# building a portable sawmill



## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

anybody buid there own sawmill??if so pro's and con's of your experience.i need to build one to be able to slab some big white pine for a log home.any suggestion are welcome.thanks


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Hey I have thought about this some.Here is what I have experianced. I bought a LOGOSOL chiansaw mill three years back. I bought the least expensive one. Three grand for that bad boy. LABOR intensive. You had to cut down the tree. Then you had to build a ramp to grt the log on the table. the table moved up and down. The chainsaw was what moved. I have seen carriages that move the log thru the saw.Circular blades and all that. The one I have seen that really tickled my fancy was the wood miser with all the hydrolics. It loads the logs flips them , all the bells and whistles. I have seen old mills that have been abondoned and thought about rebuilding them, but that inital go round with that LOGOSOL has really put me off of that. Now I just sell firewood and if I want slabs of whatever wood I need I cart a log or two tothe mill. I guess I have digresst from the original topic. I would go with the band saw as the cutter for what that is worth. You can buy a devise to mout your chainsaw on that will let you cut your logs.Be careful in your venture.


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

depending upon what you term "big White Pine" logs would dictate the type of mill you need..... and how many of them and what length and the size of the slab you wanna use.

most homebuilt mills are of band mill design, but most wont cut a very big log from the specs ive read.....

There are a host of used bandmills professionally built out on the market both new and used, as well as circle mills. My circle mill is a mobile dimension model 127 and i can cut on my trailer up to a 42 inch diameter log, off the trailer there isnt a log growing anywhere i world that it cant cut.... slabs though would be left to only 12 inches in depth using the main saw, or 7 inches using only the edger saw... I have squared 3 sides with my mill for a fella, and for the price i personally believe they are a bargain cause they have the bugs worked out of the system and can be put to use immeadiately..... there are other circle mill manufactures, Mighty Mite builds a more expensive version and a bigger one as well..... A good mill is a tool that can be used for years, mine is nearly 30 years old, and ive owned it for 20 this past february, paid for it the first year cutting dead white pine into boards and it has made a dollar or three for me ever since....

In building a mill you have to keep your tolerances presis, be willing to grind off welds occasionaly and reweld the thing cause it isnt cutting the way it supoosed to, not saying it cant be done, just saying a mill is someting you dont want to be hapharzard while using, cause you can be hurt by machinery if something isnt just right..... and even when it is just right, it can still grab a person or throw a chunk of wood at them.... or metal..... i got a chunk of metal thrown at me by another persons sawmil that i was running a few years ago, fortuneatly it only stuck about 1/4 inch in my arm cause i saw it about to happen and jumped outta the way [had been sawing for about 8 years by then] it was a homebuilt saw and a really good one, and the accident was sort of a freakish one, but it could have been worse. So use the best materials, dont cut corners and add gaurds where they should be added....

William


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I'd luv to build a sawmill, but time and money always seem to be a problem. If I can ever pull it together I'll be checking out Linn Lumber for parts or partially built units.


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

I build and use a band saw mill, I think if I made a few design changes it would be easer to make,

but to make one, you will have to have some metal working skills and some equiptment, when I built mine I had a metal cutting saw, a ac/dc welder, grinder, was the most of it,

I think making the blade tightner and the clutch system was the hardest part, but have seen some ideas to make the blade tires out of the mini spair of a car, I used the wood mizer idea with the belt hung over the V pully, and worked as a tire for the blade,
the guides I made from some bearings from John deere, that are used on planter packing wheels, they are a double row bearing with a shaft, and in this case they have a wear sleave that is used to space it to the packer wheel, I made a block that holds the guides and used a bearing on the back side,

the tricky part is alignment, and spacing of the componets,

for the clutch I would not make a mechincal clutch or belt tightner again I would buy a lawn tractor clutch that fits on the shaft of the motor, and uses a switch to click on and off,
(most of the time you dealing with a motor of size you will want a electric start on it so the 12volt to run the clutch should not be a problem,

I made an angle iron track simual to the Kasco unit, and jsut push the blade head manualy from the back side 
(the hydralic drive units would be nice)
I have cut up to 36" logs, larger by turning them,

you will want to cut the logs green, if log dries, the log will be split and be of low grade.

you will need sharp blades, and more than one,

the bigger of dolly wheels that run on the track the better, I used about 5 pullies, for wheels and there not the easyest in rolling a small weed on the track or wood chip will stop you,

I would build again, but it took a lot of work, I think there are kits and plans for one to follow, and have done a lot of machine building and reconstruction, it is not begginers project,


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

my brother and i were going to build one. i have been collecting tube steel etc. for the project. he found several designs for sale on ebay for about $50. they allegedly give very specific design info. i think they used trailer tires as drive wheels for the bandsaw and used @ 18 hp horizontal shaft engines.

i will be following this thread with the hopes to save $$$ on the design purchase.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

thanks guys....just wanting to get some imput from experiences of others...i have been in touch with the old guy in kentucky that builds sawmills for fun.i think he was published in countryside.i got a set of "working "blueprints from him.i am gathering and have alot of compomnets.i just want to push sawhead thru log.the carriage is going to be long...thinking maybe 30 feet or more.i want to cheat on my log home.instead of using a broad axe and wasting all the wood .i want to try and get two "slabs" from each tree.as far as big white pine i am talking 36inches and up on stump.they are over hundred feet tall.i have worked in the woods some and these trees are so big i am going to have to do some careful falling to keep them in tack.big trees tend to exploded at about 40% of dbh.am going to side hill some and maybe get a jack and fall some up hill(to miss ravines and snaping them like twigs.)rebuilding my sthil o44 right now....hope it runs...if not i am going to buy a new 046 magnum.but i dont want to$$$$$$.this is a long term project and in the very,very,beginings...time ...time..time...where does it all go....lol...

handyman i have done a good bit of welding...looking for a welder....like i said this is a long term project and i am just in bigining staged of gathering up stuff.got my track already.also i have a 4x4 with loader for handling logs.


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

If you are gonna split a 36 on the stump you are gonna want at least a 42 inch opening on your throat opening just for the additional case of a bigger than 36 inch butt. 

The little white pine I cut were all about 14 inches and i was cutting 20 foot inch boards 8 and 10's with a few 12 once in awhile....... 

another saw type that can cut those big pickles would be the lucas mill with the slab attachment, it is a swing mill if you havent seen one, called Lucas Mill Specs and the Lucas slab attchment at Baileys logging supplies it will cut 50 inches with the 6 inch swing mill and 60 inches wide with the 8 inch swing mill.

and baileys will send you a free video of the mill in operation if you want.... 

and while you have your heart set on building a mill, maybe other folks might want to see what is availabe out there as an alternative.....

you can get information of used sawmill equipment from TMS- Sales I get their catalog monthly, and keep looking a scrag mills, and other portable mill prices around the uSA..... Sawmill exchange is another service online that has used mills listed to look price wise....

the knowledge base at Wood web may answer a few questions about building your own mill too....

William


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