The engine is actually in the 9hp range and is near identical to the 9.5hp Kohler with the difference being in the air filter (Kohler engine is now a CHonda). Engine has a 1" shaft. FLUSH THE ENGINE several times before use!! Keep an eye on your air filter as well. As hunterbuild mentioned, lower hook angle is VERY important. It even helps in softwood because of the density changes when encountering knots or adverse grain patterns. To aggressive of a hook angle and/or blade profile puts a lot of load on the blade and the mill both.
A good source for blades is:
http://www.kascosharptech.com/sawmill-blades.html No one can beat their prices, and they are darn good blades. Blades SHIPPED to your door are less than blades alone from anywhere else I've found. I personally would recommend their 4 deg. blade in an 0.045 thickness. They don't list it on their website, but call and ask for
Derek Davenport and he'll take care of you. A 4 deg. blade will cut pretty much everything you can put on the little mill ( or any lower hp band mill for that matter ) with excellent results and productivity. Since the HF mill doesn't have roller guides, the 0.045" thickness GREATLY improves the cut quality and surface finish of the lumber.
As for re-sharpening, I've got that covered. Several sawyers ship blades here for service and all the ones who have tried the Kasco blades have now converted 100%. Quality is comparable to a WM double hard w/ longer blade life. As one fella said, "For the price, I get my first re-sharpening free including shipping, round trip !!", due to the initial lower cost. Word of caution, just because a place has a sharpener and setter, doesn't mean they KNOW what they're doing Ex: Do they
operate a sawmill?? ... I've had to fix/re-condition SO MANY blades that were done elsewhere 'cause they wouldn't cut properly. But to do good blade maintenance, a sharpening service MUST have the proper tooling and experience. I can only imagine their frustration
trying to produce good lumber with blades in such poor condition. Its happens more times than we know...even from "factory re-sharp" services.
Hope this helps. Best of luck!!