My Adventure in Sawmilling: Ongoing Story of a Beginner Sawyer

[Leigh Family Farm]

Hello Everyone! I recently read an article in The New Pioneer about owning a portable sawmill and immediately I said "I'm getting one of those for my house!" I then started searching the web for any information about portable sawmills. As luck would have it, I was directed to the Forestry Forum! Once I was admitted (the entrance exam is brutal), I started my adventure into becoming a sawyer.

That is what this whole thread is about. Each week, I will post about my road to becoming a sawyer. This thread will be geared towards those like me, the new guy who doesn't know where to start and is overwhelmed by the information out there. I encourage you all to comment and I will address as many of the comments in the following week's post. To start us off, lets set the stage for my adventure.



 

I am 30, married with no kids yet, work for the government, and live in Pennsylvania. My wife and I are planning our wedding (got civilly married first) for October and the hopefully we will buy a house in the following year. I love to sail, design, and build almost anything. Problem solving is a passion of mine and I enjoy finding the solutions to practical problems no one else has thought of. I do not currently own a sawmill but I am hopelessly awaiting the day I can purchase one!

What will I use the sawmill for in the beginning? What is my end goal with being a sawyer? Why do I want to become a sawyer? These are three extremely important questions when starting a new adventure. I don't have lots of money to spend so I knew that I would be starting small. In the beginning, I wanted to be able to take a few logs a month and mill them down into useable lumber. I would use the lumber myself or sell it to my neighbors. My end goal is that I would like to have my portable sawmill business provide half of my current income. This would allow me to cut back my current job hours and pursue a more fulfilling lifestyle. I want to become a sawyer because I love to be active and create things with my hands. Being a sawyer would allow me to be outside, providing a service to others, and giving me the fulfillment I need to create items from raw materials to finished product.

Now I have my short term goal (make lumber for me and sell extras), my long term goal (provide half my income), and my purpose (provide a needed service and create useable items form scratch). This was a lot harder than it looks to complete and made me really think about who I am and what I want in life. Some deep internal thinking on my part! I would highly recommend anyone looking to get into any new project to ask themselves these same three questions. Answer honestly and you will know whether its right for you.

Right, well thats enough for now. I look forward to sharing my adventure with all of you and please share with me your comments. Have a great week!

[thecfarm]

Sounds like a good thread. What will you have for support equipment for your mill? ATV with an arch,tractor,old truck? Where are the logs coming from? It's good to start small,hard to sell lumber to build with at times. Maybe to make furniture with too?

[Bandmill Bandit]

Welcome to the Forum.

The best piece of advice I got came from the salesman that I eventually bought my sawmill from.

Marv told me to go out and work with owners of different sawmill makes and models so that I would gain experience and understanding of the various systems and features, advantages and disadvantages.

The most useful and biggest piece of advice  I received when it came to buying a saw mill.

Good luck on your journey. AND do enjoy the trip. It can be a lot of fun.


 

[trapper]

Go to the Shows, Events and Places to meet area on the forum and get to as many as you can to see the different mills side by side in operation to get ideas and meet great people doing what you want to do.
PS welcome

[Thehardway]

Decide how hard you want to work
Decide how much time your new bride is willing to deal with you sawing
Decide how much you can afford to lose if it all falls apart in Money, girl and equipment.  (health is not a given, hard to handle logs with one arm, a broken leg or worse)
Decide what kind of lumber you want to produce.  This will dictate what kind of saw you should buy and what production rates you should expect.  Hardwood, softwood, dimensional lumber, mouldings, siding, posts and beams, exotic, table tops, QS, etc.
Find out what the area demand is for the services you will provide and what they are willing to pay.
Find a specialty product in demand you can make and sell with your saw to pay bills between jobs.
Take into account weather issues and mechanical breakdowns
Milling is hot (summer), Cold (winter), sweaty (all year), dirty and very unforgiving but some of us do find it rewarding.

Being a sawyer is about a lot more than equipement and work ethic, it's learning to read a log and how to cut it right!  Storage is a big issue if you are going to cut for later use /sale.  Where will you put your finished product.  Where will you get your logs and what will the cost of them be.  Do you have any land to stockpile and sort them on?  What will you do with your waste?

Lots of questions... but your young and motivated right!

My advice.  By a decent size wooded lot now with minimal zoning restrictions and a good Bandsaw using your present income and good credit.  Cut the trees and use the lumber to build a timberframe shack to live in.  If the common law girlfriend will put up with this then she is worthy of marrying, if she leaves you, you will still have your mill and your shack Which you won't have if you marry her and then she decides she doesn;t like living with a sawyer.  Once you have a base camp shack, build a dream house with all the lumber you cut and can't sell during the down economy.  If she stuck with you through it, she deserves a hard working husband and a dream house.  You are rewarded with both.  You will build equity in the house as you build.  You will have plenty of space to stock pile.

I started out very similar, at age 42 I now have 10 AC, a small timberframe house, a wife, a son and I had a bandsaw until it got stolen last week.  Best off, everything I have is paid for (except for the wife) ;D

[Kansas]

There is a lot of good advice here. Here is my 2 cents worth.

What are your resources? You mention portable sawmilling business, but that generally means you are going to cut up someone else's logs. If you plan on cutting lumber for your use and sale, that means you will have to come up with a source of logs. What kind of logs will you have to  work with?

You said you plan on buying a house. So the lumber you cut will be used for furniture, or maybe a barn or  something. Again, find the resources that you have for logs. That can tell you a lot of what you will be  doing. Selling the extras is something you need to plan for. Are you selling green lumber? Air dried? Kiln dried? Be flexible, but define your markets to your capacity with your mill, and again, what your resources are. You can cut green white oak for trailer decking, or something for horse stalls, etc, eliminating the air dry and and kiln expense. But, depending on what you use the lumber for, it may be you need the ability to kiln dry for your own use. And there are some fairly cheap ways to achieve that. If that is the case, you may want to gravitate that direction. You are asking the right questions.

[drobertson]

I have found that there are many folks that want, or need to build sheds, buildings and the like. If you could sit down and get some basic plans which include floor joist, trusses, wall studs and siding, add the total board footage required to complete the desired plan, then you can give your custormers an accurate estimate of what the job will require. some folks will have a material list, which is sweet, but many more will not.  You might make a small book on suggested plans and share this with a potential custormer.  The 16 X 20 smoke house I am cutting is going to end up using close to 35 logs. ranging from 8' to 12' in length.  It helps to know ahead of time how they plan on building, to make the most of the logs. 

[schakey]

Welcome kilgrosh 8)
I love The New Pioneer mag along with Mother Earth and Countryside.
I for one will be watching and looking forward to your post.
We plan on retiring and building on our land in West Virginia in a year or so.
The mill will be mostly for our own use so I am thinking of the LT15.
One thing for sure we like pictures and vidoes.
Any problems milling or building there is a lot of answers here.  ;)

[dboyt]

Kilgrosh,

Welcome to the forum!  Best advice I can give (you'll get plenty on the forum) is to find a niche, and don't try to compete with the big boys.  Pallets, for example, will run you broke, but you can charge a premium for small jobs, such as barn siding and trailer decking.  Find out who is cutting walnut (you're in great country for walnut), and come in behind the loggers to pick up the wood they leave behind.  The short pieces, and especially crotches will have a lot of value to woodworkers, and a band sawmill is perfect for slicing them up.  The idea of roughing it while building a home is good, if you can pull it off.  It is exactly what I did 35 years ago.  Take your time finding support equipment, and get the best tools you can afford-- I've never regretted having good tools (except for the ones I loaned out or lost!).  The most dangerous thing you will do related to sawmilling is using the chain saw, even if you are just trimming an odd branch.  Get yourself a logger's hard hat, chaps, and steel toe boots, and WEAR THEM when using the chain saw.

It is great to see a positive response to my article in New Pioneer!  I'll be at the Mother Earth fair in Seven Springs, PA Sept 21-23.  If you can make it out, stop by the Norwood exhibit and we'll talk sawmills!

[dboyt]

By the way, congrats on the upcoming wedding.  It sounds like you are at an exciting point in your life, and that you are determined to make the most of it.  Sawmilling will provide you no small number of opportunities to solve problems, and I have no doubt that soon other members of the forum will be learning from you.  I look forward to more of your posts.

[bandmiller2]

Welcome Kilgrosh, remember it takes a good job to support a sawmill,sad but usally true.All good advice given,consider it a hobby,and learn by cutting your own before hitting the road.Stick with known brands of mills,they didn't become popular by selling crap.Becoming a sawyer is like learning to ride a bicycle you just have to do it and expect a spill or two along the way.Put safety at the top of your list,good luck. Frank C.

[Dave_]

Kilgrosh,  there is an old saying that says, "You never see a hearse pulling a YouHaul trailer."  Which roughly translates, "Ignore those band mills and join the ranks of us cirlce guys" :D :D  Old circle mills provide the unique opportunity to rebuild old, rusty, worn out equipment and then fast and pray before you crank over the engine each time in hopes that you might make it through a whole day without a breakdown.  Although, if you happen to chew through a whole day, there is no greater joy than doing it the way it was done "back in the day." 

Good luck on your journey and just know that now you have been bit with a bug that you can't and shouldn't shake 8) 8)

[steamsawyer]

Kilgrosh,

Welcome aboard. 

Everything what Dave_ said... But, if you really want to take a huge step backwards, do what I did and get yourself one of these...



 

Proof that I was born in the wrong century.

Alan

[thecfarm]

Not much steam power stuff left here in the North. I always enjoy your pictures.

[jdonovan]

Make sure the property you buy is zoned to do what you want. Just because its 'ag' zoning doesn't mean forest products are OK.

[Cutting Edge]

Proof that I was born in the wrong century.

Alan, 'bout the only thing that would make that picture better is a pair of bibs and a nice straw hat.  The angle and lighting of the picture is GREAT!!  My mother always said the same thing about me....my century might be a little more recent though   ;D

[Solomon]

Dave, what size circle blade fits your saw?   Arbor hole size?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Kilgrosh,

Welcome aboard. 

Everything what Dave_ said... But, if you really want to take a huge step backwards, do what I did and get yourself one of these...



Proof that I was born in the wrong century.

Alan

Wow Alan....I wish I had had one of these pictures of you and your steam mill when I was down there. I would have gotten you to autograph it for me. 

That's a cool picture!

[steamsawyer]

Thanks guys,

My son took that picture. He is a professional photographer, along with being a Baptist minister. I am really proud of the work he does... Both jobs... 8)   http://www.billruddphotography.com/

Richard,  I often wear a straw hat, but my good one got smashed in the truck not long before that pic.  :  I need to get some new bibbs, all my old ones shrunk up across the front. :D

David, Next time you get down this way I'll put you to work... and I'll se that you get all the autographed pictures you want. :D

Alan

[Dave_]

Solomon,  I'm running a 48".  I don't remember the arbor size, but I think it's 2", it's on an old Belsaw A10.  We plan to put a Corley up next year that will run a 56".

[drobertson]

I have got to say, I feel like, at times I am just starting a new sawmill business! There is plenty to learn, and it never ends. It really is one day at a time.  Be prepared to learn everyday, and enjoy the day. (sometimes hard when bills never slow down.)  Just delieverd the last of the smoke house lumber this morning, $$$, or should I say $. Still very rewarding,  would not trade this for anything else.

[Leigh Family Farm]

I received a lot of comments and I really appreciate them all.  This past week I came up with a game plan...well more of an idea of where I’d like to end up and a way that might work on getting there. Someone once said “All the planning in the world goes out the window when the first shot is fired”, so keep that in mind as you are reading. By that I mean, I don’t know if this plan is feasible for my area or if it will even come close to working but it sounds good in my head and is doable for me.

Here are the ground rules as dictated by my wife, my family, and future goals:
1. We need to buy a house first before I can purchase a mill
2. The mill cannot interfere with the house or more than half the yard
3. I have about 16 hours a week to dedicate to the mill and its operation
4. The mill will need to pay its operating costs after 12 months

Now for the plan...
Phase 1:
Step 1
As I mentioned before, I am getting married in a few months and then buying a house in the next year. I would like to purchase a house that has a large plot of land, ideally more than an acre. The goal would be to utilize a 1/2 acre for the house and house yard, and then fence in the remaining portions of the yard to create a separate section for the mill. This is for future tax purposes that I can write off half my property as a business expense should the milling go that far. I do not have the skills to build a house nor do I want to take that project on just yet, so a house on the property is a must.

I would place my mill near the back half of the property. This would allow for logs to be delivered to my house without having me to move them very far to get to the mill. Then the cut lumber could be air dried behind the mill. In the beginning, my plan is to produce dimensional lumber so I can build a pavilion to cover my mill. I would like to be able to get the logs from a local tree service company for free or a small fee but I am prepared to purchase the logs if need be. This will allow me to accomplish several things at once: learn how to use my mill properly without a large outlay of money, showcase a finished project for potential customers, and begin developing a relationship with local tree industry businesses, loggers or otherwise.

Step 2
While completing my pavilion, I would begin reaching out to the local lumber yards and wood shops in the area to learn what type of wood they are willing to buy and for how much. Where I live there is the Devon Horse Show and many horse farms around the county, so I would contact them about needing lumber for their farms and how much they would be willing to pay for it. Then I would reach out to contractors in the area and see what type of lumber they use the most for specialty jobs, like remodeling homes. After gathering all the local data on demand for lumber, I would search for the trees through my contacts with the tree industry businesses from Step 1.

I would begin to complete small orders for some of the local neighbors, like maybe a few boards to replace some decking on a neighbors patio, a 100 bf for replacing shed siding, or a couple of 4”x4” timber posts needed for a new fence. The idea is to start small and learn as I go. The goal is to learn how much it costs to get a certain type of log delivered, milled to specifications, and distributed to the customer.

I fully plan on taking almost a year to complete Phase 1. The timeline would be as follows:
     Months 1-3: buy a mill, purchase a few logs, begin building pavilion
     Months 4-6: complete the pavilion, mill for neighbors
     Months 7-9: reach out to potential customers, continue milling for neighbors
     Months 9-12: begin taking orders for customers, start stockpiling lumber

I also understand that there are a lot of variables to this plan. For instance, will the zoning laws allow me to run a small sawmill in my neighborhood? Since I don’t own a truck, will tree services actually deliver the logs to me? What do I do with all the waste, buy a chipper and make mulch for my yard? Is there a market for milled lumber in my area? Or will this just become another expensive hobby like golf?  ??? ??? ???

There are two more phases to this whole plan that I am writing out for next week. Some people say “over analysis paralysis”, while I say “prior planning prevents poor performance.” As always, I enjoy your comments and I will answer as many of your questions in the following post.

P.S. Special thanks to DBoyt for the helpful advice via email! Thanks David!!

[Chuck White]

Alan; The picture of you and your power plant is really nice, good angle and lighting.

It actually looks more like a painting to me rather than a photo.

[beenthere]

kilgrosh
Your lot size isn't near big enough, IMO.

I'd suggest 5 acre minimum, and maybe 10.

But then I wish you luck. But your list begins with way too many "ground rules" being dictated for me to see fruition in your future. However, great to have goals and a "plan".

But I still wish you good luck on the venture. ;)

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

You need to set your price(s) based on what your costs are and what level of profit you need to make to stay in business. If you ask your potential customer(s) what they're willing to pay you'll never get a figure that will make any sense. Your customer tells you what they will pay by purchasing your product.

Good Luck!

Herb

[jdonovan]

4. The mill will need to pay its operating costs after 12 months

depreciation, maintanance, insurance, fuel, spare parts/repairs ? Does the mill have to 100% pay for all of its costs, or are you only looking for it to cover a portion of its costs?

I would like to purchase a house that has a large plot of land, ideally more than an acre. The goal would be to utilize a 1/2 acre for the house and house yard, and then fence in the remaining portions of the yard to create a separate section for the mill.

WAY too small IMO.

Figure an acre at 200'x200'. I would expect any property you can do an industrial/AG use on, you are going to have 50' or more setbacks from your property line. This would leave a 100x100 area in the center that could be used... which is 1/4 of a 1 acre lot. You need large areas for truck unloading, truck turning, equipment storage, equipment operating area, log storage, lumber drying, lumber storage, a kiln etc...

Plan on needing several buildings as well. Kiln dried lumber needs to be held indoors if you want to keep low moisture, and to keep the bugs out of it.

Also on a 1 acre lot in an residential area there is no way you'll meet the noise restrictions at the property line.

I would figure on more like 5-10 acres at a minimum.

As an example, Zoning in my area requires sawmil log/lumber storage be 100' from the property line... and the mill needs to be further away than that!

Then I would reach out to contractors in the area and see what type of lumber they use the most for specialty jobs, like remodeling homes.

The only dimensional/structural lumber they can use, is mandated by building codes to be graded, stamped lumber. Something you will not be able to produce economically, unless you are a certified lumber grader.

I would begin to complete small orders for some of the local neighbors, like maybe a few boards to replace some decking on a neighbors patio, a 100 bf for replacing shed siding, or a couple of 4"x4" timber posts needed for a new fence.

Sounds like uses that require naturally rot-resistant wood, or treated lumber. Thoughts on how you plan to treat your lumber for rot resistance?

What do I do with all the waste, buy a chipper and make mulch for my yard?

Don't under estimate the volume of waste. Between sawdust, bark, slabs, etc... a tree could be 20% waste.

[WDH]

Two thoughts.

1).  The support equipment (tractor with FEL, shed for lumber drying and storing, etc) can cost much more than the mill.

2).  Your biggest problem might be your neighbors, so locate wisely.

[thecfarm]

And future neighbors.  :  A present neighbor may not mind the so called noise, but when a new one moves in things can change. A FF member just had that happen to him.
I only saw for myself and I bet I am using up that 200X200 all ready. I only have about 3-4 differant stacks of lumber that I am working from and a slap pile that keeps growing and a sawdust pile too. You do need room to get trucks in and turn around too. Good gravel is a must. Some truckers only have trailer trucks no straight jobs,so they need more room to turn around in. It's hard to get the logs you want too.

[WDH]

Yep, the sawmill can be the least expensive cog in the wheel.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Yep, the sawmill can be the least expensive cog in the wheel.

No truer words have been typen.

[Leigh Family Farm]

This week was filled with research, reading, and some reaching out for information. I was planning on writing out the rest of my game plan but the comments posted brought up too many new questions for me to go further. I really appreciate all the comments and the helpful directions they have led me.

I realized that my "original game plan" might be a little under estimation when it comes to running a sawmill in the 'burbs. Lets chalk that up to youthful exuberance and newbie inexperience  ;D but thats why I have this great forum!  smiley_reading_book If you live in a suburban area outside of a major city, some of the local municipalities might not like a sawmill in the neighborhood. I read most of the Urban Logging Forum to learn as much as I could about running a small sawmill operation in a suburban setting. I started with a few questions, based upon some of the comments I received...

How much space can I reasonably dedicate to the sawmill?
I spoke with FF member Daren via email and went to his website to learn about how much space I would need to even run a small operation. (in no way is Darren's operation small, just fyi) Needless to say, Daren was very helpful by giving me some other options to accomplish my goals. After looking for some houses online and talking with a realtor, the most amount of space I would be able to initially dedicate to the sawmill is the size of a two car garage. This fact alone was very disheartening and humbling, but something I needed to understand. My house budget won't allow for a 5 acre plot in the area I am looking, so I have to readjust my initial game plan.

Working out of a two car garage will be constraining in both size and capability. I have already started to sketch out ideas on how to accomplish this, but any helpful comments or ideas would be appreciated.

Where will I get the logs and store them?
My first thought is the local municipal dump. A few of the local municipalities have dumps that offer free mulch for residents, so I figure they get the trees to mulch from somewhere. My second option is to contact tree service companies to see about paying for a log or two to be delivered to my house. The log would be ones that they could not process easily, like 24"+ diameter. I think that instead of the tree service company paying the local dump fee or the costs of processing the tree into firewood, I could pay them to deliver. Is this a good option?

I would store the logs behind the garage so they were out of sight from the street. The moving equipment would be a log arch or something similar. I then could move each log into the garage for milling when I needed them.

What is the end product I am looking for?
I like finished wood for my projects. I am currently building a coffee table on the balcony of my apartment. Also, I just read a post on the Full Member section ("Vertical Integration"), that really got me thinking about some of the things I want to do with my wood. The original plan called for selling lumber to construction sites, but as pointed out by a fellow FF member, this lumber needs to be graded. I am not a grader, so thats out.  :(

As I mentioned earlier, this was a very humbling week of realizing my dreams and ideas of becoming a sawyer might not be obtainable right now. No I am not giving up the dream. I am just adjusting the dream to fit in with what I can do now, and expand later when what I can do will fit the dream. Next week, I will have a new game plan that will answer some of your past questions (covering operating costs? waste products? equipment available? etc.). Back to the drawing board  Thanks again for all the comments!

On another note, TWelsh has invited me up to see his mill and setup in a few weeks which I am totally stoked about!

[redbeard]

Kilgrosh have you searched surounding area to maybe set up on 2nd party land like a farm,nursery or even a tree removal service property. This could work out for land owner and you. They could have support equip available for til you get things going. Baby steps is the key start small. Just thinking.

[Leigh Family Farm]

I've spent many recent weeks planning, dreaming, and replanning how I would get my sawmill up and running. There was so much that went into this that I became overwhelmed. It probably didn't help that I am also busy with a full time job and organizing a wedding that is four weeks away. I took the week off from thinking about my sawmill which I could not act on at the moment, and focused on something I could. I started building a coffee table for my wife on a 4 1/2 ft. x 6 ft. balcony in my apartment.

I didn't complete the whole coffee table (I broke a router bit that I need to make 1/4" dados) but I did realize what I love to do. I am going to take the next couple of weeks to finish my coffee table (pictures will be posted), get married, and figure out how to make what I love to do work with what I have.

One day I will have a sawmill, I just might have to wait a little longer...

[Sixacresand]

As for cost, you can buy a mill and some support equipment for what some people pay for a 4 wheeler, bass boat or golf cart.  Learn to weld and buy a welder or vis versa and build your own equipment.  If you want a production mill, you might need to go the bank and borrow some money.  Of course you can't do any of that in a gated community with restrictions.  So plan on being rural.  I can kick myself for not buying a mill 30 years ago. 

[slider]

I'm with sixacreand,get your self out in the country away from zoning and gated anything.Don't let your dream get squashed by a bunch of by laws that drag you down.

[thecfarm]

Rural is not an acre of land either. I had a customer from Kittery,ME. He has a WM that he can't even start on his land do to regulations. But his neighbor can use his 24hp Craftsman lawn mower all day long.

[Bandmill Bandit]

I Have been doing mostly mobile sawing and have come to the conclusion that i would need a minimum of 3 acres for the mill set to be as reasonable effective and that assumes that 90% of my sawn lumber will be shipped once a week and loading the cut lumber directly onto a super B trailer as I have a buyer that will buy everything I can produce in 3",4",6",x6",8",10",12" X, 8' 12' 16'   

Ideally 5 acres would work real well with meticulous site organization and management for the type of operation I have now decided to set up. This does not include a shop and storage for support equipment. I would like to set up so that I have 2 truck loops, 1 for recieving and 1 for shipping that use a common drive way. We will see how it ALL evolves.

I am looking for a minimum of 10 to 20 acres and hope to find 40 to 80 (Dreaming).

I have learned a lot from experience and from reading here. Thanks to everybody here on FF.

I have done a few jobs where I lost money but those can be counted on 1 hand with a few fingers left.

I have paid for my  saw mill in just over 500 hours of sawing.

Planning on being stationary with in year. I think this year will turn out to be a the best year so far.

[Leigh Family Farm]

I got to see my first mill in operation this weekend!   8) All thanks to Tim Welsh (aka TWelsh) of Welsh Tree Service. It was awesome to see the whole operation and how a mill runs. I now fully understand why it is important to have ample room for a good mill set up. Tim was kind enough to walk me through his operation and explain some of the finer points of milling. The amount of information I learned in the few hours I spent at the mill, was invaluable. For example, I never had seen a Doyle Scale ruler before and Tim showed me how to calculate the approximate board foot for the log.

I really enjoyed Tim's method of getting the best lumber out of a log: take a grease pencil, draw as big of a square as you can fit on the end of the log, cut accordingly! :D Tim took the time to full explain to me what a proper sawmill operation needs and how he went about getting it. The big items on the list were not the mill...it was the space and support equipment. Tim was able to move and buck a log in no time because of his support equipment. He explained that if he was doing it by hand it would take him almost an hour just to get the log ready for the mill. I learned that a mill might not be in my near future, but its in the future. I'm very thankful for Tim taking the time to let me come and see his shop.

If there are any other members in the Philadelphia area, please PM me because I would like to come and look at your set up as well. I can provide free offbearing labor on most Saturdays.

Here are some pics from the sawmill visit:


 
TWelsh moving logs around to the mill


  
Loading the mill


  
Bucking the log to the right length


 
Lining up the first cut

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In answers to your comments, I would like to go rural. The wife does not want to go as rural as I would like. We are still working on the terms of the peace agreement on this issue ;). The bright side is that we talked today about building a vacation house up in the Poconos (pronounced poke-o-nose) Mountains on a few acres of woods. Maybe I can do a sawmill in a remote location and drive there on the weekends? Thoughts on that one?

I did some looking into the zoning regulations, and like others have said just because you have the space might not necessarily mean you can use the mill on it. I think that it will be more fruitful doing the end processing work (drying, planing, molding, etc.) in the beginning and moving up to a full mill when the time is right. Although seeing TWelsh's mill this past week has made me really itching to buy a mill... ;D