www.norwoodsawmills.com
Jump to Day 1 (4-5 hrs) Day 2 (2.5 hrs) Day 3 (8.5 hrs) Day 4 (4 hrs) Day 5 First Cut
On March 31st, 2014 I ordered my first saw mill. I have almost no experience
with a saw mill other then to help my previous neighbor run an old Wood Mizer lt40.
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I ordered the following stuff: |
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* * * UPDATE * * * April 12th (5 days after receiving parts) I made Sawdust See Pictures Here I am so impressed with the Sawmill! setup was super easy, leveling only took 5 min, It cuts fast almost at full walking pace, so fast. Very smooth cut! So easy to use! Things left to do; Use Lap siding attachment The build took us about 18hrs with the help of my wife (most of the time) and son (part time he is in school) I would rate the difficulty of the build about 6 out of 10. Go slow,.. Note: READ YOUR MANUAL! READ IT FIRST! At minimum browse it to get a concept. I screwed up a couple times and had to do things over. Like I missed the 1 1/4" printed on the bag when instructions said to "Use 1" bolt" so I had to remove then all and redo it |
Jump to Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 First Cut
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Day 1, April 8th, The truck arrived. Two larger then normal pallets. Very well packaged. I cant believe there is a sawmill hiding in there.  You can click on any image to get a larger image (they are big so warning if you are on a slow connection) 
Ok lets do this. 1st build the cross bunks.( this is where I used the 1 1/4" instead of 1", Oops, Excited, rushing) 
Laying out the rails....(Note, 2 holes to left Oops) And the ends. (Note SQUARE hole down, Oops) Thats the last of major mistakes, I calmed down and stopped rushing. 
I forgot to take pictures but this is the rails, cross bunks and splice plates bolted together. We are now laying out the locations of the Support Jacks. 
Using the two jacks 2nd from front allowed us to lift the rails and let us get the front Cross member, Tongue receiver and Jack supports installed 
Using the rear two jacks allowed us to lift the rails completely allowing us to install the spring hangers, springs,axel etc. 
I think I have the brackets for the fenders upside down. 
Ending day 1 We have about 4 or 5 hours working on it, We have a trailer :) Day 2, Lets double checking torque on all bolts. That is a chore! There are a LOT of bolts on the rails! 
Installing Tracks. This is one of the easiest parts so far. 
Log dogs and log rests installed, I may order one more log dog and rest because of the 4ft extension. 
End of day 2, Short day only about 2.5 hrs Day 3, Lets start the Saw head and Carriage 
Get the Carriage on the tracks and held in position. 
Things moved fast, Placed saw head on carriage frames, inserted Vertical guides, installed top corner assemblies and horizontal cross tube, installed left and right rear leg assemblies. 
OH NO, Missing parts. With all of the bags of parts we found our first missing part. The four bolts, and nuts that hold the Under wheels on. Oh well we called they are shipping them. 
Installed Winch shaft, flange bearings and horizontal cover panel. 
Pulleys and cables, Although it looks complicated it is straight forward. 
Saw head winch break. 
Trying it out. Amazing how much it holds, Also installed the water shut off switch and the emergency kill switch. 
Water tank installed 
Installed the adjustable blade guide and fixed blade guide. 
Blade tension system bandwheel axel assembly and alignment system installed. 
The Engine, It is a Briggs and Stratton Vanguard Commercial duty 23HP V-Twin, Pressure Lube with Oil Cooler, (Say that 5 times fast) 
Exhaust Installed, (NOTE DO NOT INSTALL! Found out later Norwood changed the Heat shield and I will have to pull the exhaust back off to install it) 
Band wheel guards, Band wheel, belt tentioner, clutch and belt installed 
Guard Safety switch installed 
Control Arm, Water control cable and throttle cable installed 
Battery box, Battery Cables, Fuel tank, Fuel Line, Water Line Installed 
Lumber scales installed 
Water Valve cover plate, Cable Cover plates installed 
End of Day 3 Long day about 8.5 hrs Day 4, Finish up all the little things, All the stabilizer legs installed. 
Exhaust removed, Heat shield installed, Exhaust re installed. 
Battery filled, Battery Charged, Oil Added to engine, Fuel added to tank, I Test ran engine without blade to test idle and high speed adjustments. (Good thing I did, it was set way to high) Band wheels aligned (String method first), blade installed, Blade guides adjusted. band wheels hand spun dozens and dozens of times Blade loosed, blade tightened hand spun repeat again. All looks good, Guard Covers installed. Start engine, let it idle, Slow at first. full speed. No problems. WE HAVE A SAW MILL! We haven't cut yet but we have a sawmill! 
End of Day 4 about 3 hrs Day 5 We made sawdust! Setup is so easy! It cuts so easy. So nice! It leveled up very easy! 
We loaded a log with the kubota forks. 
We learned we have to clean up the log better, remove the nubs. 
First cut. WOW it cuts very smooth! So fast! 
Didn't take enough for the first cut.... 
You can literally cut with one finger. It pushes so easy, no work at all 
My sons first try. 
My first Cant! 
I made lumber 
Cover on, I wish I had gone with green. 
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