The Forestry Forum

A fellow Sawyer reached out to for some black walnut logs for an order he has, and I have five. The problem is neither of us really know what to offer each other, both want to be fair, and not offend either. They are nice logs but im sure they will have metal. Any ideas on what to ask?

On clean logs, I can get $.75 bdft doyle on logs 12'' and under and 12'' up to 15'' can range from $1.50 to $3

Veneer is totally different. They must be 9' and over and 3 clear sides, straight, and 15''+. $3+

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Take a percentage of what the sawn lumber brings.  If no trouble sawing [metal, etc.] maybe 40%.

I've paid $1/BF doyle for yard logs up to 15".  I've paid $1.25 larger or longer logs.  I have a hard time getting larger and longer though.  There is little to no logging nearby as it's mostly farm field country,  except for some land clearing. So my main source for logs is tree services and they mostly will cut shorter.  I have one that will cut longer when he can.  I'd pay more for good longer walnut logs.  16', 18' or longer.   I have one 18'er here now that is straight and about 16" on the small end.

Quote from: Everest123 on March 12, 2019, 08:00:58 AM
I need some input from experts / experience sawyers.  I've gone through a million reviews, youtube videos, and these forums and I'm quite literally stuck between these two admittedly very different mills.  Here's the decision I'm looking at, and before anyone says it, I realize this is not a straight apples to apples comparison.  But for my anticipated use (based on my limited knowledge) these are my two top competitors.  I always welcome "hey dummy, you haven't even considered this" type of input though :)

About Me - I have 180 acres of property in rural Virginia, with 150 acres fully wooded with 50-80 year old woods.  Lots of black walnut, maple, poplar, pine, black locust, etc.  I'm a casual woodworker with lots of project ideas.  I LOVE the idea of milling my own lumber and can think of many projects.  I am not, nor will I ever be, a professional sawyer.  I have no interest in selling wood, just making some great lumber for projects, sharing with friends, etc.  The property is large, with logging road throughout.  I have a lot of heavy equipment including tractors, a backhoe, utility vehicles, etc.  I have plenty of ways to move large logs.  The largest trees on my property are in the 30" range.  I might have a FEW larger than that, but the vast majority will be in the 15-20" range.  I plan to build a 12x40' pole barn to house the sawmill and for general storage.  I expect most operations will be done right there so a trailered mill is more of a luxury vs. a requirement.  Time is critical for me.  I work like a dog, so I prefer not to spend weeks building and maintaining a mill.  I need it to come together quickly, and work when I need it to work with minimal fussing.  Anything else and it becomes en expensive lawn ornament.  If I'm being brutally honest, I would guess this mill will be used 4-5 times a year to crank out a few logs worth of wood.  More if I'm suppying a major project, but that won't be the norm.  My budget is in the $10k range.

Why the Woodlander HM130?  It will handle up to 30" logs, looks much simpler to build (this is a MAJOR consideration), is 25% less money than the Norwood (albeit not a totally fair comparison), gets good reviews and seems to operate reliably.  I really like Kohler motors, I've had a few and they just work.  Every time.  I like the Woodlander HM130XL which comes with a trailer for portability to other locations if I choose, and easy auto-leveling. While made in China it seems to be of reasonably high quality and is largely made with commodity parts.  On the down side it can never be upgraded to hydraulics (which I'm not sure I'd ever need anyway), and has less overall capacity vs. the Norwood.  All in all this seems to be the better "value" and given my anticipate light use, seems like a good choice.

Why the Norwood HD36?  It will handle any log on my property now or in the future.  It seems better made overall to me and can be upgraded endlessly.  There is a huge following on-line which means lots of experience to tap into and youtube tutorials abound.  I haven't read of seen quick as many "huh what was that" issues as I have with the Woodlander, although it seems all mills have their querks.  The down side is that equally configured w/ a trailer it's $4k more than the Woodlander.  The build process is incredibly intimidating to me (I'm sorry to say this is a huge factor).  I've never seen so many bolts in my life and if it takes me 4-5 days to assemble - that's 3-4 months for me in terms of free time.  Balancing that out - I'm not sure the trailer is absolutely necessary.  I'm preparing a level gravel surface for the mill, eventually with a roof, so it will go onto heavy concrete blocks for stability and I can bring logs to the mill with my equiment.  

So - sorry for the long post - but I want to get fully informed view and experiences.  What would YOU suggest I do? What questions am I not even asking? What options have I not even considered? WoodMizers seem to be really solid, but to get into the size range of either of these mills the costs spiral out of control. Am I going to want hydraulics in 5-6 6 years and I just don't know it yet because I have no experience?  Is the HD36 easier to build than I think?

Talk to me :)

-Jeff

Ji