Hello to all! Just wanted to introduce myself. Recently bought a woodland mills hm126 trailer mounted mill to do some hobby milling and so far i love it!
This spring i had gone to a local sawmill to buy lumber for a new garden shed and going there got me interested in sawmills. I had been there a few times before but for some reason this time was different.
I started watching videos online and i was hooked. I was fascinated with big slabs and crotch grains and beautiful woods being revealed for the first time.
I struggled with the thought of buying a mill for several months because i really didn't NEED one, but i sure did WANT one! Finally in Sept. after bouncing my thoughts off of friends and family i decided that i really needed a new hobby and i could make it happen, so i ordered the hm126, 14 hp, extended trailer model.
So far i haven't really milled any lumber yet, just doing hobby stuff, been milling a bunch of red cedar and making some live edge benches and coat racks. My brother owns a tree service so i have a source for logs.
Mostly cedar and some chunks of cherry so far.
I have tossed one blade so far by not torquing it up before starting up and i have cut my fist metal...a backstop.
I expect to have my first lumber project very soon. A friend has a nice straight cherry log about 18" x 20' that he would like to mill up for lumber for future projects. He is a builder and may want to build some cabinets with it. If we can make good boards... i can use some pointers here..remember i'm brand new at this ;D
And a warm Welcome to you too Sir. :)
Welcome mtoo747. Yep bit by the saw dust bug. You are already into it congratulations!
Congratulations and welcome
mtoo747,welcome to the forum.
I say I looked for 20 years before I bought a mill. I went to fairs to see them run,shows and special events,I was there looking and watching. I really only looked at the manual mills,because that is what I wanted. I only saw for myself. There will be a show in Bangor,ME in May. I don't think there is much ou on it yet. All sorts of sawmills,skidders,wood splitters,shavers,anything to do with wood will be there. A good place to watch and learn.
Sounds like you will enjoy sawing.
I had no idea what I am doing and still don't,but the lumber I saw is the same thickness and width,so I must be something right.
Don't worry about those backstops. Keep sawing into them until you make them shorter. :D
I'm new here too, though I've been lurking around for years. I'm really impressed with the discourse here. Civil, thoughtful, and collaborative. I've always been leery of online forums, but this one is an exception. It's a great resource. As for mills, I've been building wooden boats professionally for almost 20 years (I'm 38 now). I always really liked the primary/secondary processing side of things, and a few of my best friends in life are foresters, though I always felt like a sawmill was an expensive luxury, a retired person's "toy". Was I wrong!! I shoulda bought my Woodmizer my first day in business! It would've saved me lots of money, and more importantly, some bad decisions, i.e.; saying yes to jobs I shouldn't have taken. As satisfying as it is to build a boat, I really, really love opening up logs. And as for staring down a big log on your mill, Pete Culler, a well known boatbuilder and author opined in one of his great writings, "Experience starts when you begin". I can sure get in my own way in terms of hesitation or uncertainty, and I constantly revisit the gravity of his wise words. Good luck with the cherry! It'll be fantastic.
Welcome to the Forestry Forum, mtoo747!