Procut Portable Sawmills in Prince George, BC

BANDMILLS

I am sure you have looked at bandsaw mills as a sawmill of choice, probably due to the sheer quantity of these type of sawmills on the market today, but there are several things you should consider before making a choice.

Bandsaw mills are a very good sawmill without doubt, but only in the higher price range. This is due to the size of the engine driving the band. On higher end band sawmills with 20 h.p. or over you can install a much wider and slightly thicker band blade therefore allowing higher tension ( tighter ) which will then cut lumber more precisely, smoother, with less wavy lumber. The problem is who can afford to have a high priced band sawmill just to cut there own trees, as you could just take all that money and go and buy the lumber you need to build just about anything you want to.

In the lower end price of band sawmills the drive engine is usually 12 to 15 h.p., the band wheels are narrower (due to cost) and therefore the band blade is narrower and thinner. It still cuts fast lumber but the problem here is because of the tension on the bandblade which is not as high as the wider blades on the higher priced band sawmills, you will get wavy lumber or washboard lumber.

As the narrower band blade with less tension encounters a knot it will have a tendancy to ride up and over the knot, also depending on what species of wood you are milling, the growth rings of the log can have hard and soft spots between each ring, and again the band blade can ride up and down, creating wavy lumber. This means you would have to run all that lumber you have produced through a planer, increasing time and cost.

It will also be necessary that you have at least 5 to 8 extra band blades for a days cutting as you can easily go through this many as they will get dull, depending on the species of wood you are cutting, and especially in dirty wood. These band blades then have to be sharpened by a shop, or you will have to purchase a band blade sharpener and a tooth setter for the band blade teeth. THIS CAN EASILY COST OVER $1000.

Others may tell you that a bandsaw mill is better. A bandsaw mill utilizes more of the log due to the blade kerf (kerf: the amount of wood removed out of the log by the thickness of the blade) as the cutting band is very thin. Although this is true, it is not the whole story. A bandsaw mill blade needs sharpening frequently, and if it hit a small rock or some sand in the log, then you have to stop, back out the mill and change the band. Logs are not clean, there is always a certain amount of abrasive material or small stones etc. in the log and certainly a fair amount of pitch, which is a big problem for band mill blades. The blade is so thin and the tooth set is very narrow (tooth set gives clearance for the blade) when pitch adheres to the band itself, the band blade gets thicker and the tooth set no longer gives the band clearance, so it then binds in the cut.

If this does not slow you down then the actual maintenance of the mill certainly will. Just imagine how many extra bands you would have to purchase to finish just one day of cutting. When do these bands get cleaned of pitch and sharpened? During the day slowing you down, or in the evening after a long day cutting. Do you want to cut lumber, or maintain a mill?

Yes, I agree, you certainly do get more out of a log in lumber with a band mill, but at what cost to you in time and frustration. Unless you are cutting very exotic wood and need every piece of lumber out of the log. A bandsaw mill does not justify the very large extra expense and the large amount of maintenance needed. If you take the lowest cost mobile band mill in North America at $3,900.00, add on all the extra equipment you need to match Procut you would have to spend closer to $6,000.00. I have had people come to me locally to see my ready made mills. THEY SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO OPERATE AND HAVE SOLD THE BANDSAW MILL THEY PURCHASED TO BUILD MY PROCUT SAWMILL.

So enough about bandsaw mills. With 20 years experience of using many different sawmills, I can honestly say my Procut is the least expensive sawmill in the world today AND THE ONLY MILL THAT CAN CONVERT INTO A 20 FOOT TRAILER. Procut is simple and very effective, it cuts lumber hour after hour with only a bit of chainsaw gas and oil, while sharpening of the cutting chain takes a minimum amount of time with a $1.00 file.

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PROCUT Portable Sawmills
2468 McBride Crescent
Prince George, B.C. Canada V2M 2A1
Phone: 1-250-562-6422 or Contact Us

Build it yourself plans by Procut Portable Sawmills for an affordable portable sawmill
Our sawmill can cut any size lumber and converts to a towable trailer in minutes.

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