What to put under my Sawmill.

[Kaleb the Swede]

Hi all.

I am new to the sawmill world.  I am a full time high school teacher and a hobbyist woodworker who enjoys building furniture; who wants a sawmill for milling up a few logs here and there for my own personal use.  I will be milling local hardwoods (walnut, oak, cherry etc.).  I don't plan on making a living with my sawmill.

I have ordered the Woodland Mills HM122 with the standard track.  It should be arriving in the next week or so.

I am just wondering, what should I put under it to level it?  I know some would suggest to build a trailer, but right now that isn't in the cards.  

I was wondering for the time being, would 2 pressure treated 4x4's or 4x6's tied together with pressure treated 2x4s work?  

Bear in mind, I don't have a giant wood yard, or farm, or remote wilderness location with all the room in the world.  

Thanks a million all.  Also thanks for all of the forum topics as I have been reading them quite a bit and learning a lot.

[Stephen1]

Welcome to FF. Fill in your profile of where you are. It helps knowing where you are in the world for answers.

[Kaleb the Swede]

Thanks Stephan,

I added it.  I am all the way South in New Jersey.  Cape May

[SawyerTed]

Welcome to the forum!  I'm no expert but this guy's foundation looks pretty good for a small mill.  It is up off the ground a bit to make cleaning and off bearing easier.

Sawmill Base Overview - YouTube

[btulloh]

This was simple, quick, and has worked well. 



 

Basically like a railroad track on compacted gravel footer. 6x6 treated cross ties, 6x6 syp rails.  Log deck is optional. 

[SawyerTed]

I would suggest that on a manual mill, a log deck is more important "importanter"  :D than "optional".  

Even with hydraulics a log deck makes log loading many times easier and quicker.  The plus is heavy equipment stays away from the sawmill. 

[Kaleb the Swede]

Now those are some good ideas.  Thanks all.  You've been more than kind

[Wlmedley]

 

 

[Wlmedley]

I've had my WM126 a little over a year. Two 20 foot 6x6 on locust posts .Working good so far.Good luck.

[Dragline]

X2 on log deck for manual mill

[Wlmedley]

 

 This is what base looked like before shed

[btulloh]

That's a good base and an upgrade from the cross ties.  Easy to choose the height you want.  A better solution for sloping ground too.  My height is ok but would be better if it was a bit higher.

[Wlmedley]

btulloh, I think we both had the same idea about using the slope of the ground to our advantage.Makes it a lot easier getting logs on deck.

[JoshNZ]

I just drove in posts with a post hammer for mine. Levelled with a laser.



 

[btulloh]

Roger that Wimedley. Realities of the site and the log handling equipment play a big role in those design and layout decisions. At that stage I was moving and loading logs mostly with rear forks on the tractor so my max lift height was pretty limited. 4in1 bucket on the front could bite smaller logs but not the big ones.  I've got a bigger tractor with a grapple now and that opens up more choices.  Gonna re-do everything next year.

[thecfarm]

I bought in a bunch of gravel for me to walk on. 

[Nebraska]

 

 

 

Did this last summer. I had a treated wood frame similar btulloh's, in fact I think I used his as an example.  Added the concrete to get the mill up higher for less bent over work is better,  it's much easier on the back.

[btulloh]

@JoshNZ, is that post driver a commercial device?  Could you post a pic?

[JoshNZ]

We bought it off an engineer further north a few years back, basically a tall i beam hinged off a 3pt linkage base and 2 rams for tilt/pitch then a big 400kg anvil that runs up and down the I beam on a cable driven by a ram pushing on a 3-stage pulley set. Google search hydraulic post rammer, they're pretty common.

[JoshNZ]

post hammer - YouTube

There you go I can do one better. We bought it for repairing end assemblies of our kiwifruit orchards. ~7ft rakers hold the weight of each row of the canopy structure and they're supported by deadman or anchors, 8ft posts driven in until only 1ft sticks out and the rakers are tied back to them under tension. No easier way to drive an 8ft ~12" dia post in 7ft deep.

[farmfromkansas]

Could you guys post a few more details about your log decks?  How wide is your setup, and how do you handle the gap between the mill and the deck?  Anyone thought of making a portable log deck maybe from some steel sawhorses so you don't have to leave it set up permanent? Long logs, and short logs might present some problems.

[btulloh]

Those are all good questions and important details. Whatever you make needs to work for your situation and logs, so planning and a little experimentation is in order. 

My gap is about 40" and i just have a couple 6x6 cut to length and notched on the mill end to get the elevation correct. They're just loose and I set them in place to roll a log on the mill. I've got two 6x6 rails for the deck around 6'6" apart. Not good for logs over 12', but I get by.  If something is odd shaped or really long I just load directly on the mill bed from the other side.  Not a perfect setup but has been good enough for now.

I would suggest taking three timbers or logs even, laying them on the ground and experimenting with various length logs you normally handle. You can easily experiment with the spacing before committing. If occasionally you have something really short, setting a temporary rail in between could help.  Odd shapes or forked pieces are a challenge on a deck.  Like Yellohammer said, "logs roll".  If it doesn't roll, it ain't a log.

So it comes down to making it work for you. Elaborate, permanent decks need to have all the details worked out in advance. A quick and dirty deck like mine don't take long to setup and allows for replacing with a better design.

There are many examples of decks posted on various threads.  Gap bridging ranges from simple to elegant. Hinged steel, stop-and—load, etc.

I would probably make my next deck with 3 rails spaced 5' apart. Hinge something to bridge the gap so it could just fold up and down quickly. 

[Wlmedley]

To get logs from deck to mill I use two 4x4 pine timber's about four feet long notched out to set on rail.l used pine because it is light and easy to move out of the way once log is on mill.My deck is 12 feet wide with center beam so it will work with logs from 6 to 16 feet which is max length I can cut.l almost always work by myself and haven't had any trouble.

 

[Wlmedley]

Hopefully I'll have some help in a few more years 

[customsawyer]

When I read the title of this post I immediately think SAWDUST. That's what I have under my mill.