“I am a first time sawyer. I bought an OS18 with track extension to turn the blowdown on my 60 acre wooded property into lumber for use on property and in making furniture. Set it up and began using it this past summer and have no real complaints. It is great to learn on a small mill.
Frontier are great to deal with - I had an issue with the exhaust and they rectified it very quickly.”
“saw works great until after 5 hours of usage the large pulley that drives blade on left side, bolt came off pulley was loose twisting blade and broke the teeth.
i was able to reinstall”
“The order was smooth and fast shipping. Added a few extra parts after initial order and they came fast too. Took us about a day to assemble. The book of directions were pretty easy enough. The sawmill has been working great so far. Love it!”
“I purchased my OS23 in the spring of 2021 with the 7hp pull start Briggs and Stratton engine, extra blades, and an extension for longer cuts. She's been really good at what she does. I did upgrade the engine to an 18hp Duramax engine in 2022 and the cuts are like butter. It paid for itself in the first couple months with the lumber I milled. I love my little 23 mainly because it's easy to service and repair. It's a good brand with good customer service and fast shipping.”
“Very easy purchase and delivery process were very helpful even without asking the mill was easy to assemble and cuts nice showed up early and without a scratch on the crate”
“For the most part Im really happy with the mill I've cut some really big logs approx 22in and just have to take it slow I'm really glad I went with the 10hp motor on os23. I'm having a pretty hard time getting really consistent thickness lumber cut but working on that Did have some trouble with paint flacking off on a few pcs But they replaced them”
“OS27 So far mill is working great. Really like the extra yellow side plates on the mill track. Gives extra strength to the rails. 13.5 hp motor pulls ok. Gotta read the install manual a couple of times and take your time putting together. Suggest watching several of the OS27 videos on youtube. Learned a lot that saved time and little tricks that improved the operation of the mill.”
“I teach a Woodworking program at a high school in Ohio and I took my OS23 sawmill package to school and my students and I assembled it as a project. Once we were finished I picked up several donated logs for us to mill. It was an awesome experience for everyone that gave it a try, including students, teachers, and even the Superintendent! We spent several weeks milling donated logs and making lumber for our Wood shop. We are currently gathering funds to purchase an OS31 for the Woodshop program. Now my mill is home and I'm milling logs from trees I cut down in my yard. I've recently purchased a log loading winch and looking to add a track extension in the future! It's not work if you enjoy what you're doing!”
“For the price, you can't beat this mill. I've put about 20 large cedar and fir logs through it so far and have been nothing but satisfy. Even though it might be considered the economy saw, if you keep a sharp blade on it it will deliver great results.
Cons: The pull chord is in an awkward place.
The manual crank to lift the cutting head might be difficult for some folks.
Bolts and screws are constantly wiggling loose (even the factory ones that I didn't assemble).
The valve for the water tank is garbage -- I replaced it with a brass one.
Pros: Easy to assemble with clear instructions.
Cuts straight and true.
Plenty of power (at least for soft woods -- I haven't run any hard woods yet).
Great price.
I'm sure if you are a pro you will want to go with something different -- but for a guy with a few wooded acres and lots of hobbies and projects, this machine is perfect.”
“Ive owned my o23 for about 2 years, now. It is a solid sawmill that will handle a 20 inch lokg with no problem. The 7.5hp motor is strong enough with good blades but I would recommend 10hp. It was a hard starter right from the getgo. Ther are no mixture adjustments on the carb and after 2 winters, no spark from the coil either. Also the plastic choke control snapped off. A non-oem coil and a metal choke mechanism has vastly improved this motor. It starts easily and runs flat-out strong.
The water reservoir is small and did not meet my needs so the mill is hooked to a hose and water supply with a small quick opening valve next to the throttle control.
I certainly have more than 100 hours on the mill now and the belts need replacing and the blade guide bearings are a bit noisy so I keep a maintenance kit on hand from Norwood but I haven't changed anything yet except blades which I sharpen myself. I would recommend this mill to any hard-core hobby cutter like me.”
