small scale sawmilling with a bandsaw?

[Jonathan Mau]

I have about an acre of 6 to 8 inch red pine that needs to be thinned. I probably have the patience and time to do 2 or 3 dozen trees a year. There are about 200 trees in total to be thinned.

Is it a reasonable proposition to jig up a bandsaw to flatsaw these for miscellaneous low tolerance jobs like roof sheathing and construction timbers or will using a bandsaw like a mill just wear out an expensive piece of gear for really low economic benefit? I don't mind so much if it is uneconomic from the point of view of my time.

Oh, yeah, I want to buy a bandsaw anyhow, unlike a real mill which I don't want at this point in my life.

Thanks

Jonathan

[Thomas Bunetta]

That's a do-able project... The bandsaw should be large enough to clear the largest diameter trunk you will be dealing with, an in/out feed table setup and a sled of sorts to carry the bulk of the weight past the blade will likely be necessary. There is a user forum for Minimax users (and interested parties) at:

where setups like this have been discussed and some pictures are available.

You won't necessarily need to limit yourself to flatsawing, though... with the right setup one can do as they please. Tom

[Andy Dingley]

No, they're too thin. They're more use as poles than as flat boards.

[Thomas Bunetta]

This is a "Duh" moment... I re-read the post and "saw" the diameter... When you're right, you're right! Mea Culpa Tom

[Bill D]

Yea, I agree Thomas, they are probably an ideal size for fence posts, maybe even for deer fence (some 6' above ground). Sell them all "as is" to a farm co-op or something. They will de-bark and chemically treat to allow long life.

Cheers Bill D New Zealand

[Jonathan Mau]

Problem is I have already peeled about triple the quantity of poles I need this year. Was hoping to get some boards even if inefficiently. The only other use for them in the small quantity I have is as firewood, and even there, I have plenty of maple that needs thinning.

If I can read between the lines, there is no issue with excessive machine wear in the quantities I am talking about, but most of you wouldn't do it because the return per log will be so low.

Heck even if I just squared them to 4x4s or 6x6s, they would be more useful than in the round for some purposes.

As always, thanks for the input.

Jonathan

[Upscale]

What about a chain saw and a milling attachment for it. They're not that expensive.

?c=1&p=20126&cat=1,41131,41139 Valley Tools also has a variety of safety, sharpening and instructional literature.

[Andy Dingley]

They're far too slow, they're pigs to work with (it takes two people) and while they can make squares from rounds, they waste too much kerf to make boards.

[Andy Dingley]

Sell them as poles. They're a useful size, so if you have a good quantity then they should be saleable to a fencepost mill (I know my local place would jump on them)

As boards they're just too small and they won't dry anything like flat.