New to all of this - need inspiration

r50maier · May 20, 2016, 03:14:21 AM

I'll try to keep my intro short. I recently purchased a small wooded property. The previous tenant had done some shady and hasty logging on his way out and left a lot of downed oak. Unfortunately it has been laying there for probably 3 or more years. By all standards, I think it is pretty useless, especially to a professional sawmill operator. I bought a chainsaw mill just to play around with and quickly realized I needed a bigger saw. Then, I saw the HM126. I could probably actually justify buying this, as it is closer to being in my price range than any of the other mills I've seen.

So, now for the inspiration part. I have less than zero knowledge on any topic related to this. I can use a chainsaw, and enjoy woodworking, that is the extent of my experience. I am very mechanically inclined and "handy" and would love to one day, have a mill running with a solar kiln. So, I have the will. I'm sure many or most of you have been in my position. How realistic or practical is it for me to dump money into this having no prior knowledge? I'll be sawing what most would consider to be junk trees, most have hollows in them, mushrooms on them, etc, and then of course the occasional fallen tree from the property. Is this a pipe dream, or could I be looking at a rewarding hobby?

shawnr · May 20, 2016, 04:20:09 AM

I say Go for it! I was in almost the same boat. You read all of this great information and dream of being self reliant. Heck, how many of us watch all of the "Alaskan or Mountain Men" shows that are on these days and dream of a simpler life?
I bought a slightly used Hudson saw mill last year. I bought this mill only because it was for sale locally and I knew the guy selling it. Got a very fair deal and never looked back.
My only regret is that I didn't get a mill twenty years ago and it's a bit small ( 18" width).
I have literally had a blast! I have much to learn, but have also learned a lot from the great members of this forum.
To date, I have milled siding for my cabin, live edge slabs for benches, just working on a bar top for an amazing Tiki bar that I'm building for my sister-in-law as a retirement gift.....the list goes on and on.
I was seriously looking at the HM126 because of budget, ended up getting my mill for less and it was only 6 months old!
Go get a mill and start having fun!

Ianab · May 20, 2016, 05:38:10 AM

I'll go with "rewarding hobby" for 10 points :D

If you are into woodworking, and have some trees, then it makes prefect sense to close the loop and get some basic equipment to process your trees into an end product. The Woodland mills are a good little unit for the money, and their simplicity means you can repair anything that does go wrong.

While there is plenty to learn, it's not hard to get started, and the guys here can help you out with any specific problems and questions.

As long as your downed logs are still solid in the heartwood you will be able to get some usable wood out of them. If you are using it for your own projects you can cut useful parts out of some pretty dodgy boards and throw the off cuts into the firewood pile.

And yes, been there, done that myself. I'd never operated a sawmill before I bought mine. You make a few mis-cuts, you might not be fast, but you get some boards sawn, and get better fairly quickly.

thecfarm · May 20, 2016, 06:06:54 AM

r50maier.welcome to the forum. Just remember,you don't make money on a hobby. ;D
I have seen some mighty ugly looking logs turn into some mighty fine looking lumber here on the forum.
Depends on how much lumber you can use. Maybe you could sell some too. Those boards with a little bit of hollow,voids,knots, can look good to the right person.
How are you getting the logs out of the woods?
I suppose you have a planer?
Will need a place to store lumber too.
Other sell on here,but need stock for buyers to look at.

goose63 · May 20, 2016, 06:08:51 AM

Go for it i knew diddley squat when i bought my HM 126 still dont know all that much yet but haveing fun lurning. The guys here are a great help

Have fun with your saw
And welcome to the Fourm

Cedarman · May 20, 2016, 06:17:20 AM

Be safe with yourself and your equipment.
Remember, a fire makes all cutting mistakes disappear forever unless you let a camera click.
Dive in, enjoy the sawdust.

Chuck White · May 20, 2016, 06:31:52 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, r50maier.

fishfighter · May 20, 2016, 06:38:38 AM

If you have some support equipment to move logs, go for it. And welcome aboard.

LeeB · May 20, 2016, 07:16:21 AM

I think it would be safe to say that the majority up us started with little or no experience to saw milling. Only way to learn to swim is to get in the water.

r50maier · May 20, 2016, 07:40:46 AM

Thanks guys, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I've read a lot on here and am just amazed at what you guys accomplish. Sometimes it's a nice reminder that everyone starts somewhere.

I do think a mill will be in my future, and it will just be a hobby, so I don't expect to make any money off of it. I just think it would be really cool to make something with lumber provided by the land I own...hopefully a lot of somethings. :D

Magicman · May 20, 2016, 07:44:45 AM

Hello r50maier and Welcome to the Forestry Forum. When I bought my sawmill I had never even seen one sawing. Just a leap of faith and the rest is history. Keep reading and asking questions here.

WV Sawmiller · May 20, 2016, 08:23:51 AM

Welcome to FF. I'm like MM above and had never watched a sawmill operate till I turned mine on. I did go by the WM dealer in NC and Tyler showed me the bells and whistles on the mill and explained what they did. After watching and listening to him I decided it was straightforward enough I could operate and, more important, maintain it.

Mine is a business but it is also my retirement hobby. I was looking for something to keep me occupied, maybe generate a little mad money and was expense neutral (pretty much pays for itself).

If you buy and maintain your mill properly it will retain its value well in case you ever want to upgrade or get rid of it. Good luck.

Den-Den · May 20, 2016, 08:40:02 AM

I will echo the previous comments and recommend that you jump in.
As to the oak logs with mushrooms growing on them:
If they are in the red oak family, most will be pretty far gone.
If they are in the white oak family, the sapwood will be bad but the heart wood will be just fine.

Cedar Eater · May 20, 2016, 10:26:23 AM

Quote from: r50maier on May 20, 2016, 03:14:21 AMSo, now for the inspiration part. I have less than zero knowledge on any topic related to this. I can use a chainsaw, and enjoy woodworking, that is the extent of my experience. I am very mechanically inclined and "handy" and would love to one day, have a mill running with a solar kiln. So, I have the will. I'm sure many or most of you have been in my position. How realistic or practical is it for me to dump money into this having no prior knowledge? I'll be sawing what most would consider to be junk trees, most have hollows in them, mushrooms on them, etc, and then of course the occasional fallen tree from the property. Is this a pipe dream, or could I be looking at a rewarding hobby?

I don't want to discourage you from the HM 126, but it sounds like you don't have enough wood to eventually pay off a purchased mill. Have you considered building your own mill out of chainsaw milled lumber and purchased parts? I've seen some very interesting videos on youtube of bandsaw mills made with scooter or small motorcycle wheels and one even had wheels made from MDF and a V-groove pulley made from plywood. That guy posted a very interesting series showing how he made his mill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhFEVf8zZkg

I don't think he had ever run a mill, but he clearly had a lot of experience working with wood. My hobby is tinkering so building my own stuff makes it more rewarding. I built a chainsaw mill out of some bed frame steel and a 2X4. You just have to get those logs protected from the weather ASAP.

Cedarman · May 20, 2016, 02:37:39 PM

I tell any new sawyer at our mill that I can teach him in a day to run the mill. But you will still be learning to saw cedar a year from now. In other words, operating the mill is the easy part, learning what to do with the mill is much harder. You will learn the last part by sawing lots of logs.

btulloh · May 20, 2016, 05:45:04 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum r50maier.

You sound like me, only quite a bit younger. I went through all that thinking process too and then I found out about the lower price hobby mills like the HM126 (which I bought last year). I wish I had done it a lot sooner. I've enjoyed the whole thing and it brings another dimension to my woodworking. It also give a way to use a lot of good and intersting timber that ends up on the ground around my place and which just went to waste in the past. Some of the ugliest things with no commercial or firewood value produce some very interesting lumber. I've also cut a lot of framing lumber and used it around here.

Maybe I'll end up getting rid of the HM126 and getting something bigger, or maybe not. But I'm glad I got it.

Good luck with your decision.

btulloh · May 20, 2016, 05:59:52 PM

Regarding those logs that have been on the ground for three years: I think this was covered pretty well already, but you can take a pie slice at least down to the center of the log with your chainsaw and see for yourself real quick. Mushrooms or fungus usually means it's too late in most cases. Cedar or locust logs will last pretty much forever even on the ground.

plowboyswr · May 20, 2016, 10:03:22 PM

I'm going to be in the buy it camp. Go in to it with your eyes open with the smaller mill it will be an experience. Buy what you can afford. I took this same advice that was given to me, and took the plunge this year with no regrets. Keep reading on here and ask questions. As far as your logs, roll the dice on them. I have been pulling 4 year old walnut out of a brush pile. Took some 3 year old down cherry. And got some usable lumber out of them, but got some nice fire starter out of an oak that had been down for ? years :D the ants had a lot of fun in that one, looked neat but not usable for what I wanted it for.

Brad_bb · May 20, 2016, 10:16:07 PM

I didn't know anything before I bought my mill 2 years ago. I did have this forum to rely on, and buy is this a great community of people. With milling, you learn as you go. You make some mistakes, but more often learn better ways as you go along. You do need a decent chainsaw to go along with your mill to trim logs and cut up slabs for firewood. Tip: Use the Grandberg electric chain sharper. It's 12V and runs off a vehicle battery and you can take it with you. Also consider security for your mill if it's a portable version. If you can keep your mill indoors or under a shed, it will fair much better over time.
https://youtu.be/Gzy6qYT5eg8