Any of you guys have a sawmill?

[tc262]

Very nice, head and footboards on the bed are awesome!

 

[Jackjcc]

My friend has a green harbor freight bandsaw mill. We put 10k board ft through it the last year. I've got slabs of everything worth having. Haven't made any money, but have furniture and hardwood workbench to show for it.


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[Treezybreez]

I have a couple of friends who have Woodmizer mills. Had one Eastern Red Ceder milled into mostly 1" boards and was able to shelve three closets including a linen closet.

 

[Serf Life]

Adding to the old one. Failing at convincing myself to not get one. Buddy parked his Norwood 36” bandsaw mill at our place and it’s been quite fun (after fixing the janky POS).

We generally chip up to 16-18” softwood and haul or give away firewood, but sort out the pretty stuff in hopes of better use than biomass or firewood. So many primo sawlogs have been wasted over the yrs.
Questions:
1) have any of you made a profit with one as a side job/arm of treework?
2) is it smarter to just pay a portable sawyer to come once a quarter and mill onsite (~$75+/hr) then sell/barter
3) or just don’t add more work and maintenance dummy

 

[Serf Life]

Pic from ‘21 in a 12’ trailer. 32” pine slabs, white oak, select red maple, hop hornbeam one day trucking logs to a sawyer and helping at $75/hr was about $500. Then $3k to kiln dry, $1200 to turn into flooring and stair treads.

 

[Serf Life]

White birch in ‘19. Still under cover…

 

[Tom Dunlap]

FB Marketplace always has used mills for sale. Very cheap too

Over the years I’ve never read of an arbo making more than hobbyist money milling wood

There is great pleasure though

My strategy over the years to hire a portable mill at my site to use my loaders if I have lots of logs. For small jobs I load logs on my trailer, be the sawyers helper and drive home with a pile of lumber

Edgings snd cutoffs come home for firewood

This guy has milled for me

Logs to Lumber Co.

Logs To Lumber - Kiln Dried Hardwood Lumber - Domestic and Exotic Lumber - Live Edge Slabs - Table tops

logs-to-lumber.com

 

[Serf Life]

What did you do with the lumber @Tom Dunlap ? The drying and storing is a big consideration when one big log gets milled into 1x6” and gets stickered, stacks up fast!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Lots of small projects over the years

Cabinets in my Toyota camper

I have a bunch to friends for flooring. Mix of walnut and white/burr oak

 

[Tom Dunlap]

 

[Tom Dunlap]

View attachment 96552

 

[Treezybreez]

What did you do with the lumber @Tom Dunlap ? The drying and storing is a big consideration when one big log gets milled into 1x6” and gets stickered, stacks up fast!

You are correct that storing sawed lumber can become an issue. I have found that making a frame out of some of the fresh cut lumber and then leveling it using bricks or cement blocks makes a great platform for drying and storing lumber. Make sure to buy the higher quality tarps as they last a lot longer. I spray the frames with Zink post hole dip to keep the bugs away.

 

[Serf Life]

Two ash logs, butt log was crazy clear. Paddles and axe handles in the coming winter!

 

[Treezybreez]

Made a canoe seat today from some mulberry. Can you guess what line I used?

 

[Treezybreez]

Two ash logs, butt log was crazy clear. Paddles and axe handles in the coming winter!View attachment 101991View attachment 101992

That’s a beautiful cant. Cant wait to see what you’re going to make with it.