# portable sawmill



## aklavik

any one have one, mine will be delevered next week.


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## The_Blob

I like the ATS at

Portable Sawmills manufactured by Peterson Portable Sawmills

their promotional video


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## Jason

We don't have one, but when I was a kid (this was probably 20 years ago) we had some ground cleared and my dad brought in a guy with one of those portable mills and we had tons of lumber milled. This one was on its own trailer and it was really slick. I was really impressed with the whole process.


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## Tirediron

The swing saws seem to be the way to go :scratch


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## brucehylton

I have personally had a half dozen home owner type mills over the last 40 years. The Peterson is all right if you are young and in good shape. I prefer the Mobile Dimension for lumber quality and production. Lower production with the band and Peterson is the norm. If you have an edger, the band saws can have production increased. A planer can be added to surface lumber. Anyone that runs a band saw mill will tell you about the smaller kerf and how much lumber that makes up for in a year. Just ask them to cut 5000 feet of 12' 2 x 6 in an 8 hour day. Saw kerf is just sales gimmick. Production and living to tell about it are what counts.


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## aklavik

i will likley build a swing saw mill this summer, the bandsawmill is quick and easy , im going to cut 8 inch x8 inch timbers for my first buildings, not selling lumber to others, looking at log moulders as well, if i have time i may build my own moulding head, never seem to get a day off.


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## shadowrider

I have a bandmill, custom build using a lot of Linn Lumber Mill parts.
For my personal use, so I don't worry about production aspects.
It has cut lumber,posts,beams,table and clock slabs,shingles,siding,and I'm still coming up with ideas. Does a great resaw.
I hope you like yours as well as I like mine.
shadowrider


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## aklavik

*shadowrider*

i was building my own mill but ran out of time, would sure like to see pics of yours, cant wait to get sawing the timbers for my homestead.


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## shadowrider

I'm not set up for pics but will be soon and will post in a few days.
shadowrider


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## shadowrider

OK! Maybe? I've got the pics in my files,now trying to learn how to resize and attach. My first time!
shadowrider


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## UncleJoe

If it's any easier you could create an album and post them in there.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/all_albums.php


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## shadowrider

Lets see if I did it correctly!


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## shadowrider

If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to answer.
The mill cuts up to 20 inches wide,19 feet,8 inches long.
Power is a Honda 18 HP v-twin.
Notice in the pic of the rails that 1 cross member is movable.
The square pockets hold stakes of various configurations.
I have a travel winder and levelers in fab now and will add pics when installed.
shadowrider


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## UncleJoe

shadowrider said:


> If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to answer.


Do you still want it or should I come get it now. 

I have 35-40 pine and spruce logs that need cut up.


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## ZombieHitman

I have a Timberking B1600 fully hydraulic portable mill. 
It's super fun to run, accurate, takes a beating and keeps on forging ahead. 
I've done "professional" milling, IE cutting for others for profit, and it's how I paid for it a couple times over.
It does merit mention that there's tremendous capabilities difference between a swing mill and a band mill. 
Swings are limited on width and depth of cut, depending on the unit. 
I can slice a 28x28x16' beam on mine, assuming the log will yield it. 
I can gang cut 2x6/8/10/12 all day long, and typically my production levels are significantly higher than a swing mill. 
If you're considering a mill, whether it be building one or buying one, there's a couple factors I strongly suggest you consider before taking the jump.
1) What's the intent of the mill? 
2) What are your physical capabilities? (green lumber is stupid heavy)
3) What's the budget available? 
4) Where will you be cutting? (certain species of trees' sawdust sours the ground, and you'll not be able to plant/grow anything there for 50 years)
5) How much will you be cutting? What species?
6) How will you dry the stuff you cut? Drying lumber takes quite a bit of room, even when stacked very high, and it requires a lot of airflow to ensure it doesn't mold/fungus/split/crack/warp/turn into expensive bacon-looking boards. 
7) Where will the logs come from? If you have a woodlot, that's great! If not, where will you get logs? Trucking them is a trick in itself for most people. Buying them gets very expensive very quick. Urban logs often have junk in them, like nails, ceramic insulators, fence wire, bricks, etc. that destroy blades. It's a horrid sound when it happens, and a royal pain to get teh damaged/destroyed blade out. 
8) What's your intended use for the lumber? Most, if not all, areas have building codes that require certain grades of lumber to be used for occupied structures. Some areas haven't yet caught up with the technology, in that lumber from a portable mill is often of a better grade than what's found in the box stores, but it's not graded per se. You can hire a grader, or you can "certify" that the lumber you made from your mill used in your structure is equal or better than the building standard. Talk with a code officer in your area to get the full scoop. 
9) Availability of spare parts - My mill uses mostly off the shelf parts I can get at my local Autozone or the like. The things that are "proprietary" get replaced with off the shelf or homemade as they break/wear out/get improved. I cut a lot of acidic woods, like oak, which burn up roller bearings fast. As an example, I can cut about 1500' of oak, or 4000-5000' of maple on one set of bearings. 
I keep a bunch on hand since they go without much warning. 
10) Safety. How much experience do you have working with heavy machinery? Those blades don't care whether they cut wood or your body. Roller bearings like to fly sometimes. Bark bits come off the backside of mine like bullets from a gun. I've broken a couple windows on my truck because I wasn't being careful or setting up my site appropriately, from flying tree bits. 
11) Blades - new ones run $25-400 each depending on length, width, tooth count and set, and type of metal they're made from. 
In most cases, the less pricey carbon steel blades get it done well. I like the Timberwolf blades from SUffolk Machine in Patchogue, NY. Good blade life, excellent resharpenable life (5-6 sharpenings vs 3-4 from others I have tried), and often a resharpened blade cuts even better than a new one. 
How will you sharpen your blades? A hand file doesn't cut it. I tried. Too many aspects to keep straight, and if you don't grind the gullet (the rounded spot between teeth), they develop micro-cracks, and break at the most inopportune times.
A decent sharpener and setter combo costs about $3k. tough to justify unless you're pumping some serious volume of lumber or have money to spare. 
12) With all I have said here so far, it does merit to say that there's one aspect that a sawyer has that few others can - I made it with my own two hands - that REALLY carries the true meaning of all the way. 
Sawing is fun! It's rewarding! It's almost magical when I see the finished products made with my lumber. It blows people's minds when they watch a log become lumber before their eyes. 
So many think that lumber comes from a store. How it got there is magic.


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## shadowrider

UncleJoe said:


> Do you still want it or should I come get it now.
> 
> I have 35-40 pine and spruce logs that need cut up.


Ha! You bet I still want it!

Wish I had some softwood logs though,all here is hardwood.
That on the mill in the pic. is sycamore. It was standing dead and ax handle hard.
shadowrider


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## Jason

That's a really nice looking setup. How do you move it from place to place? Does it come apart or do you just winch the whole thing onto a trailer?


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## shadowrider

Jason
The sawhead lifts off. I just use a front loader. The bed is 20'. When I moved here I hauled it on a 20' flat trailer I have.
The hardest part of moving it that way is getting it leveled.
shadowrider


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## aklavik

shadowrider thats a spiffy looking rig, thanks for posting pics, my mill is set up now but there is 2 feet of snow at the old homestead, so now i need a tractor with a loader, building 12 extra feet of track so i can cut 24 foot timbers for floor joists and roof supports.


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## Tirediron

The need for toys never ends does it?? hope the 'mill works well for you.


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## aklavik

shadowrider, its easy to post pics, for some folks lol , i get my kids to post mine, i bought a hudson mill, very simple set up and design, cant wait to rebuild it, i have a 24 foot base and all the hydraulics to automate it, cylinders for log loader, power pak, and motors and chains for log kicker /turners, no room to work here in the big city, 9 welders, new lathe, mill, metal cutting bandsaws etc etc, another year or so living here then moving to the homestead, land is paid for refuse to go into debt for the house, well, septic, etc, im impressed with your rig will post pics of mine this summer.


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## Wiswash

Can any of you sawyers tell me what sort of machine can make cedar shake shingles? Would this be a saw or hydraulic wedge? And who would manufacture such a machine? Thanks


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## ZombieHitman

Wiswash said:


> Can any of you sawyers tell me what sort of machine can make cedar shake shingles? Would this be a saw or hydraulic wedge? And who would manufacture such a machine? Thanks


Woodmizer makes an attachment that mounts on the rails of their machines that tilts the log chunks so they can be sawn at appropriate angles for shake. 
It's neat to see in action, and very efficient. 
Doesn't quite have the same look as hand split shakes, but as they age, they look really good.


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## HELIXX

ZombieHitman said:


> I have a Timberking B1600 fully hydraulic portable mill.
> It's super fun to run, accurate, takes a beating and keeps on forging ahead.
> I've done "professional" milling, IE cutting for others for profit, and it's how I paid for it a couple times over.
> It does merit mention that there's tremendous capabilities difference between a swing mill and a band mill.
> Swings are limited on width and depth of cut, depending on the unit.
> I can slice a 28x28x16' beam on mine, assuming the log will yield it.
> I can gang cut 2x6/8/10/12 all day long, and typically my production levels are significantly higher than a swing mill.
> If you're considering a mill, whether it be building one or buying one, there's a couple factors I strongly suggest you consider before taking the jump.
> 1) What's the intent of the mill?
> 2) What are your physical capabilities? (green lumber is stupid heavy)
> 3) What's the budget available?
> 4) Where will you be cutting? (certain species of trees' sawdust sours the ground, and you'll not be able to plant/grow anything there for 50 years)
> 5) How much will you be cutting? What species?
> 6) How will you dry the stuff you cut? Drying lumber takes quite a bit of room, even when stacked very high, and it requires a lot of airflow to ensure it doesn't mold/fungus/split/crack/warp/turn into expensive bacon-looking boards.
> 7) Where will the logs come from? If you have a woodlot, that's great! If not, where will you get logs? Trucking them is a trick in itself for most people. Buying them gets very expensive very quick. Urban logs often have junk in them, like nails, ceramic insulators, fence wire, bricks, etc. that destroy blades. It's a horrid sound when it happens, and a royal pain to get teh damaged/destroyed blade out.
> 8) What's your intended use for the lumber? Most, if not all, areas have building codes that require certain grades of lumber to be used for occupied structures. Some areas haven't yet caught up with the technology, in that lumber from a portable mill is often of a better grade than what's found in the box stores, but it's not graded per se. You can hire a grader, or you can "certify" that the lumber you made from your mill used in your structure is equal or better than the building standard. Talk with a code officer in your area to get the full scoop.
> 9) Availability of spare parts - My mill uses mostly off the shelf parts I can get at my local Autozone or the like. The things that are "proprietary" get replaced with off the shelf or homemade as they break/wear out/get improved. I cut a lot of acidic woods, like oak, which burn up roller bearings fast. As an example, I can cut about 1500' of oak, or 4000-5000' of maple on one set of bearings.
> I keep a bunch on hand since they go without much warning.
> 10) Safety. How much experience do you have working with heavy machinery? Those blades don't care whether they cut wood or your body. Roller bearings like to fly sometimes. Bark bits come off the backside of mine like bullets from a gun. I've broken a couple windows on my truck because I wasn't being careful or setting up my site appropriately, from flying tree bits.
> 11) Blades - new ones run $25-400 each depending on length, width, tooth count and set, and type of metal they're made from.
> In most cases, the less pricey carbon steel blades get it done well. I like the Timberwolf blades from SUffolk Machine in Patchogue, NY. Good blade life, excellent resharpenable life (5-6 sharpenings vs 3-4 from others I have tried), and often a resharpened blade cuts even better than a new one.
> How will you sharpen your blades? A hand file doesn't cut it. I tried. Too many aspects to keep straight, and if you don't grind the gullet (the rounded spot between teeth), they develop micro-cracks, and break at the most inopportune times.
> A decent sharpener and setter combo costs about $3k. tough to justify unless you're pumping some serious volume of lumber or have money to spare.
> 12) With all I have said here so far, it does merit to say that there's one aspect that a sawyer has that few others can - I made it with my own two hands - that REALLY carries the true meaning of all the way.
> Sawing is fun! It's rewarding! It's almost magical when I see the finished products made with my lumber. It blows people's minds when they watch a log become lumber before their eyes.
> So many think that lumber comes from a store. How it got there is magic.


I've been looking at the exact same one....
I'm 52 years old now slim and in really good shape. Would you advise me not to get a saw mill?


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## goodoleboy8205

HELIXX said:


> I've been looking at the exact same one....
> I'm 52 years old now slim and in really good shape. Would you advise me not to get a saw mill?


the man who used to saw for me before I bought my own mill. he was 70 years old and i thought that was impressive till his dad came down one day to help. Note this was a circular mill a much faster pace. So if you feel your in shape go for it.


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## HELIXX

goodoleboy8205 said:


> the man who used to saw for me before I bought my own mill. he was 70 years old and i thought that was impressive till his dad came down one day to help. Note this was a circular mill a much faster pace. So if you feel your in shape go for it.


Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will pursue this venture then.


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## Jimmy24

I bought a Turner after Katrina. Manual model, but with 24 hp Honda. Could cut 20 ft logs up to 30 in dia.

$6200 delivered. Cut up 19,000 board feet of pine and close to 4,000 BF of hardwoods. Good unit. Have used sever,al of the different models and for the money the Turner was the one. One note no blade lube required and long blade life. Blade on rubber tires. Blade runs very cool. Used Lenox blades at @ $17 ea. Bought box of blades in box of 10. Never bothered with sharpening, cause I just wanted to use it for the short term. Guy who bought from me had blades sharpened.

Sold it for $5000 after I was thru with it. Figured I came out very good.

Good luck with your new saw.

Jimmy


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## aklavik

first building up, very happy with mill should post pics in a few days


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## NaeKid

Been a while since I last saw you - would love to see the pictures that you have!


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## Jason

I hope you get the pics up soon. I just reread this whole thread. So what did you think about the saw? Did it meet your expectations?


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## aklavik

hey guys the first cabin is up, the mill preforms far better than i had hoped, best investment i have made in years, im working close to greenland right now and our internet is very very slow, i will be on a tugboat next week headed to nunavet hopefuly they have better internet and i can post some pics.


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## VUnder

HELIXX said:


> Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will pursue this venture then.


I was working with an old guy that was 76, and a cold front was coming in, it was late and the weather was getting bad. He had to finish so he could go by and check his mom and dad's water so it wouldn't freeze, and stop by and check on his wifes' parents too. Its all in how you look at it.


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