Getting into portable sawmilling - Swing blade mills

BigMac37 · April 15, 2021, 08:14:13 PM

So as I go down the rabbit hole of trying to get my hands on a portable sawmill, I've hit a small hurdle of sorts.

From what I have gathered so far, swing blade mills out perform band mills in every aspect. At least for what I'm planning on sawing. With the headache of dealing with edging boards, having to drive/pickup blades to be sharpened, loading logs onto the deck without equipment, I feel that I will lose interest in it. Not to mention downtime and less speed/performance.

Now the catch to the swing blade mills is the price. From talking with people here on the forum, as well as manufactures, it doesn't seem like I will be able to get my hands on a brand new mill and stay under my budget.

So my question/reason for this post is to look for advice on either where I could start looking to get a used swing blade mill in Ontario, Canada.
Or if I am missing a bigger picture when it comes to band mills.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

WV Sawmiller · April 15, 2021, 09:07:47 PM

From what I have gathered so far, swing blade mills out perform band mills in every aspect. At least for what I'm planning on sawing. With the headache of dealing with edging boards, having to drive/pickup blades to be sharpened, loading logs onto the deck without equipment, I feel that I will lose interest in it. Not to mention downtime and less speed/performance. ??? ??? ???

I am not familiar with SBMs and have only watched some videos of them. I am interested in what you are planning on sawing? I know they have their place but looks to me like they take longer to set up, handling of the lumber and slabs looks like more work to me as you seem to be bent over more while I tend to work between waist to shoulder height. Can you provide more details about what you plan to saw, access, and what you see as the advantages of the SBM over the bandmill.

Tom the Sawyer · April 16, 2021, 11:52:12 AM

"swing blade mills outperform band mills in every aspect." is an abrupt, and incorrect (IMO) statement. For certain sizes of lumber, or more challenging setup locations, swing blades may be the best choice. The cut width is limited, especially in a production setting, log handling with a hydraulic mill is a breeze compared to using heavy equipment or brute strength to fine tune log orientation. Even my old TK B-20 (2007) can keep two off-bearers hopping, pulling 8/4x22"x10' walnut planks off every 45 seconds or so. I'm not familiar with a swing blade could do that until you get down to 10" wide or less. If you have a slabbing attachment you could make wide cuts but with chainsaw speed and kerf loss.

Each type of mill has its strengths and weaknesses, even within types (a band mill without hydraulics, or a swing blade without slabbing attachment). I suspect that the predominance of bandsaw mills on this forum would belie your initial statement. But, if you want a swing blade, that is what you should get.