Wood-Mizer saw mill

[dave1949]

Thanks for all the excellent comments. So far as using local cut lumber, I have built three garages and one entire hiuse with the local cut lumber. Many of the sized studs came from clear white pine. Isn't it a stupid law to tell us we have to have a stamp on a 2 X 4 as opposed to clear white pine.....sheesh! But it's so. Reasonable building inspectors usually allow rough stuff so long as it is properly sized.

I built a house out of local logs and that was after over 6 mos of being stuck and stacked. The drywall was finished to perfection that fall and the person living there heated with a wood stove. Over the
winter that dry wood heat kiln dried the final 5 or 10% of moisture out of that house frame and it popped every nail in that finished drywall. That was before we were screwing the drywall. I learned sometimes it's not a bad thing to dry your lumber first.

rim

Even using kiln dried, I've been told the preferred method in the old days was to dry-in a house, let it set over the winter, and then do the interior finishing the next summer.

 

[TractorTidy]

Rimshot,
I have an LT 10 @ 4-5 yrs. old. If you're getting a new one, you will have the new bedrail, push handle and new design stabilizers which
will all be a BIG improvement.
I like mine and use it mostly in the fall/winter ea. year. It gets contagious once you saw the first log.
I also have a Kioti tractr (CK30) so you have a good combination!

 

[ptexer]

Putting the wood in the enviroment that it will be used is good. When you dry wood in a kiln say to 6% it does not stay at that moisture content. It will adjust to its enviroment so putting it where you are going to use it is good. The wood will still move with the season.

 

[TractorTidy]

The only objection I have w/my LT10 is not enough power. I have the smaller Briggs @ 7 hp.

 

[newbury]

The only objection I have w/my LT10 is not enough power. I have the smaller Briggs @ 7 hp.

I agree - I almost went with the 7HP and meant to upgrade to a 10hp or larger later. The difference in cost between the 7 and 10HP is about the same as the cost of a 10hp by itself on the web.

 

[PapaPerk]

Hmmm.... How much money could a guy make with a small band saw mill? I know.... Open ended question.

 

[Piston]

Hmmm.... How much money could a guy make with a small band saw mill? I know.... Open ended question.

Not much.
The mills themselves are capable of cutting a good amount in short order, however, they are completely manual. So every turn of the log and each time a clamp needs to be set takes time. The log needs to be loaded on the mill etc.

Without hydraulics, you won't be making much money. I've been asked to mill for other people but turned it down, simply because I would never make enough per hour to justify the cost.

I have however, traded custom sawn lumber as partial payment for used implements. I've found that to work to my advantage in negotiating good deals.

In order to make money you really need to step up to a hydraulic mill, and even then, it's a labor of love. It certainly is a fun hobby and some people are happy just making enough on the side to help justify the purchase. There's nothing wrong with that! After all, that's how I've ended up justifying some of the implements I've bought.

 

[rmorey]

Hmmm.... How much money could a guy make with a small band saw mill? I know.... Open ended question.

We bought a small manual mill in '04. The plan was to do custom work to pay for the mill. It became apparent we needed a tractor to load the logs. Got a CK25, then a trailer to tow it. All in we had $30k. I thought it would take years to get back. We broke even in 2 years. We had a ball and met some great people.

 

[rimshot]

=

Rimshot,
I have an LT 10 @ 4-5 yrs. old. If you're getting a new one, you will have the new bedrail, push handle and new design stabilizers which
will all be a BIG improvement.
I like mine and use it mostly in the fall/winter ea. year. It gets contagious once you saw the first log.
I also have a Kioti tractr (CK30) so you have a good combination!

5=

=
=====================

I dunno....do you think the 10 h.p will do the job? I guess it's a bit larger than the 7 but still small when compared to those diesels it not going to be a hot rod. I was just wondering, if you were to saw lumber for somebody and take it out in a percentnage of the total board feet sawn, what would be a fair figure? 25% of the total? maybe 33%?

rimshot

 

[MotorSeven]

I think the 10 hp will be fine. My LT15 has a 15hp and I have sawed up to 26" in diameter hardwoods with no problem. It will take you some time to learn, but don't push a older dull blade and change them out when you can feel the need. There is also a learning curve to lube...how much and what blend. More lube is not always the answer and sometimes I run without any at all. The forestry forum is a great place to read and learn, tons of great info on mills & milling.

 

[newbury]

=
<snip>
I dunno....do you think the 10 h.p will do the job? I guess it's a bit larger than the 7 but still small when compared to those diesels it not going to be a hot rod. I was just wondering, if you were to saw lumber for somebody and take it out in a percentnage of the total board feet sawn, what would be a fair figure? 25% of the total? maybe 33%?

rimshot

You need to figure out why you are doing it.

My example -
We've about 400 acres of trees in NE MS. I want to go in and low impact, selective harvest areas for trails and food plots. Other than let the wood rot on the ground what are we going to do with it? Firewood? We basically don't have to heat in that area.

When we needed an area harvested we called in the loggers and got it done.

But with the present and near future lumber market we don't envision prices approaching those back in 2005-2007 for a while.
Prices for pine sawtimber were about $50/ton (http://msucares.com/forestry/prices/reports/2006/1.pdf), now <$24/ton (http://msucares.com/forestry/prices/reports/2012/3.pdf).

If lumber prices were UP it might be worthwhile to me to have a hydraulic diesel sawmill and sell lumber. It's not. Most of the stories I read on the web of people "making it" in the small lumber business are of those who started 5 or 10 years ago and were able to ride the market to the peak.

So for me a minimal investment of $$ to process my trees the next step made sense. I don't plan on a multi-person operation working 8 hour shifts, but I knew my CSM wasn't going to hack it.

If woodmizer had offered a 13HP for the LT10 it might have been worth it. But the 10HP goes thru the 24" sweetgum (Janka 850) I've done with ease, so I'm confident I'll be able to handle oak (Janka 1360) with a little patience and effort.

As far a sawing for someone else there are a LOT of paremeters to be taken into account. I would define "sawing" as the process from loading the log on the mill to offloading the cut lumber. Others might define it as the process from standing tree to kiln dried 2x4. If it's the first 33% might be fair. The second at least 50%, and maybe first pick.

 

[rmorey]

The thing you have to remember is the reason your getting the mill in the first place.

If you plan to custom cut for others, then a larger motor is better because its easier on the saw. You will probably charge by the hour and the logs could be any species. (oak is harder on the saw than pine)

But if you're just cutting for yourself, then you can work at your own pace and cut what you want.

You can always buy a larger engine in the future. We have a 16 hp Vanguard and have not had a lick of problem with it.

 

[DJ54]

When Dad bought his in '88, we went to pick it up at the Factory. At that time, they had some solar kilns there drying lumber down. Don't know if they still offer plans for them or not. A few years later I had plans to build one myself. Dad got sick, and was not able to saw anymore, and I was working 6, 12 to 14 hr. days, and no time to saw after he passed. Ended up selling the mill, so Mom could have a little extra money in the bank, just in case.

There's still about 3500 bf of spalted Poplar in the barn, along with close to 3000 bf of Cherry in various configurations, 1500 bf of White Oak 2X stuff, and probaly 4000 bf of pine. Bundles of hub stakes, grade stakes, stacking sticks, and lord knows what all... Oh yeah...., a couple fire place mantles cut out of Chestnut. Still some short Chestnut logs, and timbers, and pieces in the barn too, he got from tearing down an old barn for a buddy of mine. All of the above was given to him, when a friend of ours running an excavating business was clearing lots for new houses. Dad would cut what he wanted, and the rest went in the burn pile.

Just be sure and cut you stacking sticks out of the same material you will be stacking. Darker colored woods will stain the lighter woods.

He found less expensive blades here in Ohio. If I can remember to look, I know there are several blade boxes in his sharpening shop. I'll get the name, and check to see if they are still in business. At the time, their blades would last as long as the Woodmiser's. Also noted, the thinner gauge blades lasted longer than the thick gauge one's simply because of metal fatigue. Then again, don't know if they (Woodmiser) still offer 2 different gauge blades or not.

Forgot to mention, he sawed about 200 fence posts for me out of telephone pole butts. You can easily get 6 nice sized posts out of 1 decent sized butt. Best to wear protective clothing, and do it on a cool day though, and stand up wind, with the creosote being in them.

 

[crbr]

Thanks for the pictures