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After a good amount of research I knew there was a market for rough sawn lumber. After more research I determined that my Dad's three acres would be a good location to set up a small sawmill operation. I wasn't interested in going bigtime, just sell enough lumber to cover my cost of the mill and keep myself supplied with lumber for MY projects. It seemed like a pretty good plan. I decided the Timberking was the model for me and ordered it. The delivery and set up went smoothly. I had some logs to work on and I began making lumber. The majority of what I sawed was oak with an occasional gum or cedar just to keep things interesting.
Moving logs around by hand is NO fun, I needed a better way to drag them so I modified an old Ford Bronco:
The homemade hoist you can almost see sticking out the back and a small 12 volt winch proved to be a mighty combination. I could MOVE logs anywhere I wanted by dragging them! Dragging the logs somewhere close to the mill then using grunt power and a cant hook I could manhandle the logs onto the mill. This works but is physically challenging. My mind was up to the challenge, my body however wasn't enthused. A couple of small logs to stage the waiting the logs became a real asset.
As long as the logs didn't get off the staging, they rolled easily with the cant hook and getting them on the mill was MUCH simpler. About this time not only do I have an occupational license from the county but I am beginning to get a little foot traffic and inquiries concerning lumber. Things are looking good and very promising. The very fact that things were looking good SHOULD have clued me that things were about to go downhill, after all, Murphy lives at my house. Anyway, all work and no play makes us dull. My son had a chance to take the Bronco and do a little playing and he jumped all over it. The Bronco wasn't JUST for hauling logs:
The more things shaped up, the better I began to feel (all the exercise MIGHT have had something to do with that!) I had lumber stickered and stacked in a building for drying and I tried vertical stacking for some of my odd stuff:
There was a need developing for LONG boards so, the mill needed to be extended to handle the extra length. An extension could be bought but a friend is a bang up welder and did the deed for me.
The mill now has 20 foot capability and we can cut LONG boards! Remember Murphy? A county guy shows up and issues a cease and desist order. All activity must stop and equipment must be moved. A NEIGHBOR had complained about ALL THE BIG TRUCKS coming and going. ONE big truck had been there TWICE to drop logs... You CAN fight city hall but you usually don't win. It was setup on my Dad's place and I wanted to cause him no trouble. I complied with the order. I sold the mill to a friend. I took the loss (huge to me), and I moved on. I have visitation rights with the mill and get to use it once in awhile. The friend is not only making money with HIS mill, but he is cutting the lumber for the house he is planning to build. I wasn't wrong about sawmilling, I was just wrong on the location. IF you go sawmilling, KNOW THY NEIGHBOR or you could wind up like me. OK, so I no longer have a sawmill. NOT having a sawmill does NOT keep me from making lumber anyway. I still have my chainsaws and can use them to make boards!
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Recommend this article... Last update : 04-03-2007 16:40
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