Looking for Reviews

[fluidp]

Hi All,  I am new to this site and in the market for a bandsaw Mill.  I live in the Bush in BC Canada and have lots of trees at my doorstep and a ton of building projects to do.
I am looking for anyone that has either bought or used a mill from PGSAW, in Prince George, BC.  They have been making band mills for years, .   http://www.portablebandsawmill.com/
Thanks and im looking forward to reading posts on this forum   CHEERS

Graham

[redbeard]

Hello NW neighbor, Welcome
Not familiar with this sawmill maybe there's some close by to take a look see.
You are in some beautiful country. Spent many a summer on canoe trips in your area Wells grey, Myrtle lake and my favorite Bowron did that trip twice. I was young but I remember every day of it.
Alot of big timber in your area. Good luck on your ventures.

[Grizzly]

I'm not acquainted with them. I see 3 models available and the one looks like they are depending on you to give it a good base as the rails don't look very heavy. Looks like a useable mill though. Which one were you thinking of?

Oh yeah. Welcome!

Lyle

[fluidp]

I'm not acquainted with them. I see 3 models available and the one looks like they are depending on you to give it a good base as the rails don't look very heavy. Looks like a useable mill though. Which one were you thinking of?

Oh yeah. Welcome!

Lyle

I was thinking of the Farm Hawk.  But it only has 16" wheels....

[Jack S]

one thing that has been mentioned about smaller wheels possibly is more band breakage from more flexing. one thing I see is it  also directly reduces your maximum depth of cut  Jack

[Grizzly]

I like that you would only be 3 hours away from the manufacture. Not something we can normally enjoy here in Western Canada. One thing to consider is whether you'll be happy limited to 24" logs. So long as you can live with that the rest seems to be quite positive. The small wheels will limit the length of life on your blades but that might not be a huge item if your milling for hobby rather than production. Made in Canada. I like that. Evidently it's not a well known or owners aren't on here.

I don't see enough reasons not to buy one unless you have questions about the manufacture. Do they seem good to deal with? Does it appear that they will support their equipment? If dealer is good that's a lot of the battle out of the way.

I'm rambling, but I say go buy it. Make sawdust. Tell us all about it. And you'll get reminded a whole bunch about pictures. Post them.

[fluidp]

I Talked to the owner yesterday. He answered a few ??'s.  They use roller guides, the 24" is the throat opening, so the log di would be about 30.
I don't like the carrage V wheels on inverted angle.  I have a Alaskan set up on a three wheel carrage that I have used for years and it is hard to keep the sawdust off the angle and always gets clogged in the wheel.
The bunks also look kinda light......
I think I will pass on this one.

[fluidp]

I really like the Linn Lumber mill 190A  The carrage head is strong.   

I am also considering a Norwood LM29, without trailer.  I got a quote from them yesterday, with a additional 12 feet of bed length, and the cam dogs and a couple other small things.  I Like all the add ons you can get at a later time.  They also have the planer/moulder head and carrage that can go on the same bed frame..  Something to think about.....

Does any one have any insight in the Norwood products????

[Jack S]

I bought the lm 29 four years ago and have put around 275 hours of sawing on it mostly southern pine. I did upgrade to the 16 hp briggs twin. For a manual mill it is about as good as you can get. very simple  and easy to set up and use. with a good stable pine cant I have cut boards less than 1/4 inch thick 8 inches wide and 12 ft long and they are perfect.







 

[fluidp]

I bought the lm 29 four years ago and have put around 275 hours of sawing on it mostly southern pine. I did upgrade to the 16 hp briggs twin. For a manual mill it is about as good as you can get. very simple  and easy to set up and use. with a good stable pine cant I have cut boards less than 1/4 inch thick 8 inches wide and 12 ft long and they are perfect.







 

Thanks for your opinion..... I am thinkin about the 16hp over the 14 Kohler, but they want a extra $1100 for the extra 2 hp, oh and electric start.  Im not sure if one can negotiate with them or not, I might try....

[Upper]

If you saw much by yourself get hydrolics,and you may finish that ton of building you need to do before you upgrade to hydrolics.

[TKehl]

I Like all the add ons you can get at a later time. 

If you plan for hydraulics later, you want the bigger Norwood.  Check the specs, but I don't think they offer hydraulic upgrades on the 29.  Not that something couldn't be fabricated though...

[Bandmill Bandit]

I have a friend in Hazelton that used a neighbour's Farmhawk to saw out a shed a few years ago. He liked the mill in general but thought construction of it was a bit on the light side. The experience was such that he decided to buy a mill of his own. He and his wife were out here to visit family so he came by to take a look at my mill. After a couple of hours of helping saw a few logs he decide to go home through Salmon Arm BC and ended up with an LT15 GO with power feed.

His comments have been mostly that the Woodmizer is a better built mill for a bit less money at the time he bought and requires quite bit less "fiddle" to keep it "running well" and he like the lumber quality better. Also said parts and such from Salmon Arm dealer to him are more reliable than from PG.

I personally have only seen one of those mills sitting in a yard out in the Terrace area and thought it looked like a decent mill. 
     

[staker]

Here is a sawmill made in your neck of the woods.

http://www.portablebandsawmills.ca/

[Grizzly]

That one looks a lot better built than the Prince George one.

[ChugiakTinkerer]

the four-post mill head on the Backyard and other saws is a lot more stable than the two-post version on the PG Farmhawk.  I think you made a good call in moving on from the PG mill.