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From the sawyers corner-Is your sawmill blade sharp enough?

Always look at your last cut for any waviness, that is a good sign that your blade maybe dull. Other possible signs of a dull blade are the feed rate will be slower, the motor laboring more then expected, and the blade will be consistently pressing against the guide bearings.

Some folks will use a band blade until it totally will not cut anymore, thinking they are saving money by not changing the blade. Actually, it will cost them more money in the long run. Running a bandmill with a dull blade can cause unseen damage you may not be aware of at the time.

Running a dull blade can cause excessive heat that can damage the band wheel belts , guides and will also ruin the blade, beyond the point to have it re-sharpened and used again.
Hud-Son Forest equipment recommends to keeping a sharp blade on you mill . It will always cut true and you will end up spending less on any down time due to repair that could have been avoided by just changing out your blade.

January 17, 2020

Here we are with the Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar 428.

They said this mill would saw a 28″ long.

So we went and got a 28″ oak log that is 305.5 caterpillar excavator and that it is what we needed to lift in on.

Pass after pass the mill worked as promised.

Darrell and Dick checking the lumber the mill sawed it right on the money just like the gauge said-Just dial it in and cut.

Rolled the log up against the dogs to square it.

A special thank you to Dick, Shawn, and Dave for helping and tailing the saw. Those 16″x1.5″ planks were very heavy.

We are getting it squared up good and now let’s turn it again and cut planks.

This is not a commercial business, this is real world sawmilling and this mill is doing the job it was advertised to do.

The hard work is behind us now. Count me as a satisfied owner of the Hud-Son Oscar 428 sawmill.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment Freedom Line portable sawmill’s are the best sawmill for the money. These Hud-Son Forest Equipment band mills include the Hunter and Sawyer mills. The Hunter and Sawyer portable sawmill ship unassembled in the base price, saving budget minded customers money on doing the assembly themselves. This boasts a huge feature of this mill by putting it together yourself you are training yourself on the ins and outs of your mill. The Hunter and Sawyer Freedom Line sawmills can be purchased assembled and cost the consumer extra money. The base price of the Hud-Son Forest Equipment Freedom Line Hunter and Sawyer portable sawmills is $2,449.00(Price subject to change). The optional assembly cost is $650 however most customers choose to assemble this mill themselves.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment proudly manufactures their forestry equipment in a small town located in the gateway of the Adirondack Mountains. Hud-Son Forest Equipment has been a family owned and operated business since 1946 currently in their fourth generation of owner operated. Unlike the Woodland Made in China, Harbor Freight Made in China, Frontier by Norwood Made in China, and Timber Tuff Made in China portable sawmills, Hud-Son Forest Equipment is Built in the USA by American hands. Hud-Son Forest Equipment has an extensive dealer network allowing authorized Hud-Son trained dealers to sell our forestry products in your local area. This benefit serves the customers best interest by having a point of purchase close to them, hands on training on Hud-Son equipment, extended warranties being trained by your dealer, parts and service, and technical assistance both before and after the sale.

Parts used on the Hud-Son equipment are in stock and available for purchase at our headquarters, dealer network, and online. Most of the parts on Hud-Son Forest Equipment forestry equipment is purchased thru American suppliers.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment has factory technician on hand to assist you six days a week. A live person answering the phone, and a highly skilled technician for service calls.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment
1-800-765-7297
www.hud-son.com

THNKING ABOUT BUYING A SAWMILL?
There are many things to consider before buying a portable sawmill.
What type of milling you are doing: homeowner or professional usage, diameter logs you will be sawing, manual or hydraulic mill, stationary or trailer band mill, and of course budget? Can you get parts easily for your mill? Can you get training on using your mill properly? Will I get support after the sale? Who can I call if I need help?
Hud-Son Forest Equipment in Barneveld NY proudly manufactures our equipment here in NY and has a line up of sawmills to fit any sawyers needs. Our authorized and trained Hud-Son Forest Equipment dealer representatives are strategically located throughout the US and Canada to serve your local area. We have our dealers available to you locally so you can demonstrate Hud-Son Equipment products and receive proper training/maintenance on the equipment you are purchasing.
Our Hud-Son Forest Equipment Freedom Line sawmill is suited to those with a set budget in mind. Hud-Son Forest Equipment has sold many Freedom line sawmills to sawyers just starting out with their milling and eventually upgrade to our Homesteader/Oscar line sawmills with the benefit of oversized logs and larger HP motors. The Freedom line portable sawmill line includes the Hunter/Sawyer/ and Patriot sawmill options. Unassembled sawmills allow the customer to save money by assembling the units themselves and the benefit of learning every aspect of the mill when they assemble it themselves. Log diameter starts at 21 inches and motor sizes beginning of 7HP. The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Freedom line bandsaw mill is comparable to the unassembled Harbor Freight sawmill. The benefit of purchasing the Hud-Son over the Chinese manufactured mill is readily available parts and technicians available for phone support 6 days a week. Hud-Son Forest Equipment proudly manufactures our forestry equipment in the USA by American hands.
Hud-Son Forest Equipment next line of portable sawmill is our Homestead line of mill which includes three models. The HFE 21, HFE 30, and HFE 36. The Hud-Son Homesteader sawmills are for the homesteader, farm, or hobbyist sawyers. Produce lumber for any number of projects. Maximize resources from your own woodland. Homesteader features Hud-Son’s curved 2-post and vertical lift tube design. These portable bandsaw mills are lightweight, economical, and requires no more than a 3’x 7’ storage space. Hud-Son Forest Equipment Homesteader line of bandsaw mills ship fully assembled and ready to cut within an hour of delivery. Features begin with 21” diameter cuts, welded steel track, and 6.5 HP motors. The HFE-30 is portable and easy to store but can get the serious work done too. With a log capacity of 30” and optional unlimited lengths of cut, you can efficiently saw boards and beams, which can be used in your home construction and maintenance projects. The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Homesteader 36 is the largest mill in the Homesteader line and has the horsepower to tackle the large logs you need to mill. The 31” throat allows you to make mantles, tables, bar tops, custom signs, and much more. The 16 HP V-twin electric start gas motor will make quick work of your sawmill cut list. This no-frills manual mill is easy to operate and maintain. Lock your log in, turn the key, set your blade height with the easy to read quarter scale, throttle up, and cut. The HFE 36 is that simple!
The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar “pro-style” and commercial sawmills, increase production and profits with bigger logs. Average and advanced sawyers can increase production and profits with bigger logs. All Oscar mills feature a larger electric start motor and options. The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar line boasts 28-inch diameter cuts all the way to slabber mill size of 60-inch diameter logs. 14HP electric start to 37 EFI gas motor options. The mills are also manual feed throughout the cut. All you have to do is gently push on the carriage. As in the entire Oscar sawmills this mill has a moveable guide tube that allows you to keep the band blade guides close to the wood to maximize accuracy.

The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar line also features trailer, hydraulic, and slabber sawmills in its lineup. The Farm Boss with its heavy-duty trailer and 6 leveling lets’ can be set up within 10 minutes of arrival. The sawmill head has 2”x 2” steel 4-post frame is extra heavy duty and rugged for long-term dependability and accuracy. Equipped with an electric powered winch for touch of a button height adjustment makes this sawmill user friendly and ready to cut on the spot. The 36” maximum diameter capacity ad 20-foot length capability will allow you to tackle some of the larger logs on your land or elsewhere.
Hud-Son H360 Hydraulic Portable Sawmill comes standard with a 23 hp engine, adjustable power feed, power throttle, power height adjustment, a hydraulic log loader, hydraulic log turner and heavy-duty 24-foot trailer. Built for the production minded sawyer, this sawmill is available with multiple engine options and optional power dog and backstops. This unit has a 36” diameter and 18-foot length capability.
Lastly, the Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar 52 and Oscar 60 slabber sawmills are designated to cut logs that traditional sawmills cannot process. The Oscar 52 and Oscar 60 are easy to operate and maintain which leaves you more time to mill and sell your products. This mill is available with multiple engine and track options so that you can customize it to your needs.
Hud-Son Forest Equipment is here to help you with your decision making and support both before and after the sale. We boast an extensive dealer network to demo, purchase, and maintain your Hud-Son equipment. Most parts used on our equipment can easily be picked up from your local hardware store, keeping maintenance/service easy with our customers mind. Hud-Son Forest Equipment has been in business since 1946 and is family owned/operated. With tens of thousands of sawmills sold Hud-Son Forest Equipment knows sawmills.
Hud-Son Forest Equipment 800-765-7297
www.hud-son.com

 

 

Information video on the Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar 60 slabber sawmill.

The first thing that you’re going to do when you get your Hud-Son Forest Equipment Oscar 60 is you’re going to get your track in place and level it.

In this particular case your going to bolt the two sections together which is very simple. All your going to do is your going to bring your two sections here bring them together. We’ve got these little ears welded on 3 quarter inch bolts just bring them together. We’ve got two on this side and two on that side. For a total of four.

When your getting ready to do the leveling of the track after you’re bolted it together we’ve installed these levelers here that are inch 3/8’s nut. Real easy way with an impact gun drive it up and down. That is a real quick way to figure out your level and very helpful to you.

So here these yellow tabs these are called track stops and what your going to do is with 2 3 quarter inch bolt and nut. Your going to install them on either side and on both ends. All these are a simple safety feature it just keeps your mill from running off the track and having a castrophic. So make sure you install those once you get your mill.

So what were going to do first is if you can picture this your going to be loading your big log onto your track.

One thing I don’t like to see is people using the backstops to catch the logs. So if your dropping your log on try not to use your backstops to roll your log against it.

What we have here is some two and a half inch pocket. What I like to do is I get myself some steal that would fit inside of that. There’s one here. There located on every section. So however long your log is you can get one for each section. Drop your dogs down on that thick, heavy, steel. It wills save you a lot of wear and tear on your sawmill especially on the dogs. So that’s something I wanted to touch on there.

Moving forward once you get your log onto the track the next thing your going to want to do is bring your dog and backstop up. Slide your log tight to your backstop than you would move your dog in and clamp it against the backstop. Now your log is locked in place and it is perfect.

Next were going to go up to the mill and were going to talk about the mill. Getting that situated and ready for milling.

Alright, so here I have my master control. At the end of the day when I’m done milling I want to shut this off and it kills all the power to the whole unit. Here I have my ignition(just a rocker switch), my blade on/off, Up here I have my power feed. I have forward, neutral, and reverse. My speed control is here. Very simple to operate. Very operator friendly.

Alright, so I’m going to show you how to do a quick blade change. First thing I did was I took my inch 3/8’s and took my tension off the blades so the blade is real loose. The next thing I did was I did was take my 9/16’s and I loosed up 1,2, and 3 nuts. So I’m going to go ahead and take those right up.

The trick I’ve always done is I take my wrench stick it in there until I hear a pop, and that’s all I do. Take the guard out. At the same time take the blade off the bandwheel.

Now your going to do the same thing on the other side and I’m going to put my new blade in.

Than after you re-align the band wheels you re-install the band blade. You want to have your band blade hanging off an 8th of an inch off the band blades being that it’s an 1.5 blade.

Make sure before you tension your blade that your blade is in your guides here.

You want to spin your wheels by hand. Approximately three times around by feel.

If your blade is out of alignment. So your blade is riding too far back on the wheel, you would move your front bearing forward. Which in turn would make the blade move back on the wheel. If your blade was riding the opposite way, you would have to move this bearing forward. Which in turn would move the blade this way.

Drive belt tension you always want to keep your drive belts tight. This has two tensioners on this particular unit. The top tensioner is this pulley here. You would loosen this nut and apply force downward on the belt to take slack off. The second pulley is here and you would take that pulley up to take tension off the belt.

To tension the power feed chain you could losen this sprocket and slide this ideal sprocket this way and it will put tension on your power feed chain.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment Circle Brute Firewood Processor

The Hud-Son Forest Equipment Circle Brute Firewood Processor is our newest firewood processor and it’s built with even more production in mind.

It’s the improved, bigger, and better version of our already successful Brute processor.

The circle blade offers increased speed and a strong tolerance of cutting dirty logs. The blade has interchangeable teeth and required no bar oil.

The processor has a 40 inch circular blade that is hydraulic driven.

The Brute circle processor has an amazing 6.5 second splitter time which keeps your production up and gives you the ability to split your wood incredibly fast.

Another important production feature of this processor is the 3 section pump that allows you to cut and split at the same time. This makes for faster processing as the operator is able to multi function as each process is completed.

The Brute circle processor has a rock solid 40HP Kubota engine with ample torch to keep up with demand.

The Hud-Son Forest Equipment circle Brute firewood processor is able to cut 18 inch diameter logs and the three strand live deck can handle up to 20 foot logs.

Logs are fed and blocked and our proven V-style splitter finishes the work. The V-style splitter is excellent on self centering and very rarely do blocks of wood misaleign in the wedge.

The splitter is a 24 inch stroke and comes with a standard adjustable 4 way wedge with a six way wedge option available.

Hud-Son Forest Equipment Brute Circle Processor is productivity at it’s finest.

Made in the USA. Hud-Son Forest Equipment.

Call us today for more information call Hud-Son Forest Equipment

800-765-7297(SAWS)

www.hud-son.com

Off Grid with Doug and Stacy, “Loading the first log ever on the Hud-Son Forest Equipment Warrior portable sawmill and it ain’t pretty”.

That’s why I’m going to get a John Deere 333E because these Bobcat’s just aren’t good at picking up these heavy loads. They don’t have a good tip. You know braiding, right? So it can’t lift as much. I’ve seen the 333 from John Deere lift some stuff. The Bobcat comes in behind ii. Try’s to lift the same thing and it can’t. It starts tipping. So that’s why we’re going with the John Deere when we get this skid steer stuff figured out. I just wanted to show you guys that with these heavy loads. The Bobcat’s a good machine but it’s just not made for the meat man! That’s a 5 series, I’ve even looked at the 650’s, and even the 750’s the bigger ones and John Deere still out performs them, so. So that’s what I got for you right now. I got to stay busy.

Real quick we’ve got four generations here on the family farm. This is our first family farm so its really a big deal. While were all here were going to chip in and get this whole wood lot area cleaned up, starting with this big mess right here. As you can see I kind of let things lay about after we put the concrete on the big barn and now were going to get all this cleaned up/get the woodlot more organized.

(Hud-Son Forest Equipment Freedom line portable sawmill)

I hope the rock guy does an awesome job spreading that rock out so bam on that! Chickens can’t wait to b perma-culture chickens so don’t ever hold them back! There always up here working on the multch pile along with(who is that, Molly?) Hey, don’t you chase those chickens now! She’s doing really good on her farm training.

You have to remember that I could have edited it out or all of a sudden the log is on the sawmill but it takes practice to learn this stuff. I’ve never loaded a log onto a sawmill. That was the first time ever so I’m kind of like scrambling about but give me a couple times. Working with the equipment, figuring this stuff out.

Again, thanks for watching our videos! Got any questions about what’s going on this video or about the woodlot or anything else that you might have because we do live off grid, in a log cabin with no public utilities, no solar power, no wind turbine, no electricity. We have a little generator to use on demand. That’s it!! We have lived out here for 10 years! So if you have a question about something like that drop it in the comment section below. We’ll see you guys next video. We’re having lots of fun in 2020 so don’t miss a single video! Hit the subscribe button, give me a thumbs up sign on the way out. We’ll see you tomorrow!!!

What is a cant hook and why you need two!!

Alright, alright. Welcome back to the woodlot. Today we’re going to talk real quick about cant hooks.

Man, we have had several hard frosts already. We have even had a dusting of snow. So I normally switch over to my hat here. The beaver hat from the beaver hat company. During the winter time just in case your new here and never saw that before. I switch my hats and I’ll wear this all winter into early spring.

Real quick about cant hooks and the last video we did on snatching up that log. Appreciate you guys watching that video and also getting some ideas. Some ways that we can improve our situation. We are not professionals doing this yet and you have to start somewhere. A lot of you guys have been talking about cant hooks and all this stuff. Let me explain to you how all of this went down.

So basically it was this situation where we were getting it together to scale. While it has been happening we were figuring out how we were going to do it.

So the first step was getting the winch on the trailer because were going to need something to pull the logs onto the trailer. Than we thought of a steel plate on the ramp that would allow it to slide up the ramp and not let it get caught in those grooves on the way up. So that’s out first plan of attack. So when we did start that plan of the venture I did have a cant hook. It was this one right here. It’s my favorite go to of all cant hooks. It’s the LogOx. It’s a 3 in 1 forestry tool that I use around here all the time. It’s my exclusive go to the LogOx. I’m going to leave a link down there. It’s an affiliate link so if you get one of their bundles we make a few pennies off of it. Bottom line it’s a tool made in America and a family that we trust and love so this is my go to all the time.

Now this has a space limitation okay. This is a smaller cant hook and it can handle some pretty big logs. So that is all that I had at the time, right. Doing this kind of stuff is not cool around here where we live so to get a cant hook like this you can’t just run down to the hardware store or the farm/in home because what they have is what I used in the video if you caught that was a smaller cant hook about this size that didn’t work at all. That’s why I abandoned it right away. I already thought about using this but I knew those logs are too big.

The other thing we were running up against was time. That log had been laying there for a little bit and we went to get the log and than with the winch and the trailer we figured out that we would definitely need the arch. So than we had to leave. Get the arch on the trailer than we showed back up and pulled the bog log off.

So we were battling against a little bit of time. I don’t want these logs laying around too long. As a matter of fact just because this log had been sitting around too long some scavengers

had actually came into the yard and picked away some of the pieces for their own firewood. So actually what they had left was the big pieces that they could not maneuver themselves and a little bit of stumps and stuff that I picked up while we were there that you guys saw on that video.

So what I’ll do right now is I’ll take you guys up and show you the log that we brought home and I’ll put these two cant hooks on there and explain to you why we even have one.

Again I actually had to order this off the internet and have it delivered here because like I said around here because like I said places where I can just stop and buy a cant hook like this any old day of the week.

Alright here is the big log. Here’s the LogOx. Hold on just let me set this down while I get this thing off my shoulder. Now you can see your just not going to have the bite on this smaller one with the leverage that you need. That’s the benefit here with the longer one here with the wider grip because you want more leverage to actually dig in and than move the log. While truth be told neither one of these are going to be able to move this log. It’s just too big of a log. If I had several fellows trying to go at the same time I’d imagine but this is 7,000 pounds and I myself am not going to be able to do it so I’m just trying to give you an idea on the difference. If you get some bite on this you would be surprised what it will move. It’s got a good bite on it though.

So again were kind of learning this stuff as we go. So as we go were going to get better at this. So as you guys watch this you’ll be able to point out mistakes. Also learn from the mistakes that we do make. Right now were going to go back down there and get part two the neighbors tress. That’s a huge oak. Almost twice as big as this. We only got a 12 foot section and than maybe a couple of 10 foot sections. Than a lot of the arms, branches coming off of it so. Should be an interesting video so lets go see how we get it on the trailer.

So what I wanted to do for sure is I wanted to get the trailer out of the way so when Greg backs in he has a smooth way to go to this pile. I’m going to take you guys over to see the pile were going to pick up today and than I’ll show you these oaks were going to come back for. It’s going to take us several trips.

Now these are all LogOx size and these are the larger cant hook size. I mean look at that thing. No joke. I wear a 13. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

So as you guys can see we’ve got out work cut out for us. So I explained to the homeowner that this is probably going to take us a few trips because we only have one trailer that can lift up these things. Actually those as well because together we cant just lift them up and buck them onto the trailer. A lot of times I can just buck them with another guy on there but we need heavy equipment for this whole tree. One of the things you need to think about if your going to do this type of stuff is getting them on and off the trailer once you secure them. I just want you guys to realize this as well. This tree you have gone to waste. This tree would have been taken to the tree yard than they would have burned it up and pushed it into a pile. So were actually going to salvage this tree and who knows what were going to create with it. It could be firewood to heat us thru the winter. It could be spoons and bowls that we carve and make out of that. It could be huge signs. It could be lumber for a log cabin. So just think about all the possibilities if you get into something like this. What you can do with this. Especially if you are a creative person.

Let’s see if Greg backs the trailer up as good as me. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Not too shabby!

Back there at the house I said all that just to say you kind of start with what you’ve got and thank you add to it as you go on. No one can show up at any site and just become a professional the first time they show up. It’s going to take mistakes. A little head banging to get it right. Reading your comments. That always helps too. Just saying you got to start somewhere. You get what you got. You go get some. Build it as you go.

It doesn’t look that much but the oak is so dense it really weighs a lot of weight. Were going to get this last log here than strap it all down.

Alright we are disconnected and we are ready for the next process of this trailer basically firewood. Some of the logs on here we’ll be able to mill a little bit but for the most part its firewood. One thing I want to stress to you guys on this video is that it’s not a one size fits all world out there. So don’t believe them if they tell you that it is. Every kid is different. Every person is different. What you want to do is accumulate tools on your homestead to make these chores go easier or on your off grid property. Cause a lot of this stuff is heavy and just not the average man is going to be able to handle it. You have to be able to have the tools the hydraulics, chains, a little bit of thinking power to manuevor thru these situations that you find yourself in.

So another successful load back on the homestead. We’ll be going back in a future video to pick up those other big logs that are sitting there. You saw how big they were. Molly just came to visit. Come here girl! Daddy’s home!! Yeah!! This is Molly. It’s our little puppy. We just got her a little while ago. She’s doing so good. She’s so fiesty and fun.

But all cant hooks, it’s not a one size fits all cant hook. You guys need to get out there, see what your going to be dealing with than get the tools appropriate for the situation. And than the more tools you have the better off you’ll be. Check the home stores, estate sales, garage sales, and craigslist. I had to order it on the internet because no one out here runs and buys big cant hooks like that. But if you guys are interested in a LogOx, a multi purpose tool and I use the heck out of it. The links down below. There is a coupon code so it saves you guys a few bucks.

Thanks as always for watching the video and we’ll be seeing you tomorrow once we put that sawmill together.

LOGOX COUPON CODE “OFFGRID”

 

STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® – The Original Extreme Sport – features the nation’s best lumberjack sports athletes. Competitors go head-to-head using razor sharp axes and high-powered chainsaws in six thrilling disciplines: the hot saw, single buck, springboard chop, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop. STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® started in 1985 at regional U.S. logging competitions, and has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon with National Championships in 27 countries, culminating in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championships (Individual and Team Relay). The sport now also includes Collegiate and Rookie Divisions, as well as a Women’s Division. The sport is sponsored in the U.S. by Duluth Trading Company and John Deere.

Fans can follow all of the sport’s heart-pounding action via social media by visiting Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

REAL PEOPLE. STIHL PEOPLE.

Nathan “Bucket” Waterfield – STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Competitor

Dave’s Sawmill Sales 6-21-2019
2007 Fortune Drive
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
859-265-0793
andersonmetalsales@gmail.com

Hey Dave,
I wanted a sawmill that is made in America that was sturdy and up to the task at a reasonable price. The Hud-Son Sawyer looked right for me. On a whim I stopped by your showroom and spoke to a salesman. He answered all my questioned. I had a Ford Focus and he said it would fit. I said if it fits I’ll take it. It fit!

The Sawyer was easy to assemble. I enjoyed using only ASE wrenches. The unit started right up first pull. No adjustments needed.

They said it would cut up to a 19 inch log. So I put it to the test and put in a 19″x24″x8 1/2 foot long. Using the “cheeters” the Sawyer took 5″ off the top. The log yielded 8 2″x19″x8 1/2 foot long Willow natural edge boards! Very little waste. Fantastic!

They said it could cut small logs so I tried a 4 foot 7″ diameter Osage, just for fun. I got several 1 in natural edge boards. For a further test in the middle I tried 1/4″ thick board to be used instead of plywood. Flawless! Hardly any saw marks. I took 3 boards all the same thickness with no problem. Once again very little waste.

The Sawyer is just full of surprises. It’s like panning for gold. You just never know what you’re going to uncover and just how much lumber you can get out of a log.

This sawmill is just plain fun to use.

Charlie Farr