bandsaw mills: building vs. buying

[maggie10]

we've been looking for an alternative to purchasing a bandsaw mill but don't really know if building our own would be worthwhile.

Has anyone built one of these and do you have any advice? ???

Thanks
maggie

[DM]

*You can build one, but Norwood Industries sells a very good starter mill that really cuts well for $2,700.00, it's called the Lumberlite 24. * Is it worth the time and expense to you, to build one that may or may not work well??

*I know several owners of the Lumberlite mill that really like them, they aren't a toy... *You can talk to those owners yourself on Norwoods chat forum at there home page...

*When it comes to the lower priced manual bandmills, Norwood has the most features at the lowest price, and cuts as well as any mill on the market, includeing the big money models.

*Another thing, a name brand band mill has resale value if you ever want to sell it later...

*DM

*My Sawmill Pictures *http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4378744

*

[desdawg]

I saw some plans for a bandsaw mill at one time. It looked like a fairly complicated project, well beyond the novice level. It was more than I was comfortable taking on.

[Tn...Andy]

Depends on what you plan to do with you mill.

I have a friend that built a band mill.....sort of a rag-tag affair, but he only wanted something to mill a small amount to use on his own place and likes to tinker.

If you plan to mill very much or DON'T like to tinker, you'd be better off buying a mill. The money is in MAKING LUMBER, not tinkering.

As DM pointed out, you can get an entry level Norwood for a few thousand bucks. IF you have sawable timber ( and we're only talking 10" up for a bandmill to get effective use of timber ), and plan to build a house/barns/sheds, that cost is peanuts compared to buying lumber.

Have another friend that has a Norwood ( don't know the model ), and I've seen it run......more work to set up and run ( his is all manual and runs on the bolt together track ) than my Woodmizer, but you can definitely cut a lot of lumber on them.

IF you plan more than what you need for a house and such on your place, I'd seriously consider stepping up to a Woodmizer......you can find decent used machines in the 7-8k range, and now you have a 1000-1500bd/ft per day machine which can make you a decent living if you want to go that route.

I've owned my LT-40 since 91, and probably cut 1/2 million board feet on it......figuring you save a minimum of 30 cents a board foot over store bought lumber even IF you buy the logs ( and most of mine came from my place ), that's 150,000 I didn't spend at Home Depot kinda places.

In addition to building all kinds of buildings on my place, I've built 3 rental houses ( trimmed out all in red oak ), a 40x60 & 50x200 pole shop buildings for a business down the road, and I'd hate to think how much cabinet grade lumber that I use in my shop.

If you consider the 'value added' factor of the lumber ( where you take lumber and turn it into a product that sells for more than the lumber simply because you HAD the lumber......like a cabinet or a house.....and is DEFINITELY the way to get more bang for your buck ), that little LT-40 I paid 13k for new has probably made me 300k.

In other words, it cost near nothing......like any good tool.

And that's almost all I know about sawmills.......almost..... ;D

[oldnndway]

DM, that's a very nice looking mill .... if I only had the room.

Spent thirty years selling parts (power trans., belts, bearings etc) to sawmills.

[bigjack]

I really enjoyed those pics DM, Thanks!-Jack

[DM]

I bought my first Lumbermate in 1996. I sawed with it untill 2003 when i sold it and bought the updated LM2000. It's really is a very good sawmill and at a reasonable price!

Check out the house Joel has sawn out on his LM.... http://www.boothemountain.blogspot.com/ He's doing a great job on it!!!

Glad you all enjoyed the picts...

DM

[maggie10]

Thanks for all the info! :)

Since we are primarily going to use the mill for ourselves, we may build but I am sending for information from Norwood and others.

Thanks again! :D

[Javelin]

Logosol M7...
www.logosol.com

chainsaw powered sawmill, about 2 grand...REALLY nice. I got the promo DVD from the company and I'm hooked.
I'll have one before next spring..

-Jack

[desdawg]

Well, now you have gone and done it. You got me thinking. The one thing you never want to hear me say is "I've been thinking......". My mind is like a dark alley in a bad neighborhood. You just don't want to go in there by yourself. Anyway, that little homowner model Norwood looks like something I could make good use of. I am curious about blade life. Do those of you who use bandsaw mills file your own blades or send them out and what is the life expectancy of a bandsaw blade? I would be cutting juniper (cedar) and pine.

[Tn...Andy]

I sharpen my own because back in 91 when I bought my mill, Woodmizer didn't have a sharpening service like they do now....and so I continue to sharpen. They charge ( last I knew of ) 6 bucks a band to sharpen + you had about 2 bucks shipping each way ( box of 20 ).....so that was 8 bucks to sharpen, and I can do one in about 15 minutes easy. New Woodmizer blades run about 18-20 bucks, depending on type and quantity.

I find I get about 300-500 bdft (assuming fairly clean or washed logs....dirt/rocks will cut that WAY down ) out of band before it needs sharpening, and about 5-6 times it can be sharpened before blade failure ( breaks ). So, if you figure 20 intial cost + 40 in sharpening ( using Woodmizer ), you'd have 60 bucks in somewhere in the 3000bdft range for costs.....about 2 cents per board ft.

Considering most framing lumber is running in the 50-60 cents/bdft range, blade costs aren't too significant.

[DM]

I also sharpen my own bands, useing a Norwood sharpener and setter.... Andy pretty much covered the rest of it....

As for a Logosol..... have you used one?? I have, and i also used several of the smaller mills like the Hudson, mizer LT10 and the Norwood Lumberlite 24.... The Lumberlite easily won that contest for me.

Once you saw on a Lumberlite and a Logosol, you won't want the Logosol any longer.....

DM

[Tn...Andy]

My orginal sawmilling started as a Granberg Alaskan Mill, similar concept to the Logosol deal, except they seem to have a little more in the way of log holder, etc.

Chainsaw mills are good in certain circumstances.

1. You have no way to move the log....you can take the mill to the log, and cut up in place. You can haul chainmills into backwoods country or other places that would require a LOT more effort to haul a conventional mill into. So, if you're building a small cabin in the Alaskan bush, this is a definite option.

2. You need BIG, or LONG beams that most conventional mills ( circle or band ) won't cut. Yes, Woodmizer DID make a special, one-of-a-kind mill to saw out new mast timbers 90+feet long for the USS Constitution, but typically, most mills are going to have a 16-30' limit. With a chain type mill, your limit is the tree length. I put an 8x10 beam 36' long down the center of my first barn using that chainmill.

3. You only want to mill a small amout of lumber occassionally, and don't want the investment of more mill.
You may be a hobby woodworker, and simply want a cheap source of lumber or cut 'odd' stuff many mills won't fool with, like stump burls or something. Chainmill is the way to go.

4. You've got WAY WAY more time than money. Chainmills are SLOW, noisey, and did I mention, SLOW ? 10 or 15 2x8's for example, would be a real day.....and it takes just as much time to saw a 2x board as a 1x board.

Like any good tool, a chain mill has it's place.

Just not on MY place.....ahahahahaaaa.....sold mine years ago.

[DM]

The world record for the longest board is 118 feet sawn out in 1999 useing a SERRA brand band mill.....

http://www.serra.de/show_img.php?mode=big&img_id=130

http://www.serra.de/show_img.php?mode=big&img_id=131

If you want to try for your "own" world record, you can buy a Norwood Lumbermate 2000, and also buy as many 4 foot sections of track as you want, to saw as long a log as you can find... ;D

And NO i don't sell lumbermates or make any money off there sales. I'm just a LM owner that likes Norwoods products.

DM

[desdawg]

Thanks DM. Norwood is what I am considering so it is good to hear from someone who is pleased with their product. I would fall in the hobbyist category so I don't need to spend the big bucks for a commercial unit but I would like to have something well made and reliable.

[DM]

desdawg,

Have you been to Norwood Industries forums?? Go to there home page and follow the links to there Town Hall forums. There's a GREAT bunch of helpfull owners over there, willing to answer any questions you may have.

It's a great place to get started!

DM

[desdawg]

I did sign up at Norwood a while back and was doing some reading there last night. I also priced out the mill then added the sharpener and repriced it. The sharpener came out to $795. Wow, it looks like a Dremel tool and that would be pretty pricey. Is there more to it that I couldn't see in their picture?

[DM]

It "is" a dremel tool, and it's used for running the stone for the sharpening.... It also comes with all of the jig that holds the band in place, and "cam's" the sharpener to follow the tooth shape and properly sharpen the band...

Norwoods sharper is the lowest priced sharpener on the market that "actually works" that i know of....

DM

[desdawg]

OK, I am new to all of this. So it is worth the money. That is why I try not to make snap decisions too often. I usually snap in the wrong direction. ::) I appreciate you taking the time to help me out DM.

[DM]

desdawg,

Did you see the used Lumbermate forsale on the Norwood forums?? If i was looking for a bandmill, i'd be talking to that guy and see how good a deal i could make!!

DM

[desdawg]

I have been out of town but I will go take a look right now. Thanks DM.

[muddobber]

Happy Holidays to all;
Has anyone an opinion on Mister Sawmill, a company out of Arkansas. I'm looking hard at thier model 24, Their within a few hours drive but I wouldn't want close proximity to be the over riding factor in my choice of sawmills....Thanks

[fishercat]

I'm don't know anyone with that brand up here in NH. I'm sure they can furnish you with customer names in your area. I have a Turner that I like a lot , but they are out of Oxford NY . Bill Turner ships where ever as I'm sure all brands do. The Forestry Forum is an awesome info source (yes i'm a member but I get no gain by sending you there except to help a newbie as they helped me !)