Anybody use sawmill services

[sugarbush]

How many people on here have used portable sawmill services? Was it a good experience? What did you like and dislike? I operate a service so I am interested in other peoples experiences with other services.

I was talking to a guy who said that he and his neighbors compile a bunch of logs and have a sawyer come in and saw them once a year. They all pitch in and help and have a bbq that day. Its like an old fashion quilting party or barn raising and brings the neighbors together.

Not everybody owns their own trees, but people often don't realize how easy it is to get sawlogs for nothing. Craigslist often has trees free for the taking and tree services will often give away softwoods that are of no value to them as firewood. Some will even dump them on your site for you.

[DaleK]

We've used 4 or 5 different ones, generally get some done every year. Last year we had 32,000 bf done by an Amish mill, we took them to him but he used a portable mill.

Biggest problem around here is it seems every fella that gets laid off from the factory job gets himself a mill and goes into business, and a lot of them are doing some REALLY shoddy work for people, then it gives the whole portable mill idea a bad name. We've always asked around lots first and gotten some really good guys.

What would really stand out around here would be if somebody made himself up a portable planer as well.

[Old Vet]

Originally Posted by sugarbush

How many people on here have used portable sawmill services? Was it a good experience? What did you like and dislike? I operate a service so I am interested in other peoples experiences with other services.

I was talking to a guy who said that he and his neighbors compile a bunch of logs and have a sawyer come in and saw them once a year. They all pitch in and help and have a bbq that day. Its like an old fashion quilting party or barn raising and brings the neighbors together.

Not everybody owns their own trees, but people often don't realize how easy it is to get saw logs for nothing. Craigslist often has trees free for the taking and tree services will often give away softwoods that are of no value to them as firewood. Some will even dump them on your site for you.

Most of the soft woods you describe is not what you want to make lumber out of. Willow sweet gum cottonwood and other trees are called trash trees for the reason they are not good for anything but shade. You can have them saw into lumber and they might work but they must be covered by paint to make them appealing. Most of them get blue stain and rot really quickly. Of course if you are making pallets then use anything that will be semi straight.

[sugarbush]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

Most of the soft woods you describe is not what you want to make lumber out of. Willow sweet gum cottonwood and other trees are called trash trees for the reason they are not good for anything but shade. You can have them saw into lumber and they might work but they must be covered by paint to make them appealing. Most of them get blue stain and rot really quickly. Of course if you are making pallets then use anything that will be semi straight.

I get thosands of BF of spruce, white pine, and ceder from tree services. All of the chicken coops that I have posted pictures of on here are from free logs from tree services. They are saw grade logs, but it is illegal for them to sell them to a mill in this state if they do not have a master logger on every job they take trees down on.

The willow, gum, cotton wood and such they keep for firewood...... if they can pass it off as being hardwood they do.

[deaconjim]

I hired a guy to saw about 40 white pines and a few poplars for me, and built a cabin from it. I had several neighbors helping, and we did have a great time.

The only problem I had was the fact that sawmill lumber can't be used for construction unless it has been stamped by a lumber grader or inspected by an engineer or architect. I paid an engineer $125 to inspect ours and had no problem.

If you hire a band saw, be aware that the lumber thickness (especially on the thinner cuts) won't hold true all of the time. A circular saw is better if that matters. One advantage of the band saw is that you will get more lumber out of the log.

You will also want to have a large supply of tobacco sticks or something similar to use as spacers to stack your lumber for drying. You will also need something to cover it while it is seasoning.

[Old Vet]

There are different laws in every area. Around here all you will get is willow sweet gum and Osage orange from the tree trimer's. Everything else is usually sold to saw mills if it is a really good tree.

[sugarbush]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

There are different laws in every area. Around here all you will get is willow sweet gum and Osage orange from the tree trimer's. Everything else is usually sold to saw mills if it is a really good tree.

I take every osage orange (around here they call it hedge apple) I can get my hands on if it has 5 ft of millable log. Brings big bucks as turning blanks and call stock.

I have milled logs for people who bought them off of the log landing for the same price the mill would have payed for it. It's a good deal when you buy 1 mbf of logs and get 20-30 % over run on it.

I have a quarter sawing job next weekend, all white and red oak that was in the way of some buildings on a job site. All free logs.

[sugarbush]

Originally Posted by deaconjim

I hired a guy to saw about 40 white pines and a few poplars for me, and built a cabin from it. I had several neighbors helping, and we did have a great time.

The only problem I had was the fact that sawmill lumber can't be used for construction unless it has been stamped by a lumber grader or inspected by an engineer or architect. I paid an engineer $125 to inspect ours and had no problem.

You got lucky.... getting a grader to inspect structural lumber is a huge issue in this business.

[Ken Scharabok]

Off topic but:

Small sawmills can be a good place to get firewood. May be a load of side/slab cuts you have to cut to stove lengths.

Locally the larger mill turn out a lot of railroad ties. The one I use makes the cut off ends (to length) available free for the taking. Nicely split into four sections after aging. (This mill chips up all of their slab cuts, which are then sold to papermills.)

[just_sawing]

Being one of those Sawmill owners here are some things to think about.
When you are locating where you want to live looking at the zoning is worth wild. Here in TN Counties touching each other have open zoning and closed. For 300 dollars per month the association that has the extortion set up will let me inspect and stamp lumber.
Free lumber is both good and bad. I have a friend and customer that assist local cutting lumber with the construction companies in clearing for building. He gets everything from Walnut to cedar.
The homesteader cutting lumber from his own trees there is a lot of learning. I cut for new people that take small tree and love the lumber but then forget the warning that the small trees warp if you don't get it nailed fast.
Just Rambling from just sawing
The homesteader

[Hoop]

I've had 20,000 board feet of logs cut into cabin logs/lumber. My experience was less than fully satisfying. The cabin logs turned out good and the paneling turned out good. The 2 x 6's and 5/4 turned out thick & thin. Several different sawyers.....same result.

Here in Northern Wisconsin, it takes 3 to 4 years of air drying before the lumber is ready for use. By then, I've forgotten what it is I wanted to build.
Then there is the thick & thin aspect of rough cut lumber. Yes, one can run it through a planer. And they can kiln dry the boards. That costs money.

No way would I ever consider using sawmill services for anything other than cabin logs or paneling. I happen to think one is FAR better off selling there logs and buying kiln dried, planed, and grade stamped lumber. At least here in Northern Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is yet another state that prohibits use of rough cut (non grade stamped) lumber for use in residential framing construction.

But, I do know that those living in more southern areas undoubtedly don't have to wait 3 - 4 years for lumber to sufficiently air dry. The practicality of using rough cut lumber in these areas is greatly enhanced.

[big rockpile]

Arounde here don't have all them rules and regs.Alot of people use rough cut Oak,use it Green because if it is seasoned you can't hardly put a nail it it.

But it is far better and cheaper than any you get at Lumber Yard.

big rockpile

[texican]

I've gotten several barns full of bandsaw milled lumber.

Overall, I'm very happy. I've brought home thousands of boards and beams that were destined for the sawyers burn pile.

My only gripe... my sawyer doesn't have one of those fancy attachments on his mill, that will produce excellent quality lumber out of trash trees... He says thats one of his customers largest complaints... he replies, garbage in, garbage out...

[nc_mtn]

Jim, bandsaw's usually cut just as "accurate" as an ol' circular mill. The differance is that the blade dulls faster that is what makes (in most cases) the cuts wavy and not even..

In NC one may have trees milled (from there own land) and make a house for themselves to live in with out being approved or stamped by an engineer. This is what I was told by the local building inspector...

One word of caution (from experiance) about getting "free" logs is often they come from yards... not that this alone is a bad thing BUT how many times have you (or your children) placed an nail or shoot a tree??? ....not so good on blades....

[sugarbush]

bandmills are more acurrate than circle mills. Circle mills tend to saw boards that are thick on one end and narrow on the other. They also usually loose one one inch board in four to sawdust. My bandmill looses 1 in 32.

I think it is a misconception that yard trees have more metal and junk in them than forest grown trees. I saw mostly yard trees and rearly run into metal. I was sawing some cedar last week that was left over from a harvest and hit a whole row of climbing step screws. I don't know how they all got broke or cut off instead of unscrewed, but I ran my band through 6 of them..... I also run into barbed wire frequently with forest trees. There is just no telling where the fences where years ago.

As far as the thick and thin boards go you will get that with any mill unless you stop every pass and measure the next board befor you saw it. The computer set works make it alot better, but they are problematic in them selves and often are non-fuctioning on alot of mills.

You are having green logs sawn into rough cut lumber. If you have it sawn at 5/4 and then air dry it, it will shrink and be less than that anyway. It doesn't take two years to dry lumber anywhere unless you are drying gun stock blanks. 1xs and 2xs stacked and stickered properly out of the weather will dry in 6 months for most species. if you are making furnature or cabinets you really need to kiln dry it.

A make shift kiln can be made from a metal storage shed and some box fans. The concept is basicly to circulate warm air and vent the humidity.

I get my planing done at the local high school woodshop. They have large industrial planers that do a good job and my money is going back into a program that I like to support.

Originally Posted by Hoop

I've had 20,000 board feet of logs cut into cabin logs/lumber. My experience was less than fully satisfying. The cabin logs turned out good and the paneling turned out good. The 2 x 6's and 5/4 turned out thick & thin. Several different sawyers.....same result.

There's 3 possible problems here. Either the sawyer was sawing too fast with dull blades, their mill was out of alignment or your logs had sweep (i.e. banana shaped) Did the 2x6 and 5/4 come from the same logs as the cabin logs and paneling or different ones? Sweeped or crooked logs have stress which is relieved when sawing. It's hard to explain without seeing it, but the logs/cants will move/bow as the saw cuts thru relieving the stress. I wish I had taken a pic the last time this happened.

I've owned a Norwood band mill for 8 yrs now. It is accurate to 1/16" all the time UNLESS something gets knocked out of alignment or the log is crooked.

Originally Posted by texican

My only gripe... my sawyer doesn't have one of those fancy attachments on his mill, that will produce excellent quality lumber out of trash trees... He says thats one of his customers largest complaints... he replies, garbage in, garbage out...

lol ... wish I had one of those on my mill too

Originally Posted by sugarbush

As far as the thick and thin boards go you will get that with any mill unless you stop every pass and measure the next board befor you saw it. The computer set works make it alot better, but they are problematic in them selves and often are non-fuctioning on alot of mills.

I don't get what you mean by "stop every pass and measure the next board". You shouldn't have to.

BTW, here's some stuff I recently sawed. Allot is 16" wide.

[sugarbush]

I mean to get consistant width boards. Your mill is hand crank and slow so you probably don't have as much of an issue as with a hydraulic mill that moves the head up and down quickly. You look at your scale and crank a little, then a little more and your good...... the hydraulic head moves fast so you get close, but not exact....so if I need exact I have to measure off of the band for every board and that takes too much time when you are getting payed by the hour.

[just_sawing]

Sugar Bush I have cut more than 5 million feet. You are wrong in your statement. If a sawyer can't control the head it is the sawyer not the saw. My mill a Hydraulic like your running down is computer controlled by and encoder. The Head is repeatable and no offence by you just are confused between little hobby mills and and hobby sawyers and people that there reputation and job depends on the work they produce. By teh way I get paid by the foot.