Portable Sawmill?

[tzone]

I hired someone to come to my property with a portable sawmill to make some boards from a white oak I cut down. It's nice to make stuff with wood from your land, even though it would be cheaper to just buy it. I'm not sure if the guy gave me a deal because he had another job nearby but it cost $150 to do a bunch of 2" thick boards. seemed really cheap to me.

Any idea how long it took him?

 

[BrentD]

I've used several different sawyers and they have charged by the board ft ($.27 12 yrs ago), to $50/hr (last winter). Regardless, it has always produced lumber for a small fraction of the cost of buying it. And it certainly is nice to know where that tree came from on your own ground.

Most guys just slab stuff out, but I found that produced a lot of boards that would crack down the middle and cup a lot so that I had to split them anyway. As a result, I've gone to having logs quarter sawn only. The produces more waste and some smaller boards, but the stability factor is worth it in my opinion, especially if the trees are sizable.

 

[ChrisC]

Any idea how long it took him?

it was a couple of years ago and he was probably here for maybe a couple hours. I had the tree cut down already. I figured for travel, setup, labor, etc. $150 seemed cheap. I have no other quotes to reference, but given the price of these machines, I was happy to hand that over for the service.

 

[SFC B]

If you are interested, these folks have peaked my interest. No frills but middle of America built!!!

http://www.ezboardwalk.com/

 

[tzone]

If you are interested, these folks have peaked my interest. No frills but middle of America built!!!

http://www.ezboardwalk.com/

I can live with no frills. Built in America is a big deal to me.

 

[buckbull]

You might want to try an alaskan mill first. Its even more work than a small mill but its a cheap way to make your own lumber. I always wanted one to make timbers for a timberframe cabin.

Alaskan® Mills | Shop Alaskan® Mills | Granberg

The Alaskan® Mill has a variety of options to accommodate anything from small, at-home projects to larger commercial jobs.

granberg.com

 

[ChrisS]

A friend of mine has an old Frick sawmill that ran off of a Lincoln straight-8. It made his father-in-law money back in the day, but right now it's covered up in lumber and hasn't been run in probably 20 years. We always talk about getting it running again, but we've all got full-time jobs and his neighbor is a retired state trooper who bought a wood-mizer and mills stuff up for cheap to keep himself occupied.

 

[Northwoods]

My dad got a portable sawmill when he retired. He loved it. He had it set up on his 80 acres and just left it in one place. He cut stuff for his own projects to start but soon word got out and people started buying lumber from him.

 

[tzone]

You might want to try an alaskan mill first. Its even more work than a small mill but its a cheap way to make your own lumber. I always wanted one to make timbers for a timberframe cabin.

Alaskan® Mills | Shop Alaskan® Mills | Granberg

The Alaskan® Mill has a variety of options to accommodate anything from small, at-home projects to larger commercial jobs.

granberg.com

I do know a guy with one. He says the same as you. But it actually makes some decent boards.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I have seem rough sawn pine sell for anywhere between .35 and .75 cents per board ft in this region to give you a ballpark. We have a new mill that just started up in Laramie and they are getting .50 cents a board ft.

There are some good you tube videos for upgrades if you go with one of the harbor freight models that are cheap since this is more for fun.
https://www.harborfreight.com/saw-mill-with-301cc-gas-engine-62366.html

With your waste consider making some biochar.
https://www.apg-wi.com/sawyer_count...cle_1f2754d8-571d-11e9-8ae5-1715f361f0cc.html
http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/mn/print/biochar_to_the_rescue/

 

[Fullquiver]

I owned a large handset Meadows sawmill.. I mostly custom sawed lumber for farmers and for a couple of timber frame construction builders..

I ran it with a Chrysler slant 6 out of a Dodge pickup with the 4 speed transmission attached.. I sawed more lumber in a day than most bandsaw guys could in a week and my lumber was far more accurately cut.. BTW my whole setup for my circle mill cost $3k.

On a side note, the one timber frame builder had his own Woodmizer and had me saw all his framing while his mill sat under a tarp.. When I asked him about why he said accuracy and speed, cost efficiency.. BTW I sure miss having that mill around,. Selling it was not my best decision..

 

[mtmuley]

How many board feet a day did you cut? mtmuley

 

[Fullquiver]

How many board feet a day did you cut? mtmuley

You talking to me?

My best day with 2 hands and me running the saw just after I had installed my vertical edger was just over 20k bdft... All 8/4 white pine framing lumber...

Best day sawing hardwood 5/4 would have been around 8k bdft.. Which in reality was more difficult..

Usually I only ran the mill with Myself and 1 helper.. Some farmers would be the off bearer if they were cheap and I knew them so as to cut down on the cost to them.. I didn't do that for just anyone..

BTW bdft is not always the best way to measure a saws potential just because I could tell of the log cabin logs I sawed which were basically 6x6x8 (which add up fast) with a round face.. I cut maybe 5-6 homes worth of those for people. Never charged by the bdft because they usually only took 3 cuts on the mill and I always charged for those by the lineal ft..