Portable sawmill service

Do you have logs you want to turn into beautiful custom lumber? Our experienced team and precision portable band sawmill are here to help. Over a decade of milling experience and dedication to producing a quality product means you get more lumber for less money. We serve primarily Northern California but travel across the western USA.

How it works

If you've got trees or logs on your property and want to build a shed or custom slab furniture, that's where we can help! Ask your timber manager or utility arborist to cut and remove all branches from the tree. Yes, we can also fall, trim, buck and skid your trees into logs that are ready for milling. We have expert fallers and tree climbers available.

 

 

 

The length of the logs is entirely your preference and our mill can handle anything from 3' to 16'6" long. In terms of diameter, the mill is one of the largest on the market and can cut a 40 inch diameter log into lumber. If you are looking for slabs, the widest cut the mill can make is 34 inches. We can go larger than 34 inches if necessary. If you've got logs bigger than this but still want them milled, contact us and we'll discuss your options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the logs are cut to length and stripped of branches, have them piled up in a row so we can pull our mill alongside and roll them up the ramps. Use the figure to guide you. Level ground or a gentle slope is necessary for us to set up the mill. If you are unable to move the logs, we can assist for an hourly fee. Generally it is easier if the logs are placed up the hill from where the mill will be located.

 

 

Pricing

There are four possible billing options: hourly, production, by the job, and barter.

Hourly

This is the most common and almost always the most economical option. For $100/hour, you get a mill and an experienced sawyer. If you can pitch in and help move wood off the mill, the work will go quickly. If you'd like, we can send the mill and two sawyers at a rate of $135 per hour. Our rates are almost half that of our local competition.

We can make a lot of lumber in an hour. Approximately 300-600 board feet (depending on log size and desired cuts).

• Typically, lumber at a big box store costs $1 to $1.50 a board foot. Plus sales tax, lumber tax and transport. (More for wood like cedar, which can range from $2 to $6 a board foot, or redwood which is around $10 a board ft!)
• If you pay $100 per hour for our service and we cut 400 board feet, you are only paying 25 cents a board foot.
• If you pay $135 per hour for our service and we cut 400 board feet, you are only paying 33 cents a board foot.
• Savings of 500% are possible! Plus, you can cut actual 2x4s instead of the 1.5x3.5 found in big box stores. Furthermore, there's a very good chance your wood is better quality than the commercially farmed trees available for purchase.

Production

For some jobs, we can charge by the board foot of lumber produced. The rates will vary based on the type of wood and dimension of the cut you are looking for. If you've got a complicated job (like logs on a hill that need to be skidded or winched to a landing before milling, for example) this pricing model takes all the risk off you. If something goes wrong and we spend more time to get the job done, you still pay the same agreed upon amount. Rates usually vary from 50 to 90 cents a board foot, depending on the complexity of the work at hand.

By the job

If you've got a number in mind for the entire log deck that would make you happy, we can submit a bid for the entire log deck based on your production needs.

Barter

If you've got a valuable log, we may elect to mill on a barter basis. Generally, you will receive half of the slabs produced and we take the other half in payment. Typical examples would include large hardwood logs like black walnut and desirable softwood like redwood. Mileage, setup and blade fees may still apply.

 

Other fees

Setup fee: None!

Broken blade fee: None!

Mileage fee: a mileage fee of $1 per mile one way from zip 95942 applies to jobs that are less than a day's work. Out of town multiple day jobs are possible with a minimum commitment (contact us for details).

 

Why choose us?

Our custom Amish-made sawmill is substantially larger than most commercially produced portable sawmills. This means we can fit the big valuable logs other operations can't, or have to spend tons of time position and turning. Not only have we been in the milling business for over a decade, but our machine is head and shoulders above the rest. Some examples of our machine's advantage includes:

 

Four post mill

Our mill is a steady, solid four post mill. It is heavy and stable so that the blade does not wander around during the cut and leave you with wavvy lumber. Most corporate mills are two post mills and will not be as stable through the cut.

 

Angled saw carriage

The saw carriage blade is angled relative to the cutting deck. Not only does this configuration cut logs faster, but the blade leads into the log perfectly where some corporate mills will produce a warped edge where the blade enters that later needs to be discarded.

 

Wide cuts

Our mill is one of the widest cutting portable bandsaws on the market. Most corporate mills can only handle logs up to 32" with slab cuts much less than that. Our deck can handle a 40 inch diameter log and make 34 inch slab cuts. This is substantially wider than most corporate mills. We also have the ability to cut much larger slabs from much larger logs using our portable chainsaw mill. If you've got big logs check with us first!

 

Self loading

Our custom designed self loading system can handle any log that will fit on the deck. If your logs are lined up in a row, no heavy equipment is needed to load them, saving you more money.