Pros And Cons Of The Harbor Freight Bandsaw Mill

Here are my thoughts on the Harbor Freight Bandsaw mill. The pros and cons and some modifications I will be making in the near future to improve the sawmill.

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Troy

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[lincolnstovall]

I used a trigger switch upper valve. Had a old brass trigger on a weed sprayer. So I lengthen top hose to the handle the down to the volume valve down below, the trigger turns off and on quickly. I used a cable system on the wheels. I used sealed bearing like on the skateboards cost low enough. Water tank a racing fuel jug up side down work for me. Hudson sawmill have a nice locking dog system. My was used, also. Maintenance maintenance maintenance!!!

[ClaytonSmith-trmd]

I have a harbor freight mill and the first thing I done was to remove the blade guide blocks, I used the original bolts and bought some washers for spacers and bought some small bearings I think they were 22 mm in diameter and I run 2 on top of the blade and 2 on the bottom.The blade when under load rides on the bearing surfaces and it does indeed extend blade life along with smoother cuts.You can buy these bearings and washers for near nothing, but always have spare parts.

[charliegarst]

I have a H F sawmill and your drip tube for the blade has a set bolt on the side. Loosen the bolt, move it in or out and tighten the bolt and done!

[DJtheDad]

I've owner the HF sawmill for a couple years now. Here's my running list of woulda-coulda-shoulda Cons:

1. The rail sections are not exactly the same profile. They had to be shimmed to prevent an uneven bump. To make sure you have a planar set of rails, you'll need a long straight edge. However when the rails are shimmed, this brings the bunks out of plane. Only solution is long solid rails.

2. The clamps are wonky. The bolt with the yoke on the end doing the clamping is weak. Weld on a couple of nuts and T-handles for certain clamping.

3. Two-post only. Only a pair of bolts at the base of each upright determine the position (perpendicularity) of the gantry. You can tighten the bolts/nuts to where the tubing deforms, but there's still nothing to keep the head from slipping. With the bolts loose, the gantry can tip 5-7 degree. The design also makes the gantry very flexible side-to-side. Cutting poplar, cedar and pine/spruce I didn't really have any issues. But on fresh red oak and maple (tougher) I get some waviness right after initial penetration. However I've only run Cook's blades so far. Going to try Woodmizer blades soon.

4. Both blade guides are fixed. Would be nice if the upstream guide was adjustable.

5. The screw driving the cable tensioner is standard thread. Should be an Acme thread. A standard thread will wear under the load of the saw head.

6. Dust exit cute clogs easily, especially when using water bottle.

7. Dust deposits heavily on the downstream-side rail and leading wheel, which can take the gantry out of plane if heavy enough.

8. Water valve is very flimsy & wonky low quality. Also should be 2 valves -- one for on/off and another set at your desired flow rate.

9. Water bottle is too small.

10. Clamp heads are pointed. A blunt head would not mark/crack the wood as much. Clamp handles are cranks. A slip T-handle would be better where the T would typically slide down out of the way.

11. There is something up with the interface between the adjustable gantry uprights and the saw head. The upper left end and lower right end of the interface has a stack of 4-5 washers to true up the mate.

12. No lift point or lift hooks. You will very likely take the saw head out of plane if you lift using the top crossbar.

13. Nuts and bolts are serrated. So anyplace you cinch up a fastener, the paint chips and is prone to rust. Should be washers, lock washers or nyloc nuts.

14. The provided manual is a joke. I use HM122/126 manuals for technical information.

15. No hex head or socket wrench hole on the tension handle for tensioning the blade. I drilled a hole in the t-handle and welded a 3/4" bolt.

[Whitelightning]

you can put in a rubber grommet in for for the water tube on both sides that will make the tube in place

[bruceshearer]

A very good video...thanks for posting 🇨🇦

[sickvic]

Would be nice to see log loading and your support setup in detail, good job.

[akr]

Great video, thanks. I saw someone else recommend using a hand held pressure sprayer from harbor freight as the water reservoir~

[roberttidmore]

I've had one for 15 years hadn't missed a beat ! Changed 1 belt and 2 bearings and a water valve

[violetsdr]

Very helpful video. Happy Birthday to Melanie.

[JaredBalmer-ik]

Idea for the rollers that fill up with debris. On each roller on the carriage. Figure out a way to mount a brisel scrub brush on toop of each roller. Bristols down on the wheels. That way if covers the rollers, and cleans the crap off of the track as you move. No more nail file. I would keep a air compressor handy with a blow nozzle handy too. That way you can blow off critical parts

[BomarBuilds]

Awesome video! Best I've seen yet on any mil review

[someonesprincess]

aw so cool to learn about the sawmill.
Happy Birthday to Melanie !!

[LWYOffGridHomestead]

It does cut some nice slabs...thanks for the pros & cons... Happy Birthday to Melanie 🥳🥳

[ApinexCom]

Great video ! Have you ever used a green line laser module as an alignment tool ?

[randylenart]

Nice I've got one need to get it set up

[ericjames]

Keeping the mill up off the ground is how we set up ours as well. My brother and I decided that we could easily get any log it can cut up to the deck rather than having to bend over for every board coming off the mill.

[mikewilliams]

On the rollers, put guards over the wheels with a mounted scrapers will help a lot to reduce buildup !!!!

[davidpatterson]

Great video and info! Thank you for taking the time. I do have a question however. You mentioned if you were to get rid of this mill, you would get the Woodland Mill. I am seriously considering a mill, actually got a quote. Went to order it and they wouldn't honor the quote, it was another $2100.00 more. There is more to the story but suffice it to say instead of pulling the trigger, the shot wasn't right so I put the safety back on! I just read some comments so I see you have gotten a different mill. I will check out your latest video as you said.

[Grizz]

troy while im listening im gonna give my 2 cents for what its wourth ...righyt now the hf sawmill is 2400.oo and the woodland mills comparible sawmill is the hm122 for 100.00 more ...woodlandmills has great customer service harbor freight has no customer service....the cariage for the woodlandmills is much better...but im still happy with my harbor freight....the clamp do suck for lockin the sawmill from raising up and down, ,,i dont even use mine any more...i just grab the handle an keep it from rotating while pushing....your spot on with the water delivery but on mine where the coper tubing goes threw the frame there is a bolt on the side of the post that you didnt video for us that tightens don onto the coper tubing to prevent it from moving around (atleast there is on mine) but still that tubing needs to be longer so it can be bent to point down to the blade so you can use a lower rate of water with out it over shooting the suspect the blade your using to cut the cedar with that it has been sharpened afew times and has lost its tooth set or its the wrong hook for soft woods ...i use a 10 degree sawdust build up on the wheels is easy to prevent with out the sawdust sweeps ...you can lightly wipe down the rails and wheels with automatic transmission fluid every other log or if you want to be enviromentally friendly yu can spray it with spam...its the pitch in the sawdust that makes it to the log clamp....i do not tighten any of those adjustable screws ...i set it to the hight i wand and give the base a good wack ...the point that goes into the log could be a little sharper is my beef... happy sawing