# saw mill hunt



## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

have a Christmas tree farm with a few blocks of several thousand overgrown trees, mostly spruce. straight as an arrow, and guessing around 30+ feet tall with 12" diameter bases. so as they continue to grow, have been thinking of a profitable use for them, or at least usable.


then thought of a desire I've always had to build a log structure. I think cutting them 3 sided would be a great building material. 
anyway am now in the hunt for a used band saw mill, that won't break the bank (thinking ~$3k). 
read on here about HF models, I don't think I want to go that cheap. any tips on models to look for, ignore, typical failures to expect??


all inputs appreciated, thanks in advance.


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

TimPa said:


> have a Christmas tree farm with a few blocks of several thousand overgrown trees, mostly spruce. straight as an arrow, and guessing around 30+ feet tall with 12" diameter bases. so as they continue to grow, have been thinking of a profitable use for them, or at least usable.
> 
> 
> then thought of a desire I've always had to build a log structure. I think cutting them 3 sided would be a great building material.
> ...


UuuuuH-Oooooooh I see somebody's getting a BUG :grin::grin: Them mill bugs are tough to shake!!!

HF are not for me... I see more trying to modify something on them to make them saw better.....Yes you get what you pay for BUT I like a little more than the bottom of the barrel....they will saw AND MANY have bought them.....JUST IMO not for me.....There are several lower priced mills on the market that are great for parttime sawing IF your not in a hurry....speed costs $$$$$. 

I have a Hud-Son and was a dealer for several years...I can still get them BUT I don't stock them. I thought their Oscar 328 was their best mill for the money, I think they still produce that one....they've gotten into the competetive hobby market and I personal don't agree making one TOO LIGHT duty.

Woodmizer has some nice small saws also that is 2/4 post design (hudson is using the same design technique also). 

There are several companies in the $4,000.00 range (I haven't priced lately so they could be a little higher, most I look at now has another 0+ in the line!!!)

My opinion is a saw as the 328 which will saw a 28" diameter BUT roughly 18" between the guides. That helps with curves as not everything is straight very long. Most of the smaller mills you just buy extra lengths of track for whatever you desire to cut.....most will be hand pushed and hand cranked up and down....there not bad to operate that way in the lighter wieght saws.

Pine saws fast compared to hardwood.

Google small bandsawmills you find several that are nicely made.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I've thought about a mill also*

Being somewhat mechanically minded, I would opt for a "kit" rather than a ready to use mill. Tracks and other parts are simple enough to make If you can weld and drill holes. This Company Linn, has kits in various stages of assembly OR ready to use. There may be other companies like this, I donno? Ebay has lots of parts also.

http://www.linnlumber.com/page12.html

Woodmizer has a whole list of used sawmill on their site. They are of the cantilever design which doesn't appeal to me. However, my friends have one and it works great. Theirs has power everything, so it saves a bunch of labor loading and running it. We had loads of fun milling here several times. I ran the tractor loading the logs and they ran the mill cutting and stacking. It went really fast. :smile3:

I've heard good things about this company:
http://www.timberking.com/dare_to_compare


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

there was an Oscar 18 listed close by for $2k. looked rough in the pics. I suspect that was the max diameter 18". yeah tim, I never thought of bent trees being a factor in the mill "fit". thanks.


nice bill, a kit didn't enter my mind, but I love building things. will research those as well. 


I guess I could look into auctions, seems around here reasonably desirable items sometimes go for more than new! go figure!


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## RaceNH (Mar 10, 2017)

i have also been researching them and I am very impressed with this one. It has alot of great reviews on line. Please keep us posted on your search and what and when you get one. Happy sawing.

https://woodlandmills.ca/us/product/hm126-portable-sawmill/

Jim


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

TimPa said:


> there was an Oscar 18 listed close by for $2k. looked rough in the pics. I suspect that was the max diameter 18". yeah tim, I never thought of bent trees being a factor in the mill "fit". thanks.
> 
> 
> nice bill, a kit didn't enter my mind, but I love building things. will research those as well.
> ...


The 18 Oscar to me is too small.....If all you want to do is play and wish you could cut a little wider than that's the one...I think (if my memory serves me correct) it has about a 13"-15" between the guides....

Between the Guides is a VERY important thing everyone needs to know about a sawmill....THIS is the size once a log has been squared the widest a squared board it will saw....MOST IF not all mills state the log diameter and fine print BTGuides which to me should be the main focus as that's what most are really interested in.

Linn and woodland have good offers also as stated above.....Cooks has GREAT sawing info and GREAT saw setup guidelines BUT they don't show a hobbyist mill that I can find...they produce nice mills designed mostly for production. 

Keep us updated!!!


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Try this.


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## WoodAddict (Jun 7, 2017)

haha looks good, untill you saw to far xD


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Maybe it's just me and my fantasies, but it would seem to me that cutting and selling larger beams, 6x6 and up etc., would be more profitable than cutting into standard 2x lumber, but it would also take much longer to dry..
Feel free to poke me in the head with a sharp stick if I'm completely wrong about this.. No wait. Don't do that unless you have a boat load of money I can sue you for assault.


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## Cowboy18 (Aug 21, 2017)

Hmmm, I respectfully disagree. With a 7 degree blade my HF mill would make very short work of those size logs. I mostly cut Mesquite logs, and they are far harder and very rarely come straight. 


But more important is the money question. I originally bought my HF as a stepping stone to a bigger better mill. Thinking to use it to make the money to buy a Woodmizer cash. Well the HF has made the money many times over to replace it. And yet two years down the road here it is running strong. Other then blades, I have replaced one guide bearing. And just this week I'm replacing a brass fitting in the head lifting mechanism. Everything else is still original.


Buy the HF, and use it to cut you're logs to make the money for the Woodmizer. Which I will do when this HF dies, but I aint seeing no signs of that yet.


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## Brian Campbell (Mar 12, 2018)

*affordable mill*



TimPa said:


> have a Christmas tree farm with a few blocks of several thousand overgrown trees, mostly spruce. straight as an arrow, and guessing around 30+ feet tall with 12" diameter bases. so as they continue to grow, have been thinking of a profitable use for them, or at least usable.
> 
> 
> then thought of a desire I've always had to build a log structure. I think cutting them 3 sided would be a great building material.
> ...



Check out this link. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e8g5tvrr12e868k/AABVpm6KAX87u4o8khTbM0cGa?dl=0


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