option to be able to add those things as you get into milling and realize what features are important to you. It's a nice cutting mill, smooth and straight and it can cut pretty big logs.

Customer service has been a little hit or miss but when you actually talk to the technical people there they really know what is going on and will be able to help you (best to get there direct contact info if you can)