Sawmill upgrades, Norwood LM29, Some of the problems and fixes

I have owned this Norwood LM29 band sawmill for a few years now and have figured out some upgrades for the small problems this mill has. Some of these upgrades are simlpe and only take a few min. :)
We are a family that moved out to the country to escape the fast paced city life. We sold our house, cashed out my 401k, and found a piece of property that had nothing on it. Doing the work ourselves, building our homestead from scratch, paying as we go, living the dream. Follow along with us on our journey as we build our homestead debt free.
Don’t forget to like this video, subscribe, and hit the bell for notifications so you don’t miss any updates.
How you can support our channel
Support us for free! Use our affiliate link when shopping with Amazon: amzn.to/2CfMuSZ
SubscribeStar: www.subscribestar.com/koality...
Patreon: / koalityoflife
Thank you for watching, you can also follow us on,
Facebook: / koality-of-life-995863...
Twitter: / koalityoflife
Instagram: / koalityoflife
Koality of Life website: koalityoflife.com/
This channel is owned and operated by Ty and Lori. Koality of life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

[@allenlarabie8854]

I just ordered the LM30.. I'm glad l watched this video. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@KoalityofLife]

Nice. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Thanks for watching. :)

[@richardboyd4232]

Over all are you happy with Norwood sawmill. I have been looking at the HM136 v2 and was reading reviews about Norwood and the BBB gave them an F for grade. Now it has me rethinking about this company. Thanks Richard

[@KoalityofLife]

I'm happy with my Norwood LM29, but I bought it 3 years ago and I have heard that the customer service has gone down hill since then. Maybe covid related, maybe not. Keep in mind, I researched sawmills and bought the one that fit my needs the best knowing full well I was going to modify whatever sawmill I bought and that would void any warranty. I buy my blades through Woodmizer because they have a shop about an hour away from my place so I don't have to have them shipped. :)

[@mikemraz8569]

A lot of good info I’m finishing up a trailer for woodland 130 max and hope to be sawing soon thanks for the good video 👍

[@KoalityofLife]

You're very welcome, thanks for watching. :)

[@1806StoneHouse]

Solid video buddy! Thank you

[@KoalityofLife]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching.:)

[@stanwiggins3423]

Like the looks of the building behind you in this video. It was a pleasure to watch all the hard work and sweat you put into building it by yourself.

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you. :)

[@blizzardsailing8020]

Great Videos! I just bought my LM29 Oct/2020 and got it delivered in Dec. It was a little different than your's but mostly the same. I did the basic build in 3 days but the entire build, including my add-ons, took 5 total. This is what I added: - Two 16' x 3"x4" square iron for the subframe (instead of 4x4's). I then welded the short leveling screw plates to it. This was the most expensive upgrade ($400) but well worth it. The frame is rigid as heck. - 4x4ft utility trailer from Harbor Freight ($300). Mounted the axle/leaf springs to the iron subframe and the 4x4 frame with hitch I welded to the front so I now have a trailorable mill for $300. Also includes a certificate of origination so you can get a tag/registration. Much better than Norwoods $2300 option! - Added 6 leveling jacks so I can level the mill in about 15min. ($240) - bought a drain assembly for the oil drain on the motor. Just a screw with a hose and a valve on the end. Both drain bolts on the engine are flush with the engine block where it mounts to the mill so oil goes everywhere when you try and change it. - Bought a large riding mower cover for the carriage assembly ($35) I Plan on doing some of your ideas when I'm back at the mill again (it's in AL and I live in FL). Thanks again for the help and experience you have offered!

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you for the ideas and thanks for watching. :)

[@lasseakseth3171]

Thank you for lots of improvement tips. As for the sawhead levelling I had the same problem. Watched your previous video about chimming it, and was about to do the same, when I realized there is actually a way of adjusting. The holes for bolting on the trawelling wheels are more than 1» long (or tall actually). By loosening the front wheels, pry the whole sawhead carrier up to where the sawhead and blade was level to the rails, and fastening the wheel bolts again... Voilà 😃 There are still a couple of other fixes I will adapt to my sawmill 👍🏻

[@KoalityofLife]

Interesting, I hadn't realized that there would be enough adjustment in the track wheels to make a difference. might want to make sure your measurement stick is still correct to the track. I know my measurement stick is 1/8" low so I compensate for that when milling a larger beam. Thanks for watching. :)

[@lasseakseth3171]

@@KoalityofLife Yes, the measuring stick, me beeing a foreigner would call it the scale, is the final thing to adjust. Once the whole sawmill is level, square, and what not, then I measured from the crossbeams and up to one of the low set teeth, and set the scale according to that measurment. Afterwords put a log on the mill, made a testcut at any desireable height, and checked the reading. Readjust if needed. Mine is dead on the millimeter when the mark on measuring stick barely touches the upper part of the red line 😉

[@KoalityofLife]

@@lasseakseth3171 Hahaha, I would have called it a scale if I would have thought of the proper name for it, but my mind went blank and measuring stick is all I could come up with. Been a long day, brain is fried. :)

[@mitchstephen5491]

I have the same sawmill and I have had the same problem with the wheels that run on the track so I am going to try the fix you did. I also replaced the original 13 hp Honda engine with a 20 hp twin Honda engine. What a difference that makes for cutting wide boards. Great video by the way.

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you. I thought about upgrading the motor but I also had plans to build a wider sawmill in the future so I don't know if I want to put any cash into this machine. :)

[@BellaWoodsFarm]

My husband is a mobile welder, so he’ll be able to get those welds done on ours in place. Looking forward to start milling lumber for our house, our LM29 will be getting quite a workout. Bookmarking this for future reference 😊

[@KoalityofLife]

Feel free to share the video with anyone you know that has this mill or a similar mill. :)

[@approots]

My HD36 wasn't level and dived as well. Norwood couldn't help me. It was unusable and extremely frustrating. Bought the adjustable Cooks rollers and had some welding done. Fixed the problem, but at a cost and downtime I wasn't anticipating. Very disappointed in Norwood.

[@KoalityofLife]

Yes, this was one problem I was not expecting to have with one of the more expensive sawmill brands. Mine is cutting fine now after the fix. Thanks for watching. :)

[@rayforigo4747]

thank you for all the good information on trouble shooting

[@KoalityofLife]

You're welcome, thanks for watching. :)

[@BreakingFreeOffGrid]

Awesome tips! I’m sure we’ll be watching this again when we get our mill! Thank you for sharing! 😀

[@KoalityofLife]

You're welcome. :)

[@OregonOldTimer]

You can rotate the starter cover to put the pull handle away from engine controls. Three 8mm screws. Easier to start from the other side if you're right-handed. Use non-ethanol gasoline and eliminate carburetor gunk. I've used it in all small engines for several years and have had no more carburetor problems, even when fuel sits in them for months.

[@KoalityofLife]

Hadn't thought about rotating the pull cord. I know there's fuel stabilizers you can add to fuel, I just like to be able to drain the carb before letting an engine sit for an extended time. Thanks :)

[@martinparmer]

I just ordered an LM30 I'll bet your fixes will still be valid... Thanks

[@KoalityofLife]

Congrats on your purchase, I'm sure you will enjoy it. :)

[@richardmaddaford7919]

You can adjust blade pitch in relation to the log rests using the two 14 mm nuts at the base of the eye bolts attached to the wire rope 👍

[@KoalityofLife]

Not sure I'm following you on this one but I'll check it out. :)

[@blizzardsailing8020]

I believe that only adjusts the left to right pitch, not the up/down pitch.

[@KuzweKanfarms]

What a great video. So much good information

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you. :)

[@stuartrinker]

Great tips. Will have to keep those in mind when we get ours.

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you. :)

[@BellaWoodsFarm]

We have the same mill-love the tips!

[@KoalityofLife]

You're welcome, just figured I would share the changes I had made to my mill to make it better. :)

[@eltonw5535]

Love the videos , great tips and tricks , I’m new with my lm29v2 ... I still can’t grasp the scale thing 100% , I’m always using my tape ... could you post a short how to of that if you get time ? I like how you demonstrate it’s easy to understand!

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you for watching. I will try to get out there with my camera and get a video about the scale and how it works. Might be a week though, I'm a little busy for the next few days. :)

[@heyyoubuddy6749]

Hey buddy happy new year. I just found your channel again. This time, i subscribed. I've had an HD 36v2 for about 3 years now, and love it. I've bought the roller system from the 30 and will put them on this spring when i set up the sawmill. Have you had any issues with the guide rollers? Thanks for sharing what ya do. God bless you and yours.

[@KoalityofLife]

Thank you. Haven't had any issues with the guide rollers. I have made modifications here and there to make it work better for me. The one thing I really wish this saw mill had was a log rest every 2 feet. I have plans on making a new longer track with a log rest every 2 feet. Might happen this year fi I'm lucky enough to have the time. Thanks for the sub and thanks for watching. :)

[@heyyoubuddy6749]

@@KoalityofLife my sawmill came with 3 miss drilled log bunks so the company said they would send me 3 new bunks when I go hydraulic. I’m thinking to ska for them early and make the bunks closer and add another list stop. I’ve already had to repair my stops. I’ve cut 36inch fur logs that banged up the stops. They got dented where the plumbing bolts hit them underneath. Over all I’ve enjoyed this sawmill. It’s too bad the here in “the peoples democratic socialist republic of Kaliforniastan we are not allowed to build any kind of structure over 120 square feet with ungraded lumber as structural members. What a joke!! All about control!!

[@KoalityofLife]

@@heyyoubuddy6749 I have flat spots on my log stops from logs rolling into the stop all the time but a little adjustment every once in a while isn't to bad. The biggest log I can handle on my mill is about 22 inch, after that its a bit hard to manually rotate. I got lucky in that the county I live in has a permit that lets you build without plans and build with whatever you want as long as the structure isn't meant for human inhabitance, ie shop, barn, woodshed. So I used that special permit on everything except the house. :)

[@isfahelww]

I just ordered a LM29, I'm very excited. How hard was the assembly? And how long did it take you to assemble it, did you run into any problems?

[@KoalityofLife]

Assembly took my wife and I about 2 days because we took our time and did some things a bit different than the instructions said. But its an easy assembly to do. :)

[@kevjustkev2]

Watching your videos, and making adjustments to our lm29. My next move is is to try and level the pitch of the saw head. Currently my saw head is about 1/32 pitched forward. And for the longest time he had no issues breaking blades, but now as of Recently ive been running into an issue with our blades breaking and cannot figure out why. Here is all i have done to try and solve the issue: Leveled bunks Check logs with metal detector for nails and metal Welded cross member dog poles Leveled vertical dogs Leveled track Realigned band wheels and adjusted for pitch with a string Installed new drive belt Leveled and aligned blade tensioners Adjusted and aligned clutch with band wheels And after all this the blades (new blades even) break every few logs or so? The only thing i can think of after watching your videos is that 1/32 that the saw head pitch is off? The blades are not breaking on the welds and are properly tensioned as per the manual, and they seem to always be breaking or broken in the same spot under the plastic blade guard (top right of sawdust exhaust side) My email is [e-mail] if you would like pictures or to communicate further. Thank you for your help and all the tips/advice! Keep making things! (Please excuse my milling vernacular [or lack there of] if i misnamed any parts. Im only (truly) 1 month into this as my buddy pulled me out of the virgin islands and retirement to pursue this wood venture, making exotic, artisan, slabbed furniture)

[@KoalityofLife]

The only time I have had a problem with blades breaking is when I run them to dull and have to push to hard to get them to cut. You might want to check to make sure you are running a recommended blade for the wood you are cutting. I know hard woods wear out blades much faster than soft woods do. :)

[@kevjustkev2]

@@KoalityofLife its been happening as i mill cedar as of lately... almost the softest of the woods... thats why i am so perplexed 🤷‍♀️

[@KoalityofLife]

@@kevjustkev2 Maybe a batch of poorly made blades? I have no idea. I buy woodmizer blades because woodmizer is only a little over an hour away from my place so I don't have to pay for shipping. Like I said only time I break a blade is when its dull and I push it. :)

[@kevjustkev2]

@@KoalityofLife thanks for the help! Watched some of your old videos and it might be the sawdust issue, im going to try that!

[@KoalityofLife]

@@kevjustkev2 Good deal. Thanks for watching. Hope you get it figured out. :)

[@CurtisPittman48]

I have an LM 29 and am getting wavy cuts. My carriage is not perfectly level. I have adjusted the tracking to keep from diving but blade is further forward than I’d like. Is it possible I’m cutting too slowly? I was told to push the mill as fast as possible without stalling motor and then back off just a bit.

[@KoalityofLife]

I have not experienced the speed of cutting making the blade dive, I have had blade dive because of a dull blade or a blade that isn't tight enough. Thanks for watching. :)

[@CalebForMN_MNMillling]

do you have a digital scale for the mill? looking for a tutorial on how to install mine, the directions that came with it were not clear

[@KoalityofLife]

I do not have a digital scale for my mill, sorry, but thanks for watching. :)

[@the28bumper]

We are planning to purchase a mill this year we have been looking at the Norwood LM 30 with a 23 hp. motor I find almost no videos on a LM 30 mill lots on the LM 29 are we missing something ?

[@KoalityofLife]

I believe the LM30 just came out (superseded the LM29) and they are on back order so not to many of them out there yet. :)

[@hilaryrigo2057]

Hey i have an LM 29 and My blade keeps popping off I tried messing around with the tracking but have not had much luck. Any advice as of where to start ?

[@KoalityofLife]

Sorry for the late response I've been away for a few days but I couldn't tell you where to start without being there to look at what is going on. :)

[@gregbrown9271]

Now days things are being built cheaper and they no it and won't even try to do better sham

[@KoalityofLife]

Most of these fixes wouldn't cost any significant amount for the sawmill company to fix and put out a better product. All of the problems I have fixed on this mill might have cost me $50 in parts. Add that onto the almost $7k I spent on this mill and I wouldn't have noticed it at all but I would have a superior product. Companies stepping over dollars to collect pennies.