anyone out there in the Richmond, va. area with a portable sawmill, who’s willing to come out to my site?
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If you find someone, please send him my way. A few years ago I had several available here around Charlottesville. After awhile they all wandered off to do something else. I've been trying to buy the mill from my preferred one who has a bad back. Not yet willing to let it go.
Not something I want to do for others, so I'm not willing to spend much on a mill. If you have any interest, take a look here: http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/
We've been sawing with a chain mill lately. Waiting for cooler weather to continue.
Good luck.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
There's a guy with a portable sawmill in Bumpass, may be close for you. He said I'm a little out of the way for him, guy is R D Knighton - Bumpass, Va.
What saw-bar-chain you using?
Thanks, but he's probably closer to you than me. I'm a little S of C'vlle.
There is a guy near Wintergreen with a nice LT40, but he declined to cut here. Wants me to haul logs there, a 30 minute trip. And he wants to start at first light, stop mid-morning. If your property is flat, he might come to you, but his travel time would be considerable.
I made a low-ball offer on a circular mill recently. Didn't particularly want one, or to take the couple weeks necessary to set one up. I was out-bid at $4500 (very nice Cat power unit). All I really want is sawn lumber, 2-3 times/yr, every year. My interest is selling lumber, not logs, from my woodlot.
Last winter a friend shocked me when he showed up with a Stihl 880, Alaskan mill, and a 48" bar. I never would have recommended he buy it, but there it was. Turns out he doesn't have enough shoulder to start the thing, but it's got some power when you get it going. Unfortunately he kept buying different brands of rip chain trying to find one that would cut faster than a snail's pace.
About 100 yrs ago I had the pleasure of experiencing Will Malloff (Chainsaw Lumbermaking author) cutting boards out of a large walnut log. So I knew how fast it could be. When my friend finally ran out of new rip brands to buy he agreed to letting me refile his tooth angles. That quadrupled cutting speed, getting up to what a small band mill will do. I have little idea why the rip chains were wrong, but I guess it has to do with our huge power plant which will hog out decent-sized chips if you have the teeth aggressive enough. What I filed would stall a smaller power head. Will had 2 power heads on his bar, one on each end.
Then the weather got hot and we quit sawing. Probably start back in soon, as I still have logs on the ground here. One big advantage of a chain mill is the lack of length limitation. Need a 50' beam? No problem, if you have a big enough tree. The other, obviously, is cost. $1500 will get you going. That 880 was Canadian for $1k (US), new, no warranty. He also bought a ripping attachment, very nice, that I use on my 039 with my standard cross-cut chain, 20" bar. Works surprisingly well.
We've been cutting oak rafters and beams for my construction here.
Forgot to ask what you're cutting for. Or is there another thread I've missed?
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Edited 9/16/2005 10:29 am ET by VaTom
Tom,
I think I just saw an ad in the local Buck saver for a portable saw mill, dont remember any of the specifics though. Ill try and look for it tomorrow, send the info on to you. I do it now but I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago......shame on me!!!!
-m2akita
Thanks, if it's the guy in Buckingham county, it's an LT40, almost new. IIRC, includes a debarker. Don't quite remember what he was asking, I'm thinking $30k or so. Way too much for me to have sitting here idle most of the time.
How about you buy it and the other two of us here will hire you by the hr?
I know a clown in Afton with a mid-sized mill, but I also know his attitude and won't hire him. The one I have faint hopes of buying is in the Whitehall area. Owner has a bad back and probably won't be able to use it again. Most unfortunate, as he was a very good sawyer. Smallish mill, but he made up the difference.
Thanks for the thought. I'm doing reinforced concrete on E. Jefferson at present. Drop by if it's convenient. Not there again until Mon., but I'll be running my little hoe then while the GC's crew strip forms. Look for an old guy without the limp (he's the GC).PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Sorry about taking so long to get back to you. Here are the specs on the sawmill ( from the Blue Ridge Buck Saver):
Saw Mill, portable band saw w/ solar kiln, dries 8' lumber, dual fan system. $3,000. (434) 842-3651.
Dont know if this is anything close to what your looking.
Yeah, I could buy it, and then work for you guys by the hour ( what's min. wage now??, Id have to charge at least a dollar more :) ), but I just dont know where I would store it ( maybe you could keep it at your place, have you run it every so often so it doesnt get dusty and such...).
Would have loved to stop by when you where at Jefferson St., but was up in DC that Monday and Tuesday.
m2akita
Matt, thanks. Wasn't in the next week's Bucksaver. I'll call. $3k is plenty for the solar kiln (8'?), but no where close for a serious band mill. Might be a toy. I passed on a mill that went for $1300 at the Foxfield auction a couple of yrs ago. Wasn't much. Wouldn't bother me to spend upwards of $10k on a mill, but that's unrealistic for a good band mill.
Room I've got, if you find a mill you just can't resist. Not unreasonable to expect $35+/hr, depending on the mill and sawyer. The guy I preferred charged $30/hr, which worked out to .25/ft for me, very acceptable. That was a smallish mill, no debarker. But he was good. I've paid more/hr for a larger mill and gotten far less production. I often have to direct the sawing to get what I want out of a log. Then the sawyer gets an education.
BTW, I assume you got my phone message a few weeks ago. Was at the Jefferson St site until last Thur. The GC's guys are finishing up. Large relief for all of us (except the GC) to have me gone. I wasn't a good fit. Now finishing up the Crozet driveway that was interrupted. That's where Sphere's going to pick up the boulders. More available if you want any. Beyond 7 tons I can't load.
Lost a hydraulic line and greatly worried a neighbor about my spilled hydraulic oil. Fortunately I'd already moved a couple of boulders, gratis, for her, so she thinks I'm OK. Turns out she has fuel oil contaminated soil to be removed and I steered her to a local solution. Would you believe $200 for an 18" line? Yikes.
My customer there intends to spray oil on the driveway (asphalt grindings), found her concern hilarious. Sure glad I don't live in a subdivision. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Dont know if you'd be interested in the sawmill ( see previous messaged I posted to VaTom).
Luka put me onto an idea a few years ago that I'll build when retired.
Whadda ya think of the idea - use tires for the band wheels. Plan on using 14 inch tires off '80 Buick , drive with a 2.2 L engine from '84 chrysler, existing well drilling tower laid horizontal for the rails, make the blade guides, etc. , use rack and pinion power steering gear off the buick for blade tensioner, etc. Should give me a good sawmill for the price of the blade, and a few pounds of welding rod.
Anybody seen something like this on the web already?
don't remember where I saw it but someplace on the 'net are plans for pretty much what you're planning - try googling band saw mills (?)
I'm sure you can find plans somewhere, but for me the hydraulic log turner was the ticket when I had the local Wood-Mizer guy do some custom sawing for me. We had boards nearly as fast as we could off load them. A day and a half for $400, and I was convinced I'd never saw enough to make owning a mill make sense for me.
All I had to do was drag the log over with the tractor, and his machine did the rest. I cannot imagine handling some of the bigger oak without hydraulics.
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