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Ted J

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
411
Reaction score
34
Location
N. Hempstead, TX
Hey all.
Name is Ted. Been thinking of purchasing a bandmill, to mill my own wood for projects and such. (LOML thinks I might be crazy.)

We live north of Hempstead Texas on three wooded acres.
With all the choices and price ranges of bandmills, it might be a while before I choose one though.

found your site the other day looking for bandmills and thought I'de stop in to say HI.

Ted
 
hi and thanks for the welcome.

So far it looks like I'm leaning towards the Norwood. We'll see. I have plenty of time before I'll be able to use it anyway. Recently moved in Dec, from west Houston (Katy, TX), and still trying to play catch-up with all the honeydo's and work 60 hours a week at the money paying job.

right now it looks like I'll have three large Post Oaks that need to come down soon. I'll have to cut them, anchorseal them and stack'em up until I can mill them at a later date

Later
 
If you get a band mill plain on getting a lot lot more I thought I get one and said I’ll get a tractor later after I make some more money moving it around and sawing lumber well… I’m still trying to make money but did get and old tractor and now buying a woodmaster plainer and Lording willing I’ll build that Kin so we can sell some lumber after we pay for it to be stamp. I’m still happy with it thou because it has build a sawmill shed and is building another shed for are tools and some of the lumber we are using for are home. You probability already knows this so this is just a note to anyone that thinks they want to jump in. I think the best thing to do is to get a CSM and see what lumber you can sell first and then move up. Hey I probability look like a dumb jerk for even talking about this.
 
Norwood is an excellent choice, Ted. I recently bought a Norwood Lumberlite with the 9hp motor, and it works great. I've been dropping trees and milling them like a madman!:hmm3grin2orange: As you are probably well aware, the Lumberlite is smaller than the Lumbermate, but it works just fine for me. You say you have some large oaks to mill; I just dropped a 24" pine yesterday, and it pretty well maxed out my Lumberlite. So a big hardwood might make it sweat!:biggrinbounce2: Welcome to the site, and keep us posted on what you decide to do.
 
I have a lot of experience with a hired Woodmizer and want my own mill badly. Unfortunately there are several honeydos ahead of it, like a garden shed, garage, trim of the house inside, etc.

There must be 30 or so companies making mills, each with something good about their design, so the problem bears soome thought before jumping in.

Do you need to make money? There's not a great market for uninspected lumber, but some is sold to farms, septic tank installers and such. Hobbiest woodworkers buy some, but in small quantities. If you are mobile, you can get a lot more business by going to people's yard or property where they have trees and want boards. If you hit it right, you can get a fair bit of work and maybe make some money, but it's work. You really want at least one helper, to do the offbearing and cleanup. Green wood is heavy! Some good used are fencing, farm buildings, stalls, shop floors, and flooring, if you dry and mill.

You'll need a decent pickup and a 16 ft trailer if you plan to move serious amounts of logs or boards. How will you get logs to the mill? I have moved a lot with an 8N Ford tractor, 24HP, but that's about the smallest you cna stand if the logs are substantial. One of the Woodmizer guys I used furnished a Bobcat type loader to handle the logs.

One friend of mine has his mill set up stationary and people take him logs or he hauls them in. He sells green or air dried pine, maple, walnut, oak and hickory...makes some hobby money and has fun.

I would not get a Woodmizer. Their marketing is superb, but I'm not sold on the cantilever design, which is more flexible than the double sided head supports. Many companies make small mills now, some in the $3K range I think, but they are very small and I think they would be easily bent if large logs were handled roughly onto their beds.

It seems to me the smallest trailer rigs woule be better. You can still set them up on a foundation, but can also take them out to jobs. The ground ones are much easier to load, of course. If you are cutting for money, some sort of loading arms are wonderful. I just drag logs to the woodmizer, push them onto the hydraulic arms, and watch the machine pick them up effortlessly. Of course all that gets into money, maybe more than the hobby budget allows.

The guy with the hobby business above has his mill beside a little hill and has bunks that go level from the bed of the mill out to the hill. He pulls logs to the bunks with a tractor and then just rolls them onto the mill. It's a manual mill, so he pushes the head through the cut. It works fine and he has enjoyed it for years. He has a partner who is an eye doctor, believe it or not, and they frequently work together after work and on weekends.

Do some Googling and you should find a list of mill vendors. If I can figure out how to copy my favorites list, I'll put it up for you too.

Here is part of my kitchen, made from my wood. Floor too. Cutting the framing for the house was fun...really fast! I lost 15 pounds as soon as I started offbearing! Then just think of the times I handled that wood...log to mill, mill to trailer, trailer to pile, pile to trailer, and trailer into house!! The hardwood did all that, plus to the kiln, to the mill, and back to the house!

Oh yes. I cut 500 pieces of poplar bevel siding for the exterior...dipped it all in oil stain in a tank made from 2X12 and lined with flashing metal. Fun!
 
sawmill shopping

did you ever check out (sawmillexchange.com) for used equipment. I have been custom band sawmilling here for 20 years, had the first machine around I t was an enercraft 30h20, they have since been bought out by bakermills. Any way I quit the custom business and partner took the machine. I bought a chunk of land to build a new house, has some decent timber on it so I decided To buy another mill. Keeping it simple, cheap and easy I decided on a new mill built here in Quebec. I tried it out at the last sawmill shootout in bangor maine. It is a great mill, for ease of operation, saws 30 in by 16 ft. , price was cheaper than a comparable norwood and I didn't have to assemble it. My neighbor had a norwood, It is a little awkward to use. After a one log demo , he sold his and ordered one like mine. can be seen at www.championsawmills.com. however I'm not sure if they have an english page yet.
 
I have a lot of experience with a hired Woodmizer and want my own mill badly. Unfortunately there are several honeydos ahead of it, like a garden shed, garage, trim of the house inside, etc.

There must be 30 or so companies making mills, each with something good about their design, so the problem bears soome thought before jumping in.

Do you need to make money? .....................................

hey everyone. thanks for the encouragment.

Wilson,
I know all about the honey do's and other things that I need to be getting done. The wife and I are still getting acclimated to our new home and all the things that we want or need to get done.

Right now working 60 hours a week it seems things are going at a slow pace as far as home projects are concerned. Let see... I have to build a storage shed with a pole barn on the back side for the garden tractor and implements and the 9N tractor. Thats so I can empty out the workshop so there's room in there to do something.

I'm not thinking of buying the mill to make money, sounds like way too much work right now. Primarily so I can mill my own lumber. I also have a friend who does wood projects so he'll be helping out too. I have a 20x40 barn... but no horse, so a sawmill would fit just right. I was thinking of using it as the woodshop. Everything is still up in the air at this point. So I'll keep researching.

I'm going to go ahead and find someone local to mill these trees for now. At least I'll have a head start on some availialbe wood. Anyone local?
I contacted (through email on craigslist) a gentleman with a woodmizer about 40+ miles away(Tomball area), I have to bring him the logs which is okay. Just wondering if anyone was closer to Hempstead.

Burlman,
Thanks for all the suggestions and links.

Later all
Ted
 
Last edited:
Hey all.
Name is Ted. Been thinking of purchasing a bandmill, to mill my own wood for projects and such. (LOML thinks I might be crazy.)

We live north of Hempstead Texas on three wooded acres.
With all the choices and price ranges of bandmills, it might be a while before I choose one though.

found your site the other day looking for bandmills and thought I'de stop in to say HI.

Ted


Howdy, neighbor! It's good to see some more "locals" on here. :cheers:
 
Keeping it simple, cheap and easy I decided on a new mill built here in Quebec. I tried it out at the last sawmill shootout in bangor maine. It is a great mill, for ease of operation, saws 30 in by 16 ft. , price was cheaper than a comparable norwood and I didn't have to assemble it. My neighbor had a norwood, It is a little awkward to use.

Awkward to use?????? It's the same basic design as the Norwood and there's a "reason" why...

I do believe champion USE TO BE called Morwood???? Am i right?? Do you know why they changed their name????

Rob
 
Awkward to use?????? It's the same basic design as the Norwood and there's a "reason" why...

I do believe champion USE TO BE called Morwood???? Am i right?? Do you know why they changed their name????

Rob

oooh oooh oooh......................... 'cause it sounds too much like..... nah, can't be that easy????????:greenchainsaw:
 
Buying a small bandmill

TED J
There's a man up here in Rattan, OK, that builds small bandmills. He's a brother to the guy who builds AlaskaBandsawMills. I have one of his, a 24 footer that I've put a 13 h.p. Honda on. I've been really impressed with the quality of his mill. He told me he builds about one a month, and has built & sold 85 or so. You might contact him about one. They appear to be made just like the AlaskaBandSawMill, brothers and all, also very similar to the one Railomatic built over in England.
 
TED J
There's a man up here in Rattan, OK, that builds small bandmills. He's a brother to the guy who builds AlaskaBandsawMills. I have one of his, a 24 footer that I've put a 13 h.p. Honda on. I've been really impressed with the quality of his mill. He told me he builds about one a month, and has built & sold 85 or so. You might contact him about one. They appear to be made just like the AlaskaBandSawMill, brothers and all, also very similar to the one Railomatic built over in England.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into it
Ted
 
Rattan, OK bandmill

Ted J,
The man in Rattan who builds these fine bandmills is OOOlder Brother [User name] here on arboristsite.


Judge
 
Ted J,
The man in Rattan who builds these fine bandmills is OOOlder Brother [User name] here on arboristsite.


Judge

He's a man of few words... only two posts on the site... man or myth only the shadow knows...................
 

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