Portable Sawmills- Are they worth the money?- Woodland Mills HM126 

Great video! Short informative and to the point. No blabbering. This is what all youtube videos should look like

HI Outsider I also have the HM126 which i bought in 2013. I use it on an occasional basis and process about 10 to 15 logs a year. I use the wood for tool sheds, wood sheds an new porch etc. you did not mention so i will that with each log you cut you will get 20 or 30 gallons of sawdust. I add the sawdust to my compost heap as the wood material in the mix. Also all the “scabs” which are the pieces of wood with bark on one side get cut up into firewood. There is very little material wasted if you do a little thinking about where you can use the various products of boards, firewood and sawdust. Finally i found the local high school has an enthusiastic wood-shop teacher but no budget for wood. I keep him supplied with pine, oak, chestnut and cedar so the kids have plenty of material to work on. All at no charge of course. I have not found there to be a market for selling wood locally except for the occasional neighbor who needs a few boards. This occasionally pays for gas to run the mill. Nice video and valid insights. Pete

I've had the HM126 for about a year now. Only complaint is that I didn't buy one years ago. Absolutely love it. Don't think you could make a living with this mill as there's a lot of manual work involved. For someone with their own trees and a frequent need for lumber it will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Buddy is eating his words now. “Cant make money selling 2x4’s” lol could get rich now selling them

This video answered every question I still had about Woodland Mills and band-sawmills in general. I have done a lot of research and I am very happy with the summary you have provided. Thank you very much and best of luck!!!!

I was restoring my barn. Needed 6000 bf for just the roof and walls. Local lumber yard wanted $1.05 for field dried, rough pine. I had plenty or trees, I purchased a Norwood 2000. for$7000. Ended up cutting many posts, sills and beams also. Saved much more than mill costs. When figuring the cost of a chain saw mill don't forget the Dr. and chiropractor cost as they will kill your back. Very good video

I also own one of Woodland Mills' bandsaw mills, although mine is an entry level model. I would highly recommend even the small "hobbyist" version I have. Great value for the money when building my own furniture.

3 years later, wood has went up by a lot.

Excellent commentary, great production work. I have a simple suggestion, not sure you remember, I was the one suggesting a portable saw mill 18 months ago.I hate mud on my wood, dulls the tools, need to sharpen them much more often. You know this from your chainsaw experience, not telling you anything new. My suggestion would be to get a small wood chipper, not an expensive one, then cover the ground around the sawmill with the chips, spread that sawdust around too, it keeps the mud down.I helped a guy on another website, he did not understand foundations. Just like you have trouble with your sawmill, a house has the same problem going through seasons and staying level. The solution is soil dynamics, foundation engineering, which is very complicated. Basically, you need to get something stable, and that depends upon the conditions where you build. In that soil, I would suggest piers. You have rocks, so to reduce the amount of cement, you might pressure wash rocks or find clean ones in a stream bed. Add a little extra OPC and fill a sonotube, buried below the frost line. That might be difficult with so many rocks there. Believe me, it will be worth the effort, even if you can only put one pier every 16 feet. You have free wood, you can span that distance easily with a 2"x10". Most log cabin guys dig a trench, fill it with rocks and sit something on top. It always fails and the rocks need to be restacked every spring. With piers, you might still trench and stack the rocks, but get the wood up 30" off the dirt and away from the rain splash. If the rocks fall over, so what, just restack them. Piers can look ugly, so to make it look really good, use slip form. Slip form would be like getting a sonotube just 12" to 18 inches high, anything above ground, stack clean stones around the outside, fill the inside with rocks and crete. That is the easy way to make it look like masonry. I am not a mason either, but taking time to get the rocks close to each other, then pointing afterwards will work. That same idea can be done the traditional way with slip forms to create a flat face. There are a few examples on U-tube, most of them awful.Great job, good luck with all your endeavors!

Looks like they make this saw with a trailer now and is probably the easiest way to level up the saw and be able to move it where you want it. Looks like that is the way to go and just build a shelter for the saw when it is parked and not being used. Thanks for the video.

I might have to thank you for this video, for the fact that when I went to purchase the m126 it came with the trailer when I bought it.

I've been using the same mill for a couple weeks now cutting up to 16ft Cedar logs into 1" and 2" boards plus larger timbers.. It's a great little mill, easy maintenance, easy to set up, easy to use... best if it's on a concrete pad but at the moment mine's on wood blocks and I've got zero problems with accurate cutting. I think the key to successful cutting is to TAKE YOUR TIME and always use sharp blades.. soon as a blade starts wandering..change it. Great little mill for the guy who wants to take the time to do it right, not a mill for high production to make money...

I enjoy your videos and the Oregon Old Timer sawmill videos.

The best way to level these things is to make a water level from a bucket and some clear plastic tubing. Hard to get more precise, even with a laser level. Or you can buy one at the big hardware. Some even beep.

Saw mills are like exercise machines. Spend your money ! You only get good out of them if you use them. I use my woodland mills saw. I love it.

Great information on the merits of a portable sawmill. I agree with your assessment that if you plan on starting up a saw milling business then a manual mill is not the way to go.

For 95% of the guys it makes a lot more sense to just take ur logs to someone who mills lumber for a living. You will get better quality lumber and it's will cost you a LOT less in the long run. Sawmills are like boats, the first summer is a blast then from then on you just keep spending time and money working on it and everytime you want to use it it won't start or needs more work.

They, IMHO, are worth 10x's their weight in gold ! The more that you learn about just exactly what your mill can do it"s even more valuable! ATB from sunny Wintergarden,Florida😎!

You were able to work with your dad, so well done.

Chainsaw mills have a thicker kerf. That’s a huge difference. Thank you

the sawmill is a good asset if you do not have a good deal of work for it when you complete your project you could think about hiring it out to other diy cabin builders

Depends obviously on how much you plan to use it, location, etc. Personally around me for about $45/hr I can have a guy bring his saw to my house and cut logs. One day gave me enough material to build an entire cabin and shed.

Bandsaw mills are worth it if you have access to trees.. I bought an Oscar 36 and built all my windows doors, kitchen, furniture, and many other things. not to mention the wood I sell..

Very good. Thanks a lot for the info. It helps. God bless.

Great video, demonstration and discussion. Very much appreciated. :-)

If you have woodlands and work with lumber on a regular basis a sawmill will pay for itself in a very short amount of time. However to drag logs to the mill you need a tractor of some sort. Just in building my bridge and all of my bee hives my mill has more than paid for itself. No way a chainsaw mill can be compared to band mill, I could mill 3 logs before a chainsaw mill could do 3 boards.

i should be able to afford one in another 3 months or so cant wait very nicely put together video

Should u buy a bandmill? Bushland ? Yes,if it is a couple of thousand dollars. You can build your buildings and sell it. It's lots of work and handling. If u have free help??? It's great. More expensive mills are still slow.They are not production mills but they are very expensive. Your landing area needs to keep the logs clean as possible. Stability in sawmill setup is crucial .Your log deck needs to be solid and make setting the log on the mill easy on you and the saw frame. Opinions are welcome.

In most of states rough lamper is not usable in constraction its building codes that req dressed lamper .Saw mill is ok to have if you do wood jobs ,have own forest to cat

Use a laser to level the individual legs instead of a 4'level. Set the laser on one end corner(keep it in the same spot the whole time) and just turn it left and right over each leg. Adjust until you get the same number on every foot.

IMO: Do you have a tractor+trailer y/n ? n= chainsaw mill Is it for a log house? y = chainsaw mill Your forest is made mostly of pine/low grade wood/small diameter trees? y=chainsaw mill If you don't have a tractor with hydrolics to hoist big logs into a trailor back to the shop or the sawmill transformation area then forget the sawmill. Chainsaw mill= $129, Portable Sawmill: $2800-$3000... (it's $2800 that you can spend on a: chainsaw mill, a mig welder, an metal cutting saw, an oxy cutting torch and adapt your own electric bandsaw on rails :) Woodland seems good but, the Frontier OS27 seem even better for ease of use for a few bucks more. Do you really need more then 11' lumbers? in few application if I ever needed more then 11' lumbers I would simply chainsaw mill it. The longer the heavier and seldom straight or perfect grain also...

I would do AUTO feed. Seems like a no brainer. Thanks for the videos.

very imformative ... i have a harbor freight bandsaw mill i got for 2 k ... i would of like to have got one from a company made in the nourth american continet but on my limmited income it was out of reach for me .. i really do enjoy your videos ty for posting them

Thank you for the review, ive been wanting to get a sawmill on my property to use my own trees for lumber to build a new house. I live in Norway so we only have logosol here. Thanks for the idea to put it on a slab to align it correctly. New sub for an awesome channel :) Keep them coming :)

Very helpful. Thank you.

Great video very helpful

That was awesome.

Getting one!

As far as I am concerned, an old circular mill is the best of all. Way quicker. You do have 1/4" kerf, but you can saw thousands of board feet a day rather than a couple hundred. My experiences with sawmills is they aren't wonderful business propositions. for your own use, if you don't care about insurance or permits, sawing wood for your own use is a good thing. But the problem is, they want graded lumber. You can saw much better quality lumber than you can buy, Because in Canada, the best is exported and the poorer lumber we keep for ourselves. Silly, right?

Thank you cleaned up a lot off questions i hade

Thanks mate. Much appreciated

Excellent video!

Excellent, thank-you!

well, finding level is on you. using a building level (lazer rental) could get you pretty close.

Very good video!!

Thanks so much for this vid!

Amazing

great investment just under four thousand dollars what a great investment

well said and agreed

Did you buy any accessories with your HM126? Except the extension

Worth every penny, if you can spend £1200 on a decent chainsaw then a sawmill is a no brainer.

I am shopping for home sawmills, and the WM126 seems perfect. Have you had a look at the Hudson sawmills? They were at the top of my list because the mills are manufactured in North America (New York) rather than China. If the WM mills are made in Canada, that would would be great, and might sway my decision. Any thoughts? Thanks, Arthur Ridgefield WA

Not to sound negative but everybody is really nice to you when they want your money,,,

Great video thank you brother! i am a new listener For those who know mgtow aka sandman, they have the same voice. that made me smile

No mention of circular blade sawmills? Can you even compare chainsaw mills with either a band-saw or circular blade sawmill? You do easily watched videos.

Doesnt sound like your kissing ass or rereading a script at all. Damn near had me sold

I make the blades DIAMOND SAW CHAFFEE NY 🇺🇸

Do you have any information on getting your lumber certified so you can build a house from it and pass a framing inspection? I have read somewhere that depending on your state or province it may cost more than buying lumber.

Im thinking about building a house with one of these. Would that be cost effective.

I guess you know by now that they have a trailer for this.

it's worth it

6:24 - Who else felt like they needed to get out of the way to not get cut?

In the event of enconomic collapse or a slew of other things how would you power it since you won't have gas? I've been trying to find something that would continue to bennefit in such an occasion.

Did the math and as of now you can make 100 cad an hour.......... if u saw 100-125 board feet an hour

How do you dry your wood? Or do you even dry it?

And now in 2021 woodland mills offers trailers.

I have had one of these in my workshop for a little while now and it's held up well. Only the consumables needed replacing.

I bought a used hud-son 28"mill over 10 years ago. I only intended to use it for my hobby wood work and such, I have cut many logs with it, cedar, oak, walnut, cherry, pine. I have tried to sell some of the boards, pricing 2x6-8' at half the lumber yard price, and could sell none. I have used many of the boards myself for my hobby, and sold a number of bird houses made from them. this fellow talks of cutting boards for furniture, but you have to have the finest straight grain clear boards for furniture, and they have to be totally dried and planed, just cutting boards on a mill like this doesn't even get you close to furniture making. there is a guy advertising localy 2"x16"-8' slabs of walnut, oak and elm, and it appears he hasn't sold any (price $50-80 each) in conclusion I would say do not buy a mill to make money, it is only a hobby unit. treat it as such

Just a little tip. If you use a string level to straighten the bed in the direction of travel you can get in straight much faster. Your not looking for level your looking for a straight line of cut. After you get the table in a straight line then you can level the cross members. If the string is in the center of the cross member, the cross members can be adjusted by raising the low side and lowering the high side an equal amount. I hope this helps you out.

I bought my Woodlands mill about 5 years ago for hobby and am very pleased. You might consider going to pawn shop and pick up a transit to level saw bed, as did I. A neighbor gave me an old dilapidated 24' travel trailer to which I tore off camper portion and used the trailer to put my mill upon. Works great and is portable!

Hello , what does it cost for a canvas car port ? If you are spending thousands on a woodland sawmill , why then don’t you just drop a few hundred on a canvas carport this covers and preserves you’re investment and makes use a lot easier in various bad weather , I my self am into the market for a saw mill , but the first step is for me having the proper staging area and some kind of shelter, it could actually be one of those non expensive carports made of a canvas material. Today you cannot afford to let you’re hard earned money go to waste by neglecting the little things that make a big impact , on you’re investment slash sawmill so take my advice don’t jump the gun or go on hitting the ground running when it comes to you’re sawmill , be prepared and think ahead as to what you are going to use it for and what you are going to need to make the sawmill experience a great prophet-able one , all the best have a safe and awesome day learn something every day and have fun doing so trucker Kelly :)

Love the review, unbiased and objective. Im in Papua New Guinea and id love to have one if these. We have mostly chainsaw mills but this would be great. If only shipping was cheaper

A great video on the choice, I believe the decision between a bandsawmill or a chainsaw mill is relative to the species of timber you are cutting , I have owned and used both, my choice for cutting hardwood like ironbark or river redgum etc is the chainsaw mill, I have 2 Westford Mills, the slabbing mill and the rail mill using the skip tooth chain , no problem, the downside using a chainsaw is the waste as in blade thickness. The bandsaw mill has a thin blade , minimal waste, but bandsaw blades do have there issues, in hardwood the teeth follow the grain therefore porpises up and down thru the log, a wavy surface, no issues with cedar or silky oak . In the end I used a starrett brand blade with a left and right cutting tooth and a raker in the middle, ground every second or so tooth off and it cut like a hot knife thru butter, left on the setup and used until the blade was past the use by date, quick and easy to sharpen with an angle grinder, just ground a sharp point on the tooth no fancy depth gauging or profiling, cost of a blade was $12 , cheap timber , I sold the bandsamill because the blade tension is critical and all I was cutting was hardwood. The Westford mills are made in Australia and are truly portable, used to cut old dead river red gums on the banks of the river , in location , my max lenght was 3 metres long, couldn't lift anything heavier, 75 mm thick, up to 3 foot wide, used a Husquvarna 3120 with modified exhaust and jetting to overcome over come running lean with the throttle power on for 3 minutes , with 6 FOOT BLADE , skip tooth 3/8 chain . the winch makes it easy just listen to the exhaust so you don't bog the motor down Walk out of a forest with my mill and the timber cut setup is a reasonable task, not difficult and you can mill logs in position , just set the rail in position with wood screws, no machinery required to lift or drag the logs to a set up mill whatever brand, how much timber are you going to cut and is it hard wood or soft wood, hope this helps, not sponsored just experience

I have got some messages about this video and what my personal opinion is when it comes to Woodland Mills. Are portable sawmills worth buying? The general answer will be yes if you are a forest owner or have access to logs. If you can use the milled wood yourself, such a sawmill will have a short repayment time depending on how much wood you mills. It is a common misconception that twin-rail sawmils are portable, - they are the first portable when they get on wheels. Woodland Mills has already introduced trailer solutions. Which do I think is better: a bandsaw mill or a chainsaw mill? The short answer is both are best, understood the way they complement each other. At this end of the sawmill scale (prize level), one must often use the chain saw to ensure that a log can match bandaw's limitations. The chain saw is very slow, noisy and uses very expensive gasoline, and has a 7-8 mm. kerf. A bandsaw is much faster, less noicy, use less gasoline per cut and have a 2 mm. kerf. Is it possible to make a living with your own portable sawmill? Both yes and no, when we speak Woodland Mills. If you have your own forest or tree access or you can use the tree yourself, it will always be possible to save yourself a lot of money and gets better quality. If you have to make a living out of it, you should be able to compete on hourly rates, board feet, linear feet, cubic feet or cubic meters. There will be competition from the super hydraulic sawmills (on wheels) such as Timberking and Woodmizer (and they are in a completely different investment level). In many countries one can live by having a Woodland Mill in the long term, while it is more difficult in countries with a high wage level like in Northern Europe. It is also largely dependent on the local market situation, ie supply versus demand. But I am quite sure that there new trailer models from Woodland Mills will fill a need in the market also here alone because of the lower price. What do I think of the Woodland Mills product? First of all, I'm not right to ask, we are using Stihl, Logosol and Wood Mizer products for long. However, Woodland Mills has a good product range for the small sawmill business segment. You get value for money, well thought out design, quality standard components you can buy anywhere in most countries. It is easy (and cheap) to customize or update the sawmill, to the wishes you may have. The design makes it possible to service and maintain yourself, and that it is easy to make constructive improvements. For the beginner it is not only necessary with advice and guidance in connection with the purchase of the sawmill, but especially when you have first started, it is necessary to have a good supplier backing up the product and providing a good after-sales service and that's my impression that Woodland Mills is fully in line with the best in the industry. Should we need a smaller mobile sawmill more, Woodland Mills in Göteburg, Sweden, would be among the first we visited.

I would love a bandsaw mill but can't justify the cost nor can I afford one at the moment. For me, I chose a chainsaw mill. Yes, I had to pay for an expensive saw ($1100) and a jig attachment for $300 so I'm out around $1600 after taxes. However, to get a comparable 36" cut for a bandsaw mill I'm looking at paying $8000. That said, there is one other huge expense that most informational videos don't project for the cost of these and that is buying an implement to lift the log onto or carry it to the mill. For a tractor strong enough we're talking at least $10K so now we're out $18K. Where I'm located, I have a lot of hills that tractors won't access and/or properties that are fenced in where a tree has been dropped. I can go to all places w/ my chainsaw mill. Yes, the saw does take a thicker cut, however, the $16,400 in savings helps me to sleep better at night. Hopefully I can afford to get a bandsaw mill in the future but for those of you that are on tight budgets, I strongly recommend a chainsaw mill.

I have my own mill also. I have run it for several years. I built mine to reside and repair a large bank barn. I agree with all of your comments. Spot on. I have sold some high end lumber. I have built other buildings with the lumber. The big advance is having you own lumber when you want it in the size you want it. The first thing I built was a building to house the mill. You should do the same. Nice video.

i have a chainsaw mill. Let me tell you, that is back breaking work!! you are always bent over running the chainsaw. It is hot and dirt and exhaust seems to be always in your face. If you try to get logs up to a nice height you need big muscles or equipment of some sort. But as you mentioned, you can't get much more portable then that. I have a video up of me using mine. I am hoping for a bandsaw mill eventually. Great video!!

The question is clearly moot. It's always about enjoyment, not money ! It's like saying is buying a vintage jeep worth it? Worth what?

Why did you select the Woodland Mills over Woodmizer or Timberking? If I could afford one, I would like to have the Woodmizer on a trailer with all the hydraulics, but that one is around 30k. Way too rich for my blood. What about sharpening the band? Does that require special tools? Then there is the argument for the slower but infinitely cheaper Alaskan type that you attach to a chainsaw. I have an older 36" Husky I believe would be up to the job, but the accuracy of the cut comes in to question along with the speed. How long do you have to let the lumber cure before use? Any special prep you need to do the lumber after cutting it? Your Dad is a lucky man. Which also means he did a pretty good job of raising you. Keep up the good work.

Making the base out of a channel or rectangular tube would stiffen up the track alot! Angle iron that was used is to flimsy. Also I would have built a shed of someone sort to cover up the saw during the winter and bad weather! At the same time put in a gantry crane to lift your logs on . ( Always easy to give suggestions and spend someone else 💰 I know)

Fast forward to April 2021 and we all realize that a portable sawmill is liken to a money-printing machine. Last I checked a 2x4x8 was selling for $8.50 CAD

I have the same mill, it's simple and easy to run, well built, no complaints from me! I set mine on blocks as low to the ground as possible but eventually raised it aprox one foot. This was to be able to clear sawdust out from underneath the bunk .. it accumulates pretty fast! This is NOT a high production mill but does a super job. When cutting TAKE YOUR TIME... One other important issue... clean the logs as best you can before cutting..., garden hose/stiff brush works well... a lot of the Fir logs I've cut have heavy bark on them... those I run the power saw along deep enough to cut through the bark and then peel it off.. takes a bit of time but saves the band saw blades. Great little mill, thoroughly recommend.

Very helpful..i was/am considering getting one or building one for a business. I can build one of these for 350 to 500 bucks--doesnt evem look that far off the commercial models either and i can build for larger diameters very easily at the same time exvept auto feed hydraulic loaders turners dogs ect cost a bit more and would take longer to build. Im trying to find a way to make furniture grade plys but that looking near impossible witjout HUGE equip investments..too bad..im a furniture and custom cabinet builder and milling my own exotics is very much in my planning. Your vodeo helped confirm many things in my mind though so thank you.

Nice video man I'm about to invest in the 122 but damn your hair. We're your drunk with some shears ? Lol. Just kidding man. I've been watching your off grid videos for awhile now .

No way to work on uneven ground..either a slab or footings...cinderblocks scare me they bust or crumble...solid blocks i still worry about dropping the weight on it..build your own wood legs driven into the ground..

My Chainsaw Mill was 1\5 the cost of this Band-saw mill , Of course the Chainsaw is much harder to use and you'll need Muscles lol

Very helpful video, thank you. In case if you’re still having difficulty levelling it, use a laser level. You might want to do it in the evening when the sun is going down and it’s easier to see, but it makes the job super easy and way more precise than trying to do it with a 4” bubble level like you are showing here. Good luck.

After watching this, I checked the price on this mill. I was very surprised at how much less it cost than what I expected to see. I am looking at timber framing a house and workshop (among other things) in a few years, and I think this would more than pay for itself many times over. Thanks for the video!

Thanks for the information and your opinion ,my brother has a portable mill ,the amount of money that would have been spent on the mahogany lumber is staggering upwards of a hundred thousand dollars. If your a wood worker you can't go wrong

Band mills are ideal for cutting dimensional lumber, and working with manageable-sized logs. But for cutting mammoth sized beams and slabs, from huge trees, you just can't touch a portable chainsaw mill. For less than $1000 (and a little sweat), you can mill trees that a "portable" band mill can't get anywhere near, and couldn't process even if it could. Most "portable" band mills are hardly portable. If you're really into milling, ideally you'll want both.

Depends what you want it for. If you have a plot of land with a lot of standing timber, you intend to build a house and have enough timber to do it, you can save a bunch. Log cabins are a waste of a lot of wood. The only reason they were popular in the colonial period is that settlers were clearing farm land and had a whole lot of logs. And there weren't any commercial mills nearby to break up the lumber. Solid wood has a low R rating compared to even air in a stud wall. And you can make a log go a lot farther as sawn lumber than a log. That said, unless you intend to make a living cutting lumber, it is unlikely you will find a lot of profit in owning a mill. I'd look into leasing a mill for a year or so to cut up your timber, or buy a really good quality mill you can resell when you are done with it.

Excellent review my friend, Been watching your channel for a while now, I don't always comment. Quick question, since you have had it for a while, maybe two quick questions. How often do you have to tune it, making sure the wheels are parallel with each other etc so if your cutting a 6X6 it it still a 6X6 from end to end. Is there anything you wish you had accessory wise for this mill. I have been talking to the online customer service reps, as well. Next, I am like most, I don't have a skid steer, front end loader or fork truck, so my thoughts are to go with the one with out the trailer since it would be lower to the ground, in my mind it would be easier to load logs, but since you have worked with this mill for a while, is that a wise choice, or do you find yourself bending over too much milling and I'm old and fat, it may be a better choice for not bending over as much while milling and figure out a ramp to get the log on higher. Next, the rails, look like they could be flimsy and to me that would cause the end cut to be slightly off or even off square at the end of a 6X6 or so? does the trailer may it easier to keep it squared up? My cabin location, which is off-grid, will not have a concrete pad, so I will be leveling on flat dirt and possibly may a gravel area level to put the mill on. My plan and purpose of the mill will be to make lumber for my cabin build just as you and your dad are for yours. I dont plan to operate the mill for money, just see it as an opportunity to mill my own wood and build the cabin from trees off my place. Eventually making cabinets etc as the cabin starts its final stages of the build process. Thanks again, I know this is long winded, I have not seen any videos on tune ups if you will on the saw mill etc, so that is what is sparking my questions. I would hate to spend a great deal of time trying to mill some 6X6 post etc for building patio covers etc and end up with 6X5 3/4" boards that are off. Thanks again, keep up the great videos and I hope you have a blessed weekend. COngratts on breaking the 100,000 mark on your subs as well.

Having had a portable mill, rigidity is the most important thing. Your mill can sag if you dont have it securely leveled underneath the base. This type of base is not that rigid. It is similar to what I had. It can bend and then you have a permanent problem. Better mills have square tubing under the rails your cutter head slides on. At the time I bought my mill the heavier support was an extra $700. option. I was on a budget, but lacking that made for some extra work. I did build several buildings with my mill but found sawing was a lot of work .Especially with only one person. If U dry your lumber it needs stickering. You maybe better having someone saw your lumber.I think big logs put too much strain on cheap mills. They cant take the weight,

When I was a teenager my grandpa let my cousin and I "rent" his band sawmill, tractor, and truck/trailer. The sawmill is a small lumbermate from Norwood with a Honda engine. Its close to the size of your machine. There is a flooring mill in a town close to us that buys red oak of differing widths and lengths cut 5/4" thick. If I remember right we were able to net, after paying Grandpa his equipment fees and our gas and diesel, $140 for a 10 hour days work. This would vary some as prices changed. $14 dollars an hour isn't going to get you rich, but some folks live on less I suppose.

I appreciate the time and thought put into your videos.

Good that you are happy with your bandsaw mill, its looking great! I dont have that money....I have logosol Farmers sawmill that I buy used, on "craigs list". then I buy a new Husqvqarna 390 XPG and the total cost was about 1600 $ and i tink it cut at the same speed as your bandsaw, even when i cut oak or maple. I do loose som wood with the thick saw chain wich is a 2.8 mm, milling chain. I realy like to have a woodland.... (sorry about my bad typing!) //Swede

Very good! I enjoyed your nariaton and your comments and I respect your opinion's. The video was also very nicely done.

Im not in agreement that a portable sawmill like you're would goud for a business venture. I make furniture out of logs that I saw with my Alaskan sawmill now. You are correct that there is more waste with an alaskan sawmill. And it will kick you're ass by the end of the day. Mass production with a portable sawmill is not in my future plans. But milling logs and furniture making is. I just need to figure out if im,going to build my sawmill or purchase a sawmill. Thank you for you're informational video, It was helpful.

Very well done sir! you answered all the questions I have had about portable/semi-portable saw mills. I certainly will be buying one! probably this very one you use! (The company should sponsor you one of these days =) Peace.

I have the one a step down from this, an HM122. I did purchase the 9hp motor and I am glad I did. I can't stress enough how well built this thing is. Quality materials and solid motor. It took about 4 hours to put together, without the foundation. We mounted ours about 12" off the ground on 4x4 post cemented in the ground. I don't recommend this for industrial use, but it really is a good unit.