Sawmill opinions PLEASE

[Zeke]

So, I'm considering buying a bandmill and need some advice. We're going to build a house in a few years and I want to cut the lumber for it. The great room will be timber framed. The rest of the house will be stick built. After the house is built I'll use the mill for woodworking projects. Will something like the LT10 be acceptable? Or, should I build my own. All opinions welcome.

Thanks!

[DonE911]

Sounds like a good plan!  The smaller mill will be alot of work.  Not sure what you want to spend but if your interested in a home built bandmill you might want to talk to Fla Deadheader.  He is selling his bandmill and moving to Costa Rica...  his mill is a serious machine and can do lots of work.

I started off with a Logosol M7 chainsaw mill.  It works great, just not real fast.  A realitively small investment to get started. Once you cut the first log you'll catch sawdust fever and want more.  I'm currently working on upgrading to a swinger.

[D._Frederick]

If you are going to build and saw timbers for a timber frame building, I would look at the LT 15. Since it is a Sit-On-Ground mill, you could build extra length of track to be able to saw what ever length of timbers you will need.

The LT 10 is too much a toy to do any real sawing with. Unless you have a large scrap pile of material, and a good machine shop of equipment, I would buy a mill. The resale will be much better when you want to get rid of it.

[DanG]

I certainly wouldn't call the LT-10 a toy.  It is a tool, as much as any of them.  It is just smaller.  It has the advantage of being easy to stash in the corner of your garage.  It wouldn't be my personal choice, however, because of the size.  I'd be real frustrated to find that most of my logs were too big to fit on it.  Most of the guys I know of that have started out with the little mills have upgraded pretty quick.

[OneWithWood]

I am in the process of building a barn to house my mill and kiln.  I have harvested 99% of the wood from my own property and milled it on my mill.  The money you save in lumber can be substantial but the time it takes to fell trees, buck to length, transport logs to the mill and mill them up is also substantial.  I love it so the time thing does not matter for me.
You can do the milling on a smaller mill if your are fit and strong.  I opted for a mill with hydraulics because the work out I get in the woods is plenty and the safety factor when working with large and heavy logs is far better.  Trees can be processed with an axe, a crosscut saw, and a team of oxen but I choose to utilize chainsaws and a crawler.  The analogy is similar in my view.
A hydraulic mill also retains value and provides much more options after the building is done.

[Gabby]

Go to your search engine and look up Norwood Industries. I recently purchase a LumberMate 2000- 23 hp engine, cuts 30" dia., but all manual (under $7000).  I'm very pleased but you need to look at your situation(i.e.- how many hrs per week do you have for your project, your physical condition, ect. If you buy get what is best for YOU! Good luck. The folks here are great.

[Part_Timer]

Zeke,

I'm not sure how far you are from Bluffton IN, but if you would like to run an LT15 you are welcome to come over and give mine a try.  Plenty to cut up.  You can even take a turn on the swing mill if ya want.

Having LT15 I can tell you you don't want to try and build a timber frame with a LT10.  I'll send my number if you would like to talk about it

Tom

[Part_Timer]

WOW    belpre is a long ways away.  your still welcome though. 

[Zeke]

Yeh,

I almost live in West Virginia. In fact, I do most of my shopping in West Virginia.

Zeke

[Jeff]

Zeke, you might want to think about attending the Paul Bunyan show then coming up this fall. It sounds like it may be pretty close to you.

[Zeke]

Yeh,

It's about an hour away from home and about twenty minutes from where I work. I've never made it to the show but I've had to deal with the traffic from it.

Zeke

[ohsoloco]

Zeke, don't forget that you can call sawmill manufacturers and they can give you contact info. for mill owners that are close to you.  You could try out several different makes/models and see which one would be best for you 

[Gunny]

I guess my insights will be based upon what I consider to be the biggest headaches I ever ran into while running the early Norwood bandsaw mill
(they were called "LumberMate" back then) on my tree farm--maintenance upgrades and blades.  Having watched the evolution of the company and the machinery, these matters may already have been addressed by Peter Dale (still?) founder/owner.

I would NEVER spend one cent on ANY bandsaw mill without first ensuring that the unit was compatible to the WoodMizer blades.  I've only been around this bandsaw mill business about 12 years but I don't yet know of any company which handles their blade/blade maintenance system so professionally.  I probably spent more time dinking with "other" blades out there in the woods than I did producing lumber.  (A lesson long-learned for me.)

Also, and again this might have been ironed out at Norwood, my unit was constantly giving me fits with things like carriage head-lock bolts loosening up while the unit was in a cut, blade tensioning nightmares (no gauge), and broken blades.  All these issues--but for the blade problems--were ultimately corrected with "updates" sent from the company.  

The sawmill itself was, once updated, easy to operate and was capable of sawing the largest logs I could put on it with my cant hooks.  I still have scores of 24" and wider slabs sawn in the early days of using it and often put that blade through 28" Red Oak with few problems.  Again, the blades and the blade maintenance package is the key, I believe.

My unit ran a 10HP Tecumseh which never gave me one lick of trouble. Rather than drag logs all over our 60-acre farm, we moved the sawmill to the logs, opening small landings throughout the woodlot to accomodate the small portable mill.

Your project may be a bit more than the LT10 was intended to produce.  But, then, it may prove to be the perfect tool for the single project you have in mind.  I doubt you'd ever consider trying to run a commercial enterprise with it and your building plans probably won't call for more than 15-20MBF total.  If my 10HP could plow through those big Oaks, no reason that LT10 engine couldn't give you the power you'd need for the beams/cants and sheathing you'll be needing.

Maybe an email to each of the considered parties would be appropriate.  Just let them know what you intend to do with the unit and wait for their replies.  You'd even "have it in writing" then!  

Good luck with your project.

(BTW): The last project our LumberMate bandsaw mill produced prior to our selling the farm was a 32'X48' "Adirondack" log cabin--complete.  All logs (6"X8"), joists, rafters, sheathing, etc. were sawn on that mill, to include all the lumber for the attached 48'-long covered deck.  

[Jeff]

Any of our sponsors to the left will be glad to help you with information and are all good choices.

[Robert_in_W._Mi.]

  I own a Norwood Lumbermate, and it does just what Norwood says it will do, i think they are a very good value and priced very competitively...

  Check them out, they have a very good free video and an 800 number to order it.

  Robert

[SAW MILLER]

HI EVERYBODY,I AM COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET.ZEKE,I BUILT MY MILL 3 YEARS AGO AND HAVE SAWED ABOUT 100,000 BF.BUILT ON THREE ROOMS TO MY HOUSE,A WOOD WORKING SHOP AND HAVE JUST SAWED ENOUGH FOR MY GARAGE.I GOT A BIG KICK OUT OF BUILDING IT BUT NOW WOULD LIKE A BIGGER MILL AND THE RESALE ON IT WON'T BE AS GOOD ON A HOME BUILT.TO BUILD WITH NEW MATERIAL WOULD COST 80% THE PRICE OF A NEW MILL.I AM ONLY AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM YOU.I WISH I HAD FOUND THIS WEBSITE WHILE I WAS BUILDING IT THOUGH.THESE GUYS CAN SAVE YOU A LOT OF HARD KNOCKS 

[Jeff]

Norwood is not a sponsor of the forestry forum I would like to point out, even though they get commercials from Robert any time he posts. His reason for being on the internet I guess.

Honestly I have ran a norwood and found it to be a decent machine, but the machines sold by the sponsors to the right have something norwood does not. Company support right here on the forum. Any of the sponsor mills have people from the company as members who try thier durndest to go that extra mile to make sure you are satisfied.

[wiam]

OK saw miller.   Welcome.  We need pics of the homemade.

Will

[Zeke]

I BUILT MY MILL 3 YEARS AGO AND HAVE SAWED ABOUT 100,000 BF.

I hope you'll post some pictures of your mill. I haven't rulled out building a mill. But, I'm leaning torward buying a mill. My main reason is that I could start cuttling lumber sooner.

Zeke

[Furby]

This post says a lot:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=13287.msg190987#msg190987
;)

[Zeke]

BUT NOW WOULD LIKE A BIGGER MILL AND THE RESALE ON IT WON'T BE AS GOOD

Saw Miller, it sounds like you are considering selling your mill. If so, let me know. We may be able to work something out.

Zeke

[Gabby]

Jeff, I understand and appreciate your comments regarding sponsorship for the forum. The people at Menominee are great! I have and will continue to encourage Norwood  to become a sponsor. Something about the squeaky wheel. In the meantime on the Norwood website they provide a discussion group for us poor users.
Thanks, George.
ps Has my hat been shipped. tks again.

[Jeff]

MESSAGE TO ROD. READ YOUR INSTANT MESSAGES >:(

[SAW MILLER]

     zeke,I am using the mill now and am financially embarassed.It will probably be a year or two before I can afford what I am going for.I built it out of what ever I could scounge up.The band runs on chevy cavalier rear spindles with donut spares turned around backwards.frame is rails from warehouse shelving.It has a 16 hp briggs for power.winch up and down,all manual.I have around 700.00 in it and probably 300 hours labor.I already had the motor ,so you could tack on another 1000.00 and build one if you're a good scrounger.I'll try to post some pictures.

[Buzz-sawyer]

Lets see em 8) 8)