New Mill Owner?

[RazrRebel]

Hey guys, I have a good friend that found out I was building a cabin. He called and offered me use of his mill. He had traded for it a year earlier and, never even uncovered it or looked at it. I brought it home, it's a Lumbermate 2000. It seems to run fine, has a 13HP engine. I think it's 16' long, portable and came with a sharpener and setter, the Norwood brand. I have the option to buy it when I'm done. He's asking $5000.00 for the whole setup, including ten new blades. Also to go along with it he has a 9000lb. Superwinch hydraulic winch, with a Honda engine and hydraulic powerpack. The winch and powerpack are brand new, never used. Like I said it's in pretty good shape and I hope to get started this weekend. I'm a beginner, but I can figure it out I think. Just wondering about this brand, pros, cons anything I need to watch for? Also, I let a friend borrow the sharpener and setter. He can't get it to work right. I did some research. The blades he is using are from Cook Saws and the degree on those blades are seven degrees. The Norwood blades are ten degrees. Norwoods customer service says their sharpener won't sharpen nobody's blades but theirs. Does this sound right?

[Tom the Sawyer]

Welcome RazrRebel,

Sounds like you lucked into a great opportunity.  There are several Norwood owners on this forum who should be along to answer questions more specifically in a day or so.  It may take a while to get comfortable and efficient with your sawmill.  It doesn't take very long to start cutting up a log - the skill to reliably produce useable lumber comes from a combination of knowledge and experience. 

There will be setbacks along the way but don't be disappointed.  Some logs can be problematic and it has nothing to do with the mill.  Some times there will be problems whose resolutions don't seem logical... at first.  The same principle applies to setting and sharpening blades.  It is not unusual for manufacturers to restrict their sharpening service to their own brand of blades, Woodmizer and Timberking are that way but it is a matter of efficiency. 

I am not familiar with Norwood's setter and sharpener but I don't think it can recognize a non-Norwood blade.  It may have limitations, such as only sharpening @ 10 degrees, or only a certain width blade but most have adjustments.  You've got several learning curves to tackle so minimize your potential problems.  For example, get some Norwood 10 degree blades.  I have a Timberking sharpener and a Suffolk dual-tooth setter and I sharpen different angles and blades from at least 6 different manufacturers.

I would strongly suggest that you contact a bandmill sawyer close to you and offer to spend a day, or at least a couple of hours helping out.  It isn't likely that you'll find someone using a Lumbermate 2000, but whether it is a Baker, Woodmizer, Timberking, etc., you'll learn quite a bit by watching and asking questions.  There may be someone along who can answer specific questions about the Lumbermate 2000 plus you should have Norwood's tech support number in your contact list.

Good luck with the mill,
Tom 

[RazrRebel]

Thanks Tom. I have a friend who has a Nor wood. Its a little smaller than the one I have. He's shown me a lot. As far as the sharpener, he's trying but hes never used one. He has always bought blades or sent them to be sharpened. I'll have the sharpener back Monday. I'll check it out then. If they're any Lumber mate 2000 owners I'd love to hear from them.

[4x4American]

Welcome,

Can you put up any close up pictures of the sharpener?  Would be helpful to see what you have for adjustments and what not.  On my automagical feed sharpner, there are three main things you have to keep track of.  That is, how far the indexing finger pushes the blade, how deep the grind rocks goes, and the shape of the rock itself.  You might have a sharpner that works like a chainsaw grinder, where it just comes down and kisses the tip of the tooth. 

Good luck!

[RazrRebel]

I can get pics Monday. It is the Nor wood standards sharpener. I'm hoping to be able to get it to work with other blades.

[4x4American]

I bet you will be able to.  If not, grind to fit.

[Post Oakie]

$5k for all that?  I'd be on it in a heartbeat... and I've already got a mill!  I have the Norwood HD36, but worked around some LM2000 mills.  Very simple, rugged machines.  Main things to look for on a mill that has been sitting is dry rot on the belts, make sure cables move freely, lube anything with a grease zerk, make sure guide rollers turn freely, put in fresh gas, change the oil, and put on a sharp blade.  Set tension and tracking and start making sawdust.

Norwood has a couple of sharpeners. I've got their Pro, which uses a wheel grinder and have sharpened other blades on it.  It takes a few grindings to get the profile to match the cam, but no problems.  I did modify mine to grind anything from 4 to 7 degrees, but pretty much just use 10, even on hardwoods.  Setting is pretty important, too.  It is amazing how much variation in set there is, even in new blades.  I'd suggest you set the sharpener aside for now and use a resharp service, until you are experienced with the mill itself.  There are a lot of variables, and at this point you shouldn't have to wonder whether a wavy cut or other problem is caused by the mill or the blade.

There are a lot of LM2000 mills out there, and Norwood does a great job supporting them.  They will not sell you parts, however, unless you register with them and provide the mill's serial #.  Their web site has a great forum that you might want to check out.

By the way, Norwood will be at the Paul Bunyan show in Cambridge, OH the first weekend of Oct.  That would be a great time to meet with them.  They send their top people to that show.  Then there's the Sawmill Shoot-Out at the show, too.