Woodland Mills sawmill trailer stability.

[Sawyer Rob]

I think you have some of that a bit backwards, Norwood was selling homeowner BSM's before Woodland...it all started with the Mark 3...

The Woodland I looked at, was a copy of a Lumbermate 2000, and they weren't the only ones to copy it.

In fact, one company became a Norwood "dealer", then was ordering many extra parts. Turns out, THEY were using them to build a BSM, THEY were selling under their own name!

Norwood sued, won and got it stopped.

I've seen folks major B**ch about Norwood because they bought one and it was too much work, logs are too hard to turn! I've seen one big u-tuber put out some really bad press on Norwood, because some of the bolt heads rusted when he left his mill outside! He was pizzed because he figured Norwood owned him all new bolts!

SR

 

[N80]

Not intending to start a brand war.

I went with Woodland Mills for several reasons.

The first was my set budget. The Woodland Mills was the best mill I could afford. For what I wanted in terms of horsepower, width of cut, length of mill and an integral trailer Norwood and Woodmizer were out of the question price wise.

The second reason was the design. Maybe a little more clunky but the four post design was appealing to me over the cantilever design. I have no idea if there were any practical implications but I just like the 4 post design.

Third is availability. When I considered stretching the budget to get a Woodmizer that I would pick up myself (to avoid shipping costs) it was still way higher than the Woodland Mills and I was given a 45 week minimum back order time even if I picked it up. I've become increasingly concerned about supply line issues lately and I figured if I'm going to do this I should do it as soon as possible. I got the Woodland Mills about 4-6 weeks after ordering it and before the estimated date.

Fourth, Woodland Mills seemed to have a good reputation for customer support. If nothing else they seem very transparent in regard to quality and design issues.

Fifth, a good many videos of happy Woodland Mills owners doing what the tool was designed to do, doing it well and pointing out the shortcomings and quality issues they had without whining about it.

Had money and availability not been an issue I would have gotten a Wood Mizer. There is a dealer near by. It is the highest profile brand in terms of marketing, etc etc.

I also have to say, Woodland Mills is pretty much solely for the hobby/small operation market which means I'm not on the low end of their priority list.

I hate buying Chinese stuff and avoid it when I can. But I also don't obsess about it. That can drive you crazy. I've run into so many brands that claim "Made in USA" when in fact that is only partially true or sometimes hardly true at all when you read the fine print. I'm not even sure the Kohler engine on this mill is made in the US.

Anyway, the deal is done and I own this mill for better or worse. I'm excited so far and so far I'm impressed. It still isn't clear to me that even buying a saw mill was a good idea much less this brand. Time will tell.

 

[Jstpssng]

It's Chinese yet if I recall they are made for a US company to their specs. I may have the wrong company, but aren't they owned by an ex military who gives hiring priorities to vets?
All that I know is they sell a lot of BSMs and chippers... and there's no way that I would have waited 4 years no matter who makes the machine.

 

[Jchonline]

Single axle trailers make me nervous. Single axle with improper tongue weight distribution make me more nervous. I agree with MR, I woudl weight it then at least contact them back with your results and see what they say. To me the pictures show the saw mill in the a processing position, not a traveling position.

Still looks like an awesome mill and a heavy duty trailer.

 

[Jstpssng]

They don't weigh a lot. The mill assembly is just under 800 lbs, plus the weight of the trailer.

 

[N80]

To me the pictures show the saw mill in the a processing position, not a traveling position.

That is actually the traveling position or within an inch or two. And again, the product video shows it being towed in this position.

I would not want to tow this long distances or on the interstate but supposedly it is made for it. Fortunately it will primarily be towed on country roads between my cabin and my daughter's house 15 miles away. All the other towing will be low speed and off road.

 

[N80]

They don't weigh a lot. The mill assembly is just under 800 lbs, plus the weight of the trailer.

Depends on what you mean by 'a lot'. Total weight is about 1800 pounds.

 

[Jstpssng]

Depends on what you mean by 'a lot'. Total weight is about 1800 pounds.

Huh! The trailer weighs more than I realized. I suppose a boat trailer style wouldn't hold up very long. A trailer's one thing I may wish that I had gotten, but I was at the limits of my budget.

 

[s219]

I think you have some of that a bit backwards, Norwood was selling homeowner BSM's before Woodland...it all started with the Mark 3...

The Woodland I looked at, was a copy of a Lumbermate 2000, and they weren't the only ones to copy it.

In fact, one company became a Norwood "dealer", then was ordering many extra parts. Turns out, THEY were using them to build a BSM, THEY were selling under their own name!

Norwood sued, won and got it stopped.

I've seen folks major B**ch about Norwood because they bought one and it was too much work, logs are too hard to turn! I've seen one big u-tuber put out some really bad press on Norwood, because some of the bolt heads rusted when he left his mill outside! He was pizzed because he figured Norwood owned him all new bolts!

SR

The Mark III was a much beefier mill than Woodland's first mills and even their recent mills. It had a much beefier track. Woodlands's first mills literally used smallish 3/16" thick angle iron for a track, in short sections bolted together, with simple flat plates for bunks. The Mark III track was built like a railroad trestle in comparison.

Norwood did not enter into the low-end market until a few years ago when they introduced their Frontier lineup. Check this one out:

Frontier Sawmills – Products

The similarities to the Woodland design and construction is uncanny, you'd almost swear it was a Woodland with yellow instead of green paint.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The Mark 3 originally came with a "wooden" track, you are thinking of later model Mark 3's after some updates, and the Mark 3 were a low end mill.

Norwood kept adding updates to get to the Mark 5, then in 2000 out came the Lumbermate 2000, which was/is a bigger beefier mill, but still considered a starter mill.

I know the complete story of the china Norwood mills, I'm just too lazy to type it all here. lol

BTW, I've milled out lumber with them...

SR