Clark Sawmills

[maple flats]

I recently watched a video by " Sawing with Sandy". In the past he first had a manual Woodland Mills HM`130 and he used it for several years, then maybe 2 yrs ago he bought a Woodland Mills HM 130 Max, very similar to his original but able to cut bigger logs (but only slightly bigger). Now in the last month or so He bought a Clark Sawmill.
The first 2 were totally manual mills, the Clark is bigger and seems to have everything, hydraulic loading, control station and everything I can think of is hydraulic. It among other things has 2 toe board lifts, the log stops are on the opposite side compared to most mills (on the in cut not the out cut. This new mill looks very nice for sure (but I'll very likely stay with my Woodland Mills HM 130 Max), not because I think it's better, but because I didn't win the lottery, in fact someone recently told me I'd need to buy a ticket before I could ever win.
Have any of you seen a Clark? Made in Canada.
His is mounted on a heavy duty trailer and it looks very sturdy indeed.

[Hilltop366]

I seen that, it does look like a very nice mill.

I also looked at their web site, I think he has the second to the top level @ $65k Cdn plus the optional 37hp diesel, the top level mill has 120hp diesel and $110k Cdn.

[Magicman]

Sounds like a potential FF Sponsor. 

[SawyerTed]

I saw the same video of the Clark shop and a description of the mill. 

The Clark mills appear similar to Baker mills, very heavy duty and capable of impressive production with enough support. 

The Clark mills look good to me.  The weight is a trade off in portability in my opinion.

[DanielW]

Built just up the road from my work, and by very friendly and capable folks. The family that owns it is well known in the area and well respected. And their mills are superbly heavy-built. Even compared to the LT70's or similar, the Clarke mills are uber-robust. Built to take day in, day out usage. And they build lots of custom adaptations for their mills: Dual heads/carriages, custom off-bearing and re-entry platforms, etc. I've worked around a few of them, and wanted to buy a dual-head Clarke that was for sale a few years ago. I would happily have bought it for the price it went for, but I was late getting to the auction and it had already sold. Oh well. I especially like the Clarke's as they use standard and high-quality componentry for everything: bearings, hydraulic pumps & valves, HMI interfaces, hardware, etc. All name-brand stuff that can usually be fixed if broken, and easily found/sourced if replacements are needed.

They were (and still are) the go-to business-grade bandmills around here. I hope they can stay in business, but I can see how it might get tough for them: The headquarters for Woodland Mills are only 40 minutes away, and there's a Woodmizer sales yard just up the road from them. Most folks buying bandmills these days are the hobby-type folks who only mill a few logs a week, and they can get away with the lighter nature of the Woodlands or similar offshore builds. They don't need to spend double the price for the stouter-built Clarke. And even for the larger operators, the have the competition from the double-cut Select mills also made in Ontario, only a few hours away.

They should be ok, as their custom adaptations are something no one else does. But in general, the market for semi-commercial/small-business-grade bandmills is drying up a little. Now that the hobby-grade offshore mills like the Woodlands and Range-Roads are so cheap, everyone either has one or knows someone with one that can satisfy their own occasional milling needs. There were several similar manufacturers in Quebec making heavier mills similar to the Clarke, but most of them have either folded or changed their product range to accomodate the hobby market.

[maple flats]

Thanks for the input. I also thought they looked very well made, looking at their webisit, and seeing the prices, they are likely worth every doolar, but they just wouldn't fit my budget. 
I did however like the one Sandy got, whether he paid full price or got a good deal because he has a lot of subscribers on his you tube channel. That mill looks fantastic. At first I was wondering why he got one that big, being a lot of his sawing is small pines, like big enough for a 4x4 or 2 at 2x4, some large enough to get 2 or 3  2x6's, but then he said he owns more land with larger trees.

[Ed_K]

 I watch all of sandy's videos, he had a lot of extras added to his mill. So the price wouldn't be the same for the #2 mill that Clark's build.

[logman 219]

why would any one spend 90,000.00 to buy a saw mill to cut 12" dia. logs in to 2x conc lumber you can buy 2x4,6,8, for less than 1.00 bd ft

[Nebraska]

Because you can sometimes. My mill only pays as therapy.  it's mental  recreation I can do steps from my home in a few minutes time.  Occupational therapy. 

[newoodguy78]

Nebraska there's a lot of truth in your statement. Doing things for yourself once in awhile goes miles towards good mental health. 
I don't care whether it's the lowest grade used and abused manual mill or a new shiny one with all the bells and whistles, if the owners happy and they didn't sink themselves financially to get it I'm happy for them. 
I will add the mill that started the topic is out of my league right now but after watching the videos it seems to be very well made and setup how Sandy wants it. Good for him. 

[PoginyHill]

I hear psychotherapists are expensive these days. Maybe even more than a good sawmill.