Newbie question

[Madman_Mark]

I hired a guy last summer to mill some logs that I had cut on my property, about 1,500 b/f.
He brought his portable mill (Wood Mizer) and was done by early afternoon.
I didn't hang around too much and watch because I was busy so I know pretty much nothing about milling, although I do some part time logging for other people with a tracotor/winch combo.
Owning a portable mill would come in very handy I think.
My questions are 1- How hard is it for someone like me to learn the basics of milling ?
2-How much might it cost for a used mill that I could use 2 days a week and make a profit (Canadian $) ?
3-What is a good model/make for a part timer ?
Help get me heading in the right direction.

[Rod]

 

Well I don't know how hard it would be for you to learn but I bought a Turner mill 3 weeks ago and so far I've had no problems cutting logs into lumber.

I don't know how much a used mill is but the Turner I bought was $3400 with out motor,I put my own 10 HP eletric motor on It.The Tuner mill.cuts 16 1/2' long and up to 29'' dim.

I cut about 400 bft a day,thats in about 4 hours.

as for profit I don't know the answer but so far I've cut about 3,000' /3 blades and I thing it might of cost about $10 in electric,the blades and logs were free. .

I don't know if I have made a profit or not yet,but I have been building on to the house with the lumber.If I would of went to Lowe's it would of cost me about $1 a board foot for their lumber,and my lumber is much better..

[Frank_Pender]

A couple things to consider are: what diam. are you going to be sawing , mostof the time and the type of dimensional lumber.   Another is, are you cutting for production and just by yourself and for yourself?  There have been a host of other like/kinds of questions in other threads from the past that covers your inquirey very well.  

[Madman_Mark]

I'd be cutting for others by myself or sometimes with a helper.
Spruce,fir and pine around 6-20 inch diameter, probably an average of 14 inch diameter.

[Frank_Pender]

Mark, for dimensionsal lumber and that size of log, as well as production I sure would consider a Mobile Dimension mill for production and precision.    ;D

[DanG]

Hi Mark!  If you're gonna be working alone, the Mobile Dimension, or similar types would be the way to go. I think the D&L Doublecut works pretty much the same way. I'll talk about MD, though, cause that's what I have and I'm familiar with it.

The learning curve on an MD is really short, compared to bandmills. You can watch someone for a few minutes, and start cutting nice lumber right away. Of course, there is still a lot to learn about logs and lumber, but the machine is dead simple to operate, so you can concentrate on the product.  You save a lot of steps, as there is no log turning, or slabs to pull. The waste comes off as edging strips, for the most part, and the machine brings them back to you, along with the boards. I frequently cut up a good sized log without ever leaving the operator's station, making it easier and safer to work alone.  

There are lots of used MDs on the market for a very reasonable cost.