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I'm Back after a few months

Started by etkoehn, April 12, 2010, 02:29:10 PM

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etkoehn

I'm Back.
I still haven't bought a sawmill and didn't go through with my crazy(which is a good thing) idea.
But I still want to get into this business but now going to try the slow approach. Keep my job at a potato plant and try to get into sawmilling on my days off. So any ideas, tips, hints and advice is totally welcome, even if it is "you are crazy go away". :D 
What kind of saw should one start out will? Swing blade or bandsaw? I hear good and bad about both but each seems to have their place in the milling world. So what are your guys thoughts on it?
How did you guys get your businesses going
I really want to get into business for myself and I really would like to do stuff with wood. So please help. :)
Farm Boy

fishpharmer

Glad to see you back etkoehn.  I cannot answer your questions, as a matter of fact I have some of the same questions.   The slow careful approach may be the best way to go if you don't have an established market begging for you services.
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

DanG

Welcome back ETK.  Type of mill should depend on what you want from it.  If you'll be getting into those huge Fir and Redwood logs, a swinger might be the ticket or a MD type mill.  If you want to grade saw, a bandmill would be better.  Any manual mill will eventually wear you down, even if you're only 23, so keep that in mind. 
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

schakey

Keep your dream alive. We have land outside of Wayne,Wv and been wanting to move
there and buy a sawmill to build our home,barns ect.This has been going on for a few years and someday we will get there. As far a mill goes it is nothing but personnel
choice(mine is woodmizer!) ;D
Think-Dream-Plan-Do

Magicman

Welcome back.  If I remember correctly, you had more figures than a moviestar.  I would watch some videos of various mills in operation.  Each has a specific purpose and depends upon your logs and lumber market.  Whether you plan to sell lumber or provide a sawing service.

With any of them, the more "bells and whistles" the better.  Also consider used mills.  I'd check out the "For Sale" board below.  Also check here:   http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

etkoehn

I have a question about blades/bands. The saw blades are seem to be a lot more expensive compared to bands. Do you have to do less sharping to a blade?

DanG, I'm not sure what grade saw means. So if you can explain that to me I wouldn't feel as ignorant,:D          

Another question. Woodmizer or Cook's? Is one really better then the other in anyway? To me the cook's looks more sturdy. And it has a better color. :D

How much do you guys charge for sawing? And how much can you saw in a good day?

One thing I know will be hard is that the closest forests to me are almost a 2 hour drive. I know I'm from the evergreen state, but I live in the part that is a dessert.

DanG, anything manual wears me down. :D I prefer to sit here and be lazy 8). I don't always get to be lazy though, I'm 22 hours and a lot of those were working. I am sure going to crash for a few hours that's for sure.

As of right now I am in no hurry to by a mill...for this moment at least :)
Farm Boy

etkoehn

Yep Magicman ("more figures than a moviestar")that was me. :D For some weird odd reason I like to put figures on paper and see what I get.

"Each has a specific purpose and depends upon your logs and lumber market." 
Any tree big enough I can get my hands on:D

"Whether you plan to sell lumber or provide a sawing service."
I was thinking about trying to do both.

I wouldn't mind buying a used sawmill if i found one I liked. But the problem there is I don't know sawmills. How worn out is it? What parts are missing? That's the only thing I don't like about buying used.

Bells and whistles are always nice but always use more of these $$$$ then I have.

Farm Boy

backwoods sawyer

Apple wood and cottonwood should be easy to come by in your area along with a good assortment of yard trees, with Pine to the east and fir to the west of you.
Check to see if there are any wood working clubs in your area and joins as many as you have time for. This will get you an in with them and as you go along can build connections for when you do get your mill. You may even find someone that has a mill that you can spend sometime around. Color of a mill does not mater a whole lot as long as it fits your needs and your pocket book. Good to see you stop in again.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

etkoehn

I have a huge pile of apple wood let see if i can load a picture
that took quite a few trailer loads and a work to haul to my place
Farm Boy

sigidi

ETK I reckon get a woodmizer and a Lucas 8) Lucas can handle any size log ya want, can turn out large cants which can then be easily broken down into boards on your woodmizer 8) ;D :o ;D
Always willing to help - Allan

etkoehn

I wish I could get a both but I don't want to get to into debt.

So why does everyone seem do have a woodmizer over other bandsaws
Farm Boy

Magicman

Quote from: etkoehn on April 13, 2010, 12:03:36 PM
So why does everyone seem do have a woodmizer over other bandsaws 

:) :) :) :) :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

etkoehn

Whats with all the smiles? What did i say? besides "do" typo
Farm Boy

backwoods sawyer

It weren't the typo. This question gets asked a lot. I own a orange mill but am not sold on the idea that orange is the only color for a mill. Woodmizer got the ball started with the bandmills and along the way several others have come to make good mills as well. It is kinda like with cars, you know the Ford, Chevy, ect. debate. As long as you are mechanically inclined keep an open mind to even buying a homebuilt mill. One of these days I am going to paint my mill "Green"
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

etkoehn

Well I could afford payment on a mill that is not to high priced. But I would like to buy a mill and have enough work with it each month to make it's own payments. And be able to pay it off in a couple of years.

Questions to all you custom Sawyers.
  On average how many board feet do you saw a month?
  How many board feet can you saw in a good day?
  What brand and model of mill do you use?
  How much do you charge?
  Is it just you or do you have a helper?
 

Farm Boy

DanG

To answer your question, ET, Woodmizer is popular because they make a good mill, provide good service, and do a great job of marketing.  There are other good mills out there, and the service is generally excellent from all the makers I know about, but some of them don't do a very good job in the marketing department.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

barbender

From what I've seen of woodmizer's, they are better thought out, you can see a lot of smart engineering went into them. And they just seem sturdier to me, when I compare them to other mills I see at expos and what. If I ever give up on my shopbuilt unit, I'll be buying a woodmizer.
Too many irons in the fire

etkoehn

Yeah I really don't know how much more sturdy they are because i have only seen them in pictures. From all the sawmill pictures i looked at, cook's looks the most sturdy and woodmizer second but that is from pictures only. I know woodmizer must be a great brand cause seems like everyone has them. But for me the most bang for my buck is what I want whatever kind of saw it is.
Farm Boy

Tronvik

woodmizer is the only way to go. When i bought my first mill in 2000 it was orange but its name was not woodmizer. After a few months i knew i made a mistake. And when i tried to sell it everyone asked if it was a woodmizer. Two mills later and i would buy them both again.
1984 lt30, john deere 750

etkoehn

Yeah I'm not sure which we way i will go when I buy. probably a cooks unless i can find a woodmizer near where i live.
Farm Boy

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