I've owned and operated most every portable mill made and for the money in the $5,000 - $10,000 range the LM2000 is the best, in my opinion, but unlike other brands, it comes completely unassembled and it is A NIGHTMARE to assemble! If you are just cutting lumber for fun you might even enjoy putting one together.
With that said, if you are trying to run a business better hire a machinist to assemble it. There must be at least a 5 gallon pail FULL of 1000s of screws, bolts, washers, bracket pieces, cables and on and on and on.
The last time I tried to warn someone about the Noorwood mills several LM2000 cry-baby owners got their panties in a knot. They'd like you to believe it's so simple to assemble. BS. Some even said their kids did it! These people probably cut their own hair to save $10 too.
I have spoken with DOZENS of LM2000 owners who tried assembling their Noorwood mill themselves. About half of them gave up and never finished assembling it and the other half own a mill that works like crap. Unless you mill for a living and have operated all brands, makes and models you may not even know if a mill you assembled yourself is working properly. Even assembled by kids the mill will probably still cut wood.
Yes, anyone could probably assemble one -but only if your time is worthless. Why in the world they sell these in a million pieces is a real mystery. Sure, maybe your kids can do it like others have claimed but if you want it to work properly it needs to be assembled right.
We've hand built many, many sawmills and resaws of every size and shape and we have several very talented and highly paid employees - the kind who can repair or build nearly anything from scratch. We have a full metal fabrication shop and machine shop on site. We assemble and build things everyday. The LM2000 mill is A NIGHTMARE!~ Just buy one assembled or pay a machinist to assemble it like we ended up doing.
We now have a LM2000 that works like a champ. Fly out here and use ours for a day or a week anytime before you buy any brand of mill. Ours works great, has under 100 hours on it, has every possible option and I'd sell it cheap or trade it for something we can use. If you buy one elsewhere be SURE to get at least the 25hp industrial quality engine or larger. Nothing smaller.
Take it from someone who knows. Someone in the business - it's a nightmare. In the time you spend putting one together correctly you could go out and earn 20X as much doing tree work. Here again, if your time is not worth anything and you enjoy challenges, you can save some $$$ by doing it yourself.
Come out and run any of our portable mills anytime. I wouldn't advise buying any brand without first running one for a day.
Dennis
