Band saw mill

Grand son thinking about buying one.He wants one as a hobby.We have no knowledge nor expierence running one.Any and all coments are welcome and appreciated.Thank you GP

Harbor Freight has one for about $2200.00 that has a good reputation for light use.

Bought one of their chippers. Awesome machine. They have several videos on their web site.

https://woodlandmills.com/

pretty easy to learn how to use.

Talk him out of it. Sawmills are too big to hide well and as soon as he gets a little bit proficient with it everyone that sees him using it will want a few logs sawed. It will soon turn into a second job.

The old saying, you get what you pay for , applies here .. their is a huge market for used sawmills. Before you buy check out these :
The forestry forum , is an excellent site for information .
The Sawmill Exchange is a market place for used equipment all over the country.
You may even find used one's on your local Craigslist.

It will be hard to keep it as a "fun" hobby and not have it turn into a " job", best to find someone who has one and get some time learning from them...besides just sawing a log, there is slabs to handle, sawdust clean up, blades to be sharpened[ very important!!!!].
if the mill has wheels, there's road legal items to deal with?, take the wheels off and there's a shelter needed for it to work under?
Prepare for logs that came from the "back yard" and the kids NEVER built tree forts in it with the longest and biggest spikes they could find..
Actually the mill itself is what you can afford/like, but THE BEST SETTER AND SHARPENER,you can afford is worth the extra bucks, and the quality will show up in the finish product, and savings in the cost of blades.
hope it helps.

We have had a Turner bandsaw mill for the last 11 years, and have been very pleased with it. At the time it seemed to be the best value for money, but I haven't kept up with what's available now. It's nice to be able to build outbuildings for very little money, and we also have a use for some hardwood lumber and sell some too.
Zach

Lots of used ones out there. People buy them the new wears off and its sold. Think about that. Next buy a major brand in the end you can get parts and it has resale value. It may look fun but be prepared for an education.

Blade care is the biggest thing to learn. Otherwise you will be working for the Thick and Thin Lumber Co.

I would not want one that sets on the ground. Easy to load logs on but the rest is hard work. Look for something that has the log at a comfortable height.

As others said, it can turn into a second job. Dad had one, I spent a lot of time sawing during high school and college. Made some decent pocket money. Our policy was that the customer bought the blade if we hit tramp metal. Also, I switched to charging by the hour. If the customer wanted to come tail slabs and stack, I made good money. If they didn't want to, I made good money.

As to name brand or not, Dads was an off brand. All the parts were common items you could get at Napa.

Get some expert instruction. They are dangerous!

We bought our Wood-Mizer LT40 in the mid-80's, and still have it and use it, so I've had a fair amount of experience with it. A few thoughts--as mentioned, there's tons of used mills out there with very little use--lots of people think it looks like a fun hobby and buy one without realizing the amount of work that running even a reasonably automated mill entails. Also, there's a huge difference between sawing and sawing well--anyone can learn the basics reasonably quickly, but learning to judge logs BEFORE they're cut to maximize grade and yield takes years of practice. Still, it's a worthwhile education and can be quite profitable if you can find a niche market willing to pay a premium for custom lumber and don't mind a bit of physical labor. Buy a decent mill with good support, buy good blades and maintain them properly, and above all, spend as much time as possible with someone who already has a mill BEFORE buying your own--a few dozen hours spent tailing (removing and piling the boards and slabs as they are cut) will not only give him some pocket money but if the sawyer he's working for is any good will also provide him with a very valuable education once he gets his own mill, and he'll get a good feel for whether or not he's willing to put in the considerable time and effort required to be a sawyer BEFORE spending several thousand dollars.

(quoted from post at 08:38:22 11/23/18) Talk him out of it. Sawmills are too big to hide well and as soon as he gets a little bit proficient with it everyone that sees him using it will want a few logs sawed. It will soon turn into a second job.

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Just say no. It's easy.

I have a HF mill. Bought for under $2 grand on sale. Does well for my personal needs sheds etc. Limited to 9'2" with the original bed. Built a 20' bed and can now cut 18' material. Lots of Utube videos on the HF mill, have a look. Good entry level mill. MTCW

I had a woodmizer lt40hd. I made money with it from the time I got it until I sold it. Got almost my money back. I still have a lot of lumber on hand that I sawed. Make sure you get a good sharpener and tooth setter as that is very important for good sawing. I refused to saw logs that were dragged & dirty unless they were peeled. Now they have a debarker on the mill that does the job. Timberking also has a good mill. The little hobby mills are a lot of work.

Baker Enterprises, Ellington, Missouri 573-663-2235 build an excellent sawmill, but not cheap.

Go with a band mill. I have a 00 Fick that i set the Detroit engine to Monday. My experience saw mills is with this frick. About 30 years.

Like someone said don't drag the logs and fill the bark with dirt. What hasn't been said enough is log handling. If you don't have a front end loader plan on getting one. It will make the whole saw mill experience a lot easier. Moving logs, moving piles of sawed lumber. Actually sawing a log is about 30% of the work.

Let the grandson decide but if saw dust gets in his blood it can be as addictive as old tractors.

What little I know about this topic is anecdotal. Buddy bought a Woodmiser about 15 yrs. ago. He used it a lot the first year or two then less and less until he left it sit too long and the motor wouldn't start. There it sits outside rusting for ten years now. He was very proud of the machine and will not part with it, just lets it sit there and rust into the ground. One thing he did was to spend extra for the loader arms. They are hydraulically activated and make getting the logs in place easy. He said they were well worth the extra money. Another thing he did was make a tow rig out of an old trailer axle. It was a levered contraption that when you wrapped a chain around the log it ran back to the tongue of this thing and a chain went to the draw bar on the tractor. So when the tractor started pulling the front end of the log raised up off the ground and only the tail end of it dragged in the dirt. Lastly before he cut the logs he would take a metal detector to them to find any nails or what not in them. Said it didn't always work but saved enough blades to make it worth the extra effort.

JD

Wanted a woodmizer, couldn't justify the cost.
Built my own, spent almost as much as a used woodmizer getting it working the way I wanted it and almost a year of spare time.
Cut a ton of wood. Spent fortune on blades.
Stopped using it, didn't sell as home built mills nearly worthless.
Sat for 10 years and needs some work.
Piles of logs waiting to be sawed all rotted.

Wish I had just hired the portable mill guy as I like logging and building with lumber far more than milling.

Circle saws yes. Band saws no.

Check out the Facebook group " Portable Sawmills-Swing Blade Mills and Band Saw Mills" it's an open group and a lot of good information is shared.

I had a Woodmizer for about 20 years. It was 5 years old when I bought it. Had plans on using it for my own use. One neighbor saw me using it one day and wanted some sasafrass sawed. I did it for him and that began a profitable sideline. I payed for the sawmill in less than 6 months. As has already been said stick with a namebrand and check out cust service, not only for parts but for support after the sale. Wood Mizer was great to work with. I could saw between 1000 to 1400 BF a day with the customer helping.Blade care and mait. must be number one on your list, with out it you are dead in the water. I got a sharpner and setter with the mill buy Wood Mizers setter sucked so I built on e that set both sides at the same time. I found a blade supplier that was half the price that WM charged and the cut as good or better. I could order one day and many times there were at my door that afternoon or next morning. On grozen wood I used WM double hard blades and they were the best for that. After I got started 75 % of my business was repeat customers and business increased by work of mouth so I must have been doing something right

I keep thinking of buying one but I don't think I would ever have time to run it so I just keep thinking.

Greenpully I have a Woodmizerlt15 and cut about 10,000 BF this fall the mill works well but it is all manual turning the log up and down settings cranking the feed but if you have sharp blade and the right tension on the blade it will cut good lumber. I plan on up grading to a lt35hd that should be much easier. Randy

Woodmizer has a good sale on now on the LT-10. Norwood also has some sales. Paul

I have always wanted to buy a bandmill. If I had a dollar for everytime I read and priced the literature I would have one.

I also had a guy come and cut with his woodmizer LT40 Hydraulic on several occasions. I learned a lot from those experiences.

A lot has been said both positive and negative about the "bandmill" experience but little to nothing about the interests, energies, aptitudes of your grandson, and your interest (and monetary) in helping him "investigate his interests". I have been helping a young man learn about equipment mechanics and welding. It has been a very rewarding experience for me, and not monetarily. He always gets paid and paid more if there is a project that I personally need help on, such as raking leaves out of the flower gardens in the spring. He is building a great schooling fund and some tools. He is also highly motivated which makes him a joy to work with. At my recommendation the local Tire Dealer has picked him up when not in school. The Tire Dealer loves him.

So if you choose to get involved and help this young man investigate this interests just think of the hours of enjoyment you both could have. Discussing bandmilling. How do I research this hobby (The hint is a magazine subscription.)? Taking trips bandmilling related. Selling lumber. What part of the hobby or job do you like or don't like? I am hoping by now you get my drift. Even if in the end he does not like it, he will learn what he likes and doesen't like and set the stage for the next investigation.

Safety was mentioned. Yup, make sure your mentoring starts and ends with safety each day. Two weeks ago the young man I am mentoring setoff to split a 4020. His Dad was standing there and I asked the Young Man what the first and most important thing we should do first, second, and so on. He made me so proud, he did not miss a beat and said we had to get the batteries disconnected, starting with the ground and was able to explain why. Where else is he going to learn how to approach safety?

So, I believe God just laid a great opportunity in front of you. You had the good sense to recognize it and talk about it.

Paul

http://www.sawmillmag.com/ here is a great magazine. Paul

I'd say your experience is pretty common.Its not worth buying a mill unless you're going into the business if custom sawing. Just to cut your own lumber better to have it custom sawed.

Norwood has really upped their game. They have a lot of training and how to materials. Paul

https://www.norwoodsawmills.com/

I'd love to have a mill of some kind too. But the fact is that there are 5 or 6 Amish sawmill with in 10 miles of me, plus at least 1 or 2 English guys that also custom saw. I can't buy the mill for what I can buy the lumber for. It's not "free" wood even when you have the mill and the wood on your property. You have to have a market and people that will use you. You are probably going to need a truck to get the logs they want done or to get the mill to their site. You'll need a loader to move and load the logs. You'll have the issue of the waste- the sawdust and slabs. What are you going to do with them at your place? What if your customer wants all that hauled off his property? It's not as simple as it looks. There are only so many people that want slab wood and sawdust. There are only so many people that have the money to have logs sawed. It's a risky business.

Manual log turning vs. hydraulic: if you are cutting smaller logs (less than 16?) a manual handled mill is much faster. If most of what you plan to saw is large stuff, the hydraulics could be handy. Power drive on the carriage is always a plus.

At 75 years of age I have owned a band mill for over 40 years. Started out with a 15 WoodMizer and have moved up about four times. Probably more than he wants to spend but I now run a LT40 supper hydraulic diesel and it is top of the line as far as I am concerned. I see folks ever day that buy a small cheap mill and right off want to sell or trade up. My mill is my golf when I want to relax I go saw. Man can enjoy it if he get a good one but sure can be a nightmare and hard work with some of that stuff that is out there.

I've been around old circular mills with lots of power and lots of hand labor handling slab wood as well as the final lumber from it. A good sawyer will work your butt off on that end. The local guy used old school bus frames for his carrage to set on with concrete pilings.
The biggest problem I see those little band mills are they will not saw big enough logs for me. I need to find one that can handle 24to 36 inch logs without having to butcher them up to saw. Then the next thing is length short lumber to me is less than 16 feet and long is over 24 long. There is a guy near me can saw 36 inch and 22 foot so not to bad.
I would like to find a way to get a few 40 foot logs sawed for doorway framing to be able to hang a door track on without trying to laminate something up for it. Would like a 30 or 35 foot wide doorway.