After about 30 years of building fence and doing various jobs, the wife and I have decided it is almost time to give it up and do something we both enjoy. I am not looking to make a living out of milling for people, but I could see the opportunity to make a decent income doing it if needed. I have looked at everything from a Woodland Mills to a Wood-Mizer LT 35. I believe the LT 35 would be overkill for what I am looking to do,but having too much is better than not enough. The Woodland Mills just seems slow and not quite enough. I am looking for something portable, so trailer mounted would be a must. I am not brand loyal at all here, as I have never owned a portable band mill.( I have used a couple before though and helped do some offbearing). Any good thoughts on something in the middle?
Advice on starter band mill.
- Thread starter Bubster
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oldbev
ArboristSite Lurker
Well, I have a Thomas mill. Bought it used ,an older machine but in good shape for a very reasonable price. Made right here close by in the state of Maine. Been Very happy with the support from the manufacturers they have bent over backwards to help me out with any problems that I have run into.Father and Son both very knowledge and take a lot of pride in their mills. Unfortunately may be a waiting period for one of their new machines. Oldbev
I will look into them for sure, thank ya.
jwright458
New Member
I have a Norwood LM29. Although it's a good mill, I have had to make a
number of modifications to make it really cut good.
If I were to buy a mill today, I would definitely get the Woodland Mills
130 Max with at least one extension.
Don't overlook the value of the Woodland Mills bandmills.
You can get the 130 Max for $5000 and an extension for $500; shipping is $200.
If you need to be mobile, their Woodlander model is $7600; (16' model)
For another $800 you can add on the power up/down motor.
You may be able to saw faster with the Wood-mizer LT-35, especially if you
get hydraulics, but you're going to pay thru the nose.
Another thing, the Woodland Mills 130 max is in stock.
With the Wood-mizer, you may have a 1 year or more wait.
number of modifications to make it really cut good.
If I were to buy a mill today, I would definitely get the Woodland Mills
130 Max with at least one extension.
Don't overlook the value of the Woodland Mills bandmills.
You can get the 130 Max for $5000 and an extension for $500; shipping is $200.
If you need to be mobile, their Woodlander model is $7600; (16' model)
For another $800 you can add on the power up/down motor.
You may be able to saw faster with the Wood-mizer LT-35, especially if you
get hydraulics, but you're going to pay thru the nose.
Another thing, the Woodland Mills 130 max is in stock.
With the Wood-mizer, you may have a 1 year or more wait.
oldbev
ArboristSite Lurker
Potatoes potaatoes I guess it all depends how many board feet you want to saw, how hard you want to work and how many repairs you want to deal with. Realistically how many board feet can you put through a push saw mill? The best thing I like about the Thomas mill is that is made in USA. Local to boot for me, all welded construction ad plenty of tech support. prob any reputable brand that meets those criterias will work for you. Oldbev
I'm not sure if this link will work, but here it is. This is 30 miles from me and I've been eyeing it for a few weeks. Not sure what you want to spend either.
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/250602911228676/?ref=search
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/250602911228676/?ref=search
This one popped up Friday for sale.
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/989075515704378/?ref=search
https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/989075515704378/?ref=search
Slow compared to a Wood Mizer, and no I aint trying to compare a $4000 mill to a $20,000 mill. I would rather spend the $$$$ and get more than I need than to buy something that I soon find is way to slow for what I hoped for. Then I have the headache of trying to resell a lightly used but still used mill in an area here in WV that really has no market for small portable saw mills. I have watched some Wood Mizers in action that would compare to stationary saws in "real" saw mills . In all honesty, I am looking to spend around 25K for what I want,and that is with some options that I would like to have.I have access to all the logs I want for free and I need about 2 or 3 more storage sheds for all the junk I have aquired through the years. Just think it would be fun to do a few custom jobs for others and make a couple bucks. But mostly to cut cedar logs so my wife can smell them and smile.
Either way, sounds like you are going to have some fun with whatever mill you end up with!
Beezvet
ArboristSite Member
I don't have firsthand knowledge of them, but you might want to check out the Hud-Son lines of mills. They have models going from very, very basic (that I'm considering) to very advanced. Built in eastern NY, I see people in New England have been using them.
I sure hope so. And I am not knocking the Woodland Mills line at all. I have always had champagne taste on an Old Milwaukee budget, but at least the tools I do own have always exceeded my expectations. Gotta say the Woodland Mills is awful inviting at the price range. I am glad you a having good luck with yours. Thanks for the input.
I will check them out for sure. I have watched some videos of their mills before a few years but had completely forgotten about them. Thanks for reminding me.
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I have a Woodmizer LX55 with a 5 foot bed extension, and so far I have been happy with it. It won't crank out boards like a circle mill, but it works great for the small volume that I mill.
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've been milling my own lumber with a BSM since 1996 so not a newb here.
Woodland is china made, Norwood is Canadian and Wood Mizer is USA, personally, I try not to buy things from china, especially that expensive of a tool.
IF, you want to make money with your sawmill, you better buy one that will AT LEAST turn the logs with hydraulics! I assure you; it makes all the difference in milling out a log when you are trying to get the highest-grade lumber out of it. And higher grade means more money for the lumber.
It also means milling will be MUCH faster and much safer too.
SR
Woodland is china made, Norwood is Canadian and Wood Mizer is USA, personally, I try not to buy things from china, especially that expensive of a tool.
IF, you want to make money with your sawmill, you better buy one that will AT LEAST turn the logs with hydraulics! I assure you; it makes all the difference in milling out a log when you are trying to get the highest-grade lumber out of it. And higher grade means more money for the lumber.
It also means milling will be MUCH faster and much safer too.
SR
Has the OP purchased a mill yet?
Just out of curiosity, where do swing-blade sawmills come in on you guy's consideration?
I've never run one, but they seem particularly efficient on larger logs, and I'm pretty sure the maintenance expense on the blades is a lot lower. Setup is slower, but the ability to quarter saw and size the lumber to the log is vastly better.
I've never run one, but they seem particularly efficient on larger logs, and I'm pretty sure the maintenance expense on the blades is a lot lower. Setup is slower, but the ability to quarter saw and size the lumber to the log is vastly better.
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
Swing blade mills have some important limitations that have kept me from buying one.
Limited in the width of cut, as in getting wide boards out of a tree
limited in the size of beams you can mill
most of the lumber you get is "rift" sawn NOT quarter sawn
IF you don't turn a log, you can't grade saw it to get the BEST lumber, worth the MOST money
IF you don't turn a log, you can't saw the tension out of it
They are a lot more work to actually run
They are a very good mill if you "mostly" want to saw out 2x4,'s or 6's, or low grade lumber, that's where they shine.
SR
Again, I've never used one, but I have been looking and thinking about it. Thanks for the reply, as I really wanted to hear criticisms of the swing-blades, and why NOT to buy one. Naturally, their sales dept will only tell you how great they are. That being said, let me present a couple of counter-arguments to your comments
Once set up, with the frame leveled to the log, or the log leveled to the frame, the swing-blades cannot produce the real wide slabs like the band saws. but a 14" saw has no trouble making 12" planks, as they can cut from either side. Obviously, there would be some limitations to what percentage of the log can be turned into wide boards. I'd guess that most of the lumber they would produce would be limited to the width of one cut, rather than double width. You could definitely trim a log down to the "double cut" width on a log, and then produce that width for the bulk of the log you are sawing,
Given that they can cut equally wide or tall, I'm pretty sure that a greater percentage of the wood will be quarter-sawn, if that is the operators goal.
Some swing blade saws have a 45° setting on both sides, so quarter sawn is definitely possible. Band saws can only produce "plain sawn". I don't understand how you can be critical of the type of cuts that the swing blades produce, since they have more versatility than a band mill that only cuts slabs on one plane. Granted, most of the better band mills comes with hydraulics to roll the logs, but I don't see that as a big advantage, given that they only produce slabs. After you make the slabs, then all that wood must be re-sawn into the desired width. That's a whole separate process to add before you get lumber.
Now if you are sawing for big slabs, as many guys do, a band-saw would be the only way to go. They would also be better at making really big beams, although the swing blade can cut a lot of lumber away from the log to leave nothing but a big beam. If you just want finished dimensional lumber, I don't know why the swing blades wouldn't be quicker and easier.
I used to deliver logs down to the Timber King sawmill factory for their sales and promotion. They would give me some of the lumber for my efforts. Unfortunately, I kept bringing them logs that were too big for their saws, and then they would ask me to rip the log in half so they could handle it. They even asked me for a bigger log one time, as they were developing a larger capacity sawmill. I never got any wood off that log, because (they said) that my log broke their prototype. Swing-blade mills don't have that problem.
Once set up, with the frame leveled to the log, or the log leveled to the frame, the swing-blades cannot produce the real wide slabs like the band saws. but a 14" saw has no trouble making 12" planks, as they can cut from either side. Obviously, there would be some limitations to what percentage of the log can be turned into wide boards. I'd guess that most of the lumber they would produce would be limited to the width of one cut, rather than double width. You could definitely trim a log down to the "double cut" width on a log, and then produce that width for the bulk of the log you are sawing,
Given that they can cut equally wide or tall, I'm pretty sure that a greater percentage of the wood will be quarter-sawn, if that is the operators goal.
Some swing blade saws have a 45° setting on both sides, so quarter sawn is definitely possible. Band saws can only produce "plain sawn". I don't understand how you can be critical of the type of cuts that the swing blades produce, since they have more versatility than a band mill that only cuts slabs on one plane. Granted, most of the better band mills comes with hydraulics to roll the logs, but I don't see that as a big advantage, given that they only produce slabs. After you make the slabs, then all that wood must be re-sawn into the desired width. That's a whole separate process to add before you get lumber.
Now if you are sawing for big slabs, as many guys do, a band-saw would be the only way to go. They would also be better at making really big beams, although the swing blade can cut a lot of lumber away from the log to leave nothing but a big beam. If you just want finished dimensional lumber, I don't know why the swing blades wouldn't be quicker and easier.
I used to deliver logs down to the Timber King sawmill factory for their sales and promotion. They would give me some of the lumber for my efforts. Unfortunately, I kept bringing them logs that were too big for their saws, and then they would ask me to rip the log in half so they could handle it. They even asked me for a bigger log one time, as they were developing a larger capacity sawmill. I never got any wood off that log, because (they said) that my log broke their prototype. Swing-blade mills don't have that problem.
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