Run a Small-Scale Sawmill – Part 1 – Equipment
Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS Written By: James Fairfield and the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Editors
SAWMILL EQUIPMENT SELECTION
In order to choose the right saw, you’ll first have to determine what kind of operation you plan to run and how much money you can afford to invest in equipment. For instance, if you want to work merely on a part-time basis—as Ronald does—and if you can finance it, you might consider purchasing a Mobile Dimension saw directly from the company. The firm sells a basic outfit, which includes saw and power source, for a little over $7,000. (For more information, write or phone the helpful folks at Mobile Mfg. Co., Dept. TMEN, Troutdale, Oregon.)
Other manufacturers are now marketing apparatus that will allow you to cut lumber with a chain saw. If you’re planning to saw only small quantities of wood, you might want to investigate these relatively inexpensive products. (See the articles on such devices in MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 64, page 116 . . . and NO. 77, page 120. To order back issues, turn to page 48.)
However, if you’re thinking of going into full-time lumber production, your best bet will probably be to buy a circular saw matched with a diesel- or gas-fueled power unit (it might even be an old 18-wheeler engine). Belsaw is one of the largest and most respected manufacturers of this kind of equipment. (For more information, write to Belsaw Machinery Co., Dept. TMEN, Kansas City, Missouri .)
Although a new saw does represent a significant investment, most of the companies supplying such products will be happy to teach you to use their machinery, and they’ll also be around to answer any questions that might come up later. (Again, because there’s an astounding dearth of written material about the operation of small sawmills, the free advice could be worth a lot in the long run.) But if you’re determined to be thrifty, you may well be able to pick up a used blade and power unit—perhaps from someone who’s either been driven out of the business or retired from it—for around $5,000 (that’s for both saw and motor).
While you’re in a spending frame of mind, you might also want to consider buying a forklift to help tote wood around your lot. Bought new, such a vehicle will cost around $20,000, but you might be able to locate a used one for closer to $8,000 if you check with firms that use the handy machines regularly.
PROTECTING YOUR SAWMILL EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT
The bulk of your equipment maintenance chores will involve keeping your saw greased and its engine in good working order . . . and sharpening the blade periodically (often several times a day) with a good file. You’ll keep your honing tasks to a minimum, though, if you brush off each log before you send it through . . . since it often takes only one dirty hunk of timber to dull a blade!
And as you clean the wood, look for nails or pieces of barbed wire that might be lodged in it. A single bit of metal—such as a nail—can completely ruin a set of expensive (about $75!) saw teeth. Sometimes, though, metal will become implanted in a sapling, and the bark will grow over it, so you won’t always be able to detect these bit-butchers. For that reason, it’s a good plan to keep an extra set of teeth on hand at all times.
PAUL BUNYAN, SLIDE OVER
Of course, in order to produce boards, a sawyer needs a steady supply of logs . . . and you’ll have to determine whether you’ll fell the trees yourself, buy timber from a logger, or cut up logs supplied by your customers. It used to be that any small-scale lumbermaker worth his or her salt would log all the necessary lumber . . cut it . . dry it . . . and sell it. But times have changed, and it’s not always profitable to go through all four processes yourself.
Generally, the best bet is to find a few dependable loggers in your area who will sell you timber. But be careful not to purchase more wood than you think you can resell in a given time period. Ideally, you want to cut—and market—approximately 3,000 board feet in a day . . . keeping about one day’s supply ahead. It also pays to saw up trees brought in by customers . . . charging them for your time and for the wear and tear on your equipment.
Just as you probably won’t want to do your own logging, you will—in most cases—be better of avoiding the next step beyond sawing, which is air-drying the boards. Drying lumber is a time- and labor-consuming proposition (not to mention the fact that it takes up a lot of space).
To continue reading about James Fairfield and the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Editors’ Homestead Business, check out Running A Small-Scale Sawmill Business on MOTHER EARTH NEWS.
