# Portable saw mill



## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

My brother and myself have recently been having talks on getting a portable sawmill. He works in the logging woods with my father so he has access to all kinds of great trees for lumber(cypress, black walnut, cherry, cedar, etc.). Out plan is for me to purchase the mill and he will provide the wood. We will sell lumber until we pay off the mill and then we will split the lumber evenly. What is a good type of sawmill? Brand? Any pros and cons? Good idea or bad idea? Anyone have firsthand knowledge? Any comments?


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## shadowrider (Mar 13, 2010)

I have a bandmill built with parts from Linn Lumber and I love it. 
It's powered by an 18 hp Honda and will cut 20" between the guides and 16' 9" long. I only use it for personal needs.
Others will say differently, prefering circular mills.

There are so many options, such as power feeds and turners.

Just balance your expected use and capital outlay.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

The market for hardwoods in our area of Indiana is down right now, due to the housing market. The hardwoods are primarily used for flooring and furniture, so with that market very slow, prices are down. Europe still buys a little from the US, and Japan also, mostly for veneer, IIRC, but both of those are also depressed markets the last I heard. 

My point being, I don't think this is the best time to get into the business. There are lots of sawmills shut down around here for lack of business, although a few are still running. So, if you decide to get a mill, be sure you have a market for the lumber. 

You can add value to what you sell by drying it, at least well air dried, and better with a solar dehumidifier kiln. But kiln drying is a profession all of it's own, and takes a lot of learning. There are, however, a few of those around here that sell to small furniture and cabinet shops and hobbyists. 

On the sawmill itself, a portable band mill can be a lot more affordable than a circular saw mill, mostly due to size. The bank mill will take some maintenance and due care to keep it running right. Again, there is a learning curve. It would be well to invest in a metal detector to find any metal that could be in a log before you ruin a saw band. Some kind of tow vehicle, usually a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck is needed to move a bandmill around to the jobs. A tractor with log prongs of some sort is needed to yard out logs and load them onto the mill. So, buying a sawmill is just the down payment, sort of like buying a marriage license! 

The bottom line is to work out the business on paper to see if it can make money. Do some hard research on your costs. Talk to a lot of people in the business, preferably NOT from your area so you are not seen as competition. Talk to prospective lumber buyers. Know who they are and what they want. Many will tell tall tales about how much they will buy and then not buy anything. Learn to sort out the blowhards and deal with the pros. 

Some local folks here have done all right with a band mill as a sideline business, doing some custom sawing for farmers and other landowners, then using the mill to saw their own trees for their own lumber as the main objective. When their construction work at home is completed, they often sell the mill and come out okay on the venture.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I saw an ad on the net about an Alaskan saw mill made from a chain saw, the rig is made to saw lumber from different sized trees. You provide the saw and I think it was a 22" bar and you need a ripping chain. The video I saw was pretty impressive. As soon as I am able I am going to order one.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

A buddy of mine has a Wood Miser band mill that is 20+yo and still works well.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

The one we are looking is a wood miser band saw mill. We aren't really looking to start a business we only hope to sell enough to recoup the costs of buying the mill itself. I plan to use it mainly for wood for my current home and for when I build my new home. Also keep in mind all my trees will be free and are high quality black walnut, cedar, etc.. I know for a fact I can sell every inch of black walnut i can cut up due to how high of demand it is in right now. If I can't sell the cedar then my house will have new siding made with it. Personally I think it's a win win other than the startup cost of buying the mill. I have a barn to dry in(no kiln) and a tractor that I can use. I hear it is a pita to keep good sharp blades but I haven't heard from anyone about that with actual first hand knowledge. I see it as kind of a prep but at the same time mostly a money saver and a hobby. 


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

My buddy bought several spare blades when he got his mill. When one gets dull swap it. Big thing is to learn to sharpen correctly. It will save you lots of money in the long run.
Drying in a barn takes longer but you end up with good quality wood. Just remember to put stickers in every foot of lumber. Otherwise it will warp badly.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

My neighbor has one ordered. It's not a wood mizer though. He did quite a bit of looking at brands, reading about them, and talking to people about them. I can't remember the brand he ordered. It's due to come in this week, so I'll find out and tell you so you can look into that brand.

Supposedly, they are just as good or better than wood mizer, but cost less.

I do know that my neighbor bought a $400 option that allows you to cut beveled siding. Nice add on.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Stickers on every foot? I plan to get the option for beveling and also the option for a planer


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

That's going to run into some money. Find someone locally that can grind your planer knives, too. The attachment grinding heads for planers get bad reviews from people I know.

Consider what it would cost you to have someone with a mill do the sawing for you, and how many thousand board feet you need sawed before you are finished. Can you really make any money buying the mill and doing all the work? I could never make this pencil out. I can make money doing any of several other things.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

My brother will be doing the labor when I'm at work. The trees are free and will be delivered to me. My costs will be the mill, gas, and maintenance. By my figuring even if we didn't sell any lumber that just by the money I would save remodeling my current house and building my new one on my future homestead I would come out ahead. Now I'm definitely not a pro on this so that's why I asked for y'all's opinions. Lol. My math is all rough estimates at best but I'm figuring residing my current residence plus replacing many inside panels plus everything except the studs, foundation, and roof on my new home. This isn't a get rich quick scheme. I see this as a hobby for me to save me a ton of money in the future and maybe make enough on the side to pay for the mill. It seems like a win win to me but as always when I venture into unknown territories I feel like I'm not thinking of everything. Is the upkeep on the blades expensive? How long do they last before needing sharpening? Replaced? What other things am I not thinking about? Also thanks for the information and advice so far. Keep it coming


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

A Peterson Mill is on my wishlist. Definitely not a commercial mill by any stretch but will cut the little we need. We have small timber here and tend to use logs in construction but do need some dimensional lumber. Lumber is EXPENSIVE here, hardwood is way beyond what we could pay and almost impossible to get anyway. We grow Pinus radiata in Australia as our main commercial lumber and it's treated, almost all of it. Hate the stuff. 

I have about 8 ton of redgum, stringy bark and cypress stored by my workshop. Probably worth more than the farm . Half of it was cut with a chainsaw (broken down enough for the table saw), some with a crosscut and the rest by a friend with a commercial mill. I dread the day this is all used up.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

I have a Hud-Son Band mill. It is an all manual mill. Right now lumber is starting to go up in price again but not much. a couple years ago lumber was cheap. I couldn't justify cutting it for what I could buy dimensional, kiln dried lumber for. Woodmisers are nice but they are pricey. You will need to work it to get your money back.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

What are you guys paying... How do you measure it?


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Any other good brands that are a little cheaper?


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

millertimedoneright said:


> Any other good brands that are a little cheaper?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


Can I ask your budget? And your engineering level?


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

I prefer to stay in the 10-12k range but definitely not over 20k. My engineering level is low. I can do woodwork and low level welding.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

have you thought about a used one? That might keep you from making a large out lay of funds that could be used for much more important things right now.
http://www.sawmilltrader.com/


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

millertimedoneright said:


> Stickers on every foot? I plan to get the option for beveling and also the option for a planer
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


Stickers are small boards ran about a foot apart perpendicular to the lumber. Say your lumber pile is 10 ft long and 3 ft wide. You would use stickers 1 inch by 1 inch by 3 ft long and use 9 to 10 of them. Just stack your layers the same way. This is the best way to keep your lumber straight and allow good air flow to let it dry. I learned this working at a Wood yard and stacking lumber in our kilns.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Oh ok I gotcha thanks


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

I finally found out what my neighbor bought. It's a Timberking brand. He said that he compared it to Wood Mizer and a couple of other brands and decided that this is the best for the money. I know he spent quite a bit of time looking at different brands and researching to see what was best for his price. I have no idea what he paid.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Good deal...thanks...one I have been considering is the Norwood brand they seem to have good reviews an are much cheaper than a woodmizer


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## smaj100 (Oct 17, 2012)

Has anyone heard anything bad about the harbor freight brand?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

smaj100 said:


> Has anyone heard anything bad about the harbor freight brand?


4.6 stars out of 5 possible (based on 12 reviews)

http://www.harborfreight.com/http-w...aw-mill-with-280cc-gas-engine-61712-html.html


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## brucehylton (Nov 6, 2010)

I have had 2 different size Alaskan mills, 1 small bandsaw, 4 circle sawmills, one which was a Mobile Dimension 128. With a bit of a learning curve, they all can and will do the job. I am not a band saw fan after being around them for over twenty years. For resaw work they are great however. A circle sawmill is fast, but you can be limited on timber size. A mobile dimension eliminates the timber size problem, as it can set up to saw any size. You are limited to 8" x 12" with the 128. A band saw will cut wider, but to make speed, you need to pair it with a good cheap edger. Sander works better than a planer on bandsawn lumber. Hardwood is normally sawn different than soft wood unless it is going for pallet lumber. Handling logs by hand gets old fast. Consider hydraulics. You need to be able to turn logs when they are on the mill. 
I have built a couple small circle mills for resawing slabs and have all the parts to build a band sawmill cheaply. If money is the consideration, sell whatever you have to to buy the best you can afford. (That includes the wife and kids if they are not with you on the program) Keep your day job, but be ready, because that mill will make you more friends and money when no one is looking than you can imagine. And the joy of running it and seeing what you can do is as close to sex as you can get without actually doing it. Good luck.


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