Testament to Woodmizer!

[ChadH]

So I am in no way advertising for Woodmizer but I do want to share my positive experience over the last few weeks with Woodmizer.

I ordered my sawmill at the end of January 2016 and received it at the beginning of April. Everything was great and as expected. The staff at the dealer went over everything in depth and I left that night feeling confident in using the sawmill.

I have been using it regularly for my portable sawmilling business and have been very impressed as to what we can accomplish on what some would consider to small of a mill for productivity. The LT35HDG has proven itself to us over and over.

About two months ago I noticed some rust staring on the cutting head. Wasn't all that impressed but thought it wouldn't get bad. It started spreading like cancer and the paint in places was peeling off. I was less then impressed that my less then 6month old mill was turning out to look like it had seen a hard life and seen years of service.

I didn't think anything could be done but to re paint it myself when I had spare time (yeah right there is no such thing as spare time when you have a new business)

About 3 weeks ago I had moved to a new site to start cutting wood for a customer that was booked in. We arrived, setup, and loaded up the first log. Made the first cut and all was fine. 3/4 of the way through the 2nd cut, all of a sudden the cutting head makes a dive. Plunges 4-5"s in to the log. I managed to stop it before going further and or breaking. The blade. Still don't know why or how it didn't break anything.

Tried trouble shooting myself but to no avail I couldn't get the head to raise up and it want d to continue going down when power was on. We packed up and went home feeling defeated. And slightly embarrassed in front of the new customer that our brand new mill was acting up.

I jumped on the phone now the guys at my local dealer were a huge help in trouble shooting over the phone. They seem to know all the parts and pieces from a small description. We narrowed it down to the H Bridge and when the part arrived two days later I installed it and things were up and running. While talking to them, I asked about my paint issue, they asked to have pictures and upon sending them to Woodmizer they identified a major problem and decided to replace my entire sawmill with a brand new one instead of re painting this one. They never hesitated and I have been very impressed on how well they have been to deal with. They have looked after me and have lived up to all the good things I've heard.

I would recommend Woodmizer to anyone looking to make a purchase of a sawmill.

[Kbeitz]

Wow... No wonder they are a top of the line company.
Happy for ya....

[Bruno of NH]

Nice can't beat that

[ChadH]

Should receive the new sawmill around mid December. In the mean time they insisted I continue to use my sawmill so I don't have any interruptions in business.

[Peter Drouin]

Good, Nice WM is stepping up to fix things with you . Now when you need parts and blades for the mill I ask you to support them too. They keep me working and I keep them working.
Don't always go for cheap at the auto parts store.
Good luck.

[ChadH]

I will continue to buy their blade, as they have not let me down yet.

[Sawmill Man]

 What was the major problem that they identified ?  Or was it just the paint they considered to be the problem ?

[WV Sawmiller]

Chad,

   I have the same mill, have had it almost exactly one year longer than yours and my experiences with dealing with the WM folks has been on par with what you describe - all good. There have been a couple of minor issues which were readily fixed on the phone or with immediate delivery of replacement parts where needed. The parts received came with good instructions for installation using common hand tools. I looked at the mill at the dealer before buying to estimate whether a layman with my limited mechanical skills could maintain the machine and every thing I saw about it seemed well made and accessible and common sense design enough for me to maintain.

    I hear good things about the other brands of sawmills, most who are sponsors here also, but can quickly and personally verify the WM support makes it well worth any extra cost. I looked at that and the resale values before ever making my decision.

[drobertson]

A good testament, a good mill,  I still wait to hear when there's been no issues,. At least for 640 hours!  I went three years with intermitant issues, two h bridges, not  needed, two transducers not needed,  a gear box, an external brake to compensate for the gear box, one full length com cable , upgrade to accuser 2, only to find it was a (known about) faulty splitter cable. It was shipped next day no charge, it only took       3 years and this forum to access the right people who knew what to look for. Lots of down time through the process. Yes a good mill once running, just hard to wrap my head around why for this company, and why the so often long wait times when calling, (save your breath for defence) if they are on it, why not in QA/QC from the suppliers?   Rant could go on, but its over, happy election day,,

[woodweasel]

I have the LT 35 Manual, they have been great to work with. I am going to upgrade to a hydraulic model soon. 8)

[Mt406]

Hi
I also have a Lt35 and they replaced mine because of paint issues.
I didn't say any thing on the forum because I didn't want to sound like I was bad mouthing WM when they treated me so well.
The dealership here in Mt has been great to work with.
I went with WM because good things that you on the forum had to say about them.
I don't know if they are the best mill on the market but I am happy with mine.
so far there customer service is Number One.

Thanks  Wood mizer  and Wood -mizer of Montana

Scott   

[ChadH]

Sawmill man

Yes they identified there was an issue with the paint. My model was produced around a time they had recently switched a painting process and figure it was missed during a step or not painted up to standard. I was worried that by asking their solution would be to have it repainted and that I would be with out a mill while a shop restore the mill. And take everything off it. But they didn't miss a beat when they said we'll send a new one out. I also asked if I could add the FAO kit from the factory and they didn't have any issues doing so. I will pay the difference for the FAOs.

Drobertson

No hostility here, I understand not everyone will experience great things. I've seen that side with most everything I own. I deal directly with the two local Woodmizer dealers close to me, they have very knowledgeable staff and and have delt with all the trouble shooting and warranty work fast and well. I have not directly call Woodmizer themselves. But the guy who runs our Canadian headquarters is a great guy to deal with as well. And I can not remember his name at the moment

Woodweasel

My dealer talked me in to the hydraulic model, and at the time I thought I might have been suckered in to spending more. But I don't look back now!!!! Totally worth having them. It's night and day!

Mt406

I couldn't agree more.

[drobertson]

Chad none taken and none meant either, nothing beats good productive conversations where the truth can be mentioned without offence. Real glad you got it and are happy! I am too now, just took some time,  I would put my 40 super up against any mill of comparable size and capacity.

[WV Sawmiller]

Chad,

   I think you should be sure to thank your dealer for talking you into the hydraulics. I was planning on getting a manual mill and my wife and neighbors talked me into the hydraulics and I thank them every day for it.

   You can no doubt make good lumber with a manual mill but I honestly think the hydraulics encourage you to make better lumber because it is so much easier to load, rotate, lift and clamp the logs and cants. If the cant starts to rise it is so simple to rotate it 180 degrees and take a trim cut to get back to perfectly sawed lumber. Because of the extra effort with a manual mill there is a natural tendency to cut another board or two. Rotating a big log to get the end check properly positioned to slice your boards parallel to the split so you don't have the crack in every board is much easier with the hydraulics rather than straining with a cant hook or winch of some time.

[ChadH]

I couldn't agree more VW!

I use to waste a lot of wood when I was using the chainsaw mill. It was easier to start a new log sometimes then to try and fix a piece that was deflected.

Having spent time chainsaw milling first maybe gave me some experience to know the dealer wasn't completely full of S***.  I glad I trusted them. It also might have been they never once seemed to push anything. Just offered the knowledge they had so I could make an educated decision.

[Delawhere Jack]

My LT40 is 21 years old, so it needs a part now and then. I have never had to wait on hold more than 5-10 minutes, and I've always spoken with a rep who was knowledgeable, and helpful. Prices for the parts are always reasonable.

It is a rare pleasure in this day and age to deal with a company as dedicated to their customers as Woodmizer.  ;)

[scully]

I have had the privolage of being around WM since 1985 . Living 2 miles from the east coast distribution hub I have seen every progresion of development . At first I snubbed the LT35 but I can say now that based on the amount I have seen sold and what guys are doing with them I am darned impressed . As for their service , bar none the best in the industry  . There are some other good mills out there but at the end of the day I know way to much to ever consider a change . I think that WM is always willing to right any situation with their product . They hire great people and stand behind their product as good or better than anyone .

[kenbees]

I bought A LT40 supper used ...   I toke home replaced all the belts all the bearings all the filters , lined it all back up, .. I call up WM dealer and two days' latter I had the parts.  now I just have to learn how to make the most out of the mill

[red]

Run it Hard , it can take it