Want to buy a sawmill - Talk me out of it!

[paulsharvey]

You said talk you out of it; so here goes.
1) You may not be able to use un-graded lumber for structural work on the addition
2) you will need to dry the cut boards
3) hardwood (if that's what you have in mind) is kinda difficult to frame with
4) you will probably spend weeks cutting, adjusting, learning, ect before you turn out dimensional lumber
5) milling lumber is kinda like reloading ammo; it becomes the hobby, more so then building with the lumber (or the shooting)

Not saying don't buy it, but just some things to realize, before you jump in

I dont own a mill; but my dad milled a ton of wood when I was a kid, primarily with homemade 'alaskan' saw mill that fits on a chainsaw bar, and aluminum extention ladder for a straight edge. One day, maybe, ill get one; but you can buy a lot of dimensional lumber (2×4; 2x6; 4x4; 4x6; ect) before you reach the mill price. Even with the mill, 1; its not 100% free to run (blades); and you Will still need to buy some lumber

 

[plowhog]

You said talk you out of it; so here goes.

Legitimate feedback, of course.

One positive aspect I forgot to add is the financial end. Around here, a used sawmill hardly ever goes up for sale. Ones that do are snapped up quickly and sold for a premium.

So if you purchase one and decide it's not for you ... the financial pain is likely to be minimal.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

If you can afford to stay away from a manual mill you will be thanking yourself later.

I don't totally agree with this. It really depends on how much you are going to use your mill.

IF you are going to saw all the time, then the more automated the better, BUT if you are only going to saw once in a while, on a manual mill, there just so much less to go wrong on them and a LOT less to corrode and cause gremlins!

Loading and turning logs can be done with a winch,

and that's really where the most work is. They can be just as accurate and they have a lot less to go wrong, that is IF you don't buy the cheapest manual mill to begin with.

A manual mill doesn't have to be a lot more work, but it is going to be a lot slower.

BTW, for sheds, barns ect., milling softwood like pine, you can nail the lumber right up off the mill or you can sticker it for a month or two and it will be plenty dry.

SR

 

[LouNY]

Well let's see talk you out of buying a mill;
Don't do it,
unless you are going to go a few steps above the basic,
don't forget to get spare blades,
don't forget the materials and jig to sharpen them.
It's easy to go through 5-6 blades in a day especially if the logs have been drug through any dirt.
Lot's of sharpening in the evening.
As far as drying the lumber stickered and stacked neatly do a loose wrap with heavy ag plastic with the black side out leaving the ends protected but open it will be almost as good as kiln dried in a few months.
As far as protecting your mill after using it a while and loading logs and pulling cut boards you will have a good idea of what kind of shelter you want for it, just a roof or 2 or 3 sided and you'l be able to use your own rough lumber for the project.
So if you go ahead with step up a few steps from basic and be ready to buy more accessories.

 

[plowhog]

It's easy to go through 5-6 blades in a day especially if the logs have been drug through any dirt.

I was feeling good until I read this. Dang, I need some sawmill Viagra!

 

[Jstpssng]

Legitimate feedback, of course.

One positive aspect I forgot to add is the financial end. Around here, a used sawmill hardly ever goes up for sale. Ones that do are snapped up quickly and sold for a premium.

So if you purchase one and decide it's not for you ... the financial pain is likely to be minimal.

I ordered my mill at the start of Covid and by the time that I got it they had gone up 25% in price so I was pretty pleased. It was a newly introduced budget model Woodmizer. In just 3 years they have phased this model out and come out with a replacement which they are selling for the same price that I paid for mine... so much for holding it's value.

don't forget to get spare blades,
don't forget the materials and jig to sharpen them

The higher quality mills have a debarker option which takes care of dirty bark. I bought a chainsaw debarker for mine which seems to work OK; at least it beats sharpening or buying new blades as often.
I also put a clamp on the measuring scale to remind myself not to cut into the log stops. THAT really is hard on blades!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've never went through 5 or 6 bands in a day and although I have everything to sharpen and set them, an Amish guy here sharpens and sets them for $7.00 ea...

When I get 10 dull ones and I'm over that way, I take them to him and let him do it.

SR

 

[civilian]

Lots of bad talking OP out of a sawmill here. Mostly talking him into one. I have had my Timbery 120 for 2 summers. Ordered in May during covid, received in Oct. Cut a few logs, stored sawmill for the winter. In Feb the following spring I received 20ish red and white pine, 12ft long 22" to 26" at large end. Heavy. I have a Kubota B26TLB to handle them and the stickered piles. I think I ended up cutting 6 to 7000 BF that summer. That is air drying. Also cut about 1000 BF each of oak and cherry. This past summer maybe 1200 BF of white cedar. That red or white pine, maybe 2 logs in a 6 hour day. Cedar was mostly 10" to 12" dia, 10ft long. More logs cut in a day.

Built a nice desk chair for the grandson out of the cherry. Kiln dried it and oak for me. Rough cut wood takes a lot of time and handling and equipment to mill it for nice finished furniture wood.

Also built a deer blind out of the 2" rough cut pine. Again took time to resaw into 1" boards, plane, etc.

I won't talk you out of getting a sawmill, but being retired I can spend my days cutting trees into lumber. Also what it your supply of trees? Cut of your land, or someone's land? Buying logs adds to the negative side of the sheet.

Seeing your own logs turn into finished projects can be rewarding, but it is more time consuming than going to the lumber store to buy what you need for a project. Working a full time job, having a family means less time for sawing. Your wife is for the mill, will she help stickering the wood? Having a second person is helpful, especially with larger logs.

One thing no one mentioned, is moisture meter. I find it is helpful determining if I can use the air dried lumber or want to wait.

Long winded, sorry. Jon

 

[HawkinsHollow]

@civilian Not longwinded at all, perfect information!! And beautiful chairs you build. Also love the deer blind. Yeah, you have addressed my biggest concern, time to mill. Well now is honestly the time to get this mill, so I guess I am just going to have to make the time!!

Let me ask you about the Timbery, because I have seen them online. Have you been satisfied with it? Have you had an issues and how have they been addressed by customer service? I have seen them online but most people I have talked to have tried to steer my away from these mills. Yes I know a woodland mills is a chinese mill but it have a company that stand behind their machine. I am going to go look at the timbery a bit closer while I await your response.

 

[BlueKnife]

But to fool yourself into thinking you are saving anything by making construction lumber....forget it. You will never replicate the dimensional accuracy and stability.

My experience has been the opposite. I'm a building contractor and work with kiln dried framing lumber daily. For my own projects, I only use lumber I cut myself. It's much better quality than what I can get locally. If I screw up a bit when milling the dimensions can vary some, but in many of my applications, that doesn't matter. Even then, the straightness and quality is much better. If I do my part when cutting it, it's every bit as good. I'm using the same mill that the OP is considering buying.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I have a couple of big projects coming up, 2 shed builds and a sizable addition on our house plus a few other projects I would like to do down the line. My wife wants a lot of wood accent in our house addition and I want to add a "timber frame" covered deck off the back once we are done with the addition. I am VERY tempted to pull the trigger on a sawmill to mill a lot of this lumber myself. I am leaning towards a Woodland Mill HM126 at about $4200 shipped with a bed extension. Seems like it could pay for itself in short order.

Yes I understand a manual mill is not fast and it is LOTS of work. But I have the space, I have the trees, I have a tractor, I have the money, I am only 49 and in good shape. Honestly, the only thing I DON'T have is tons of free time. But the way I look at it is if I set this mill up well I can go over there and saw a log or 3 per week, blow off some steam and have some nice lumber for my projects.

I have wanted a mill for a long time. I have a friend with a nice Woodmizer hydraulic mill about a mile down the road from me but we can never seem to make time to mill my wood, so I have pretty much given up on that. Which is why I want my own mill so I can just do it for myself.

The way I look at it is if I do not use it enough or I run out of projects to use it on I sell it for a small loss, but still come out ahead in the long run. This is something I have always wanted to try seems like now might be the time.

It'll keep you busy the rest of your life, if you enjoy it.
There is a sawmill in Guthrie, that was owned by an older gentleman (now owned by his grandson), where I have bought a lot of wood. He was retired, but really enjoyed the sawmill. He said it cost him a new Lincoln...to appease his wife...but it was worth it.

He got a lot of his wood by going halves with customers who had the trees.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'm not sure why someone would need to plane lumber for an outbuilding. I've built several right off the mill, including my deer blind,

It's basically post and beam, with board and batten siding, I find the windows along the road cheeep or free.

It's worked out perfectly...

SR

 

[D&D]

I don't plan on using it for residential construction.

But that is the TBN spirit!! You made me doubt myself, for a second!

Guess I read it wrong.

I have a couple of big projects coming up, 2 shed builds and a sizable addition on our house plus a few other projects I would like to do down the line. My wife wants a lot of wood accent in our house addition and I want to add a "timber frame" covered deck off the back once we are done with the addition. I am VERY tempted to pull the trigger on a sawmill to mill a lot of this lumber myself

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Guess I read it wrong.

I am not sure how you read it. But I do not plan on using this for structural framing lumber for my addition. Trim wood, accent wood, faux beams, shutters, maybe some tongue and groove ceiling wood. More than likely I will buy the wood for the majority of the backyard shed build as well.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I'm not sure why someone would need to plane lumber for an outbuilding. I've built several right off the mill, including my deer blind,

It's basically post and beam, with board and batten siding, I find the windows along the road cheeep or free.

It's worked out perfectly...

SR

That is perfection!!

 

[plowhog]

Trim wood, accent wood, faux beams, shutters, maybe some tongue and groove ceiling wood. More than likely I will buy the wood for the majority of the backyard shed build as well.

There is a lot of commentary here focused on "practical" applications or choices about a sawmill. Of course.

But my greatest satisfaction with owning a sawmill is not really connected to the realm of "practical." It is instead the satisfaction of harvesting trees that would otherwise be wasted into something of value. And secondary satisfaction from building things from a log that came from my property. (So far, small projects like porch planters, etc but larger projects such as a kiln are coming.)

Visitors to my home have positively commented on my custom made cedar porch planters. When I tell them it came from a log on my property, many of them are amazed.

 

[ponytug]

@HawkinsHollow You might look up construction techniques for using green lumber. Many moons ago, I read a book on how to do it so that has the wood dries, the construction keeps the boards square and yet allows for the shrinkage. Board and batten, like @Sawyer Rob's blind above is one way.

It might speed/slimpify some of the construction for your outbuildings.

All the best,

Peter

 

[jonsstihl]

I just bought a hm130max to mill some lumber for a gazebo type cover for our spa. You got it right though it is the time that is hard to find. between assembling the mill and milling lumber I missed the weather window for actually building the structure. But I am the type of person that will enjoy being able to tell people that I made everything on that structure except the tin roof and the screws that hold it together.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

That is perfection!!

Thanks... It's 6' by 8' so two people can sit in it comfortably, or even use it for a small cabin and sleep in it. It's a heck of a lot better than the tents I use to stay in, hunting out in the Alaskan bush for weeks!

I used PT post in the ground, then milled dead white pines into post to build the frame,

Then covering it with board & batten siding. The roof is some good quality shingles that were given to me, that were left over from a shingling job.

That was in 2015, and since, I've shot 10 bucks and nearly as many does from that blind.

SR

 

[2manyrocks]

Traditional board and batten is specifically for using green sawmill type lumber because the gaps between the boards that increase due to shrinkage are covered by the battens. Plus, it does not have to be perfect in dimension. Fine Homebuilding magazine has details on the nailing patterns to use for installation and to allow for shrinkage.