sawmill platform? What to use?

[Sodo]

I want to make a permanent platform for my sawmill.
I was thinking the base of a 40ft shipping container would be good.
I would like to have 30 feet because....you know.....???

So that's one idea.

I don't want to pour concrete, it's just not worth the cost.
Maybe mixing a few bags for footings etc.

Or a truck-frame or a motor home frame or ??
I remember my dad had a motor home frame and every time I saw it I thought "what a monstrous POS to have on your property, get RID of it!"
Now I want it.

Who has ideas and also.... where to find this kinda stuff?
=======
( dec 13..... Added a pic showing what i have now)

 

[Sodo]

No ideas?

 

[mikester]

Check out this forum you will get a lot of good stuff here

Sawmills and Milling

Page 1 of 612: The Forestry Forum

forestryforum.com

You don't say what you've got for saw equipment, what size logs you plan to process, what volume of production - these factors will determine how or what you need to do.

Go electric 3 phase and concrete foundations if you are serious. Get a portable mill on wheels if you are in it for fun.

 

[Sodo]

OK good point.
I should have known that! The request is too vague.
And no pic, no interest!

I edited the top post, adding a pic of what I have now.

19" Hud-Son bandsaw. I have to drag the track out of the barn onto a slab every time I want to use it. It's in the way of other stuff, plugging up my 18 foot door etc.
I have 24 feet of track, so can cut a board 22 feet long currently.
I only cut wood when I have a specific project. But I would do more projects if it was a quicker setup.

If I could leave the track in place and just carry the bandsaw out, set it on the track, that would make sawing much easier. And putting away us easier too if I can leave the track alone. I can move the bandsaw around, chained to the tractor bucket.

I guess it's like a "slightly portable" mill. Actually having it on a trailer is not a bad idea, but then there's license fees, tires to keep inflated etc. So I thought a scrap trailer frame, set somewhere "stable", near the barn, on concrete footings would be good enough.

Thx for the link to the forestry forum, I started the process to join!

 

[BlueKnife]

If I could leave the track in place and just carry the bandsaw out, set it on the track, that would make sawing much easier. And putting away us easier too if I can leave the track alone. I can move the bandsaw around, chained to the tractor bucket.

What is preventing you from leaving the mill where it is? Why do you need to carry it in and out of the barn? I would drill and pour concrete piers to set it on and leave it in place. Build a shed for the sawhead to reside in and protect the rest of the track from the weather with a couple sections of metal roof with stiffener bars.

 

[BlueKnife]

where to find this kinda stuff?

Craigslist and (unfortunately) Facebook marketplace.

 

[Sodo]

That's my entry slab.
To the left of the pic is the rollup door etc.
I've been sawing on my entry slab for 10 years.
It works but I have to do a setup & takedown every time I saw.

I live a few hours away so don't leave anything of interest visible "outside".

 

[Eagle1]

Bet you can get a trashed RV or mobile home for next to nothing, tear down and build your platform on the frame. Getting it to your place will be the expensive part.

 

[Sodo]

yep Eagle1
I need tips how to find that kind of thing.
Other than just keeping eyes peeled.

I've probably seen hundreds, but then when I want one I can't think how to find one.

What kind of business etc ends up with that stuff,
and hoping that someone will come ask to take it away
- so they don't have to haul it.?

I have a car-trailer that can hold about 24 feet.
I can cut and re-weld.
I just gotta find it.

 

[Eagle1]

You're too far from me or I'd give you a single wide mobile home that needs tear down for scrap. I had 2 junk RV (including a 40' ) towed out in the last year or 2.
Word of mouth, CL and FB are about the only way you find and then you have to be able get them. Give away mobiles are always at older parks or being trashed to make room for a house.
Stuff like this in WA
Free Motorhome - free stuff - craigslist
Ford "C" Series cabover flatbed ***UPDATED*** - free stuff - craigslist

 

[Sodo]

Thx Eagle1 I need "that kinda guy".... except who has already disassembled it.
I'd pay if it was "scrap price".

Buying new steel would cost a bit, and I may have to just do that if nothing turns up.
....but surely just the tow charge would be more than "new steel".
New Steel would be more fun to build with.....

 

[Eagle1]

Thx Eagle1 I need "that kinda guy".... except who has already disassembled it.
I'd pay if it was "scrap price".

Buying new steel would cost a bit, and I may have to just do that if nothing turns up.
....but surely just the tow charge would be more than "new steel".
New Steel would be more fun to build with.....

If I take it part rest assured the steel would be repurposed. I'll get to it........

 

[BlueKnife]

I live a few hours away so don't leave anything of interest visible "outside".

Bolt the track down to concrete piers or to a concrete slab. That's gonna be a lot less expensive, easier and sturdier than a mobile home or truck frame. Either of those is still going to need some sort of base anyway and given their larger size, the base will need to be bigger than it would for just the track. It's also gonna raise the whole thing up higher than you may want it to be.

Also, FWIW, a laser level makes setting up and leveling a sawmill a breeze.

 

[mikester]

I made a ladder frame for mine out of 2x4 tubing I had available. Put a 2,000lb axel for portability and 6 jacks under it for levelling.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

This is my mill setup with 3 substantial concrete piers and full dimension Doug Fir 6x6 rails setup to cut 16 footers.

 

[Sodo]

All good input, thanks! Strange how stuff you see often over the years becomes a needle in a haystack as soon as you 'need it'.

Menagerie....... I may do it ^^kinda like yours^^.
I have lots of doug fir on-site. If I lay steel roofing over it, it will last a long time outdoors. But my place is under snow right now, I have months to stew over it.

The thing is... now.... it's move-able, but "in the way" when in-use.
This changes it to becomes a permanent fixture
-and-
it needs to 'out in the open'. I have one clear level area that I could put it, but I need that space for turnaround etc.

Menagerie what do you think about a bolted wood structure that's real heavy & stable. The steel track is bolted to the wood.
But I can skid it out into the open with the tractor.
Then drag it off to the side when not in use?

Another option is a lesser wooden structure, but setting it on an array of small concrete footings with threaded bolt holes for clamps.
Their tops at grade level in my 'open area' so I can clamp it "straight".
(and BlueKnife, confirm/adjust with a laser level).

OK thanks for the ideas, I like these better than dragging a POS frame out there.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

All good input, thanks! Strange how stuff you see often over the years becomes a needle in a haystack as soon as you 'need it'.

Menagerie....... I may do it ^^kinda like yours^^.
I have lots of doug fir on-site. If I lay steel roofing over it, it will last a long time outdoors. But my place is under snow right now, I have months to stew over it.

The thing is... now.... it's move-able, but "in the way" when in-use.
This changes it to becomes a permanent fixture
-and-
it needs to 'out in the open'. I have one clear level area that I could put it, but I need that space for turnaround etc.

Menagerie what do you think about a bolted wood structure that's real heavy & stable. The steel track is bolted to the wood.
But I can skid it out into the open with the tractor.
Then drag it off to the side when not in use?

Another option is a lesser wooden structure, but setting it on an array of small concrete footings with threaded bolt holes for clamps.
Their tops at grade level in my 'open area' so I can clamp it "straight".
(and BlueKnife, confirm/adjust with a laser level).

OK thanks for the ideas, I like these better than dragging a POS frame out there.

Nothing wrong with a substantial moveable platform, just be prepared to check the setup after being moved.

 

[JPRambo]

This is my setup. Hud-son sawyer.6" x 6" with aluminum tracks lag bolted down. I shim the 6x6s each time as they are just set in the ground. Just put mill head in the garage while i spend christmas in Florida with the kids.

 

[civilian]

My Timbery sawmill track sits on 16 ft PT timber. Under that are 4 cross beams of 4x6 PT. Those sits on leveled 2x8x16 solid concrete blocks. Similar to Menagerie's pictured above. Sawmill sits in clearing all summer. The head unit is covered with a barbeque cover. When done sawing for the year it goes in the barn on heavy saw horses to be able to pallets on the floor under. Jon

 

[nickmags]

My suggestion, and what worked for me. First, find an area that is clear and relatively level that you can easily access from all sides. In my case I had to create such a space, Lots of smaller trees and sloping ground. I terraced the slope using good quality rail ties. Then back filled with very coarse river rock and gravel. Once I had it close to level I put down more ties, one at each crossmember of the saw's track. Then filled the space between ties level with crusher run gravel. Imagine a real railroad road bed and ties. Then permanetly anchored saw mill track to the ties. Periodically check track for level (once or twice a year) usually in the spring after ground thaws, or when I notice a waver/wobble in a board. First year had to re-level a couple of times due to settling but not hard, prybar and shovel in some additional gravel. Eventually I built a pole barn cover for the entire mill to protect from elements. Cost to me was minimal, traded cut white oak lumber from my back 40 for the gravel, had the ties stacked for another project that I decided not to do after all, mostly time and some fuel. I have a Woodland Mill's saw with a twenty-foot track.