My dad built a great looking trailer kit for my Norwood 2000 last year. I am finally getting around to bolting it on and need to come up with a solution for leveling jacks. Has anyone used off the shelf bolt on jacks with any success. I guess I am just hoping there is a set up I can use without to much welding or drilling. Just hoping for Jacks that can just bolt on to the Norwood. Off the self looks a lot cheaper than buying Norwood's hardware. I appreciate any comments from someone who has put levelers on, Thanks Gary
Hey WNC, for what it's worth after redesigning my tail gate on the work truck I purchased a couple swing up jacks from Lowes. They swing down and pin on the rear of the trailer to give it a steady base for loading my tractor with out bumping the new tail gate. Yep the hitch was found to be sprung so also replace that with a good spring loaded Bulldog type. Anyway I would think these might work for you. They had holes for bolts but I welded mine on and they work fine.
Here is what I did on my Norwood LM2000. I purchased 6 jacks that were top cranking. I removed the handles so there is nothing in the way as the carriage moves down the track. I also welded up a mounting bracket to the jack that allowed me to bolt them where needed to distribute them evenly. I have since added another 8 feet to the length of my track, and added two more jacks to the mill. It is real easy to level the track in only a few minutes, and swing them up and out of the way when I move the mill.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10927/444/First_Logs_on_Mill_001%7E0.jpg)
I always place the sawmill on six solid concrete slabs and then shim them to keep the frame in balance. To make it a simple process I added 4 strong RV stabilizer jacks which cost less than $100 dollars that just bolt to the frame. They help make it easy to level the bed and also provide additional support but they are not used as the primary support.
Hey WNC, I'm in Hendersonville about 15 miles south of you.
What deepwoods has looks pretty nice and easy. Several places sell all different kinds of leveling jacks, like Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply. Even wally has some I believe. Just find one you think will work the easiest for ya.
Quote from: DeepWoods on June 12, 2011, 11:12:53 PM
Here is what I did on my Norwood LM2000. I purchased 6 jacks that were top cranking. I removed the handles so there is nothing in the way as the carriage moves down the track. I also welded up a mounting bracket to the jack that allowed me to bolt them where needed to distribute them evenly. I have since added another 8 feet to the length of my track, and added two more jacks to the mill. It is real easy to level the track in only a few minutes, and swing them up and out of the way when I move the mill.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10927/444/First_Logs_on_Mill_001%7E0.jpg)
deepwoods, your setup looks great. I have a couple of questions. Your steel plates that you welded the jacks to look like an alloy or something. What kind of steel did you use or are the brackets just painted? Also what kind of bolt did you use to bolt the brackets to the frame. It seems you would need an almost 1 inch bolt to prevent play? would appreciate any advice. Thanks. Gary
I put 8 on mine quite awhile ago, they have worked out great.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/dads%20pics%20217opt.jpg)
I put a bend in the handles for clearance.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/dads%20pics%20218opt.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/dads%20pics%20219opt.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/dads%20pics%20220opt.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/dads%20pics%20222opt.jpg)
Gary, I went out to the mill this morning to get some detailed pictures of my setup. Here you can see how the plate is holding from underneath the mill rails. I used what I had available which worked out pretty good. It is just painted steel
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10927/444/Copy_of_IMG_5318.JPG)
Here you can see I added an extention to the handle to clear the rails so I can turn the handle without hitting the rail. I used some of the extra bolts from Norwood to secure the plates, and where needed I used the dished washers on the back side to center the bolts.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10927/444/Copy_of_IMG_5316.JPG)