Any mills in upstate SC?

[scgargoyle]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I'd like to find a small sawmill in the Greenville, SC area. I have 7 acres of hardwoods, and I originally planned to get a mill of my own, but I don't think I'm going to harvest enough trees to be worth it. But there are some 18-24" DBH oaks that need to go, and I'd like to get some lumber out of them to use as accent pieces in my house, so if I can find a local mill, it would help. Also, what is the minimum size tree that can be milled? Is an 8" tree good for anything other than firewood? Thanks!

[Tom]

I'm sure there are mills available in the Greenville area.  There might even be one on "Find a Sawmill" at the top right of the page. I haven't looked.  A good way to find them initially is to call the sawmill sponsor's on the left side of the page.  They keep records of their customers and whether they do custom sawing or not.

Generally log sizes for sawing reach a point of deminishing returns at a 10" top.  There are other things to consider that make the smaller logs more difficult too.  That is straightness, limbs, log damage and the amount of mature wood in a log.  A fast growing tree of 10" may contain mostly pith and immature wood.  That will cause you trouble in drying and use both.  The first 3 to 5 growth rings layed down beside the pith are generally considered to be immature wood and unstable.

Smaller log may be sawed but it depends on the clamping capabilities of the sawmill and the sawyer.  When a small log is rolled out of the clamps by the blade, there are a lot of damaging forces applied to sensitive parts of the mill.  Sometimes you can get by without harming the mill and sometimes it goes deep into your pocket.

Most mills can handle a 10" log, which will produce 6" lumber.