Anyone here use a sawmill...?

I have been looking at different companies and Woodland Mills seems to be the best bang for the buck for a small one.

https://woodlandmills.com/hm122-portable-sawmill/

Have an Alaskan Mill…saving my change jar up for a Lucas mill.

…some day.

My brother has one. Absolutely beast of a machine.

We've been extremely impressed with it.

Took us two damn days to set it up though. He got the extended track so he can cut up to 16' logs iirc.

Him and his FIL have used the hell out of it.

In before you lose you shooting arm.

WM's are GTG, I have 2 buddys that own them. Their blades suck, I recommend Woodmizer blades and their auto sharp program( mail them back, they sharpen and set, & send them back.) Add a Logrite Cant Hook to the list along with and extension or two.
I welded up my own extension for my Woodmizer LT15....I could cut rafters out to 26 feet.

@dave5339

My wife and I just put our Woodland Mills HM 126 trailer and mill together several weeks ago.

The mill is well built and we'll designed.  We absolutely love ours.  The assembly was entertaining, just make sure to read the directions thoroughly.

We're currently working on a 75+ year old white oak that was 49" at the base, having to rip most of the trunk into quarters to get it to fit in the mill.

Order the can't hook when you order the mill to save on shipping, the hook really saves your back when it comes time to move logs around.  Also depending on the size of the timber in your area, have a plan to move it.  We're now tractor shopping.

Other thoughts are to plan how you want to handle blade sharpening and tooth setting.  We'll dull a blade in about five hours cutting that white oak.

And if you're wife is cutting with you, be prepared to change plans on what you're cutting.  I wanted trailer decking and dimensional lumber for some projects, what I'm getting is a stack of incredibly figured quarter sawn white oak for furniture and cabinets.

Semper Fi

Ive done the chainsaw sawmill thing and it works but its ridiculously slow. A bandsaw mill is on my "someday" list. I could make do with an LT15 wide but my buy once cry once mill is an LT40. Getting old enough that handling logs won't be fun soon enough.

I have a Hudson Oscar 18 it got too small really quick. Getting it off the ground and on a trailer was the best thing I ever did. Having a tractor to handle your logs is the best helper money can buy. Cook’s is really good at sharpening your blades. Woodmizer is also a good source for sharpening but they get covered up quickly. I would seriously look at trailer mounted mill. They have a better resale value and are so much quicker to set up if you decide to earn extra cash.


It wasn’t hard building the trailer and I built a retaining box for transporting my mill that way I didn’t have to worry about my mill bouncing off the track.

I have the WM 126 with the upgraded engine (larger) and 1 extra length of track.  I like mine but look forward to having more time to play with it to get the most out of it.  Pay attention to where you will put it and put a good base under it to keep it level and stable with heavy logs.  

Pro tip:  Look in the black tube mounted to the side of the saw head for the instructions and assembly manual.

Hit me up if you have further questions.

 

I have one with the ATV trailer and I absolutely love it. What do you want to know?
It’s definitely some assembly required.  All the track plus I did the extension and the trailer.  The powerhead is assembled aside from the handles etc.  Having a tractor with forks makes the job way easier.  Also go with the larger motor definitely worth the few extra bucks.


Attached File

Thanks to everyone for the information.

I think I'll step up to the next model, HM126.

Bueno

What else is needed to make lumber?
a place to stack it.
A planer
A smaller bandsaw?

Other than a mill something to cut to length like a miter saw hand saw or even a chainsaw.
Measuring tape and carpenters pencil’s
Place to stack and something to coat the ends like wax or paint to minimize cracks/splitting

Planer is optional the mill cuts pretty clean with new blades.

Other tools that are nice to have
Cant hook and or peavy
Log tongs
Tractor with forks/grapple
Bark spuds
Draw knife

Add a jointer if you are going to make it dimensionally perfect and remove any warps or twists

And a decent sized tractor to pull the logs and maybe lift them to the saw.  I just have a kubota bx2350 and got some forks for the bucket.  The saw also has a mechanical winch to pull the logs up rails onto the bed.

I’ve got a Norwood LM 29 that I am happy with.
Less than WM but requires more assembly

also have a small log skidder to pull logs out of the woods.  Also made by Norwood

How bad are the harbor freight ones?

From videos I found on YouTube, they work but the quality is far below others. If I was on a tight budget and didn’t mind fiddling with it I would consider one.

ETA, Thats where I started looking.

Also,, zero support.

My list of "stuff needed for the sawmill" is changing as we get more experience.

Tractor or skid steer, loading logs manually sucks.  Small stuff is easy to load, big stuff, not so easy

Solar kiln to dry lumber

Woodshed to store lumber

Tractor shed

Bigger chainsaw, probably a 92cc saw as we have some large trees around here

Chainsaw mill to quarter out said big trees

Sharpener and tooth setter

Homemade Bora care to keep the termites from eating what we cut

Semper Fi

I've heard ok stuff about HF mills. Some have put a shit ton of wood thru them and they are still kicking. Of course with good maintenance and all still might be a good investment

When I looked at it years ago, the Hud-son lower end mills were just as inexpensive as the HF mill.  Hence, no real $$$ advantage of getting the china-made vs US made.

And the Hud-son is easier to fab extensions and parts for.

A solar kiln now...

   If it’s a basic easy to build setup I’d love for you to post on it.
I have more projects than I can handle so down and dirty gets it done is where I’m at.

Right now I have larger stuff stacked under some pines.  It lets partial sun in and has good wind flow to air dry.  
It’s actually working pretty good but sloooooow

I made a thread a while back on the solar kiln that I built this past winter, but it seems to have died from lack of interest. I'm having to put the sawmill work on hold for a bit till I heal up. A big cedar log slipped off the tractor forks and smashed my ring finger. Supposed to get the stitches out tomorrow. I did go down and check on the kiln today. It was 87 degrees outside and almost 130 in the kiln. We have some 8/4 white oak in it right now.

Woodmizer has an office near me. I went in and looked at the products and took the nickle tour last year. They are backed up 6-14 months depending on model. They can not build them fast enough to keep up with the new demand. They seem to be well built and have knowledgeable support people in the office.

They are definitely a good one.
They were actually my first choice but were so backed up I decided to go with the woodland.

Put our first walnut log through the mill and into the kiln today.
Attached File

That’s pretty nice for a first cut.
I wish I had some Walnut

OP did you pull the trigger on a saw mill yet

the cheap hudsons are tiny and wimpy steel compared to my HF.

ive modified mine a bit but happy with it. Attached File

Not just yet...

Don’t let this thread get archived. Good info and getting back into the wood season.

I brought a New Cook’s MP32 home last weekend and put five decent size pine logs that were too big for the little Hudson through it. I really like the cable log turner simple and easy to use. The other add on I like is the log jacks that allows you to center the pith. I will post pictures later.

Okay edit for pictures.


I really like the large magnetic lumber scales. You can get crosstie and bridge timber also.


And some 6/4X12" 10' and 16'. It's some Yellow pine that was too big for my Oscar 18. It's got some bug damage and soft spots, so I figure to build feed troughs with it.
I highly Recommend Cook's Saw blade alignment tool. We used it on the Hudson Oscar 18 and improved the cut quit a bit.
Blade alignment tool.

So far I'm impressed. I have run the Hudson mills and Woodmizer mills and the Cook's seems to be a bit more accurate. I don't know if it is the solid band wheels, but it seems to cut a little better with less waves. But then again my Oscar 18 cut much better after we used the blade alignment tool on it. Now I just need a better way to sharpen and set teeth than the cheap hand set tool and the dremel. Now I have not had a chance to purchase a assortment of blades yet. I have been running the standard Cook's 10 degree super sharp. My Hudson like the 6 degree blades in hardwood and the 10 degree blades in pine. Now I did run the MP32 the other day on hickory with the 10 degree blade and it seem to cut just fine but it left a rougher surface than the 6 degree blade on the Hudson. Oh I have been running Cook's blades on the Hudson but they no longer offer the 6 degree blade. I understand it's due to not being able to get the blade stock.

So how are the rest of the group sharpening their blades? The guy here that did an excellent job retired during the Covid crapshow.

My brother is putting together a Woodland Mills right now. I just went down there yesterday to set the saw head on the rails with my Kubota last night.

Oh another thing I have learned is I like the chain raise and lower function better than the cable. I have broke the cable before and I will admit it's quicker to repair for me having cable on hand for the chicken houses but, I feel as though the chain is more precise. Oh Cant hooks are not created equal. The all steel one that comes with the Cook's mill is clumsy and HEAVY. I like my old wooden handled one. If you run across Ice tong's at a yard sale or junk meet they are great for handling beams. You can buy the Fisqars or Sthil versions but they are expensive. https://ruggedmade.com/categories/accessories/log-picks-hooks/manual-log-tong-12-jaw-tpr-handle.html

I was bored working indoors so I found the link to the solar powered kiln thread.  Solar powered kiln.

Loads of good information here:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php

I've been a member there over 10 years, excellent advice can be found on that forum.

-P

I got a lot of good info at the Arboristsite Sawmilling subforum:

https://www.arboristsite.com/forums/milling-saw-mills.62/

I’ve got two buddies with woodmisers they are both pretty happy with them.