Anyone own a small portable sawmill? advice on buying one please

[Oldpath05]

I've seen homemade bandsaws, but that's the first one I've seen made out of wood. Is that something which you made, OldPath?

No but heres the blue print, not sure if it's copyrighted so build at your own risk.....
Using The Quick And Dirty Band Saw Mill - YouTube

 

[Oldpath05]

Theres no defection on my Norwood mill...... What I like about it is, it comes as a basic mill that everything can be added on later instead of paying 30k up front but if I had 30k I probably go with WoodMizer, that open side is one thing I like, I did buy a WoodMizer sharpener, that is diffidently better than Norwood or any other brand for that matter, I also buy ther blades..
Portable Sawmills Torture Test - Log Deck on the LumberPro HD36 Band Sawmill Strongest in Class - YouTube
6x6 timbers - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBn_Ip_cNs

 

[FTG-05]

I have built a few homemade sawmills, had a few bandsaw sawmills, and have an old rotary sawmill, so I know a few things about sawmills.

The best sawmills you can buy are Woodmizer, but they are expensive, however, like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Finding a used one at a good price might be possible though.

You want to stay away from chainsaw mills as they are just too slow. You will start a log today, and finish it tomorrow...they are that slow. And they take too much of a kerf. Goodness, a bandsaw mill means you lose a board to sawdust after cutting 15 boards, but with a chainsaw you lose one board to sawdust after just three boards. It is just too much waste for the slow speed that sawing lumber is.

You want to stay away from the Norwood brand of sawmills. They are a lesson in frustration. The frames are too weak and so when you set a big log down on the mill, it flexes and thus cuts banana boards because as the boards are removed from the log, the weight relaxes and the flex springs back. The head-rig is also located too close to the left track, and so you have to have really straight logs with no stubs or buttresses too the log. It also lacks the ability to cut on a taper. It really is a frustrating sawmill to work with all the way around, and I was glad when I watched mine leave behind another persons truck, but still felt sorry for the guy.

The real important part of a sawmill is how the log is secured. As some have said, hydraulics are the answer, but it is an expensive option. But some are just too frustrating, like the Norwood which is slow, inconvenient and has few adjustments.

I have heard great things about the Harbor Freight Sawmill, with the exception being the track. As cited in the paragraph above, this is important so I think the best bang for the buck spent, is to take the Harbor Freight Sawmill ($2000) and make it what it aint. My suggestion is to buy the plans for the Procut Sawmill, which is a company that sells plans to make a homemade chainsaw sawmill, but just build the track the plans show, as the chainsaw aspect is worthless. That would give you all the quality of the saw rig of the Harbor Freight sawmill, but put it on a 24 foot track with log holders and adjusters that rival even the Norwood Sawmill. If you are unable to fabricate, since you have plans to work from, you could just have a local metal shop build the track for you, and still be ahead. This would give you a sawmill that was quite capable, and be in the $3000 range.

What do you think of Hud-sons?

 

[BrokenTrack]

I do not know, as I have never had one.

We do have a Thomas Bandsaw though and like it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Theres no defection on my Norwood mill......

Are you sure???

I heard it from a "self proclaimed" expert, that all you can cut on a Norwood mill, are bananna shaped boards! lol

SR

 

[DaveNJ]

Are you sure???

I heard it from a "self proclaimed" expert, that all you can cut on a Norwood mill, are bananna shaped boards! lol

SR

I learned the basics of milling from a friend who has a Norwood MX 34, the predecessor to the HD 36. It has the same embossed rails for tracks. I milled a lot of logs with him over 30" in diameter and over 12' in length that were not so gently dropped on the tracks with a skidsteer. As indicated by old path and sawyer rob, there were no issues with deflection. I really wanted the Hd 36 but just couldn't justify the price.

 

[Stimw]

I bought the HF Mill about 8 years ago and made track extensions to cut a 16' board.
I had a lot of fun with it but wasn't using it and sold it last spring (in one day) for what I had in it!
I have owned a fabrication shop and you can't make a mill for what it costs from HF.
There is a learning curve but I got the hang of it after a while.
You need support equipment worth more than you will have in the mill.
The BEST website to learn is- http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/board,7.0.html

 

[Rustyiron]

We have a lot of trees and the wind and rain supply a small amount of possible lumber to mill

I'm not planning on selling for profit but will be doing some honey do projects.

Any advice on what to look for or stay away from?

cant seem to find any used ones.

Look harder and be patient Rebeldad.
I've wanted a mill forever it seem like. I was a little late on a few woodmizers, a little hesitant on a few wood mizers and didn't really agree (mechanically) with woodmizer on the single beam cantelever design and being heavily dependent on electric controls etc. Then I decided that I wanted a fully hydraulic (log handling) mill as I'm not getting any younger and seeing as it's more of a hobby (I can BUY rough sawn lumber for .50c per bd/ft including his logs!) than a business. That jacks up the entry fee's by about 2x. Then about a month ago I found a "Timberking" band mill, fully hyd. with about 50 blades 1/2 new, 1/2 used and needs sharpening, a never used automatic sharpener and a dual tooth setter and a bevel siding jig that's made for this mill. It's tremendously satisfying cutting your own lumber, and I have not personally checked but lumber is stupid expensive with this china virus BS and that helps me rationalize things, at least that's what I tell myself.
I'd think long and hard about your needs and find someone to watch, unless your just slabbing a log into 1-2" planks, there's a lot of log manipulation involved in it, and I'd almost believe that you'd get all your money back (full hydraulics) if you were to sell it, where the small manual mill guy, @ 2-$3000 is just going to buy a new one on impulse.
If there were something wrong with Woodmizer, they wouldn't be a hugely popular and I wouldn't think twice if one came up near you, so don't mis read my above comments, besides they do have a conventonal line of mills with more than one leg.:laughing: I believe woodmizer has a list of sawyers on their website, if you find one local, give him a call and tell him you'd like to come help or watch or go get lunch - whatever, just spend a little time around any band mill and get an idea of whats involved.:thumbsup:
I'm impressed with the features and price of Hud Son's 336 hydraulic and love the videos of the Cook's mills on youtube, but there's a ton of makers out there and a wide variety of "intent" like production per day (bd/ft).