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Hi all. New member to the forum but I've been reading on and off over the past few years, had some brilliant second hand advice so thanks for that. I've just started building a bandsaw mill and thought it might be of interest to some of you. I'm unsure about a lot of things so no doubt will have some questions. I'm going in a bit blind, I've never used a bandsaw mill but I understand the general principles. A few years ago I bought an elm log off a friend and sought quotes to have it milled in all the local mills. The cheapest quote I had was over £350, way more than I expected. This led me to buy a Chinese copy of a Stihl 660, and I made up a milling attachment. This cost about £400 all in for the saw, bar, 4 chains and steel for the mill. I've milled a fair few logs with this set up, enough to realise that there's a lot of setup work involved and a it's bit unpleasant to use. I'm hoping the bandsaw will be more ergonomic and a bit quicker too. All of the wood I mill is for personal use but if all is successful with the mill I think I'll try to get a few local jobs. If I can mill enough logs for people to pay for the mill I'll be happy. The mill is going to be built on a trailer so I can move it around. It's going to have a max cut width of around 700mm and should be able to cut a log about 4m long. I've started building the trailer chassis first. It's made out of 50x50x3 box. I'm hoping the truss design will keep it stiff enough to take a bit of abuse from log loading etc. I spent the time to prep all the weld areas, grinding off the mill scale and bevelling square edges to help with weld penetration. Over the 6m truss length there's a 2mm dip, I can live with that. I'm hoping to get the other side welded up today.

Small Scale Sawmill looking for interesting hardwood species to covert from 10” to 30” dia. minimum length 4ft Yew, Walnut, Mulberry, Beech, Fruitwood, spalted and burrs etc Can collect 20 miles radius of Gloucester. Don't ring it up - sell it as a sawlog

We are looking to buy a Lucas Mill for slabbing large logs on site. If anyone knows of a good second hand one for sale - please get in touch! Could push to a new one but worth a try looking for a second hand one first. Based in West Wales but can travel to collect. Cheers

We are looking for someone with a portable bandsaw to come and mill some Larch tree's in the Hope Valley, Derbyshire. Any offers or suggestions? Thanks Phil Mason

WANTED.....stems of all sizes in the Cheshire area, we can mill on site up to 1.5 m diameter or in our own yard please contact me for more info [email protected] or 07455018862

Hello All, looking at selling Lumbermate 2000, 5 yrs old. Its in good condition didn't have a hard life with us or the previous owner (who i knew). Its been stored for three years in the barn and then we had it mostly outside for last 2 but always under cover. Its trailored - 5 m long - the longest mobile mill you can get, you can take extensions off to make it shorter. Horizontal Bandsaw type, water lubricated. Petrol Engine - Briggs and Stratton Vanguard 23 hp. It has a pre-paid tracking device (for a year). No obligation to extend the contract once it runs out. It would come with cant hooks, quality blades, engine oil, some spare parts, user manual and plenty recommendations where to get spares and other tricks. I am also happy to spend some time with you teaching you how to use it. It is located in Yorkshire. The asking price is £6000.

“Put me in a harness and a rope and a chain saw, and I’m at home.” Nestled in the rolling green hills west of Edinburgh, Sandy and Fiona take pride in their handmade furniture and beautifully landscaped yard. For 17 years, Sandy ran a successful tree surgeon business called Treeshape. “I came back from New Zealand in 1999,” Sandy shares, “with nothing at that time, after already having 20 year’s experience. I saw there was an open market for tree surgeons and just went for it, basically because it was new, real competition. I’ve built up my yard, the field, equipment, forestry mulchers, chippers, grinders, stump grinders…but after reaching a certain age, it started to hurt, and bureaucracy kicked in as well.” He laughs. “It was just too much and it wasn’t enjoyable anymore. So I sold a lot of my equipment and bought sawmills and sharpeners and setters.” Sandy and Fiona previously had a Wood-Mizer LT20 sawmill, which they used to process trees on a nominal basis, and used the timber to build some personal projects. “It was such a good sawmill that I went for another Wood-Mizer,” Sandy comments. “Not only because the machine is good, but the backup too. I’ve always been well looked after by Wood-Mizer.” Sandy’s purchase of the brand new WM1000 wide-cutting sawmill was the first of its kind in Scotland. With the WM1000, logs can be sawed in half, into quarters, or into wide slabs directly for special projects. The operator safely controls all cutting functions while standing on a platform that moves with the head. The WM1000 was perfect for Sandy’s budding business, so he ordered the highest specs for a more powerful machine, a wider blade, and a full blade sharpening package. Wood-Mizer’s Scotland agent, Keith Threadgall shares. “Since nobody was doing it in Scotland at the time, he thought it would provide a good service, being able to mill up big large bits of timber.” Sandy and Keith were especially excited about the blade sharpening package. “A lot of customers in Scotland are starting to buy their own blade packages,” Keith shares. “They prefer to do their own blades.” Sandy was surprised at the ease in which he could clean, lubricate, and sharpen his blades. In the eastern region of Scotland, the weather is pretty changeable. But with the WM1000, Sandy doesn’t need to go outside to operate his sawmill. “It’s electric, it’s inside—it covers all my needs. And it’s very affordable for what it does. With a quick clean and lube, it’s ready to saw.” “I’m doing it because I like doing it, and I can take time to learn to do it correctly. Hopefully at the end of it, I can have some furniture and be able to provide a service to mill for other people.” And, shortly after making a few pieces of furniture, Sandy’s friends began requesting more. “So my business is basically going to be an in-house, contract saw miller. I can haul timber with my Unimog 2100 forestry trailer/crane. And I can be part tree surgeon when I feel like it, and a furniture maker too,” Sandy said with a smile. “A lot of oversized timber just gets turned into firewood and wasted, or just gets burned,” he explains. They make it a point to salvage the trees they work on as tree surgeons and use the leftover wood in their own projects. “Even the sawdust is a product,” Sandy says. Sandy’s business has just started, but it’s already rapidly growing. Sandy is planning ahead and working to find some new contacts so his hobby can become a service for others. “With a good job, you get rewards,” he explains. “The main thing is, be honest. And then be thorough!” By Bethany Faubion View full article

We are changing the way in which we sell the Granberg mills. Usually they come in a host of different sizes 24",30",36",42",48",60". The longer mills are awkward and expensive to ship - also it means keeping a large stock of rails in to meet different lengths. We'll still do the Alaskan 36" mills (which adjust down to 30" and 24") but for the longer mills we are now switching to the Granberg Ultimate mills - these will have 36"/24" and 12" extensions as well as x2 round handles. You can then make you mill to 24"/36"/48"/60"... for longer just buy another joining kit. If you have a Granberg mill you want to extend you can now do so without having to buy a whole new handle and rail set https://www.chainsawbars.co.uk/product-category/mills-kits/alaskan-mill-mk-4/ The mill in the pics is set up as a 48" Alaskan.

This has been in development with our new first cut systems. We wanted a chainsaw mill that was improved and better than anything else on the market. Features: Manufactured in the UK in Devon Rack and pinion system for easy tool less height changes Magnetic quick fix to bar attachment There will be more advanced options later where this mill will work in conjunction with the HEAVY first cut system

WANTED: Bandsaw mill I am looking to buy a used bandsaw mill as I can't afford a new one. I'll travel anywhere to pick it up. Hopefully it wouldn't cost much more than £6-8k. PM with any offers. Many thanks Aaron

I'm looking to buy a Lucas mill. I'd consider any model (preferably 10-30) and anywhere in the UK. Many thanks

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