Base for Sawmill

[caver]

My Baker HD18 is towable and I just throw some scrap blocks down under the legs when I move it. If you do all kinds of prep work for a base you will end up moving it.
Things like
*It's not close enough to the shop/power/tools when something breaks.
* It's too close to the shop and blowing sawdust towards it.
*Prevailing winds blowing sawdust in your face.
I agree in that you are overthinking it. The Baker has a real stout frame but the only time I check level is if I drop a big log on it I might eyeball down the rail.
One mistake I made is buying a farm store can't hook and it wasn't cheap. Later I spent the $$ on a Logrite peavey and quickly understood why people liked them.

 

[s219]

Chatted with my neighbor, who set his mill down on 6x6 timbers on the ground (timbers crosswise under the rails about every 4', looks like a railroad track). When I asked him how it has worked out, he got a crazy look and said he needed to re-do it better. He said in the winter, whenever we get freeze-thaw cycles, the timbers move a little, enough to make the mill frame rock and require shimming. And he said if he bumps it with a log when loading, it will move around a teeny bit.

Based on that, if I do timbers or blocks on the ground, I either need to set them on a healthy bed of gravel that won't be affected by frost, or set them down on footings below the frost line (about 12" here). I think if I set them on a bed of gravel, I could probably hammer re-bar spikes through the timbers to anchor them into the ground below, so they would have a little bit of resistance to moving sideways.

I took a look in my lumber scrap piles, and I have a bunch of cutoffs of 4x6, 6x6, and round posts, 16-32" length. And I have a bunch of marine lumber 24-72" long, it's rough sawn 2" thick and 8" wide. If I could use up all those scraps and avoid paying for new wood at the store, that would kill two birds with one stone.

He had his mill deck about 12" off the ground and I felt like I would want mine more like 24".

 

[Barry 1]

I used a doubled up house trailer frame when I built my mill.Sits on 2 2x4's and never needs leveling .Load it with my log hauler.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Mines sitting on sand I put into place with my tractor, I don't have any leveling problems...

and I drove over it to compact it,

Like I said, too much over thinking going on here...

SR

 

[Egon]

The sawmill base required will vary with local soil conditions. What works here will. Not work there.

 

[forgeblast]

Check our the forestry forum https://forestryforum.com/ you will see a ton of examples!!

 

[s219]

So here is what I came up with for a 26" wide, 20' long base:



All made with 4x6 timbers. I used scraps for the leg posts and just had to buy timbers for the tops. Cross-braces are also scrap lumber. All the gusset plates are scrap diamond plate steel, and it's all held together with galvanized 5/16" lag bolts. So I spent $100 on timbers, $35 on bolts and washers, and the rest I already had. Some people think it's stupid to keep 2-3' scraps of lumber but I always hang on to those pieces and it came in handy here.

I pre-fabbed each of the three sections in my barn on the concrete floor, to get everything nice and square, then carried each section to the site and blocked it up over the post holes to level it prior to pouring concrete around the posts. The posts go down 17-20" (below the frost line of 12").







Takes about 120# of concrete for each post hole. I'll finish pouring the concrete tomorrow, then give it a couple days to cure before I begin assembling the sawmill track on top.

I also drilled 4 post holes to support the roof that will be built over the top. That will be 10' wide and 26' long when done. Other than treated lumber for the posts, all that lumber will be felled and sawn on the fly. I am sure it will be interesting to build a roof frame with green lumber but I am looking forward to the process.

I'd prefer OSB and asphalt shingles on the roof, to match my barn and house, but if the price of OSB is still insane in a couple weeks (as I expect) then I'll just order some metal roof panels. Right now OSB+Asphalt will run me about $1.75 per square foot, and metal will cost $1.00 to 1.10 per square foot.

 

[forgeblast]

Nice!!!

 

[Rebeldad1]

Bought my HM122 same time as you but I went and picked it up.
Really didnt have a plan as to where I am going to set it up. Read about having it up in the air a ways so I wouldnt have to bend over so much. Thought about a couple rows of RR ties but would want it about 24 inches off the ground. Lots of options and opinions here to choose from. I also am one who keeps what I can inside.
Opted for the optional trailer that comes with the saw. Offers a good solid base for the rails. Can move it anywhere an set it up in minutes. And can put it inside when done. for me Win-Win.

 

[s219]

I came close to ordering with the trailer base. I like their trailer better than other brands, because it's geared towards moving around on a property instead of towing on the road. Better tires, better size, etc.