I have been a sawdust manufacturer for 30+ years. I believe that higher
quality equipment costs less in the long run. Less maintenance and less
desire to upgrade in a few years. That should leave you with more money for
lumber.

Curious - where do you buy lumber? I have been "shopping" a bit lately to
find alternate sources that would make it worth time and gas to go stock up
on quantity. I buy from a hardwood dealer about 30 miles from my home.
This dealer imports from the SE Kansas, SW Missouri area - about 130 miles
east. He does do some of the planing but little else. His prices are much
better than the BORG but creeping up. I have recently located mills in the
Kansas/Missouri are at offer rough-cut kiln or air dried Walnut, Oak and
Cherry at a fraction of the local price. Even if you add planing at .20 a
bdft it is still about 1/2 the price of local. Gonna find a trailer one of
these days and head that way.