On Jul 25, 8:25*am, " wrote:

Does he plan to make [a sawmill]?
He's considering it. He'd like to buy a used mill. He's got 33 acres
of field and forest. He's got a 5hp bandsaw in his shop for resawing
but only has the chainsaw guide that rides on a 2x4 to break down the
logs.
Karl

I bought the Harbor Freight guide and reworked it to fit a 2X6. I
can't find it now to describe how but IIRC the moveable guide that
won't move out quite far enough was replaced with carriage screws,
head inward.

My previous version of a sawmill was a woodworking bandsaw turned on
its side and mounted on caster wheels so it rolled down a track. That
saw was underpowered but the general idea was sound. The tracks were
on the sides of my trailer. I'd load a log into the bed and crank up
the tongue jack to make the saw run downhill. A roller under the lower
blade guide ran on the upright face of the log to resist the cutting
force, otherwise the log and saw would vibrate badly.

People who have bought those saws often will set up on your woodlot
and cut for so much a board foot. The commercial ones often have much
better log handling attachments. Once the logs are squared into cants
they don't roll, which may create handling problems. I used a large-
wheeled shop crane pulled by my tractor to move them around and a set
of 12' shear legs, which requires a lot of rigging gear, to load the
sawmill.