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darkstar

ArboristSite Guru
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As i mentioned in my post drying the milled wood ,we have availability of good oak and occaisonally cherry or other fancy wood . We used a friends chain saw band saw mill [looks like a home made version] to mill one decent size log . I have now noticed that there is a warp in most of the logs and am gonna try to sort that out with additional weight ,however i doubt it will work.
Either way im immediatly addicted to producing something of value from what we normally grind up or sell for cheap as firewood .
So i want to buy a good versatile mill and get it up and running .The million dollar question huh?
What i do own at present time, to help ,is one new holland ls 180 steer skidd loader with grapple attachement and a nice f 700 dump truck. Also we have a pretty decent tree service going 3 chippers bucket truck etc etc . We get plenty of wood .
Around here i think the best selling product would be slabs so ill deffinatly want to cut and dry all of our huge oak logs.
With the equipment i have [[[[what]]]] kind of saw mill should i start off with ? Im keen on the petterson with the slab assembly. Since i have a loader though im not so sure i really need a poratable mill. I was thinking of setting up a petterson or a lucas on a semi permanant location and then using the loader to move wood under it .
As i stated i want to saw mostly slabs and any cool burls i come across so maybe i should just stick to something really basic .
Any suggestions ???after reading post all day long im thourghly confused . Total newbie when it comes to milling anything ,so any help would be greatly appreciated . Ive ordered several books but trying to sort through all the different saw mills and their respective strengths or weaknesses is astounding .....HELP....Dark
 
QUOTE Amen!

My chainsaw mill is for the logs I can't fit onto the hydraulic timberking I have access to. I enjoy milling with the chainsaw, but no matter how you look at it, you can't beat the producton and ease of a bandmill.

The waves in the boards can be prevented with proper setup AND a well maintained blade. But I've never seen a wave that a planer couldn't take out (well almost).

Each setup has it's place and none can replace the other.

I like them all!

ARRG i guess ill just have to start with a petterson and go from there :chainsaw:
 
:laugh:

I was reading your last post and thinking "hmmm, this sounds familliar...". I guess my eyes skipped the QUOTE.:dizzy:

I have to make a correction though. I had a brain fart when I said timberking. :fart: It's a log master. See below.

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33111&d=1145284662

When you say there's a warp in most of the logs, do you mean cup or twist due to drying or something from the milling process?

How often do you think you will have logs that are large enough to slab out? The peterson looks nice but it's hard to beat the economy of a GB or Alaskan. If you have plenty of logs to keep it busy, go for it!
 
It seems we all go through this, and because we all are different and have different kinds of logs, there's no one "right" answer for everyone.

I think it all depends on what kind of logs you will be getting "long term", and how fast you want to saw them. "if" you are past the stage of just wanting to saw a little, then your past the CSM. If you not going to be getting big logs all the time, then i think a band mill is where you should be looking.

Slabbers are expensive, specialized mills and unless you have a good place to sell slabs all the time, what will you do with them? Do you have a place to store them out of the weather? Do you have a place to sale them all the time?

When it comes to band mills, it's all about whether you want a "hydraulic" or "manual" mill? They both saw the same quality of lumber, so it's really about speed.

Manual mills are a lot more work and are also slower because of the manual work, but cost a LOT less than a hydraulic mill. Hydraulic mills cost 3 times more money, but are pretty nice if you can afford them.

I chose a manual mill because they are affordable, and with mine i can add options as i want or have the funds to do so. It's fast enough that i can make some money with it and let it pay for itself.

picture.JPG


I chose the Norwood because it's easily the best bang for the buck in a quality mill. You can be sawing for about $5,000.00 for a "full size" mill, and it's designed to easily allow anyone to add options later. As time goes on i can make money with it to buy any options "i" may want. For instance, i just added a hydraulic toeboard package to my mill.

picture.JPG


I didn't "need" it, but i wanted it and it didn't take take long to saw enough logs to get the money to pay for it. It was very easy to put on the mill, and it's a great design!

I really think you should decide what mill to buy after you try a few out! Norwood has owners all over the country and the owners are happy to demo there mill. Woodmizer owners are the same way!

I hope this helps you a bit,

Rob

My Sawmill Pictures http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4378744
 
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logs

Well , i can aquire as many logs as i need to keep just about any small saw operation busy. The reason for this ,is because our local wood yard thinks 90 % of any wood is trash wood ie. all huge oak logs are cut and dumped into the tub grinders . Most, if not all, tree services, including mine would rather quickly get rid of the wood and move on to the next job ,rather than process it . Im just seeing a market here in this small area for someone to grab up .The logs are plentiful , especially if one can pick them up and move them .
I guess im tired of seeing great wood go to the dump, but in order to do someting about that i need to saw ,dry and sell that wood.Ive got a lot to learn and im on a budget as far as new equipment purchases ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) Dark
 
QUOTE..... Slabbers are expensive, specialized mills and unless you have a good place to sell slabs all the time, what will you do with them? Do you have a place to store them out of the weather? Do you have a place to sale them all the time.QUOTE

I hear that , Actually i have a semi- barn to store some of the slabs i want to mill, but deffinatly no market to sell them every time they are sawed .So as a beginner i think i need to learn the craft and then create the market .

I really appreaciate the feedback .Dark
 
So as a beginner i think i need to learn the craft and then create the market .

Thing is, there's "already" a market for 2x4's and 6's... Also for barn boards ect.. of all sizes, so it will allow you to make some money "sooner" to get going.

You can always add a slabber or what ever ? later, as you get some experience under your belt..

Rob
 
if your on a budget go with a chainsaw mill, theres plenty of people who know far more about saws and milling then me but I get along just fine with my setup, most of the lumber I mill is for my personal use but I make a nice chunk of change on the side milling custom stuff for people and I enjoy the work.

anyways I was up and milling for under 2 grand, the mkIII has a dedicated 880 and the mini mill has a dedicated 660 (both bought used)

it may not be the fastest and it may use up a more wood then a band mill but its perfect for my situation.
 
brian660 said:
if your on a budget go with a chainsaw mill, theres plenty of people who know far more about saws and milling then me but I get along just fine with my setup, most of the lumber I mill is for my personal use but I make a nice chunk of change on the side milling custom stuff for people and I enjoy the work.

anyways I was up and milling for under 2 grand, the mkIII has a dedicated 880 and the mini mill has a dedicated 660 (both bought used)

it may not be the fastest and it may use up a more wood then a band mill but its perfect for my situation.

There it is ...right there, in a nutshell, for anyone who cares to listen.

I wonder how many fancy bandsaws and/or other fancy mill setups are out there sitting unused vs. how many chainsaw mills go unused.
 
just another possiblilty

My family and I have been working on this cabin for the last few years. It's built almost entirely of salvaged timber from development projects. These pics are a few years old ('03-'04) but I'll get some recent ones up when I can.
 
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