Regrets I Have About My Sawmill Setup 

Cut my first logs on our 126 just yesterday. A big old dead hemlock turned into about $100 worth of lumber in no time and the biggest parts of that tree are yet to be milled. Perfect cuts with the factory settings. The 14hp Kohler has plenty of power. That hemlock would have gone to the trash pile prior. So many trees and so little time but such great satisfaction. Thanks for all the advice Sandy. Love it👍😎👌

You are one of the few youtubers who explains "what I wish I knew" types of things about running a sawmill. You put a lot of effort into educating your audience, and I appreciate it a lot. Personally, I don't plan to use a leaf blower on the sawdust. I plan to use a tarp and catch it for making compost. If things go well, I'll be building a mill this year.

If it were me, I would build your next storage area amongst the standing lumber on the property and use the existing trees as your support trees to hold your drying cut wood. No need to build traditional complete floor, but just a framed bed to hold lumber. Build a roof attached to the same existing live trees!!

Sandy I would like to say that your video`s are very good, well to the point and informative, every young man needs to get out doors and live a little, put down there cell phone and game toys and learn lifes lessons. thanks for your time that you make for us . I`m 69 yrs and I`m retired 50yr auto mechanic, have lived on 2 farm, worked since 4yrs old, now cutting an splitting stacking wood to stay healthy. I live in the city of Dtroit Michigan USA once again thank you for your time.

Maybe a concrete base for the mill with a wood platform around the mill to reduce vibration. Talking to myself.

I think that your sawmill configuration is pretty sweet. It is very difficult to plan for the perfect setup. It will be the experience of many hours milling that will have you tweaking the setup to function the best way for you.

Hi Sandy. Great videos and discussion. I'm about to construct my first saw mill set up -- fortunately I'll be a little closer to water and electricity. However, I was pleased to learn from you about manouvering the logs from the dragging to the sawing to the drying shed. Thanks very much for the excellent advice. Andrew C.

you can always make a solar kiln for your freshly cut wood. it would allow for quicker drying times as well as make the wood contract less when used. it would also add some space for storage of the wood.

Thank you so much. This video, like all the others was so helpful. We are in the process of building an enclosure shed for our mill. We used our first sawmill in the environment for 20 years. My husband and I are now in our middle and late 70's but are no where ready to quit milling logs. We did buy a Hydraulic mill this past year since it was getting harder to move logs by ourselves. I love all your ideas especially the solar light situation. I love the fact that you explain all your actions. We have gathered so much knowledge from you. Be safe and happy milling.

Great video Sandy. I like my mill bunch’s low as well. Just easier to fool with larger logs. Cheers.

Your raised timber floor will be a lot easier on the feet and legs than slogging backward and forwards on concrete. I really like your set up.

Glad to know I'm not the only one to have a log off the back of the mill. thanks for the info.

Sandy I love to watch you work and problem solve- every situation is different and we all learn together and change when we need to. I am using your experience to plan my mill set up. Just ordered a MX130 XL on a trailer to help clear land eventually it will get a nice shed once it make some lumber

So many good advice delivered in such a pleasant fashion! Thanks for sharing!!!

Great pointers Sandy. I'm thinking really hard about getting a mill in a few years, it seems to just make sense because I have a bunch of projects I want to complete and I have a bunch of wood available to me. Its mostly hardwood and cedar so we'll see how that goes. But I'm picking up a tonne of things from your videos. Thanks for posting man!

Appreciate all the info you offer actually seeing a design in use is truly helpful let’s face it hind sight will always kick you in the acorns! Keep em coming!

Suggestion - if you heat with wood instead of rack for scrap get some old hay wagons & park there, then just tow to your outdoor furnace. I've even seen those with lightweight peaked roof to start drying process before cutting appropriate length. Thanks you for taking time to explain ins & outs of running a mill !

What about making brackets out of wood to mount under or over the bridge that accept the forks of your tractor to move it easily, even when it's snow/ice covered? Love that set up, great job. Living my dream!

Have you thought about putting rubber padding or hockey pucks under the levelers to absorb the vibration

I think I would dedicate a trailer to the waste wood to limit effort of carrying it away. I love your design. Could you have the waste wood on the side where the current drying shed it located?

I've been thinking of moving my mill to a new site with a lean-to, so thanks for this! Gives me some ideas and direction.

I’m enjoying your video, Sandy. Keep it up!👍👍

Sandy I found this very informative.

Great idea,, nothing worse than working/ walking in shit,, ,, You have given a lot of thought into your setup and I think 99% of it is great,, ,, you are always going to think of some thing better or maybe not better ,, I personally think its a great setup

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. they were helpful. I'll be starting on my sawmill shed in a month or so and am still working on the design details.

I buy slab wood from a local mill. I cut it to 16 niches and split it to kindling wood size and sell bundles of kindling.

Other than the few little things you would do differently, it almost looks like you live in a perfect world. Never before have I seen a forest with trees so neatly spaced and in nice straight lines.

You have a great set up here. Love your channel, keep up the great work!

Could you not hinge the walkway at one end and use a pulley to raise and lower it like a drawbridge, so you can get your tractor in..?

First timer to your channel. This is getting me very excited 😜 to start milling on my place in the mountains. I will be tuning in to learn whatever you will teach. Now about those videos that you mentioned... be cool, freezerburn

Thank you for all the info.

One thing I have not liked about log storage decks in past mill setups is that you end up with that stack of logs and it really makes it hard to pick out a specific log. You often have to go in order, or have minimal ability to select certain logs (whatever is on top or easy to roll). I really try to optimize the log to the required lumber yield, so for example, if sawing 2x10's I will select a much different log than if sawing 2x4's or posts. I try to save big logs for special boards and I try to use up smaller logs for posts or 2x4's. That means I need to easily be able to get specific logs onto the mill. When trying to do that with a log deck, I spent way too much time shuffling logs around, and it is not an efficient setup for that once they are up high on skids. For my new setup, I left the front of the mill shed completely open and accessible. I store logs out of the way nearby. Using the tractor forks, I can pick the specific log I want and bring it right to the mill and set it on the bunks directly. Then back the tractor up a couple feet and the forks are there to offload boards and cutoffs. When done sawing I drive the boards to the storage pile and then cutoffs get dumped in the scrap pile. Then grab the next log and head back to the mill. If you have a tractor with forks and space to spread out your storage locations, it makes for a pretty good workflow. Anytime I can make my tractor do the work I will!

Sweet set up. It just limits the length of logs that can be milled. As far as the off cuts I’ve used them for siding on sheds and log storage buildings. And the rest can be spread on the muddy walk ways.

Good morning buddy how are ya? I gotta say “I like your set up. It works for you, its your design, it meets your needs. It’s just right. I’m looking at how I’m gonna set my mill up, I need to have it on the trailer set up. My property is a down slope back behind the house and shop, out front is flatter. I also want to be able to move it to another property so I can saw there to. Any way I like your set up take care thanks for sharing, I’ve learned so much from you. God bless you and yours. I wish the mommy’s in you life a happy Mother’s Day as well.

Interesting

Add a gable or a lean to the width of your building to go over your log staging area, then build over your slab wood waist area. Work in progress

I would hinge the board walk on the obvious end. 👍🏼

You have mentioned you’re not close to any source of water, may not be a bad idea to install gutters and a 55 gallon barrel for water catchment for your saw mill. Just a thought. Thank you for sharing your experience on running the saw mill in the woods, it’a very helpful!

First time watching, nice presentation and good info. Looking to get a setup in the near future. I have a lot of Red Cedar on my property and many things to build. Keep up the nice work. Thank you.

well this video just blew me away Sandy.

Sawdust is good for making wood pellets, which is a cash crop. I would make a trough out of tarps to catch the dust. You could even make a 55 gallon drum saw dust burner.

that’s a great setup yuh got there and the lights 👍.. love the lights

One thing that I miss about many RU-vid videos is that they don't start with a city/state location description. I love the content but would like to know what part of the world that I am watching.

Why didnt you do a leanto roof? The major issue with a shed over a mill is the opening to bring in the log. The span of that is big. You can cut that down some with braces Snow dumped from the leanto can be plowed away as long as you have room for the tractor. I still like the concrete slab. Renting a mixer or ready mix Is no big deal. You bring in your water in totes.

after watching your first video I was thinking " here is a guy that is thinking about the work dancing.... " That is what I call all the movements you make while working and if the radio is on maybe busting out some swing dance moves :

Thanks for sharing info. It will help people like me greatly when I start my builds. I have been along for the ride since the cabin build. I have always been curious to how many acres of land you have? As always keep the videos coming.

see Monitor Barn Design - use the lean-to's (sides) for storage; upstairs for an office or have a cathedral ceiling in the main building.

Happy new year Sammy the bests in new year and family gods blessed.healthy all years.

If Al borland was a real person. Love the videos

Just a comment... I take my waste wood and use it for huglekulture. I dig a hole 3 foot deep, 20 foot long and place as much of it as I can in it. Makes for great garden material, as the decomposition of that wood fertilizes your garden for decades. Takes me about 4-5 hours to do it with the tractor.

Great video. Just a question, how many work hours do you have each saw blade? Greetings from Sweden

Cut pieces of tires up and put under the mounts, and use them as isolationist or damper. It works. I use it under my 60 gallon air compressor and it cut the vibrations out. U couldn't hear your self think in the sheld. Try it Really works and if u use hole saw the same size as the metal plates put 2 under every one or mor If needed. Thanks god bless

Do you have problems with ticks in your woods? If so, what do you do about them? I have 7 acres of red pine and they are bad where I am. Thanks for the content!

Do you go threw blades fast because of skidding the logs?

What is the rack x thing you have that you throw your scraps in,,,,,,is it like a saw horse to cut up firewood or kindling ,,,,,what are the plans on,that ,,,,,interesting

Maybe add a short piece of guttering over the walkway to take the roof rain to one side. Keep it low enough to avoid snow slides!

How about building a small building ( break house / storm shelter ) you never know when you’re working along and that storm decides to hit or you can’t hold it all the way to the house.

Those big braces on the end could be replaced with metal L braces made at a fab shop. It would give you more room.

The Husqvarna 580 BTS is also the same as a RedMax 8500, and they are by far the best blowers🤙 can beat the crap out of em, put them away wet, and they keep on chuggin.

Great videos! You are going to save me a lot of work once I get my mill set up on my farm. I too am from Ontario (near Perth), whereabouts are you located (for context/weather etc) Mike

Going cleaning.just my logging tape.really like it now not to cut it.

Sandy what are the base dimensions of your sawmill shed? If you had to do it all over again like you talk about in this video - how much would you bump the width up to?

Seems like a simple rack/cradle on the far side of the mill would catch any logs the roll too far and off the mill. Nothing crazy so you can step over.

Good Explained andy

Hi - I am fairly new to your channel and really enjoy your videos. I am wondering about your trees. I noticed in this video as you were driving into the sawmill area, that all the trees appear to be in a grid like pattern. Did they just naturally grow that way or is the camera playing tricks? 😃 Thank You

Yutrax and other companies make atv logging trailer that have tandem wheels

How long does it take you to dry the wood in each season on average?

great videos. You may have answered the question before but do you own all that land? Whats the deal?

That is an incredible woods. Where is this?

just so i get a better idea of weather and all, what part of canada are you in?

We’re those trees planted in rows ,look like it.

good day sandy on my way out to my sawmill hm 122

First off really like the videos just got a mail and I'm looking for ideas second do you live in The Matrix why are all your trees in perfect little rows?🤔

Look it's your rodeo I am just the clown trying to avoid the bull. What about putting the lumber shed on skids so it could be mobile? Your tractor drags them logs it should drag the shed.

I've watched a lot of these types of videos. Interesting and good viewing. The thing is, does anyone ever plant or even mention anything about the regeneration of the land. Woods that they own. I never see anyone ever plant trees. Only chop them down. Surely the amount of folk doing this. Just on youtube alone. Not to mention folk on there own cutting down trees and no real regeneration of the area. Very soon there will be nowt left. Land/ forrest management into the videos would be nice to see as opposed to just chopping and cutting trees down and making barns,sheds ect. This isn't against you and I enjoy the viewing. Just wondering what others make of it all or am I missing something

Ware is your planer

Well this video started off great (by doing stuff) Then The EXPLAINING continued. Good video though

If it works for you that's all that counts. just saying

I don’t care what any manufacturer say about those backpack blowers, it can’t be good for the internal organs, the vibration is not something the human body is made to endure.

Trees on your property planted by man?

You live on a former tree farm eh ?

If it were me, I would build your next storage area amongst the standing lumber on the property and use the existing trees as your support trees to hold your drying cut wood. No need to build a traditional complete floor, but just a framed bed to hold lumber. Build a roof attached to the same existing live trees!!

Watching from Yosemite Kentucky. Great ideas. This may make my future milling easier. Thanks!

I have a question. I asked before about board and batten with green lumber and after your comment along with some more research I feel confident I can do that to the houses on my homestead. Now, I understand the drying I need to do for the framing before I insulate and fully dry in but I was wondering about creating a subfloor with green milled lumber. Because the board's would dry more in width than length of I made the floor and topped it with OSB in time would that just create a squeaky floor? If that's the case is there a trick I could do to prevent that or, with the style of floor I'm needing to build, would it just be necessary to dry my boards out before getting to that stage? I just watched your video with the huge snow drift falling from the roof of your mill and I had to tell you the wife full on screamed. RU-vid gold sir. Thanks again for the last reply so quickly and the help. It's a huge deal to us :)

I love your videos. You explain and articulate very well. You keep things short, informative, practical and straight to the point. You also have great common sense and practical knowledge. I am new to sawmills and lumber making, but after having watched your videos now I feel more confident. Thank you!

I have a bad back.. I have ran it high and low ...low is easier

Learned a lot watching your videos. I bought the Woodlander XL trailer so I wouldnt have to bend down as much. Yes you risk a log rolling off potentially crushing something but there are tools to prevent that. I like the ability to put my saw in the shed free of the elements, roll it out when I need it wherever that may be.

how about a drawbridge set up on the walkway, hook up the rising cables when needed, save on wrestling the heavy ramp

I personally like longer deck on sawmill so have the option to cut longer pieces for beams ect Maybe not cut as beams but option to do so be good

I am 80 and just getting into milling my own lumber and have watched several of your videos and find them very informative. One thing I have noticed in so many of those videos is you whining, yes I will say whining, about not having the space to maneuver around your sheds. You have a sawmill, chain saw and log handling equipment and you have trees in your way restricting your maneuverability. Hmmmm, what to do, cut the dog gone trees and solve the problem. Other than that, you do good work.

Love the content here! Do you have any regrets about not going with a trailer-mounted mill? I'm trying to decide if I want to go mobile or stationary for my own homestead now...

If it were me, I would build your next storage area amongst the standing lumber on the property and use the existing trees as your support trees to hold your drying cut wood. No need to build a traditional complete floor, but just a framed bed to hold lumber. Build a roof attached to the same existing live trees!!

Clear enough trees so ur tractor comes in other side..don't have to move walk way.

Great video as usual!! I’m setting up a similar setup so thanks for the insight. By the way wow the rows of pine trees! Approximately where are you located ? I’m curious, also if you don’t mind where did you get those led lights ? Again great video keep up the good work!

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

If it has not been mentioned already, what about fitting some heavy duty gate hinges on one end of your boardwalk and a frame with pulleys and counterbalance weights to make it easy to drive the tractor in and out?

Hi Sandy. I have been toying with the idea of my own sawmill for about a year now. My neighbour has a large system that he uses to cut lumber for his clients. He’s a very busy guy. I have learned a lot from him but his is a pretty automated production system. I have recently made the jump and bought a small sawmill for myself. The Woodland Mills HM122. It won’t show up for a few months but I’m really looking forward to my new hobby. I have really been learning a lot from your videos. You’ve got a great setup. Thanks for taking the time to do these video!

I like your set up... the bed of my mill is on blocks about 12" to 18" off the ground on the wet dirt walking on chicken boards and after a day of this I can really feel it on my knees and back, it was only suppose to be temporary but now has been 5 years... When I move my mill to my new cabin site I plan on building a similar set up like yours... thanks for sharing

use a wet vac and put a rain gutter along the edge of floor and create a sweeper with rope and pulleys,used 12 car windshield wiper motor to move the sawdust from one end of gutter to the other to vacuum it and you can dump it in trash bags to use for other things

Did you build the deck with the rough cut? And if so, how is handling the weather being untreated?