Roy,

Yeah, I got the sawmill bug pretty bad, although we don't really have
a ready supply of logs here. I'm thinking "Build the mill, and the
logs will come." which drives my wife absolutely bananas.

There are 20 or more manufacturers of the darn things, in the States
and Candada. American manufacturing is alive and well, at least in
the bandmill arena.
Here are some manufacturer's lists:
http://www.xmission.com/~sherwin/sawyer1.htm
http://www.wholeshow.com/Levels2to8/...uipSawmill.htm

Between all the companies there are enough features to keep an amateur
machine designer/builder busy thinking for a long long time.

Another option is a chainsaw mill. A lot cheaper and easier to build,
but according to conventional wisdom, the bandmills are a lot more
efficient, since the bandsaw kerf is thinner. However, the chainsaw
mills cut straighter since the bar is rigid, so at the end of the day
after planing the advantage of the bandmill in producing usable lumber
is not all that significant. That's part of the challenge, designing
a bandmill that cuts precisely.

Bob