Help choosing which mill

[RealSlimShady]

Help! I need opinions on which mill to buy.  Would you rather buy a new Norwood LM29 13hp, extra bed extension shipped to your door or a 2001 wood mizer lt15 15hp electric start with a 20ft bed and very low hours that is 3 hours away for $1000 less?  Thanks.

[Jack S]

3.5 years ago I was faced with the same question and the difference was $2500. I chose the lm29 with  the 18hp briggs electric start and bed extension. with 10 extra blades.  I feel  after over 200 hours of run time on the mill I made the right choice.  an all hydraulic mill now it would be woodmizer no question. hope this helps.  Jack

[dgdrls]

have you test driven them??

Only you can answer which one you like better.

Any other options?

D

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, RealSlimShady.  I also would want to do a "hands on".

[RealSlimShady]

Neither one, a friend has an lt35 that is great (hydro). I know it's an older machine, but really like the solid carriage compared to a bolt together. Everything seems heavier with WM. I do like the features of a new mill though and not to mention ITS NEW! 

[Magicman]

I would not let used/new be a consideration.

[GAB]

Neither one, a friend has an lt35 that is great (hydro). I know it's an older machine, but really like the solid carriage compared to a bolt together. Everything seems heavier with WM. I do like the features of a new mill though and not to mention ITS NEW!

New is nice, but slightly used hopefully has the bugs out of it.
Granted you are losing an early debugging learning opportunity.
It is your decision to make.
Wishing you the best.
Gerald

[RealSlimShady]

Yes, I agree used/new should not matter as long as the used one is as advertised. Any thing I should look for that will hint towards abuse or to over use?  I am new to this. Last question, anyone with these older WM mills have difficulty using the scale compared to others that "click" or have other measuring devices. 

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, RealSlimShady!

[Jack S]

I totally agree with getting to operate the various mills will help you decide. I ran a used lt15 and it seemed to be ok then 2 days later I got to operate the norwood. both were all manual mills.  If you contact norwood they may be able to send you to a norwood owner in your area. most likely woodmizer and others will do the same.