Howdy
My first post here. I'm considering buying a Hud-Son 21HP HOMESTEADER SAWMILL. I was hoping for the electric version, but they are apparently quite rare. A dealer in N.H. has the gas model available, maybe.
I'll be milling and build in mid-coast Maine.
Two questions:
Is this a good brand? Have people had good experience with them?
-or-
in terms of dealer support location and availability, does anyone have other recommendations?
I will be milling posts and beams for a timber frame house, plus (I hope) all the associated siding boards, trim, etc. That is: a lot of milling for a year or two. I don't need it to be a business or a long term investment. That's not to say that I won't keep milling, but my priorities are focused on getting the house built.
Thanks!
Most of the mills will work. Back when I was researching mills in 2017, I looked their mills over as well as most of what you see for sponsors to the left. I settled on another brand. Back then it didn't take nearly so long to get one made. Since you are in Maine area, you might want to check out Thomas Band Saw Mills in Brooks Maine. They look to have potential for the type of sawing you described. They have had decent reviews on here over the years. Look for things like squaring arms that run together and not individually, Power feed and lift lower options, and winch type log loaders. These are things that are available on machines that are not hydraulic from many manufacturers and well worth the added expense. It might make extending you sawmilling more desirable once your initial projects are done. I couldn't afford the extra price of the hydraulics back then, but did splurge a little and got these features I listed and feel it was worth the minimal investment. Good luck with you research.
Welcome to the forum! I do not know much about Hud-son sawmills. They've been making sawmills a long time so experience should count for something. I looked at Hud-son mills when I first started looking for a sawmill. I decided on a different manufacturer and I elected to get hydraulics on a mill with more features.
Wood-mizer, Woodlands, Norwood, EZ Boardwalk, TimberKing and others have entry level or hobby sawmills as well. They all can cut good lumber in the hands of someone who takes the time to learn the machine and sawing techniques. They all can cut horrible lumber if the bed isn't well supported or shoddy attention to detail in assembly and operation. In fact horrible lumber can be cut with very expensive sawmills if the sawyer doesn't take the time to do it right.
All of the entry level mills in that price range will be manual (versus hydraulic). Meaning the logs will have to be manually moved, clamped and rotated. Some guys use some type of equipment to help with the log handling for example a tractor with FEL and forks or a skid steer with forks.
The best advice I can give is whatever sawmill you choose, have a waste handling and disposal plan before you get the sawmill. Have a plan for stacking and storing your lumber for drying before you get a sawmill.
Sawed a couple thousand feet on an all manual hud-son a few years back. It is a sawmill that will mill lumber. Like SawyerTed says, whether that lumber is good or bad is more dependent on you than on the machine. I did not like the electric winch for raising/lowering the head, it was "finicky" and sometimes hard to hit the mark. Don't know if that applies to what you are looking at. It was super easy and cheap to extend the bed though, just some angle iron.
I've had a 330 Oscar for a few years, extended the track out to 27' this year and put it on a concrete foundation. Works great, parts aren't hard to find, blades are pretty standard. I'm not a huge fan of their log clamps but they do the job.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31907/84E68147-FA01-4498-A1AA-634A0C3BAAC0.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1640988468)
It's all manual, lifts easily enough
I own 2 Hud-sons. An Oscar 18, which they dont make any more, and a Homesteader HFE36, 16HP.
I've had the Oscar 18 since 2006 and cut a lot of wood with it. It has been bulletproof and does what its designed to do quite well.
I've had the HFE36 about a year and only cut one summer with it. Thats a good mill too, but not as sturdy as the 4 post design like in the Oscars. I ended up "beefing" mine up myself. The Oscar is a 4 post design which the saw head runs on its own posts, (6 posts total) where as the Homesteader is what they call a "Modified 4 post" and the saw runs up and down on the front 2 posts. (4 posts total) The Oscar series is more expensive than the Homesteader, so that is one place they cut cost.
Even though I chose to beef mine up, I'm still happy with the purchase. I think I got a good saw for the money. Also, the local dealer had it on stock which was unheard of at the time, and he was willing to sell me just the saw only, no tracks, because I was building my own trailer with Hydraulics. No one else I called was willing to do that. The few times I have had any questions or needed parts I worked directly with Hud-son and the service and support was great.
In summary, I think they are a good saw for the money. If you can spend a little more, look at the Oscar series, but the Homesteader is OK too.
I have a different take on squaring arms that operate together vs independently. If one has a log with knots or a sweep you may not be able to raise the squaring arms to where you need them to be because they all move simultaneously and the same amount (as I understand it). My 20 year old MP32 has 4 independently moveable sq arms and I can choose which ones to use based on what on the log interferes with their motion. It is more work to move them independently but I'd like to know how those with ganged arms deal with knots, etc., because I have obviously not used them. Just my 0.01 cent.
Quote from: DaleK on February 02, 2022, 05:18:56 PM
I've had a 330 Oscar for a few years, extended the track out to 27' this year and put it on a concrete foundation. Works great, parts aren't hard to find, blades are pretty standard. I'm not a huge fan of their log clamps but they do the job.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31907/84E68147-FA01-4498-A1AA-634A0C3BAAC0.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1640988468)
It's all manual, lifts easily enough
@DaleK (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=21907) I'm curious as to what the cutouts are for in your concrete foundation. Just for easier clean-up? Or something else?
The beams for my log deck sit in them. I made them a bit oversized in case I wanted to adjust the width
I'm still using a Hudson Oscar II that my dad bought back in the early 2000's. Actually sawed a bit last night with it. It has to have seen 50,000 BF or more, its pretty whooped but gets the job done.
Like others have said, its a completely manual mill, and setup is everything. They are super simple and easy to work on. Where they are built is about 15 minutes from me, just outside Utica, NY, they don't have too many parts for my old mill but yours you shouldn't have a problem with parts/support.
Yours will have their new style guides which are much better than the ones on my Oscar II. I believe they do make some models with hydraulic lift and turn mechanisms. The Homesteader HFE-36 is darn near identical to my Oscar II, not sure what size you were going to go with. A word of advice, make sure to buy a mill that will do slightly larger than the largest logs you'll think you'll saw. The Oscar II claims 36" diameter, I have found max I can do is really around 32" diameter, and it has to be a perfect log at that. I've had some "36" diameter logs but ended up having to chainsaw a side off just to get the mill to go past (guides and mill structure cause interference).
All in all, they are a great cheap mill if your going to leisurely build some stuff. Not a great mill for production of any sort.
Curious what "whooped" means. 50,000 feet should be nothing to a sawmill.
Eh, 50,000 was just a guess. Not really sure, haven't kept much track over the years but its built quite a few buildings and whatnot. And by "whooped" I mean things are needing fixed often. Maybe "old" would have been a better choice of word.
If you are interested in a manual mill I would suggest taking a good look at EZ Boardwalk mills. I believe they are offering the "most mill for your money" on the market. That's my opinion after owning and operating our EZ-40 for the past few years.
Although I did lots of research pre-purchase, I have always kept an eye out afterwards at the competition and I can say I have yet to see another MANUAL mill that I would rather have.
Rugged build, unique design features, capacity for large logs, small helpful company, good price, easy to operate.
Quote from: kelLOGg on February 03, 2022, 06:40:11 AM
I have a different take on squaring arms that operate together vs independently. If one has a log with knots or a sweep you may not be able to raise the squaring arms to where you need them to be because they all move simultaneously and the same amount (as I understand it). My 20 year old MP32 has 4 independently moveable sq arms and I can choose which ones to use based on what on the log interferes with their motion. It is more work to move them independently but I'd like to know how those with ganged arms deal with knots, etc., because I have obviously not used them. Just my 0.01 cent.
On a Hudson, the squaring arm and clamping arm rotate up together, but if you have multiples each set moves independently. I personally like that they move together. That way I dont have to reach around the log to position the squaring arm while I clamp. Yes there are occasions where a knot gets in the way, but then you can just clamp it lower, or trim the knot. If one really prefers they move independently, it wouldnt be hard to modify the set up. All you would need to do is cut the square tube they are both welded to so they dont move together.
I prefer the squaring arms connected together. The main reason is that I only have to move one and know the rest are in the exact same spot. This is critical on my mill as I can't see the squaring arms from the operator side without bending over and doing a mill pushup. Good exercise, but annoying as the day goes by. I have a west coast mirror that I installed on the opposite side of the carriage so I can see the relationship of the saw blade to the first squaring arm while standing up straight. Having all three arms linked together, I know that if the band misses the first one I will miss the other 2. If there is a knot that interferes with the squaring arm movement, I do have to move the log some to clear. Doesn't happen often and seems like the lesser of two evils.
With the HUD-Son squaring arms connected to the clamps if you miss the clamp you'll miss the arm, no need to look at the other side of the log. I do wish the arms were a bit more sturdy sometimes
Thanks for all the information! I'm definitely better informed now than I was a couple days ago!