Shopsmith Forums

Could use some practicable portable sawmill advise. Looking into how practical they actually are to run as a hobby business for the next 15 years or so.

Any of you seasoned users out there have anything you would like to share?

there 2 guys where i summer in NE Tn that make a living running portable mills and both use woodmizers. both have done this for quit a few years.

My brother takes an Adult Ed night class,
for woodworking. The shop has a
Woodmizer as well. Great machine.

Major reason for taking the class, is to
use the Woodmizer, and the other LARGE
tools, he's been going for 3 or 4 semesters.

steve

I don't know how others feel here but I have a Woodland Mills HM126 that will cut up to a 26" log resulting in about a 20" cant up to 17 feet long. I think it works really good. While I have taken some donations from people who want lumber I wouldn't recommend it as a full time business unless you go bigger like the Woodmizer LT40. Now if you have free logs the HM126 would probably give you some extra tool money. If you are alone a large tractor or fork lift is almost a necessity.

I have all ways found it more convenient to have it cut by some one .in the long run you would need to cut lot of trees to have any kind of return on your investment.

I figured 1st year would be milling my own trees from my property. Maybe some from my neighbors place too. After that I'd contract out. And if enough work then set up a fixed site too, but not too extensive.
Local portable mills are murder on travel time if I have them come to me.

A few years back a friend’s son in law bought a Logsol brand. It uses a chainsaw and the frame work is aluminum (or I thought it was). The family had 20 acres of timbered land mostly larch and fir. The idea was to fell the trees, cut what they needed to construct a house and then offer to do the same for others near by.
I went there shortly after they had assembled the saw and they were working on cutting their first slabs. Though billed as a one person show, it appeared that it would really take two people, especially loading the log and pulling the slabs. A friend worked green chain at a saw mill in the early 70s and it was heavy tiring work.
They did cut and sticker enough lumber to make a large structure, I think nearly 2100 square feet., but decided that as a hobby it was too time consuming so the Logsol was sold to someone who had a similar idea.
I remember that the son in law spent a great deal of time researching before he deciddd on the Logsol.

Not certain if that is of any help. I hope you have fun which ever direction you go.

Be well,
Ben