Almost finished setting up my H126

btulloh · July 02, 2015, 08:04:06 PM

Thanks Fishfightert - it looked like a gravity system but I couldn't be sure. I think I'll honor your design with an exact replica here at my site. When I get around to it.

I really appreciate the information available at this forum. Between the replies to my posts and all the other posts I've read, I have already learned quite a bit. I wouldn't have done very well on my own for sure. A lot more trial and terror. This forum has been very helpful so far, and I haven't even really begun to figure out what I don't know. But I am getting a start. Thanks to everyone here for sharing your knowledge and experience.

fishfighter · July 02, 2015, 08:52:04 PM

Big heads up. Watch your backstops. Your going to saw them within the first week. :D That is a wipe out blade. I have some new blades ordered and I will let you know how they work out.

btulloh · July 03, 2015, 07:32:57 AM

It sounds like sawing into the backstops is a rite of passage from what I see on the forum. I'd like to think I could maybe skip that step and possibly avoid hitting one, but it sounds like I'll have to saw into one before I get very far. My plan is to avoid it, but that would be bucking the odds.

I'll be curious to hear how your new blades work out. I ordered the ten pack with the mill, but I've been looking around to see what's out there. I'll be sawing everything from EWP to white oak and locust, plus I've got some chestnut oak logs - still good - that have been down for three years. I wouldn't think one type of blade will do it for me. This saw is kind of light on the horsepower so getting the right blade for the log is probably going to make things work better. I didn't see any recommendations on the Woodland Mills site other than the Lennox blades they ship with saw.

goose63 · July 03, 2015, 07:50:23 AM

btulloh you will hit the back stop sooner or later

as you can see I'm good at it

I like having mine on the trailer makes clean up easy just move it and clean up

fishfighter · July 03, 2015, 09:37:03 AM

I saw mostly oaks and I found that the lenx blades 10 drg were taking a beating quick on the hardwood. I ordered some Kaso 7drg blades. I should be getting them next week and I will let you know how they do.

Oh, out of the first set of 10 blades with my mill, I hit back stops 5 times. Twice with new blades. :D And yes, I though I had enough room to pass each time. :D

btulloh · July 03, 2015, 01:32:28 PM

I can see my future. I'm sure one nobody ever intended to saw into the metal stuff sticking up. The HM126 I just got has a little rod that's supposed to hit that stop if it's going to hit the blade. I guess that's not fool proof either. I'll let ya'll know when I saw my first piece of metal. Seems only fair to confess all my sins.

This morning I finished leveling and tweaking the tracks. Ready to set the saw on do some final tweaking. Those tracks aren't exactly the straightest things I've every seen, but hopefully they'll tweak into decent shape. It's quite a little puzzle to get all that stuff bolted up and aligned, and I haven't even put the extension on yet.

Somewhere I saw that you could get one of these mills off the truck and be sawing in three hours. Must be a NASCAR pit crew that set that mark. I knew better than to plan on that. I think I spent three hours opening boxes and unwrapping pieces. I also liked the part that says "using a minimum of two people, lift the saw assembly out of the crate." MINIMUM of two. I'll say. It would take two pretty stout fellows to do that. I tend to go with hydraulics, which are more available around here.

All in all not a bad job to get this thing together. As long as you don't expect to do it in three hours.

goose63 · July 03, 2015, 02:43:30 PM

I don't know bought 3 hours took me two days and I had some help

my little tractor is a big help round here

fishfighter · July 03, 2015, 04:31:13 PM

Took two days myself and a backhoe. That metal bracket to stop you from sawing a backstop? Hasn't stop me yet. :D

soutz · August 17, 2015, 05:00:45 AM

Hi there
had one of these little mills for about 3 years now. have turned out some amazing timber. really different stuff.
Still trying to figure things out , bandsawing is an art in itself and time is the overseer of that art.

Couple of things I ve learnt
You will hit the back stops until you paint them fluro.

clamps can be a pain. handy bits of timber you can jam in places helps with the odd or curved stuff.

don't push the mill .... and I push the mill..... it is little but boxes above its weight. just relax and let the mill do its work and good timber results.

wavey boards are a pain.......guides ,tension----if that doesn't work band. You haven't got the horse power to monster through your cuts, everything has to be the best you can make it.

water lube with a bit of dishwashing liquid does wonders for keeping pitch at bay.

don't pull you mill backward while band is running ...can result in lots of swear words.

have a look at our web site and have a look at what we do down here in NZ. shortbacknsides.co.nz

btulloh · August 19, 2015, 10:11:53 AM

Thanks for the tips. You guys do some serious work down there. Do you ever run into any ancient kauri? It's interesting stuff, but probably not found where you're doing most of your work. I'm sure you're aware of it though. I bought some a while back. It still amazes me to own wood that's forty or fifty thousand years old.

Good point on not pushing the mill. 9.5 hp doesn't cut real fast for sure, but it cuts. I've had good success so far. Fortunately my woodworking background gives me a bit of help feeling what the mill is doing. You can't just push one of these things like a wheel barrow. I'm really enjoying the process and I've made some good lumber so far. The best part is I can mill the interesting stuff that comes along, or comes down in the wind and get some nice figured wood that might have gone to waste before I got the mill.