Sawmill size, Whats perfect

[starmac]

I see some sweet deals being made with those big wide slabs too though.  You can always cut smaller logs with a mill that can handle larger ones, but you can't cut the larger ones with a smaller mill. All other things being equal, I see the advantage of being able to handle a few more inches, especially in a case like Stuarts.

The mill (log buyer) here can only handle 25 in logs, which would be sweet for me and other guys like me, except they buy them all and just buck them up for firewood themselves, brings tears to my eyes, watching the best logs brought down to firewood.

[mad murdock]

Waynorthmountie, a swing blade mill allows for several things, if you are seeking to do consistently larger logs, 1-there is really no size limit to the log you can mill(diameter-wise), 2-if larger slabs and live edge is desired, a slabbing arrangement is available, with my mill, it is an cradle that rides on the beam to accept the Alaskan MkIII I have. I have the ability to slab up to 58" or so if desired. A chainsaw bar slabber makes much more uniform cuts from what I have seen than a band mill slabber. 3-a swing blade mill does not require moving oversized logs. My mill is easily set up over an oversized log and quartersawn boards can be taken without moving the log at all as I can cut boards in any orientation by simply adjusting the mill accordingly for each board desired. 4-with a swing blade mill, no edger is required as it is built in to the way it takes down a log. These are just a few advantages of a swing blade mill if you are talking about consistently dealing with larger than 30+ inch logs. I have taken many logs over 48-60" and 20' Long. No problem. I use no tractor on a regular basis, though there have been times a customer has had one available and it has been handy for taking boards away from the milling area, as they do accumulate quite rapidly with a swing blade mill too.

[ButchC]

Plus 1 8) on all Mad Murdock said. First and formost I am not here to bash anyone else's choice for a mill but the swingers dont get much press here and I think they get overlooked.  Personally I think a swinger and a small manual bandmill combo would be the ideal set up for the small time/part time guy.  A person reads  all the time that you wont saw long with a manual bandmill before you long for hydraulics and I will both agree and attest to that. Your still walking with a swinger but you are not rolling logs, especially in your case big logs,, big difference.  Swingers are often chastised for cost but not when compared to the recommended hydraulic band mill with log lift etc. They are also chastised for loss to saw dust but the real world has shown me that kerf and yield percentages are waaay over talked about and the real world yield difference is probably negligible due to how they are operated.  Maybe not for the full time sawyer with a hydraulic mill but certainly for the part timer with a manual mill. I have watched many of them run and helped off load. The manual mill sawyer quickly tires of all the rolling and re cutting and thus he slabs things off quickly, meaning deeply. Thus he looses his narrow kerf advantage in his slab waste pile instead the saw dust pile.  Again we are talking real world here not best case circumstance with a careful operator.

I spent a LOT of time reading, looking,helping  and watching 1-2 man sawmills before I decided and the best advise I can give is to do same. Decide what you NEED for lumber, then decide what your ACTUAL feed stock will be and what your ACTUALL support equipment will be. Then buy your mill.  One size does not fit all, that's for certain.
A part time guy must be very careful with the  "just a bit more" mind set as you can easily talk yourself into much more mill, and cost, than you can ever recover.

[DMcCoy]

The minimum number of sawmills a person should have is 3.  Seriously, how many screwdrivers do you own?  How many wrenches?  Vehicles?  Chainsaws?  Yup it is 3 sawmills.

You "NEED" 3 sawmills.
Circle mill for the scratch marks.
Band mill for the thin kerf.
Swing blade mill for giant logs.

8)

You make it sound like sawmills should be like footwear.
While it would be nice to do that my wallet says NO!
Gerald

Wow, how did I forget shoes!  There you go see, how many pairs of shoes do you have?
I only said 'you should have' and 'need' 3 mills I said nothing about actually buying them.
You find a way to convince your wife that you need to buy 3 sawmills then you have my deepest admiration.  I would be building myself a doghouse to sleep in.
;D ;D ;D    

[ButchC]

The minimum number of sawmills a person should have is 3.  Seriously, how many screwdrivers do you own?  How many wrenches?  Vehicles?  Chainsaws?  Yup it is 3 sawmills.

You "NEED" 3 sawmills.
Circle mill for the scratch marks.
Band mill for the thin kerf.
Swing blade mill for giant logs.

8)

You make it sound like sawmills should be like footwear.
While it would be nice to do that my wallet says NO!
Gerald

Wow, how did I forget shoes!  There you go see, how many pairs of shoes do you have?
I only said 'you should have' and 'need' 3 mills I said nothing about actually buying them.
You find a way to convince your wife that you need to buy 3 sawmills then you have my deepest admiration.  I would be building myself a doghouse to sleep in.
;D ;D ;D    

Why do we have to talk about asking the wife?? :-[ its kinda embarrassing dont ya know???

[TKehl]

Based on the scowl I got when the second forklift showed up on a rollback behind me in our driveway, I've decided it's prudent to keep my wife in the loop.  

I don't always ask permission, but I do let her know what I'm doing and give her an opportunity to protest..., usually.   ;)

[GAB]

The minimum number of sawmills a person should have is 3.  Seriously, how many screwdrivers do you own?  How many wrenches?  Vehicles?  Chainsaws?  Yup it is 3 sawmills.

You "NEED" 3 sawmills.
Circle mill for the scratch marks.
Band mill for the thin kerf.
Swing blade mill for giant logs.

8)

You make it sound like sawmills should be like footwear.
While it would be nice to do that my wallet says NO!
Gerald

Wow, how did I forget shoes!  There you go see, how many pairs of shoes do you have?
I only said 'you should have' and 'need' 3 mills I said nothing about actually buying them.
You find a way to convince your wife that you need to buy 3 sawmills then you have my deepest admiration.  I would be building myself a doghouse to sleep in.
;D ;D ;D    

Why do we have to talk about asking the wife?? :-[ its kinda embarrassing dont ya know???

Ok. Replace the word wife with financial adviser.
Gerald