Hello Everyone!
I have been reading the forum for about a year now, and I cannot thank all of you enough for all of the great information and stories you share. I am in a dilemma about trying to figure out which brand of mill to buy, and was wondering if y'all would chime in? I think I want a fully hydraulic gas unit, as I am never going to do enough sawing to justify buying a diesel. I really lean towards a Baker, but Cooks has my attention also. I see all different brands used here, and you guys with Wood-Mizers seem to really know your stuff. I would like to get the toughest built mill I can find. I have owned and operated a forestry mulcher since 2005 and just got tired of destroying all of those big oaks and mesquites, so I started dreaming of cutting flitches. (I have a deep appreciation for beautiful live edge furniture and would like to build some.) Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Also, I purchased a Lucas mill and slabber, and quickly realized a bandsaw was a better match for me. However, in about 2 hours time, I cut enough flitches to be sure this is something I want to pursue. That being said, Doug with Baileys is about as fantastic as they come with customer service, and my hat is off to him. I get two gold stars for being an idiot and not seeing a Lucas in person before buying it. (Absolutely nothing wrong with the mill, just wrong preconceived notions about my operation.) I have seen a bandsaw run, I just liked the idea of being able to mill wide crotches and root balls, hence the Lucas. In reality, most of what I want to mill will be smaller than 36" with only an occasional large log. Once again, thank you all for the great service of your collective wisdom and y'all's willingness to help newcomers.
-Mark
I think you'll find that the owners of all the brand-name band mills really know their stuff. A lot of the important stuff has nothing to do with the brand of sawmill. Things like "reading" a log, handling the material (and the waste), what type of support equipment, etc.
Hi there and welcome aboard!
I've ran several of the mills whose sponsorship you see at left... All exceptional quality and superb engineering. I am partial to Cooks saws for the reason you mention, among others, but try to saw on all of them before you buy...like test driving new trucks. it'll be well worth the effort
Chet
Hi Mark, and welcome to the Forestry Forum!
I would suggest you click on the "locate a sawyer" button and try to get out and spend time watching several brands of mills operate and talk with the owner/operator before making your decision!
Milling is a great thing!
First step...un-misplace yourself. ;D
What Brucer said. It is a 'package' process.
For myself, the milling process is another aspect of a diverse business application. One might think this is MO, as the requirement for small business to prove themselves to folks is a looong process. In the application as it is, my manual bandmill is quite sufficient and effective at all levels of its participation. Very low maintenance/repair/etc., produces generally what I'm willing/able to put forth. That I like the work of it most, alas, won't in itself pay the bills.
As you have been reading for a while, then you know that most are pleased with the mills they have and the learning to best work them and their support, becomes the welcome challenge.
There's quite a few good mills made, sounds like you want one with a lot of space between the guides, many only have 24" but some have a lot more. Steve
Welcome to forestryforum Misplaced Texan. I too have a Lucas with a slabber, they do a good job. They are just different then a bandmill. I have a homebuilt bandmill as well, it has 48" space between the guides, so I can appreciate your desire for a bandmill. My only recommendation is try to get hydraulics unless you have other log handling equipment.
Find Will Baugh at Woodmizer in Mt Vernon, Mo. I bet you could spend a little time around some Woodmizer mills there and see if they are a match for you. Welcome to the forum.
Make sure the bandsaw has enough width between the guides for you......Woodmizers have 28", that's the max for perfectly straight sides ....you're not going to be sawing live edge flitches greater than this on one.
Welcome MisplacedTexan to the Forestry Forum. You absolutely need to watch several different brands of mills in operation. This link is to the board below that list field days, shows, and demonstrations. Also, manufacturers generally have videos showing their sawmills in operation.
I would pay close attention to the simplicity of the machine. How many hoses and control lines are exposed?
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/board,15.0.html
What Buck said: Will Baugh at Woodmizer in Mt Vernon, Mo., depending on where you are in Springfield, Will is about 40 miles West of you off 44. I picked my mill up at Wills and brought it back to Memphis. Good People over there!
I made the mistake of having a bandmill custom built because we wanted to be able to cut bigger logs, especially for quartersawing bur oak logs. I believe we have a throat opening of 36". The problem is a lot of the rest of the mill wasn't beefed up to handle, turn, and load those big logs. I am not saying you can't get one. But its going to be very expensive, at least the ones I know about. You might be better to keep the lucas for just slabbing and the big ones, and get a smaller band mill for your other needs. Or find someone who wants to buy your lucas,sell that and use their services for the slabs.
And give Woodmizer a look. Will is a great guy over there in MO.
welcome to the forestry forum misplaced texan
Quote from: terrifictimbersllc on May 16, 2011, 07:42:51 AM
Make sure the bandsaw has enough width between the guides for you......Woodmizers have 28", that's the max for perfectly straight sides ....you're not going to be sawing live edge flitches greater than this on one.
i have sawed serveral 32'' to 36'' diameter logs into 3'' and 4'' live edged slabs. they come out good. just takes a lot of extra time to get them turned, clamped and cut.
my mill is an ez boardwalk all manual.
they have a lot of demonstrations of different mills at the fall farmfest in springfield each september if you arent in a big hurry. pc
How many board feet do you expect to cut every day/month/year?
Quote from: paul case on May 16, 2011, 08:38:40 AM
welcome to the forestry forum misplaced texan
Quote from: terrifictimbersllc on May 16, 2011, 07:42:51 AM
Make sure the bandsaw has enough width between the guides for you......Woodmizers have 28", that's the max for perfectly straight sides ....you're not going to be sawing live edge flitches greater than this on one.
i have sawed serveral 32'' to 36'' diameter logs into 3'' and 4'' live edged slabs. they come out good. just takes a lot of extra time to get them turned, clamped and cut.
my mill is an ez boardwalk all manual.
they have a lot of demonstrations of different mills at the fall farmfest in springfield each september if you arent in a big hurry. pc
PC what's the max board (throat) width on yours?
Thomas Band saw has one that will cut 32 inches between the band guides. Model 8020
http://www.thomasbandsawmills.com/Products/Bandsaw%20Mills/index.html
mine is 36'' . pc
when you are measuring the throat, it is as important to measure the vertical clearance, above the band, as it is to measure the horizontal clearance between guides. The reason is that it is the vertical clearance that allows you to utilize the horizontal clearance when you are opening a big log.
You will find the vertical clearance important when cutting a large cants too. Many logs will produce a 24" cant. You can cut this into 4- 12"x12"s only if the the clearance between the band and the top of the throat is greater than 12 inches. This is disregarding things like centered hearts and free of heart timbers. It makes a lot more sense when you find yourself cutting the last 1" board off of a 12"x13" and taking it off of the bottom of the timber without turning it. There are reasons for not turning the cant in this instance. One of them is to make sure that the two opposing sides are parallel. If the bed of the mill is not level, or their was stress in the log as it was being squared, this procedure will help to insure parallel sides.
I think that my LT40 had a 16" tall throat. I've seen mills with as little as 8" or 10" throats.
While most mills today will cut within an inch of the bed, it is still a selling/buying point to check.
Welcome to the forum, Mark, the misplaced Texan.
my mill has a 12'' throat. it really helps me since i cut a lot of 14'' logs and leave the boards stacked up (sawing thru and thru) so i can move them with the forklift or loader.
it will cut a 36'' slab. the guide wont let you cut below 3'' if it is moved all the way out. scoot it in to 34'' and it will cut down to 1''.
thats just little stuff to learn. the hard part was how to clamp a log down without being able to raise the clamp and squaring arms. wedges and vise grips. pc
welcome..
make sure the mill you buy fits all your needs, color shouldn't play a part. good luck
Quote from: paul case on May 16, 2011, 06:17:26 PM
my mill has a 12'' throat. it really helps me since i cut a lot of 14'' logs and leave the boards stacked up (sawing thru and thru) so i can move them with the forklift or loader.
it will cut a 36'' slab. the guide wont let you cut below 3'' if it is moved all the way out. scoot it in to 34'' and it will cut down to 1''.
thats just little stuff to learn. the hard part was how to clamp a log down without being able to raise the clamp and squaring arms. wedges and vise grips. pc
Sound like a good mill for cutting natural edge slabs out of bigger logs. Steve
Welcome to the forum Misplaced Texan.
There are a lot of good mills in the market that are worth looking at. I took most of 2 years to make a decision and ended up with a Woodmizer LT40HDG28 for most of the same reasons you have mentioned but also the fact that the Woodmizer is very well finished off for the most part with the operator in mind from both the operations and maintenance aspects of a a saw mill. IMNSHO the Woodmizer mills are the John Deere of the saw mills.
I have made a few minor mods as have many other FF members.
I can tell you that you wont regret buying a Woodmizer but you may wish to consider an LT40 Super. I know I sure wish I had goen up to at least the LT 40 Super.
Good luck. Once you got saw dust in your blood you will need a to go to a rehab centre (if you can find one) to get it out which will probably not even help.