A band-saw sawmill is an efficient, affordable and safe way to covert logs into lumber. Band-saw blades take about a 1⁄8-inch kerf-less than half that of the old circle sawmill, which means they recover more lumber from each log and require less power to run. As for the business itself, social media is a powerful tool to market your service, sell lumber and source logs.
My husband spent a great deal of time researching the reviews and costs of different brands of sawmills before we finally could invest in our own portable bandsaw mill in July 2015. If you are looking to build for yourselves, the sawmill will quickly pay for itself once you start looking at the cost of wood at lumber/hardware stores and comparing it to what you are cutting. The first time we milled, we accidentally hit one of the metal log supports.
This guide to the value of portable sawmills will also include a section on the best portable sawmills for the average buyer of smaller portable sawmills, which is often the homesteader looking to use the portable sawmill for household projects. In recent history, a company by the name of Peterson Portable Sawmills has developed a swing-blade circular sawmill that is portable. 75% of the survey respondents report buying their portable sawmills brand new, given the new technology of the modern portable sawmills that cut down on waste.
Keep in mind as you read through this article that sawmills vary wildly in terms of cost, and the type and cost of your sawmill will affect how long it takes to get your money back in the savings that you earn from milling your own lumber. One of the costs that many people buying a sawmill only recognize when they step into a store is the need to sharpen and replace the blades on your sawmill periodically. If you find yourself with a lot of logs that you need to mill, you’re in a financial position to handle the initial cost, and you are willing to handle the physical labor involved, buying a sawmill may be the right move for you.
From the different types, what you may need one for, down to the little nuances of what makes a portable sawmill work smoothly for you; today we’ll touch upon all these great basics and more. Overview of What a Sawmill Can Do. Before you get down to the specifics of figuring out whether a portable sawmill is for you, it goes without saying that you should know just exactly what a portable sawmill can do. Why would you need a sawmill and who should buy one? If you need to perform wood work on a daily basis on your farm or for your customers then a portable sawmill is probably an optimal choice. You probably don’t need a portable sawmill if you only find yourself cutting wood every six months. From what are the reasons you would buy a sawmill, how sawmills work, their pricing, and more, today you’ve learned all you need to know about buying a portable sawmill. If you are regularly cutting logs, then yes, it will benefit you to get a portable sawmill.
We will sell the veneer quality trees and saw up ones that no commercial sawmill would take and still get lots of good lumber for our own use and the occasional sale. ARKANSAWYER. ARKANSAWYER. Gotta agree with Arky on this oneYou can look at buying a sawmill as a purely business idea…and it may or may not work out. If you have never worked around a sawmill or watch a mill saw, you may be in for a surprice, it requires a lot of manual labor and there is rather a long learning “Curve”.
“You will need some other toys tools to go along with your mill- bigger chain saw, log arch, winches, and cant hook, to name a few. Best time to cut is when the ground is hard enough that you won’t leave ruts. Best time to mill is within a few days of cutting, if you can. I’d recommend that you cut a few ugly logs first to get a feel for the machine. Cut 6″ x 6″ blocking that you can lay boards on to air dry, and 1” square to allow air to flow between the layers of boards. The trees you describe are big enough to hurt if you get it wrong! Then as has been mentioned, you have to get your logs out of the wood & to the mill. I’ve even backed the mill into a driveway in a residential area, milled a couple of logs with the sawmill still attached to the truck, and pulled out before the neighbors had time to complain.
is a bandsaw mill worth it Related Question:
How profitable is a saw mill?
It’s true that owning a sawmill can be a very lucrative business venture, and in the right circumstances it is not only possible but very likely to earn you a significant profit on a regular basis. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that building a business with only profit in mind is not sustainable in the long term.
Are chainsaw mills worth it?
A chainsaw mill is one of the most efficient and effective tools when it comes to converting wood into lumber. Lumber is a very effective raw material that can be used for a variety of purposes. Be it for firewood or be it for construction purposes, you can certainly utilize lumber for whatever you need.
Is it cost effective to mill your own lumber?
In the end, only you can decide if milling lumber from your own property is worth it. Because every job is different, we can not tell you the actual amount of money you would save or not save. Generally, it costs 5-10% more to have your lumber milled on-site.
Is milling wood worth it?
Milling your own lumber can produce quality material for a fraction of the price of a lumber dealer. In fact, if you purchase your own mill, like I have, you can actually make a profit off of it by selling lumber to other woodworkers and by offering to mill other people’s logs.
Can you make money with a bandsaw mill?
A portable sawmill can be worth the investment. It can provide a source of wood for your own projects and give you a side business. For a source of lumber, as well as a profitable business, a portable sawmill can be a key piece of equipment on your farm.
Do chainsaw mills work well?
A chainsaw has a saw kerf right around 3/8 of an inch, which means it is very inefficient and produces a lot of sawdust. For these reasons, a chainsaw mill is definitely not to be used for optimizing the amount of lumber that you can yield from a log.
Can you use a chainsaw on lumber?
Yes, you can use a chainsaw to cut wet wood.
Can you build with fresh cut lumber?
Building with green lumber for timber frame construction can save time, money and energy. With green timber, you can begin building right away without having to wait for the wood to dry, or having the added cost for kiln drying, which uses environmentally damaging fossil fuels during the drying process.
Is it cheaper to buy wood from a sawmill?
Though it may not appear bad, the cost of lumber in big box stores is VERY expensive. You don’t realize it because you don’t have anything to compare it to. Buying your lumber directly from a sawmill can be significantly less, though there may be additional preparation needed before it can be used as we will see below.
How long can logs sit before milling?
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: As a rule of thumb, there will be a measurable loss in four to six weeks of warm (over 50 F) weather. It is just a rule of thumb.
How much does it cost to mill lumber?
By the Board Foot Pricing varies by species and location but ranges from $0.25 to $0.50 per board foot of sawn lumber. This pricing method places all of the risk of productivity on the sawyer since the customer is only paying for the lumber they receive.
How long does fresh cut lumber need to dry?
Depending on the species and your climate, it can take from 2 to 12 months to bring 4/4 lumber from green to air-dry (12- to 20-percent moisture content, depending on your location). Air-dry isn’t dry enough for indoor use.
How much does it cost to have someone mill lumber?
The lumber you will mill the customer would only get about 16 to 20 cents a foot for, so if you charge 30 cents a foot to mill it, he now has 46 to 50 cents in each foot, plus 7 to 10 cents a foot logging, if he paid someone. So, total cost of 53 to 60 cents a foot.
Can you make money selling rough cut lumber?
When you first get a sawmill, the primary ways to make money are selling lumber or cutting for people. However, cutting for people is kind of tricky, because you’ll want to have some experience before you start doing that. If you’re cutting by the board foot and you take your time it doesn’t really matter too much.
How long should pine dry before milling?
Depending on the thickness of the lumber and where you live, weather and time of the year, it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months. Most lumber is in the 1” to 2” thickness and the time above applies to thicknesses. Drying cants, timbers, posts will take considerably longer.