Jan. 06, 2025
Agriculture
Question
I started my company a year and a half ago with my business partner, a logger. I run a manual mill, and am struggling working long hours to produce enough to keep moving on. I have come to the point where I must take out a loan to cover a hydraulic mill, and create a serious business plan. This is my passion and I am ready to do whatever it takes, as long as I can sleep at night! Are there any good books related to wood or sawing and business? What have you been through to get to where you are now?
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Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor J:
Sounds like you're about to have a lot of fun. How much are you producing in an hour with your mill? What is the type of mill? And what is the average size of your logs?
Answer these questions, then you can see how your ROI, or return on investment, pans out.
A hydraulic mill sounds wonderful, but would a Peterson or Lucas be just as fast, with a lesser price than a hydraulic mill? My Lucas did 700bf an hour. A buddy running his Wood-Mizer told me he does about 300-400BF an hour, except he paid a lot more for his unit than I did for the 825 Lucas.
I would look up SCORE (Service Corp. of Retired Executives) - they can help you wade through some issues about business, and they are no charge.
I have a Baker D sawmill, and have been in business since early in . Mine is a part time business that was designed to become full time within a few years. The first year or so, I was busy every Saturday and Sunday, doing any job I could find. The money was good, and within about a year, I could easily say that I had recouped my initial investment of the sawmill. At that point, and after realizing the amount of work involved, even with a very automated machine, I began to get a little picky with the work I did, and how I spent my free time. I started charging more, charging more to travel, and limiting the free logs that I accepted from tree guys. I only got involved with jobs that I knew I could make top dollar.
Two things happened. I started working less, and I actually made more money. It was a wonderful thing. I focused on higher end projects, taking logs from a customer, and returning finished millwork or flooring to them. I bought a kiln, and subbed out the millwork to another shop, and passed the cost on a little. I dry for other sawyers in the area. I accept tree service logs that I know I can turn around quickly and sell. Now I spend about 40-50 hours a month "working" with my business, and am able to make what most strive to make working full time.
The other example is this. A very dear friend of mine bought an identical mill and set it up for volume. He had an arrangement worked out with a log broker where all F1 logs - walnut, cherry, ash, and oak - were sent to his little mill. The log broker paid my friend to mill the logs $250/thousand on a finished lumber scale. The log broker is the one that made out like a bandit.
Standard cutting costs at big mills are between say $75 and $135/thousand, so even though he was paying more in the form of a processing cost, my friend had at least an 18-20% overrun on the logs (large butts). Production on his Baker was 6- bdft daily, which is a lot on a bandmill. He had a nice setup, with log deck, conveyors, and edger all inside, and a long green chain. He worked and had two full time employees. On his good day of 7 mbdft, he grossed $, which never was enough to cover a more organized business. When you have full time employees, payroll taxes, workers comp (in the wood industry!), equipment overhead, building maintenance... you just can't compete on a production oriented level. Then, if he had a breakdown, his day was ruined and he would lose money. He worked himself to the bone, sawing, staying up all night sharpening saws, cleaning up the mill, and the log broker is the only one that ended up making money.
Anyway, I'll sum up this long story. I'm not saying that you can't make a living doing what my friend tried, but it will make it much harder. From what I've seen, heard about, and tried over the past seven years, don't do this unless you control your own ability to make a profit. Don't do this if you think you can make out sawing just for a small processing fee. Manage your own marketing and seek out high margin jobs before seeking out high volume jobs. Remember, putting money in your pocket is the real measure, not hours sawing on the mill. On a positive note, you can get a hydraulic mill in the mid 30's now, which isn't the end of the world, and if it doesn't work out, these mills have an excellent resale value.
The two dry kilns pay the bills most months. I put the second kiln in to dry thicker products. Because of this I have picked up all the drying business from a major gunstock importer friend of mine. I also pick up all kinds of odd jobs in the area for the kilns. There is a shortage of small kiln space in many areas. Prepare to invest in the 15K range for one kiln and have a little bit of a learning curve running it.
Another profit area for me is custom moldings. You would be surprised what your local building supply store has to pay for even s4s oak. Usually over $5.50 a board foot. Oak base and crown are very lucrative also. One store can keep a small operator very busy, and you have to be dependable to get their business. Be prepared to buy wood from other sources to be dependable. This seems contrary to reason when you are producing wood, but is easy to do. It is a bit humbling to buy planed SLR1E oak for less than I can produce it for. It makes you realize how much the big boys can produce.
If you keep at it and use your head there is some potential to make a living. But now I see the last three years that I could have made more working as the Wal-Mart greeter, and I would have had benefits to boot. (But I would not have been around to see my son grow and eat lunch with my family every day!)
There are no "just plug in your name and number" templates for sawmill business plans. I know because I just last year spent many hours making one, only to find that the banking industry does not really understand manufacturing or sawmilling. What you do need to know is the cost of the mill and running cost. What is labor going to cost, and how will you handle the increased production? The business plan is you telling them just what you want to do and how you go about doing it...
1. What is the money for?
2. What does that do to repay the loan?
3. What costs are associated in running/production?
4. Who is going to pay this and do you have a contract/purchase order?
5. Who is going to cover this loan amount when you are not sawing?
Start out typing it like you were here in the office telling me about it. Then break it down in the five places and plug in the numbers. If you have the coin or credit to borrow the money in just your name, you will be ahead. The SBA and others will bury you in paperwork. Get the book Gene was talking about.
And if a man were really sawing and making $1,750 a day with just 3 hands and could not make it, then there were other problems. Because if he was sawing just 20 days a month, that is $35k and labor would be less than $10k, with other bills another $10k, and the high cost of fuel $5k, that leaves about $10k laying around. I know because I do this the hard way.
If you have ever wanted to saw your own lumber, then we have something in common. I have been in that boat for a long time, wanting to make my own lumber but there was always a missing link. The sawmill itself. That&#;s where this blog post begins.
Truthfully, owning a Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill was never really something I had considered, but looking back, I think it was the perfect option for me. I had always pictured myself owning a bandsaw mill, but as you&#;ll read below, there were too many hurdles that I just wasn&#;t ready to overcome. As I worked through my options, it became very clear that the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill was the perfect option for me.
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Have you ever had your eye on a potential new hobby for what seems like years? And every time you finally consider jumping in head first you find a way to convince yourself that it is either too difficult or costs too much money? If you are crafter, artist, woodworker or maker of any kind, I&#;m sure you&#;ve been there before.
Well, I have found myself there on more than one occasion. And to be honest, I was there just a couple of years ago. I have walked through the idea of building bigger workshops, taking up metalworking or blacksmithing, working with leather, drawing, and the list goes on and on. Most of us, as makers, can find just about any excuse to halt a dream project or new venture. I know that is true for me.
For some reason, the thought of tackling a new project or pursuing a new hobby brings out the internal naysayer in me. Whenever I start scheming up a new tool purchase or a new hobby, I often think to myself, &#;you don&#;t have enough money&#; or &#;the learning curve is too steep.&#; Ultimately, I say to myself, &#;maybe someday.&#;
Getting a sawmill was one of those new tools and hobbies that I had thought about all of the time. And that &#;maybe someday&#; would soon become a reality.
I often talked to some of my woodworking friends or my wife about the possibility of owning my own bandsaw mill one day. Sawing up my own lumber and making live-edge slabs honestly intrigues me. It almost feels like a connection to a long-lost art or trade you would find in a medieval town.
But every time I visited the thought of purchasing a sawmill I was constantly met with internal resistance. Sawmills cost a lot of money. Sawmills take up a lot of space. You need a heavy-duty truck or trailer to haul heavy logs. The list goes on. Each of those thoughts ultimately quashed any possibility of pursuing my sawmill story.
A few days ago, I was talking to a good friend of mine whose family owns a local chainsaw and mower business, Hildebrand&#;s Mowers and Saws. He asked me if I had ever considered getting a Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill. To be honest, the thought had crossed my mind but for some reason, I was so stuck on getting a bandsaw mill that I just didn&#;t really see any other option as being viable.
Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw mills certainly have their shortcomings when compared to bandsaw mills but they also excel in many areas
So I did it. I bought one. I bought a Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill almost immediately after the conversation.
I purchased a Granberg 36&#; Alaskan MKIV Chainsaw Mill. My friends over at Hildebrand&#;s Mowers and Saws helped me get my hands on a used Husqvarna 365.
This older saw has a displacement of about 70cc and was plenty enough power to get me started, but don&#;t ever settle for power. If you ask yourself, &#;do I need a bigger saw?&#; You probably do. Paired up to my chainsaw, I also purchased a 28&#; Oregan bar and ripping chain from them as well.
NOTE! Something you should know before purchasing your Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill. A 36&#; Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill will NOT have a cut capacity of 36&#;. After doing some research, I knew what to expect so I wasn&#;t disappointed. After you set up your chainsaw mill, you will lose about six to eight inches of cut capacity with the mill affixed to the bar of your chainsaw.
So with my new 28&#; bar, I could cut about 21 inches, which is still a decent-sized log. I purchased my Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill on Amazon after watching prices fluctuate for a few days and finally sealed the deal. This was a huge step for me. For years prior, I thought sawing my own lumber would be unattainable. But now, the only thing standing between me and a beautiful walnut slab was a few days of shipping.
It wasn&#;t more than a few days later my Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill arrived on my doorstep. I watched the shipping companies tracking information every day. I felt like a little kid waiting for his dream toy to arrive in the mail. This is what makes being a maker so much fun. There are so many different types of makers that there is a niche in making for everybody.
The mill arrived in an excellently branded Granberg box and immediately had me daydreaming about slabbing up some live-edge white oak trees. The next step was unboxing and assembly. Here&#;s our YouTube video that outlines the entire process of assembly and unboxing of the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill.
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Suggested reading:To get started using my Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill I found myself watching as many YouTube videos as I could. Every video and every person that I watched had different insights about how to use the sawmill. There are also many other brands and types of chainsaw mills on the market but they are nearly all of similar design and function.
Before actually slabbing up lumber using the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill I had to assemble the mill first. I have a video showing that whole process. Apart from a few of my own mistakes reversing a few bolt alignments, it was very straightforward.
Granberg did a great job outlining the instructions with clear wording and appropriate photographs showing each step. Kudos to them for that. The overall process, if I remember correctly, took me a little over an hour to assemble. It would have taken less if I hadn&#;t made a mistake on one part and had to disassemble and reassemble to correct the goof.
After watching a few YouTube videos on how to get started slabbing using the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, I felt that I was ready to go. I cut up an old wooden ladder into roughly an eight-foot section for my first cut. That ladder gives you a level plane for the first cut because the bark and shape of the log are not going to be a stable and flat surface. I used pipe strapping to screw the ladder to the log I was cutting and got it level and secure.
When setting the cutting depth on your first cut, you need to ensure that you are cutting deeper than any screw used to secure the ladder to the log. It sure would be a shame to foul your chain on your first cut.
I generally have to set the depth of my first cut to almost six inches to clear the ladder and screws while minimizing waste. After you get your first cut through you can use the flat plane of the cut log as your surface for your remaining cuts.
When choosing the thickness of your slabs you should keep a couple of things in mind. The Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill has very clear markings on the depth posts that outline in inches how thick your cut will be.
There are quite a few things to think about when you&#;re using your Granberg Alaskan chainsaw mill. I will touch on a few of those below to help you as you start your journey as a chainsaw miller.
One consideration for the thickness of your slab is what your end product will be with that slab. Are you building a table? Are you planning on building a fireplace mantle? Are you going to make dimensional lumber? There are many considerations depending on the final project and intended use of the slab itself.
The bottom line here is that you need to make sure that your slab is thicker than what your final finished dimensions are or whatever project you intend on making.
You need to allow for the machining of your lumber to its final dimensions. After you have your lumber sawed, you will likely joint, plane and saw it to the final dimensions. If you want a two-inch-thick table and you saw your lumber at two inches thick, by the time you plane it down to a smooth finish, you will have a far too thin piece of lumber to use. So make sure you allow some wiggle room for the machining of your lumber to its final dimensions.
Another consideration is lumber checking. Checking is described as the separation of wood fibers along the grain of the wood. Basically, the splitting and separation of the grains of wood. What exactly does this mean?
So after you slab up your lumber and you stack it to dry (a whole other topic), your lumber is going to go through a process of drying. This is basically the act of moisture leaving the wood fibers. As the moisture leaves the wood fibers it actually contracts the fibers making the wood slightly narrower. So you&#;re probably wondering how this relates to the cut thickness of your lumber, right?
Well, so far in my short experience with slabbing lumber, the thinner you cut your lumber the more prone to checking it is going to be. I cut some beautiful white oak approximately one and a half inches thick and stacked it beautifully to dry and await some magnificent project.
About six months later, nearly all of the ends had cracked and warped slightly. After doing some research, I found that when you cut lumber thin, the ends often dry quicker than the interiors of the board causing the ends of the wood to check or split. So some of the other wood that I cut, I slabbed it at least two inches thick, if not more. So far it is drying much better.
Really, this part of the post could be its own blog post completely. So without getting into much more detail, my first time using the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill had me hooked after the first slab.
Using a chainsaw mill to make lumber is very much hard work but it also very rewarding. Chainsaw mills offer a versatility that bandsaw mills cannot match. You can take the chainsaw mill to the log, slab it up where it lays. That is not something that you can often do with a bandsaw mill. I see some future posts, breaking down the process of using the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill.
Like I said above, each of these topics or headings could be a complete post in and of itself. This one isn&#;t any different. Choosing a chainsaw for your Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill might seem like a daunting task but really, there are MANY options.
One of the most significant considerations when choosing a chainsaw for your mill is ensuring that it is powerful enough to do so. Depending on the size of the mill you decide on, you are going to need a different size saw.
If there is one bit of advice that I could give about the size of chainsaw you need for a Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill is get the biggest saw that you can afford. I started out with a Husqvarna 365 Special saw which is about a 70cc saw. While this saw is truly a powerful saw, it seemed to slow down when cutting about 21&#; logs. I paired the Husqvarna with a 28&#; bar which allowed me to cut about a 21&#; log.
The Husqvarna seemed to thrive cutting about 18&#; wide logs and less. I honestly wouldn&#;t push that Husqvarna any more than the 28&#; bar that I had on it.
Given that my chainsaw mill had a capacity of a 36&#; bar, I had lofty dreams of getting a bigger saw so I could mill to the maximum capacity of my setup. For Christmas in , Hannah surprised me with a vintage Echo 900EVL chainsaw. This is a large s saw that has a HUGE amount of torque.
While it doesn&#;t have some of the technology and chain speed of newer saws, it has a lot of low-end torque. It is hard to bog down this saw or swamp it out in a huge tree as it will continue to grind through using its large amount of torque. This is about a 90cc saw and really fits my mill perfectly.
I was able to get a 36&#; bar paired up and can now cut a maximum capacity of almost 27&#;. That&#;s a pretty big log.
As I said earlier, get the biggest saw that you can afford. When milling lumber, I wouldn&#;t recommend anything lower than a 60cc saw and would suggest getting larger than that. But if that is all that you can afford, don&#;t be disappointed when you can slab up that 30&#; red oak. Only take on projects that will be reasonable for the equipment that you have.
So far I have slabbed up about three different trees, a walnut, an aspen, and a white oak. All three have proven to be different experiences, some more difficult than others. But one thing that was consistent each time was the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill. This setup is easy to use and produces consistent results.
Each time that I cut slabs I measured the thickness after the cut. And each time the cut was spot on. This showed me that Granberg is very accurate with its stamped thickness measurements on their milling rigs. So far, the whole mill has shown a consistent measure of quality and ease of use. I honestly cannot say anything negative about the whole mill. It is lightweight, easily adjustable, and easy to use.
I plan on writing and filming a more in-depth overall review of the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill in the future, so check back for that later.
Really, we don&#;t know where this will take us but we do like to dream. We would love to sell slabs someday and make a few extra bucks at it. I try to set goals for myself when trying out new hobbies. Here are some of my goals with the Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill.
I recently purchased the Granberg EZ-Rail System. It&#;s a set of rails that help you chainsaw that first cut of your log. Previously I used a piece of wood or an old wooden ladder to get that first run-through. The Granberg EZ-Rail System is a game-changer for me, and I wrote a review of it if you&#;re interested in learning more about it.
Since the purchasing and the creation of this post, we reached out to Granberg International to ask if we could team up with them. We love this product and we wanted to send future business directly to them. They agreed and even gave us a 10% discount that we can pass on to our readers! If you use the code makinglife in the coupon section, you&#;ll save 10% on your next order!
Here&#;s what it would look like:
Please check out Granberg&#;s site. Use our code makinglife to take 10% off your order. They&#;re a US-based family-owned business that makes their products right there in the US. We love supporting small businesses and this is one big way to do it. Let us know what you think of their products. Leave us a comment below, and tell us if you used our code to make a purchase! We want to hear all about your journey.
You can also check out Granberg products on Amazon.
For now, keep up The Making Life. -N
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