How to Buy a Sawmill. We bought a Frontier Sawmill
So you want to buy a portable sawmill or At least a transportable sawmill let’s Talk about it Make sure you stay to the end and i’ll Bottom line it all for you So the first thing we’ll talk about is What do you plan on milling Now that may sound like a stupid Question but it totally depends in your Area some places have been uh cut before And you know it just depends on the size Trees and the species you have in my Area big large trees are not as common We will every now and then get a larger Tree like the one here in this video And you have to take that in Consideration if it’s something you want To you want to tackle This particular clip has nothing to do With the video whatsoever i just thought You might want to see a tree fall Truthfully this is one of the trees we Harvested for the sawmill Let me talk about this one phenomenon it Will happen i had no idea when i bought My sawmill if this was going to occur But people will give you trees i mean it They will give you trees they will call You up and say hey come get my trees Some of these trees are big so take that Into consideration It’s a sad day when you have to Turn down a log that’s too big for your Meal
The next thing on the list is do you Want it mobile or movable Some mills like mine are completely Mobile you drive it into place put the Outriggers down and it’s ready to start Milling Others you have to put it together on Site These are where you need to figure out What your needs are All right the next thing we’re going to Talk about is Why do you want a meal is it for a hobby Is it for income or is it for a little Bit of both Are you unsure Hopefully we can answer these questions By the end of this video Let’s talk about the different types of Sawmills The chainsaw meal is very very portable But it also is very slow in production You are limited by the size of the motor On the chainsaw and the how much Pressure you can push through Now there is step ups like the norwood Uh chainsaw mill but as it’s more Complicated it is less portable not to Say that it’s not portable it is Portable you can you can load this up in A car and put the the rack on top of the Roof and and head out but uh it’s still The more complicated they become the The less portable they are
I would only recommend a chainsaw mill If portability is a key issue let me Clarify that you can get these portable Chainsaw mills way back in the woods Where you can’t get an automobile The next on the list is what they call a Swing blade circular saw it swings both Left and right And you it’s a really fast saw for Making dimensional lumber however it’s Limited and how big the sawmill can cut How much how big a timber it can cut By the dimension of the blade this is One of the reasons that it is not really Great for slabbing or trying to make big Timbers [Applause] Having said that i don’t think there’s Any sawmill any faster in making Dimensional lumber it just rips through Dimensional lumber really fast it is not As portable as a wheeled bandsaw mill But it still can be torn down and taken Places and set up fairly quickly [Music] Bandsaw mills come both stationary and Portable and what i mean by portable They have wheels on them and the Trailers are dlt approved to go down the The interstates and and the roadways The unique thing to bandsaw mills is Most manufacturers create a kit that you Can add to it anytime in the future and Make your bandsaw mill totally portable
Another perk to bandsaw mills is that The blade is very thin so you waste a Lot less lumber than a chainsaw mill or Even the swing blade type circular saw Bandsaw type sawmill manufacturers make Sawmills that will take it just about Any type log that you can put through That means you can cut wide slabs and Also depending on how long you you Purchase your sawmill you can cut wide Slabs that are extremely long Now that we went through the three main Portable type sawmills Let’s get to the elephant in the room I would love to be able to bench press 315 pounds again but i don’t believe That’s going to be in my cards and what I mean to say is i’m not a young buck Anymore And sawmillin is tough heavy work is it Rewarding absolutely it’s rewarding but It’s still Tough and heavy but there are some Sawmills that offer convenience that Make it a little bit easier so let’s Talk about those At this point i can’t rotate it Backwards I have to always go this way So And it makes it not as much fun with a Manual Meal All right so here we go
There we are External tools such as a tractor and Hydraulics and grapple Really can curtail some of your work [Music] Still no matter what type meal you have Some things are going to have to be Handled by hand to move it off Most bandsaw mills have add-ons for the Manuals that makes it a little bit Easier such as cranes and The ability to roll a Log up onto the sawmill using that crane And also using that crane to turn over The log so there are some manual Opportunities to help out Each manufacturer adds Different apparatuses to help move logs Around manually and there are so many Different types of apparatuses that i Can’t i can’t cover all in one video You’d have to look at each individual Line and go from there the next thing we Could talk about but i’m probably going To stop is at the hydraulic type uh Attachments and accessories i think once We do that we cross over to a threshold Of a amateur pro Or pro series sawmill and the price is Going to really reflect it is as well Here’s a great example of how a band saw Mill excels over other types sawmills This log is crooked but my wife wanted a Slab
Made out of this crooked log well you Can do that with a bandsaw mill and like Your sling blade tight circular saws They won’t do it and it’s really be Troublesome to do with a chainsaw mill As well Let’s talk about the bare necessity of Tools that you’re going to need at your Sawmill first you’re going to need a Tape measure you’re going to need a Chainsaw because there’s going to be Times that you’re going to get jammed up Where you can’t do anything but cut your Way out you’re going to need a cant hook So you can turn the logs over you’re Gonna need a way to put the log on the Mill Whether it be the winching system with a Ramp or a tractor and a grapple Now let’s talk about one thing that’s Probably overlooked On every new sawmill purchase Is what kind of blades can you get for Your sawmill a lot of times we just buy The sawmill and think that all sawmill Blades are the same well they’re not There’s different pitch blades for Different type woods and can you get That blade uh from uh The manufacturer that makes it or from An alternate manufacturer that just Makes blades so that’s something to Think about the what kind of blade Choices do you have and what are the
Cost you need to think about that in Your purchasing of the sawmill One more thing to think about on blades Is how are you going to sharpen them Each blade lasts probably four to five Times on the sharpening are you going to Send it off how much is that going to Cost are you going to buy a Blade sharpener when you buy your Sawmill those are some of the other Things that you have to think about an Additional cost So the last thing i want to talk about In this video is like warranty work and Service and support you want to have Manufacturer support I would recommend that you call each Manufacturer’s warranty hotline before You purchase the meal and see if the Answer i can tell you that’s one of the Reasons i went with frontier with which Is part of the norwood family is because I call and a lot of times i’ll get Trevor or i’ll get kelly and it’s you Know it’s always a person i call and get A person just right away When you buy your new sawmill you’re Gonna and you you’re gonna be a new Sawyer you’re new to this you’re going To have questions and you’re going to Need support from the manufacturer and When you’re calling that hotline make Sure that the person behind the phone Actually has touched the sawmill before
And in my case uh each one of the people That i have talked to Have probably cut thousands of board Foot so that’s that’s the thing that Makes me feel good about my purchase I promise you i would bottom line it Well here’s the bottom line buy as much Meal as you can For the best price that you can afford So there’s so many types of sawmills Variations of salt meals different Brands of sawmills different different Types of sawmills within the same brand Of sawmill so there’s no way i can cover Everything that you need to know in any Video so i hope this helps you in your Decision-making process At least it will give you enough Information to at least ask the right Questions
