Harbor Freight Sawmill Complete Review 

Dave, I think Harbor freight owes you a new mill for this great video of their sawmill.

Watching logs get milled into building materials is extremely satisfying.

Dave, I've watched a lot of your videos where you are building/constructing something. Your presentation, knowledge, advice, tips, etc, are all excellent. You'd make an excellent full-time instructor for a Building Trades class,either at a high school, or a community college, or a technical college. Besides all your outdoors advice/tips.

This is a must view video for anyone considering buying or using a Harbor Freight Sawmill.

25 expensive band saw manufacturers disliked this video! GREAT JOB DAVE!

Thank you for explaining! Never realized how much detailed information in Mill. 🙋🏻‍♀️

At no point in my nearly 60 years of living have I ever said, "I think I want to mill my own lumber." Which is good because at no point in those years have I ever had enough logs to mill my own lumber. But you present it so well, and make it all seem so simple, that less than halfway into the video I started to think, "I might want to try doing that." And to be honest.. I would like to try it. It's not something I'd ever "do" full time, I certainly still don't have access to enough logs to make it worthwhile, but you make it look so satisfying to do that if I ever get the chance to lend someone else a hand I definitely will. Thanks for another great video Dave, as always I was captivated from start to finish.

I'm a woman who might not ever buy a sawmill, but I still watched your entire video because you do such a great job of teaching/explaining AND you have cool background music.

Better presentation than many university professors.

Nothing like milling lumber. Been sanding, priming and painting vehicles before the snow and salt here in Canada. Automotive paint would be perfect for repainting the saw. Enjoyed the video.

Watching you makes me want to get a harber fright mill to bild me a large show to work in on my projects love watching your channel

Dad has got to be proud of those boys.

I was looking for something completely different than a sawmill video but when I see a posting from Dave at Bushradical I gotta stop and watch!!

Like always you did a fabulous job explaining all the details. Straight talk right to the point just the way I like it. I love how you explain it and move right along

11:33 Would love to see your brother's cabin! or even the making of. Greetings from italy

My husband has been a carpenter for over 30 years. Since he has been watching several different DIY projects on RU-vid, your channel being the first one. You still remain his favorite. Reason being, you keep it real, you don’t edit out your mistakes, and you take the time to explain how to and why. We are looking for land to build our own cabin now. I believe he would actually be star struck if he met you! 😂 He says he would dig a poop whole with you anytime! Stay Radical!

I've been watching a lot of sawmill reviews recently and yours is the best...by far. Thanks!

A good and thorough report thank you Dave

Far better instruction than what is provided with the saw mills. Thanks for the video

That’s about the most perfect review I’ve ever seen. Great job!

Just pulled the trigger on this mill, I've been contemplating for almost a year which small portable mill to buy and harbor freight has always treated us right every time we might have an issue with a tool. So your video is the icing on the cake my friend! Look forward to more of your milling videos!

You did an excellent job, Dave! Been waiting for this follow up.I think ,you broke it down and explained each component, very clearly!( presentation)For some one, who would like to get started on a type of entry, level, saw mill and strapped for cash, this would be the way to go!Thank you, for taking the time to make this video!👍

Great job on taking us through the operation of this machine!

Man I gotta tell ya, that your videos are awesome. They are not only informative, but are also entertaining. I also appreciate the fact that you dont use foul language and such. Thanks much for the videos, and if your ever down Missouri give us a shout.

Dave, I recently found your site and I have been extremely impressed by the presentation and knowledge you have. I have been working on an off grid cabin for a couple of years. It was an amash shed (16x30), I ran electrical, dry wall, windows etc. I have paid off my land and everything that is on it, thanks to a tour in Afghanistan. I recently stumbled on to your small cabin build, the 10x12, it is perfect as I will be building my outhouse. Watching your wife work with you has also inspired my wife and she wants to help! See i have finally found a composting toilet that is easy and inexpensive and I have many women in my life. Finding a tree to pee is not their motto. I will also be adding a shower since I have also found a spring near my cabin. I want to thank you for the great ideas for the build, no nonsense instructions and even the cost video #5 I believe, it will be very helpful. I will check in when i finish and possibly send photoes if you would like?

Top notch as usual! I’ve been watching you and Brooke since before ‘alone’ and have never been disappointed by one of your videos. Your communication skills are great. With your knowledge and experience in this area I would have no concern in pulling the trigger on this mill. The way you explained it was great. If I do buy a mill like this I’m sure I will be returning to this video for tips and pointers. Thanks again!

Excellent info! Thanks so much for your breakdown of this sawmill.

Dave, all your videos are so helpful and informative. And just enjoyable to watch. Keep doing what your doing ! Very motivating thank you!!

Dave, outstanding show and tell. Best I’ve seen on this mill. I’m wanting one 👍🏻

I've got some pine on my property that are easily 32 inches and up. Guess I'm looking at finding someone with a big mill to handle those monsters. Thanks for this video Dave! It's helping me craft my plan of planning my build!

Awesome job Dave. Outstanding

Nice work Dave great info and always great to hear from you.

Dave, what an excellent review! As a forty-some year mechanical and manufacturing engineer it is so refreshing to see you take control of the situation and make this gadget perform! Personally, I am impressed to see that someone else knows how to position a Crescent wrench to torque a nut properly! So satisfying to use a simple machine to create building materials from the raw resources! Well done and thank you for sharing your most excellent skills with the rest of us!

Another fantastic video, more technical than i need but Im always drawn in by your narration. I could listen to you discuss analyze just about anything. Your calm, genuine, friendly voice and demeanor is like hanging out with a real friend everytime. I really appreciate everything you create, your genuine nature really shines through all of it, thanks Dave!

A friend in the small, beautiful town of Helen, Georgia was a shop owner. He bought a mill like this in 1996, and he started milling lumber for his own purposes. Soon, people were asking him to mill lumber. He was making money hand over fist. He turned his shop over to his wife and kids, and soon he had a larger milling machine, then started a lumber yard off-site from his store, with even bigger saws.. His lumber yard became the go-to mill for custom orders, and he became a millionaire in 10 years of having his yard. And it all started like this, with a little home version of a lumber mill. It's something to think about. By the way, I'm a fan of Harbor Freight. I own $10's of thousands of dollars worth of their tools in the USA and here in Mexico. Great stuff.

Milling lumber in Michigan is very rewarding. Very well presented review of the HF mill.

Good to see brothers working together, one of Gods blessings... Oh, you did a great job explaining the workings and the pitfalls of this saw. I say you did well buying it at the price you stated, especially with the price of lumber.

Dude, great video. We also own this mill and still learned a thing or two. Thank you. You pretty much summed it up. Can’t beat it for the cost. We’re also seeing the same issues; build up in the wheels, irregular steel dimensions, a little “shake” when sawing. Nothing that can’t be easily addressed. A tip that was passed to us is to rotate the pull start clockwise, facing you. Thanks again.

Very good video. I learned a lot. Thank you!

Awesome review! Thanks for posting.

Thanks so much David. This is perfect for the times. The way lumber prices are going this is the way to go if you have wooded land.

Thank you, Dave. I appreciate the review. It gives us another angle to be more self-reliant and support each other. The big name stores have been killing us all with prices and something like this makes building a project feasible. In Louisiana after hurricane season there are ALWAYS logs around begging to be useful.

It's a Friday evening in my big city... I'm watching this through to the end.... I have no use for this knowledge but glad I watched it. Dave you're awesome 😅😅😊

Thanks for the fun complete review.

There's tons of performance parts for those predator engines, you could turn that 8hp into 19hp with just parts.

That was an awesome review, Dave! The only thing I’d add - if I could, lol 😂 - is the smell of that fresh cut wood! 😁❤️

Very professional and thorough review. Thank you for doing this. Nice work!

Great video review. Love all the in-depth views and advice. Thank you.

Great video, really appreciate your time and effort you put in to this ! I’ve been wondering about this saw mill for a while and wondered if it be worth having it or be more of a nightmare when I went to use it or not? Think you helped with a lot of my questions and anxiety of whether or not to buy one! May not be a lot of money for some people, but 2 grand a lot to me and I don’t want to waste money on something that won’t do the job or falls apart right off the bat so to speak! I feel better about spending my money on this now and hopefully it will be a good choice?

...let the sawdust fly, good job, keep safe..

Thanks Dave, for the honest review. Sounds like something I'd get if I was going to build my own place. Much love to you and Brooke from So.Cal.💟

Dave, Thank you so much for your awesome, amazing videos...

Use your Alaskan Sawmill to make cants that will fit your mill without a disassembly

Well let's just put it like this. if I was going to build the cabin. on a pice of property I could cut down my own trees... and for $2,400 I couldn't buy it by enough lumber to build a nice cabin... so I could buy this for $2,400 make the track longer For another 300 bucks. So I could cut 20' or 24' logs and I could make a nice big beautiful cabin in the woods and when I was done I wouldn't have to buy 1 board at all and I would still have the mill so I could build other things. or just sell the mill and recop my money.... You can't buy enough lumber for $2,400 to build a big cabin so I don't see the downfall in it buying this at all

Dave, you truly do make wonderful videos, friend. Great job as always

Thoroughly enjoyed this video THANK YOU Dave‼️👏🏼😎

Impressive for what it is. Great review too! My experience is to always oil foam air filters to catch the smallest abrasive particulates. If you'll drag a hose down and rinse the logs before cutting you can seriously lengthen the blade life as it won't be cutting through dirt on the outside of the log. The lightest oil you have on hand will be okay. Touch up paint with black Rustoleum. Eventually the whole thing will be black and the easiest color to maintain and blend. You'll also know which areas to pay attention to for future corrosion. You can easily rig up a self cleaner for the wheels with a wire brush and hose clamp. Who cares how it looks. It's a tool!

I’m thinking about building my own mill. I just bought20 acres of 30 year old pine and I may cut my own lumber to build my own cabin.

That was a great review. You covered things I would have never considered looking at until I needed to use them.

Excellent review & info, most helpful one I've found

... Enjoyed the demo review ,, as a tool freak I would love to have a mill ,, no real need at this time ,, but who knows ,, if the price was right , maybe... I have a neighbor that has one of these at his shop and every now and then I would stop to see what he's up to with it ... ..With a cabin build in your future and tree's that probably need cleared ,, seems like a win-win to me ....

Best thing in this mill: it's in metric! 🤣

Awesome detail,thank you..never knew I wanted a sawmill until watching your video

This video is by far the best out there on this sawmill. Fantastic Dave.

This has got to be one of the most in dept and thoughtfully laid out reviews I have seen about an item period. Good job sir

Excellent video! We are starting our off grid building and this answered so many questions!

Great review as usual , I find it relaxing to see lumber milled . Thank you Dave . 💕🙏💕

I know this vid a yr old but I enjoyed’ ! I helped grandpa build from scratch a big ass mill, had a 52in circular blade with an old big block to run it, we use to go down to Kentucky to get the blade pinged, now that was an old skill that few had,,,

Hi Dave. I agree as well. You are definitely a great teacher. I love how you explain everything in detail about the sawmill. Awesome.

Good review. I appreciate time you spent on this.

Best video I've seen on milling! Great job!

I have watch a lot of reviews on these and I have to say this is by far the best one to answer all my questions. Thanks Dave !

Fairly set on one day buying my own little mill Not even sure how I found your channel this morning but I’ve watched so many of your videos already. Your outlook and building knowledge is great. I’ve grown up always liking to give things a go my self. Love building things and giving it a fair go.

Always enjoy your videos, and appreciate your humble spirit as you share your accumulated knowledge and experience. Just love watching your videos-- very grateful. Keep 'em coming!

Excellent review! I wish all reviews were this complete. Made me subscribe.

And we have another first Class video and Product Review from Mr. Dave. Excellent attention to detail and taking your time to explain each and every bit of the Mill. Thanks Dave !

Thanks, Dave. I've watched a lot of sawmill videos and yours explained the workings of it the best. Good job, Dave!!

Hey Dave! It’s funny that I found this video while watching sawmill videos on RU-vid. I’m running a small Cooks bandsaw mill back here in Michigan and am loving it. Great videos and I’ll watch more.

Really good review! Well done and helpful.

Thanks Dave... now we know more we can decide... and it's always fun watching you - especially watching you watching your lil brother! 👍😁

You did a really great job of explaining about the saw and what you were cutting.

Great review and demonstration.

You dp a fine job telling about how it's made and works. One of the best videos i've seen.

Dave, you have done a magnificant job of demo-ing and explaining everything about this Harbor Freight Sawmill !!! Ive always wondered how good it really was. I think you have answered all of our questions. Again ,you have done an Excellent Job with this video and you are easy to listen to. Thanks so much for taking the time making it and explaining the features and how to operate it and make any tweaks . i only wish that I was their cutting a bunch of logs with you. A++ VIDEO !!! Thanks Again Dave.

Thanks for breaking down this mill for us, great job on all the aspects. I found your video interesting and fun to watch.

Thank you for this excellent review. I appreciate all the effort required.

Another great video from a very knowledgeable and reliable guy!

Thank you for your review great review Dave

I'm sold - thank you for an incredible review.

Amazing analysis. I love this video. Incredible review and instruction. Exactly what I needed to evaluate the mill I want vs. the mill I need.

Excellent. Looks like a fun toy, and it's on my Christmas list.

Dave, great review, thank you.

Great review. Very informative. Thanks.

Very nicely done review, thanks.

Still working on a cabin with my pops because of your videos. Keep it up Dave!

That review was perfect. Thank you Dave and keep doing what you do. Happy Thanksgiving.

Great video Dave. You are an inspiration to me.

Thanks for all info and great tips on the saw. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Wow man! Super job on this! You are a natural! Thank you!

Excellent job on this review. Voice, tempo, and editing was top notch