Thinking about getting a band mill

[John Daugherty]

Hello all,

I own about 30 acres with about 28 of it wooded. It has your normal mixed hardwoods, oaks, maples etc. It hasn’t been logged since around the 30’s. I am very seriously considering getting a band mill and start sawing my own wood. I’d like to sale enough of what I cut to cover the cost of the mill.
I don’t want to do this as a living. I teach school and have summers off. I think this could be a summer job. I could cut when I want and do other thing when I want. I will not be doing this alone. I’ll have help.
I guess I’m asking for advice, pitfalls, pros and cons of such a venture.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Has the timber stand been managed, or has the timber grown wildly? That'll make a huge difference as it regards quality and volume.

I'd not consider a band mill as a business enterprise until I'd checked the local market demand for whatever product was the result of the purchase.


On the flip side: Building a band mill may be a worthy exercise. You'll end up with a welder and a cutting torch in the bargain (unless you build from lumber).
First however, build that building in which you 'll need to store the lumber and the band mill.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

First of all, what Cliff said. If you want to make money off this first check to see what and where the market is and what it will take to get it to the market.

If the market is for finished lumber that would require not only sawing but processing afterward, the biggest item being a kiln. After the lumber is dried it would have to be planed and edged and you need enough storage for processed lumberbefore sale.

Do you have equipment to handle the trees? An adequate chainsaw to fell and trim. Provision for moving, loading and handling logs. Etc, etc.

Making lumber isn't just sawmilling a tree into boards. Sit down and think about all aspects of what it will take to produce what you want to produce and where you want it to end up.

I'm no expert at this. A friend and I are in the process of setting up a wood operation. He's the sawyer and I'm more the one to take the end board product and make something from it. Good luck on whatever you decide.

[Fred Voorhees]

Yes, as has been implied, it isn't just the sawmill that you are going to need. There are various other items (some expensive) that you are going to need to complete the operation. Maybe the most important is how you are going to move the logs to the mill itself. And if your mill doesn't have the hydraulics to load the log onto itself, you will need to load the log also somehow. That is going to require some heavy duty equipment that can handle such a task.

Someone mentioned needing a kiln. Not necessarily so. You can always air dry your lumber. Takes longer, but eliminates the need and cost for a kiln. Besides, some woodworkers prefer their lumber air dried. You would still need accomodations for storing all of that lumber.

With that being said, I wish you luck with it if you decide to go that route. I have watched bandmills in operation and have found them absolutely mesmerizing in their operation. To see a tree be turned into lumber is awesome. I have fantasized myself about having a mill of my own to mill my own stuff. Reality, and monetary limitations did catch up to me however.

[Von Bickley]

John,

My BIL has a band-saw sawmill and it takes a good bit of equipment to keep it going. To start, he built a shed roof over it and he has a good size tractor with home-made fork-lift for moving and loading the logs. He also has a trailer for hauling the logs and equipment for sharpening the blades. This doesn't include the chainsaws and hand equipment. It's kind of like a wood lathe, it doesn't stop with the purchase of a piece of equipment..... It can be pretty expensive.

[David G Baker]

John,
A lot of serious physical labor involved along with large a wallet and dedication to make it work. May even be a little dangerous but don't let us discourage you, if your heart is set on it, go for it. If I had the lumber on my property, I would be thinking about the same thing, it is addictive.

[Ian Abraham]

I run a swingblade sawmill as a hobby, has a few advantages over a bandmill if you are sawing bigger logs, or have limited equipment for moving them.

If your woods haven't been logged for 70 odd years then I can imagine there are some decent sized logs in there. The smaller manual bandmills are hard work if you are sawing 30"+ hardwood logs. You dont have the nice hydralic do-dads for loading and turning the logs. With a swingblade you can set the mill up around a big log in the woods and saw it without moving the log. Yes you will still work up a sweat as all the sawing operation is manual, but the heaviest work is just offloading the sawn boards.

Anyway it's something else to consider and gets around a lot of the log handling problems

Cheers

Ian

[John Daugherty]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have the machinery required for moving the logs and the saws for bringing the trees down. I would need to build a shed for drying. I would air dry only. I don't want to invest in a kiln. I would really like to cut enough to pay for the mill. After it was payed for I would have wood for the labor of milling. Like I said maybe I could supplement my income with excess lumber sales.

There is a Mennonite community not far from me that builds some really heavy duty band mills for a fraction of the "store bought" mills.


Ian, I have been fascinated by the swing mills. I have looked at them on the net but I have never seen one in person. If you don't mind me asking why did you decide on a swing mill over a band mill?

Thanks again for the help.

A side note, I saw in the paper today someone has 6/4 maple, pine, and beech for 1.00/bdft, 4/4 aromatic ceder for 1.75 and 4/4 pine cut from 8x8 beams from around 1933 for 7.00 bdft all kiln dried.

[Ian Abraham]

If you don't mind me asking why did you decide on a swing mill over a band mill?

Big logs in remote locations.
Band mills are a real rare item in this part of the world, the trees are generally just too big.

Some pics of us sawing up a 52" dia cypress log just before Xmas. This is the normal sort of log that portable sawyers come across here. We set the mill up around the log and just whittle it away. The hard part is offloading the sawn boards and carrying them up the hill to the track, but thats what teenagers are for

Cheers

Ian

[Chris Barton]

Hi John,

I have some property up in Altamont, TN that has a similar stand of trees and also a very thriving Mennonite community. What I've found is that there are one man mills all over the Altamont area, most not doing much sawing. I think many have a similar idea to yours but, I just don't think the consumers of the finished product are in these rural areas.

[Ian Abraham]

Another way to get your feet wet is to harvest a stack of logs and get a local mobile sawyer in for a day to cut them. He will have a high prodution hydralic mill and should be able to cut 1500 bd ft a day if you have the site setup and a couple of helpers. Then you have only spent about $500 and now have a big stack of sawn wood you can dry and use yourself, or sell.

Lets you get an idea on the whole process, how much work and what the economics are, before you commit to your own mill.

Maybe you will decide it's all just too much work... Or that hiring a mill in for a day each year might be better... Or you might have so much fun you just need to get one yourself

Cheers

Ian