# Entry level mill, by Norwood



## TimR (Nov 26, 2017)

Came upon the Frontier Sawmill, OS27. Designed in US but mfrd overseas (i.e. China) to save $$. Seems like a decent design but curious if anyone has more knowledge/opinions on it. A little north of $3k seems competitive with others in entry level (less than $5k or so). Not for commercial use, but whadaya think?


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 26, 2017)

They have to have an inexpensive sawmill in their line just like all the other manufacturers. For careful personal use it should be just fine, not heavy duty by any means, but it is cheap compared to the others. You get what you pay for.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mr. Peet (Nov 29, 2017)

I did not look too far into it, but failed to find much. I did not download the manual. Woodmizer's light grade mills, sold as Timbery, are similar and come with a Subaru engine. Might want to look them over as well...

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Schroedc (Nov 29, 2017)

I've been pretty happy with my Hud-Son Oscar 18, now that said, It has had a welded box frame put under it to really stiffen it up and an axle to make it easy to move. That was done by the previous owner and I'm looking at modifying the axle setup to be able to get it back down on the ground.

Reactions: Like 2


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## sprucegum (Dec 4, 2017)

Hudson is now selling a assemble it yourself mill. Because it ships unassembled shipping charges are less. I think the primary reason they did it is to be able to offer a American made mill at Chinese pricing. They are a good company to deal with and have a nationwide dealer network
https://www.hud-son.com/products/product-detail/sawyer-sawmill $2195 free shipping. It comes with aluminum track which sounds a little light duty to me, the track is just angle iron I think I would consider building my own.


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## sprucegum (Dec 4, 2017)

Schroedc said:


> I've been pretty happy with my Hud-Son Oscar 18, now that said, It has had a welded box frame put under it to really stiffen it up and an axle to make it easy to move. That was done by the previous owner and I'm looking at modifying the axle setup to be able to get it back down on the ground.



I have a Hudson 236 that I put a frame and wheels under and would never go back to sawing on the ground it just kills my back. I can load with the tractor but rarely do unless it is just a log or two. If I have any amount to do I find a sloping spot, put the mill at the bottom of the slope, and put together a roll way so I can just roll them on by hand. I find loading this way to be faster than getting on and off the tractor.

Reactions: Like 3


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## justallan (Dec 4, 2017)

Norwood mills have great reviews, but be sure to check on this particular model.
I would have bought the Norwood LM-29, but found the EZ Boardwalk Jr. that I have now to be about that same mill and built much much stronger due to every last bit of it being made out of solid iron. It will definitely outlive me.

Reactions: Like 2


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## justallan (Dec 5, 2017)

Well, out of curiosity I just spent a few minutes and looked around for some news on this thing and didn't really find much. The biggest things that jumped out at me were the engine size, bandwheel size and the log capability.
THE GOOD....
The 13 HP engine is about twice the size of other mills about this size, which is great and will surely let you get more use out of a blade before needing sharpened. A lot of other mills in this size range use a 6.5-7 HP engine and you won't even have the blade dull before it starts bogging down your motor .
This mill has 19" bandwheels where others use 16" for this size mill. The bigger bandwheels don't bend your blades as much, therefore they don't develop cracks and break as often and saving you money in the long run.
The log capability on this mill is 27" with a maximum cut width of 22". That's big compared to other mills at this price! Before buying ANY mill take a look at what size logs you are going to be sawing are and decide on your mill from there. If the majority of your logs are 24" diameter, this mill MIGHT be big enough. Please keep in mind that most logs aren't perfectly straight and in my opinion you want plenty of room to spare, it just makes things worlds easier. 
THE BAD...(In my opinion)
Norwood is batching this model out overseas and I can't find a single review on what the quality is. Purely my opinion, but if they are planning on shipping this mill straight from the overseas manufacturer to me I would wait until they sell quite a few to know the quality control is good.
The worst part is that Norwood is asking for a $500 build deposit so they can start batch of these mills. THAT SCARES ME! I sure as heck wouldn't put a deposit on something that you can't even find a review on in hopes that enough people order one also so that they can deliver on time.
If you do buy one of these, PLEASE get a written contract from Norwood stating that it is a refundable deposit if this mill isn't on your doorstep by an agreed upon date. If they can't do that I would look elsewhere.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## David Van Asperen (Dec 5, 2017)

@justallan 
Sounds like good advice Allan, just another thing or two about the EZBoardwalk
I believe all of the parts can be locally sourced
I have the 40 ,when I purchased it I went to the manufacturer and picked it up had a nice chat with great folks.
Got the mill home and decided to grease all the bearing before milling, one of the bearing would not take grease, tried all the normal things ,still a no go.
Called them up, they asked which bearing it was and sent me a new one at no charge.
I found that to be a reassuring factor

Reactions: Like 3


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