Looking to buy a log truck worth of wood to make dimensional lumber with

[1Mike1]

I am in Montana, and can haul and/or purchase logs in bulk. We are building 8 cabins right now, and our costs can be dramatically reduced by milling our own lumber. So, basically, I am wondering if this is a good idea?

I am looking at a $3000 saw mill, and I only need to make 2" x 12" x 20' boards for the most part. I would love to make timbers as well, as they are very valuable here for pole barns. I would also love the ability to make 3/4" or 1" sheathing material. I have 120 lbs/sqft snowload in my area, so this material routed as shiplap can be amazingly strong for a 20' span, and flexible.

So my questions for those with any experience doing this are:

• What type of wood/grade of wood should I look for, that would be ideal for building? We have a lot of lodgepole and douglas fir here. Can I use any old log, or does it need to be perfectly straight, so as to not have a bow or bend in it when milled?
• Are there saw mills which are better for dimensional lumber? I am looking for a rough cut finish, but it would be excellent to have the option to make 1" flooring and boards for shiplap sheathing like I mentioned earlier. I am looking for the most flexibility I can get out of a saw mill, for the price.
• Can I use this wood without curing or drying it? If it needs to cure, how long will it need to cure?
• What is a rough price for a log truck's worth of logs?

I appreciate any input and guidance ya'll might have to offer! Thanks so much!

 

[Brian72]

The straighter the log, the better. A bandmill will give you better yield due to a smaller kerf. I don't know your budget but if you're going to mill your own product, maybe consider a fully hydraulic mill.

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[Mike Van]

Not sure if you have a building inspector where you are, but you need to find out if there are rules/laws there about using ungraded rough sawn lumber before you start sinking money into this project. Also liability issues can kill you unless an engineer or architect have signed off on your plans. Thats the state of the sue happy world we live in today.

 

[kimosawboy]

You might want to find someone in your area that has a mill and see if you can work with him for a few days... That will give you some good insight into what you will be needing when you go to purchase your mill, as well as the work it takes to mill boards...For your budget it seems you will be going with a real low end mill with some extensions, do your homework before you buy, google will be your friend..Some of the cheaper bandsaw mills can be modded to perform better and some not so much....
Dont forget you will need peripheral equipment to move the logs around...

 

[cedarhollow]

with the price of lumber, 1 1/2 years ago a 8' 2x4 was $2.44 here in the south, now with trump enomics the price at both lowes and HD is $5.00 a 16' pt 6x6 was $36 now the cheapest i have found is $58. A band saw mill seems to make a whole lot of sense if you have a way to get logs cheap and have means to move them around. there occasionally are some good deals on used mills last month I saw a lt40 with 1200 hours for $10.000. If I had the $10k i would have grabbed it and never looked back