A few questions.
1. How do you like that mill? Would you buy it again? Dislikes?
2. Are you still happy mounting it on posts instead of a concrete slab?
1. How do you like that mill? Would you buy it again? Dislikes?
The mill is great, and the customer service is great. Yes, I would buy it again. It is a good value for the money, has plenty of power, and has electric start. I do wish it had a pressure gauge for blade tension adjustment.....I use a torque wrench and it works ok, but a hydraulic pressure gauge would be better/faster (minor complaint there...) Is it a woodmizer? No. But for a hobbyist (at half the price), it is a great mill.
2. Are you still happy mounting it on posts instead of a concrete slab?
I am super happy mounting it high on the posts. It saves my back big time. I cut on the mill and slide the heavy stuff onto my loading rack for re-sawing. It works great...I will likely concrete a slab around everything as soon as I get my roof over the mill. I would NOT recommend leaving a mill at ground level. It would kill your back lifting those slabs on and off. Some of those fact cuts weight 2X as much as me. I like to use gravity whenever I can to get those out of my way.
Couple more things:
-I would never consider buying a sawmill if I didn't have a tractor though. Loading logs without a tractor or something with pallet forks would be an epic dangerous disaster. Sawmilling is /can be a very physical activity. Know that going into it.
-I WILL upgrade to the power head lift this year at some point though. If I had that power head lift and a digital readout, I would increase output at least 50%.
-If I didn't have good access to logs, I would NEVER get a sawmill. I don't pay anything for my logs. They either come from my FIL's or my place and they don't cost me anything. If I had to pay for logs, simply put, I wouldn't have a sawmill.
-If I didn't have good way to get rid of the slabs/scrap, I would NEVER get a sawmill. There is a LOT of mess.
-Do yourself a favor and buy the blade sharpener and the tooth setter and a 10 pack of blades. It's nice to always have a sharp blade to throw on without having to deal with someone sharpening them for you. You will pay for that sharpener quicker than you think. I switch blades frequently, sharp blades make the process so much more enjoyable, and you end up with a better product.
Hope that helps.
