where to find portable sawmilling service?

[ajschnitzelbank]

TL;DR
Where do I look to hire someone with a portable sawmill to cut my logs on site? I'm in Rensselaer County NY (near the MA/VT boarder)


I'm a novice. I have a Logosol chainsaw mill. My friend/neighbor is gifting me a small red pine plantation. It's a couple hundred trees total, averaging about 12" dbh, and pretty tall (planted decades ago and never thinned). It's obviously way too much for me to take on. 

I can cut them down, and I have a machine (Kubota L4701) with a grapple on the front end loader and a backhoe attachment to move and stack them. 

I'd like to turn them in to dimensional lumber and timbers for general building and timber framing. I plan to stack them on pallets on a gravel pad so I can use them as I need in the course of the next few years. 

I'd like to hire someone to come cut them on site. I figure someone with a nice big hydraulic mill would be great because I can be there to move logs and stack/sticker on pallets. 

How do I find such a person? I started searching this site (Services section first) with no luck. I looked on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace but also had no luck. I used to see a guy in a town nearby (Hoosick Falls) on Craigslist but don't see him anymore and don't have his number. 

I need some general process advice from the person I hire (like how long do I cut the logs, what time of year should they be cut, etc.). I'm a hard worker and would like to work with someone who will be patient with me and I can learn a thing or two from watching. 

Thanks for the advice! 

[Stephen1]

Wood mizer has a pro sawyers network on their web site which lists local sawyers to your neighbourhood.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Years ago I posted a thread on sawmill companies who have means for sawing customers to contact their mill buyers and Woodmizer was the only one I found who offered such a service so yes go there and go to their "Find a Portable Sawyer" link and enter your state and search and see who is close by.

  You can also do a web search for portable or mobile sawmillers near by and see what that returns.

    There used to be a link up here for FF members but I think it was phased out a couple years back. Please correct me if I am wrong.

    You might post on Facebook or Craigs list in their wanted sections and find someone.

    I'd come up but, trust me, the mileage and per diem would kill you. Good luck.

[doc henderson]

So how close are you to Albany?  @Old Greenhorn.  is in that neck of the woods and knows a few people there.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=42103

[Old Greenhorn]

I don't know anybody specifically, but I got on google maps and searched for "portable sawmills in Rensselaer county" and find some businesses worth calling. You didn't list a town, so that's a big county to search. Portable milling is a entirely different business modal from running a sawmill operation and there are less of them. You might want to consider coming up with a plan to transport your logs to a sawmill since you have loading equipment. 
 The closest, active, high quality portable sawyer I know is Terrific Timbers, LLC. He is in southern CT, but I know he has driven that far and more for jobs that interest him. @terrifictimbersllc 

[TreefarmerNN]

Some good hints above.  When I first got my mill, I was hired to cut fence boards out of similar logs.  At the time, I didn't realize how much waste it was trying to get 6" wide boards out of a 12" log.  My mill is manual and there was a lot of turning the logs to get the most lumber out of the logs.  I was heartily grateful to finish the job and didn't make anything on it because it took so long.

A hydraulic mill would be better and a mill with an edge combo would be a lot faster on that size log.  Also be aware that you will end up with either boards with the pith in them or a lot of 4 x 4 or similar product out of the middle of the logs.

[doc henderson]

check with wood Mizer and your state forestry department.  

[NE Woodburner]

I'd like to turn them in to dimensional lumber and timbers for general building and timber framing.

You should also check local building codes for the type(s) of buildings you intend to construct to make sure codes will allow it or if you need to find someone to grade/stamp/certify the lumber to be able to use it.

Hopefully the logs you intend to harvest will make good lumber. If you are not sure it's probably worth finding someone who can help make that determination before you start. Also, think about the longest lumber/boards you will need to make sure the sawyer you hire has a mill that can handle the lengths you are looking for.

In addition to advice on how long to buck logs, get some guidance on how to deal with crooked logs or other defects to maximize yield of quality lumber.

Finally, you should make sure you will really have a need for the lumber and timbers you plan to cut. Be honest with yourself here. If you cut the trees, deal with the tops and waste, buck the logs, pay for a sawyer, deal with the milling waste, stack, sticker and cover the lumber you will have a lot of money and time invested.

Good luck.

[WV Sawmiller]

Some good hints above.  When I first got my mill, I was hired to cut fence boards out of similar logs.  At the time, I didn't realize how much waste it was trying to get 6" wide boards out of a 12" log.  My mill is manual and there was a lot of turning the logs to get the most lumber out of the logs.  I was heartily grateful to finish the job and didn't make anything on it because it took so long.

I have done many jobs like that since I got my mill. I just called it Paying My Dues. Where possible I would saw some test logs at home the way the customer wanted so I had an idea of the "gottchas" to watch for. I may not have made as much on certain jobs as I expected or wanted but it made me a better sawyer and I was better prepared the next time - even if it was just to advise the client against his plan or to decline the job.

   Maybe I can talk the client out of his plan, offer a better option, advise need for more help or MHE or charge a different rate where warranted.

[fluidpowerpro]

check out sawmillfinder.com

[SawyerTed]

Those FB Marketplace ads for rough cut lumber or live edge "slabs" usually come from someone with a sawmill.  

Some of my Marketplace listings are for rough cut lumber with portable sawing available. 

[ajschnitzelbank]

Wood mizer has a pro sawyers network on their web site which lists local sawyers to your neighbourhood.

Excellent, eggxactly what I need. Several near me. Thank you! 

[ajschnitzelbank]

check with wood Mizer and your state forestry department. 

Ah hah, this got me down a whole rabbit-hole on Cornell Cooperative Extension. Thanks! 

[ajschnitzelbank]

I'd like to turn them in to dimensional lumber and timbers for general building and timber framing.

You should also check local building codes for the type(s) of buildings you intend to construct to make sure codes will allow it or if you need to find someone to grade/stamp/certify the lumber to be able to use it.

Hopefully the logs you intend to harvest will make good lumber. If you are not sure it's probably worth finding someone who can help make that determination before you start. Also, think about the longest lumber/boards you will need to make sure the sawyer you hire has a mill that can handle the lengths you are looking for.

In addition to advice on how long to buck logs, get some guidance on how to deal with crooked logs or other defects to maximize yield of quality lumber.

Finally, you should make sure you will really have a need for the lumber and timbers you plan to cut. Be honest with yourself here. If you cut the trees, deal with the tops and waste, buck the logs, pay for a sawyer, deal with the milling waste, stack, sticker and cover the lumber you will have a lot of money and time invested.

Good luck.

Great points. I've certainly had more ambition than time/money/sense in the past. But I have many a future project that needs lumber (currently building a gust house, future hopefully holds a carport, shed, sugar shack...). 

My understanding is the building code here allows for "native" lumber. Also my very small
rural town is pretty easy to deal with. 

[ajschnitzelbank]

check out sawmillfinder.com

Nice! There's some people on here who aren't on the Woodmizer site. Thanks! 

[blackhawk]

Everyone has given great ideas on finding a sawyer.  I want to mention that I would not suggest storing your lumber on pallets.  You need to build a substantial base that nice and straight to stack you lumber on so that it will dry straight and true.  I use two 6x6 timbers and then run 4x4s across those every 18 inches.  I run a string between each corner and level until the strings touch in the middle where they cross.

[ajschnitzelbank]

Everyone has given great ideas on finding a sawyer.  I want to mention that I would not suggest storing your lumber on pallets.  You need to build a substantial base that nice and straight to stack you lumber on so that it will dry straight and true.  I use two 6x6 timbers and then run 4x4s across those every 18 inches.  I run a string between each corner and level until the strings touch in the middle where they cross.

Oh totally, sorry I didn't explain myself very well.  I will have a good base, then stack and sticker the lumber on pallets so I can pull the pile apart to get at what I want.  As in, I'll have a pallet of 4x4s, a pallet of 2x, a pallet of 1x, etc..

I did this with a timber frame I have stored right now before I raise it.  6" crusher run base, cinder blocks every four feet, 6x8" laminated beams, 3x4" pieces every 16" between the beams, then 12' pallets with different sections of the frame on each (like rafters on one, base on another, etc.).  Here's a pic.

[ajschnitzelbank]

Thanks everyone for all the help.  I've been crunching some numbers, and I am not sure this project is worthwhile.  In a nutshell, if I hire someone for $75/hr who can saw 400bf/hr, it would be amazing.  If it's $150/hr for 100bf/hr, then it's cheaper to just buy lumber from a local mill as I need it.  I expect it would be somewhere in between those two scenarios, but hard for me to guess which side of the worth-it/waste-of-money-and-time line it would fall on.

Perhaps I'll start another thread asking the braintrust this question.

Anyway thanks again for the resources, everyone!  In short order I found plenty of prospects for hiring a portable miller!

[Old Greenhorn]

That can be a deeper question. If you spend some time reading the experiences of some very bury portable sawyers here as well as the detailed information on how they price jobs and makes a portable sawing job a good one, verses average, or even poor, you will learn a lot. 
Why would you care about that? Simply this: If you understand what a sawyer needs to give you the best production for your dollars then yo can put effort into making the job as efficient as possible and get a lot more lumber for your bucks. A lot of sawyers here waste/lose a lot of time because their clients are not prepared, equipped, or setup to get the most for their money. Some sawyers charge by the BF, which means you get what you pay for, some charge by the hour, which means you either win or lose, but the sawyer should never lose.

 The 'brain trust' has already listed in great detail here how you, as a client, can maximize your production. This includes very specific details from a variety of methods. Go do some reading, it's all here on the forum. Knowledge is power, or in this case, your money.

[Raider Bill]

check with wood Mizer and your state forestry department. 

Ah hah, this got me down a whole rabbit-hole on Cornell Cooperative Extension. Thanks!

That's who my mother worked for.

[SawyerTed]

There's some truth in hiring a mill might cost more than buying lumber.  That's particularly true for framing lumber.  It's hard to compete with box store mass produced 2x4s even if a customer has logs.

Custom milling is about more than 2x4s and 2x6s.  A customer can get things from his logs that aren't commonly available.  For example, I recently had a customer who wanted 3x8x16 barn rafters.  The sawing cost was $14.40 each.  The box store price for 2 2x8x16 (sistered equal 3x8x16)  is $40 plus. 

Another customer had plenty of cedar logs and needed materials for porch pots and railings.  For $400 he got six 6x6x10 posts 2x5 for top railings, 2x4 for bottom railings and 2x for pickets.  Posts alone would have been $600 plus. 

The other consideration is quality.  A good portable sawyer can cut better lumber than many commercial mills.

Much depends upon what you need for projects. 

[WV Sawmiller]

    Ted covered many portable sawing points very well. When I talk to a customer about a sawing job they ask me how many board feet I can cut per day and I tell them it depends on how good the logs are, how well they are prepared, how good the help is and what they want made.

    Even though I typically saw by the bf you can save yourself time and money by making sure you have all your logs properly trimmed, aligned and ready to roll on to the mill arms. Using a couple of parallel runner logs as a track will make the logs roll faster and easier and keep them cleaner so less blade changes will be required. Having your dunnage for stacking ready will make the process faster. All this saves you and the sawyer time and money.

  Stacking your lumber neatly by size makes the final tally faster if you are paying by the bf and makes the lumber easier to find and access when you need it even if you are paying by the hour.

  I brief the helpers at the start of the job and if they listen and do what I asked they can get the lumber cut and stacked faster and easier. I have learned many tips along the way to make the work safer and to reduce the efforts and time required by the helpers such as sliding boards and waste slabs off the mill and setting stacks, trailers or MHE close to where the load will be going. If I have to shut the mill off because the helper, or customer, is doing something unsafe such as walking into a prohibited area during sawing, it is going to take longer to finish the job.

  If the helpers are slow removing finished lumber, waste slabs or loading a fresh log on the loading arms they slow me down and make the job take longer.

  I can't tell you how cost effective it will be to saw vs buy your lumber but keep in mind there are many things you can do as the customer to help reduce those production costs whether paying by the hour or by the bf.