Produce firewood using sawmill

[damato333]

My log splitter is pictured below. I have been thinking about selling it. And I have been thinking about buying a timberking 1600 sawmill. What is everybodys thoughts on using a sawmill to produce firewood. I am thinking I would mill a 4x4 and then cut it to firewood length with a chainsaw. I'm thinking I would produce firewood a lot faster with a sawmill. I would also use the mill to mill wood for woodworking and portable saw milling service. I'm just wondering if it would be a waste to use a sawmill to do firewood. The only problem I for see is that if I get logs dropped off that are to short to put on the mill. I probably would just need a horizontal/vertical splitter. Anybody with a sawmill know on average how many board feet they get out of saw blades? I guess I can figure if it is worth it that way. What do you guys think?
View attachment 291774

 

[rmount]

I can buck and split a log a whole lot faster than it would take me to load it on a mill, cut it and roll it four times, move and stack the slabs and the cant then cut them to length with a chain saw.

 

[Dogsout]

Seems like it would be a lot more work using a mill.

 

[damato333]

I'm thinking I most likely will be getting the mill to mill boards for woodworking. But if I can use the mill to produce firewood I wouldn't need a second piece of equipment that I have to maintain. And the money I get when I sell it would be nice. I sell firewood so I think for a customer it would be nice to get wood that stacks easily and perfect. I have a lot of competition around me with firewood so I think it would set me apart from the rest.

 

[DavdH]

You will make lots of fire wood with a mill and not on purpose with slabs and edgings.

 

[damato333]

That's true. But I'll probably end up burning that in my house cause I feel like people would get pissed that I'm adding bark. Most of the people around me just have casual fires so they wouldn't even notice but there's so much competition that I try to keep my customers as happy as possible.

You will make lots of fire wood with a mill and not on purpose with slabs and edgings.

 

[4x4American]

PM me if you want to sell your log splitter!

 

[damato333]

Once I'm ready I'll get back to you.

PM me if you want to sell your log splitter!

 

[jaars]

I'm thinking I most likely will be getting the mill to mill boards for woodworking. But if I can use the mill to produce firewood I wouldn't need a second piece of equipment that I have to maintain. And the money I get when I sell it would be nice. I sell firewood so I think for a customer it would be nice to get wood that stacks easily and perfect. I have a lot of competition around me with firewood so I think it would set me apart from the rest.

Better Keep the splitter, Looks like a nice one. Sawmill is for sawing lumber, Splitter for firewood

 

[damato333]

It is nice. I just wish it had more tonnage.

Better Keep the splitter, Looks like a nice one. Sawmill is for sawing lumber, Splitter for firewood

 

[hoardac]

I have a small sawmill and it is not worth it for firewood. But I will sometimes take big logs and take some boards out of them.

 

[damato333]

What makes it not worth it?

I have a small sawmill and it is not worth it for firewood. But I will sometimes take big logs and take some boards out of them.

 

[damato333]

Here's a link to what I'm looking at.Model 1600

 

[jaars]

Here's a link to what I'm looking at.Model 1600

Watched the video, Look like a hell of a mill, Might look at one myself. Thanks for the info

 

[turnkey4099]

What makes it not worth it?

Time and cost. Fuel is not cheap and you'll spend a bunch of both sawing cants vs splitting them. Also consider the waste in the form of sawdust - adds up in a hurry.

bottom line. It makes no sense whatever.

Harry K

 

[Tazfreak]

Time and cost. Fuel is not cheap and you'll spend a bunch of both sawing cants vs splitting them. Also consider the waste in the form of sawdust - adds up in a hurry.

bottom line. It makes no sense whatever.

Harry K

Over here neat sawn timber shorts qualifies as offcuts,downgrade firewood or mill ends priced as cheap as chips.In your language $35 per full cord.Forest harvested dry, split hardwood sells for $450 to $650 a full cord,mills can,t sell or give away all their mill ends so they chip them.I know which I,d be selling to make money:msp_wink: And I do.

 

[nathon918]

personaly i think that a mill is a waste of time to use for fire wood.
but if i were to use it for fire wood, id atleast get an old frick mill so i could atleast get some actual production out of it...
horizontal band mills are so :censored: slow!
i grew up logging, we had an old frick mill, and a homemade processor, never did firewood with the mill, but believe me its a hell of alot faster than a horizontal band mill!

 

[jthornton]

And don't forget the cost of buying lots of band saw blades for the saw mill... I've ran my neighbors saw mill enough to not want to make fire wood on it.

John

 

[hoardac]

What makes it not worth it?

Well the cost of the blades and keeping them sharp 20 plus dollars a blade and 5 to 7 dollars to sharpen them. I also find that firewood is dirtier than saw logs on average so the time to clean them, plus if you miss the rocks and blow a 20 dollar blade they add up quickly. I can cut a wheeler load of firewood (about 8-10 cord) into stove size pieces in 14 hours and split, stack, and cover it in about another 12-16 depending on how big the logs are. There is no way I could process that many logs to sawmill size, load them, secure them, cut them etc. in that amount of time. Plus the cost of fuel for the sawmill it burns more than my wood splitter. I say stick to the processors and wood splitters for firewood. Use the sawmill for boards.

 

[Iska3]

Food for Thought..

The mill might not be worth it just to make firewood but I know of a guy who purchased one to cut all the wood for his new home and several big pole buildings. He now cuts lumber to make specialty pallets for a company out in NY. He cuts and bundles the slabs for campfire wood and sells those one the side.

The sawdust and chips go in to an old grain dryer that is heated by his OWB. The OWB is an old boiler that was removed from some building and burns the sawdust as small chips that is auger fed. The OWB heats his house, shop and a big building that is used as a kiln room. I saw his nasty stack of logs in the dirt; I had asked them about the blades and how long they last, they have a debarker blade that runs in front of the band blade so he might go 6 to 8 months of daily cutting before they need to sharpen the blade. The engine had something like 5,000 hours on it and was still going strong until a small spring broke.

I’m not saying that these saws are the way to go but after watching this in operation for a few hours, I was really impressed how smooth the lumber is after being cut and the 3/8 inch lumber is real close to an even thickness. They cut logs 12 ½ ft long. Stack the lumber in piles, band them and later use a 440 chain saw with a long bar to cross cut the lumber in to the proper lengths. The only bad part…….. That mill is spendy… I'd be going out an seeing one in operation before I got too serious about buying one..