Hud-Son sawmills, experiences ?

[Renze]

Does anyone use a Hud-Son band sawmill ? I want to build one myself. Hudson seems to have the lightest and most simple design. I was wondering if its any good ?
The timberline also is a 4 post design, though a lot heavier.
I have several lengths of 100x40mm tubes around which i could use. It would be more than the hudson (which looks like 2x2 inch ??) but less than the timberking.

Woodmizers cantilevered head, i am afraid it will start to vibrate and get sloppy over time, and will make irregular cuts.

Anyone experience with either brand ?

 

[Adiredneck]

I used a 36" Hudson. I had never done any lumber before, but in one day I had gotten pretty efficient at it. The only thing I did not like about it was the electric winch. It was too fast. It would go right by the measurement on you & you would have to go back & forth a couple of times. If it was my mill, then I would have put a couple more pulleys on it to "gear it down".

My neighbor bought a smaller Hud-son this summer. It has the manual crank. Good unit. When I buy one, it will be a Hud-son.

My brother in law's father has a T A Schmidt mill. I don't care for the design of the dogs that hold the logs.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Renze,

Check out norwood mills:

Portable Sawmills and Forestry Equipment, Norwood Industries Inc.


My cousin has one. Although he hasn't processed much wood he likes it.
It is a mid range price/mill. Some good features. It is cheaper because you have to assemble it - many peices. But there is a manual, video/DVD for assembly. It took him two weekends to put together. His is mounted on axles and wheels and has a trailer hitch with lights etc.

The nice thing is if you bend a rail you can replace the one part easily - unbolt and replace.

I took a 3 day milling workshop and used a brand new woodmizer... and yes, because of the cantilever design it did create some problems. There were a few other attendees there and one owned a norwood - he didn't have the same problems as the woodmizer - it basically vibrates a bit and creates more 'waves' in the boards. Of course if you are planning them it is not too much of an issue.

Good luck...


Lloyd

 

[tbenn7362]

Hi,
I have had an oscar 30 for several years on a trailer. It is not a bad mill all and all. I have made quite a few modifications along the way. the biggest issue is with cable system for lifting the saw head. THey are always breaking. I switched mine over to chains and it is a lot better. I am in the process of adding a servo motor for the lift. IN the end they are a great hobby mill but not for every day use.

 

[bedway]

Go to DIY bandmill.com. Lots of information and several fellas there who have built their own, myself included. bedway

 

[sandman2234]

The Forestry Forum is also a great place to talk bandmills!
David from jax

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php

 

[Renze]

Thanks guys, but the bandmill is postponed for some weeks/months..

When rethinking, i found it not a good idea to use the 5" round pipes i have, for a sawmill bed: It will be hard to weld the crossbars in it, and it will be hard to weld the V-groove wheels level and square to round pipes.

I will use the pipes for a grader frame, and either find used, or buy new steel for the bandmill when the time is there.. For the grader i have most parts, cutting edges, moldboard, wheels and axle, hydraulics, so i will do that project before investing anything in the bandmill.

 

[miramadar]

My father-in-law has a 36" Hud-Son and I spent a significant amount of time operating it last summer. They're a good machine...easy to use, powerful, efficient. Just keep a sharp blade on it and it works like a charm. We ran it for 6-8 hours a day for about 9 weeks straight and didn't have any serious problems. The winch switch broke, but we just installed a new 3-way in it's place. It was a 30-minute job.

One word of advice though. I would pour a concrete pad for the rails to sit on. My father-in-law used treated 6x6 posts. They worked fine...until it rained. When they got wet, they would swell a little and the track would be slightly unlevel. It would still cut, but the boards came out a little tapered on one end.

 

[sawbuck61]

My experience was with an 05 Oscar 30 w/16hp Briggs, and it was not a good one. They are cheaply built and over-priced. I owned the mill for 3 years, and used it on a weekly basis. I would rate it as follows: Value = Poor, Construction = Fair, Ease of use = Good, Portability = Good, Customer Service = Good. For $6K Hudson could have used larger steel framing to keep the mill from collapsing upon itself after multiple uses causing inaccurate milling. On a positive note, other than the poor framework, the Briggs worked flawlessly, the saw head did it's job correctly with only minor repair issues. I ended up selling the sawmill, just got plain tired of having to repair it. When I am ready for another sawmill, I will either build one myself or get a Woodmiser.

 

[beenthere]

For the money, they can cut good lumber. But they will need good support under the light frame. If heavier frame, that means they would cost more money.

Keeping the frame on good support means taking extra time or investing extra money. But the Hud-son mills can cut lumber just as accurate as the more expensive mills...just takes more time and effort.

The feature that allows this mill to be portable in the back of a pickup is a plus. Just another "get what we pay for" rules of the road.