When it comes to using a portable sawmill your choice comes down to one of two options: either a bandsaw mill or a chainsaw mill. When considering a bandsaw you have to weigh all of the evidence to decide if it is the best choice for your needs.
Bandsaw mills work by means of a blade sliding back and forth horizontally through the lumber. The denser the wood the harder it is for the blade to move. If a blade gets too slow or starts to bind then you won’t have a precise cut. The blade has to fight to get through the wood and will start to bend slightly. Plus, you run the risk of burning up the motor. The only way around this is to increase the power. That’s why it is better to invest in larger models of bandsaws.
If you choose to continue using a bandsaw that is too small for the job then you could end up with wavy cut wood. Then you will have to run all of the cut lumber through a planer to even it out. This not only wastes material but it doubles your man-hours, which in turn costs money.
As long as the wood you are cutting is smaller or softer then you can go with a smaller bandsaw. Matching the blade size up with the density of the wood means that you can have precision cuts each and every time.
Regardless of the density, the one thing to remember with this type of saw is that the blades need to be sharpened regularly. A dull blade will slow down productivity and damage the wood. It is common to go through 3 to 6 blades in a day’s worth of cutting.
Sharpening these blades is best left to an expert unless you want to invest in the extra equipment necessary to do it yourself. This would consist of a tooth setter and a blade sharpener which you can acquire for about $1000. That investment pays off quickly considering sharpening a blade can cost $10/blade each time.
Bandsaws are admired due to their low kerf rating, or the amount of wood lost in each cut due to the thickness of the blade. This small amount of extra wood that it saves might not sound like a lot, but when it is multiplied times an entire day’s work it can add up to a substantial amount of lost wood.
For more information on portable sawmills and bandsaw mills, visit www.NorwoodIndustries.com. They are the leader in the industry.