Portable Sawmill Types

Q: I've heard that bands can be a major part of a mills expense and will cause down time and headaches. Is this true?

Ron Wenrich: Blade expense can be a little high. Bands run between 12 and 20 dollars each. You can get from 400 to1000 board feet between each sharpening. If you don't have a sharpener (they cost about $3500), then you have to send your blades off to be sharpened. A blade can only take 5 sharpenings before they are thrown out. You can expect blade costs to run about 15 to 20 dollars per thousand board feet of lumber sawn. Dirty logs can increase this blade wear problem and your overall expense.

Also, band mills don't do as well cutting the denser hardwoods, like hickory. Blades have a habit of wandering and some people complain about wavy cuts. Often this has to do with feed speed. There is an associated learning curve with each mill so you don't just jump in making perfect boards immediately.

The primary distributors of band mills are Woodmizer, TimberKing, Timber Harvester, Baker, and Cook. Woodmizer has regional offices in many parts of the country and has good customer service. Timber Harvester offers some very instructive videos pertaining to milling. I've heard people swear by each of these mills, as well as swear at them.

Q: OK, what about swing mills?

Ron Wenrich: Swing blade mills were developed in New Zealand, by a guy named Peterson. These mills sit on a frame that is put over the top of a log. They use a circular saw and the teeth are tipped with carbide. The saw can be set in a vertical or horizontal position and cuts in both directions. You run this at the entry level with a 13 horse power engine but can get up to a 27 hp model. There will be an automatic feed introduced for export in the near future.

Swing mills generally offer a slabbing unit. This is basically a 5 foot chainsaw bar that will cut slabs. This is great if you have a use for wide tabletop planks.

Advantages of swing mills include the ability to edge your lumber before you make your final cut. This is a real labor saver. Blade cost is fairly low and sharpening can be done on the mill. The mill can be set up over the top of any log. You can cut it where it lays but you still have to carry your lumber out.

Disadvantages include a wider kerf. That means less lumber and more sawdust. Logs can't be easily turned. There is a limit to the size of boards and beams that can be sawn. The Lucas saw only has a depth of cut of 8 inches. To make anything wider, you have to make a cut from both sides of the log. Then you risk that the cuts don't quite match up and you have a step in your lumber.

Peterson of New Zealand claims to have developed the original design and is a primary maker of swing blade mills. They often bring containers of mills to the US and have seminars on using their mill. The mill will fit in the back of a pickup but it needs to be a big one.

The Lucas mill is is no longer associated with Peterson Sawmills and is sold by Bailey's. Brand X is another and made in Montana. New units cost from 10 to 15 thousand dollars US. Used swing mills can be found for half that cost.