I don't know where you can get hardwood for $1 a board foot. Heck 2x4x8 at home Depot are nearly $1.20 a board foot. Even cheap hardwoods will be closer to $3 a board foot. I know that price still doesn't pay off the mill for you in a weekend. But it could pay it off in 6 or seven weekends worth of work.

Sorry son but you missed part of the equation with your costs. The sense of pride and accomplishment that goes along with doing it yourself, you can't put a price on that. Keep smilin.

My wife said tell Mike next time he’s over in England to bring those jeans with him and she will patch them for him 🤣🤣

Thanks for the shout out buddy! Anytime you want to use the mill, let me know!

life is a trade off -- I built my own house, but the "time factor" was immense, I saved a lot of money by DIY. Words from a wise old bachelor here !!! make sure you are spending Quality time with the wife and kids --- MONEY comes and goes in life, but TIME is precious, especially when you have a family !!! thanks for the vids Mike, your a good guy, I like you.

mills are long term investments. taken care of they should last a lifetime. that being said you are so right, having a mill isnt feasible for most people. i would love one to mill up what i have for logs but will use my saw and alaskan mill to do it. there is a learning curve to everything and its awesome having youtube so you can see other learn and then maybe not make as many mistakes.

Inside your chainsaw’s gas tank is a little dirt filter. There are cheaper ones available. Just stick one on the top of that vent tube! OK Cap’n I’m convinced that I don’t want a sawmill. Your explanation is a big part of it… but, the other factor is… I too have a buddy that has a sawmill! The lumber that I want is always for special projects. For example, I have built three complete bedroom suites. Each one was from lumber that I had milled from logs specially selected for that purpose. Having boards milled to my specifications allowed me to get book matched Walnut drawer fronts, highly figured thicker blanks for fluted columns, turnings and live edge slabs. You can’t normally do that when you go to the lumber broker… and have to pay a premium if you buy it from a mill. But, having the logs available to be milled makes it relatively simple and much less expensive. As a result, I decided sometime back to leave the milling to the pros snd concentrate on just making stuff! On this subject we are in total agreement. At some point (especially when you get older and can see the end approaching) you decide that spending your time on rough cutting is less desirable than hiring it out! You did a fine job of illustrating just how much time, effort and money goes into getting lumber from trees. Thanks

You forgot the man factor about how cool it is just to own a mill!!! You did quite alright for a beginner in my mind!!!

Thanks for doing cost analysis. It was interesting. Thanks for sharing your homestead life with us.

Everything is coming together nicely, as always Mike , luv your video’s, and you and your family have

Loved this video! A couple of things that caught my eye though. 1) When resharpening bandsaw blades you need to set the teeth, in order to create kerf. This allows the tips of the teeth to cut wider than the blade thickness. 2) You should have included the cost of having your local saw sharpening service do your blades for you, as this is a legitimate running cost on a consumable wear item. 3) You should not have included the cost of the mill, against the price of the lumber. You paid the " rent" by giving the owner those blades. No one is going to buy a $4000.00 mill for a $500.00 chicken coop, and if they did, then presumably they would recoup some cost from milling for others or renting the mill out. 4) The grading and pricing of lumber is not important as the stumpage was free, and you upcycled it. Whatever you would have paid at the mill/ hardware is exactly what it was worth to you. Overall I say that you MADE money on the deal. Thanks for the video and good luck.

Ahhh! At 7:10 all that dirt on the log! I am gritting my teeth. lol. Later you mention using an old blade for that cause you have no water. There is a chainsaw attachment that removes the bark for this purpose. Or the old school draw knife to debark the log on the one side so the blade enters the log in clean wood. For our homestead a sawmill is a necessity. The cost of lumber these days just makes having a mill worth every cent. We always have something we are building here.

Yeah for me the benefits far out way the cost. Built coops, saunas, sheds, raised garden beds,fencing,flooring,siding the list is endless! The best investment hands down!! Not to mention you don’t need to go pick thru the crap at the big box store looking for a strait piece at super high prices!

I used a woodmiser bandsaw mill years ago. I like you learned that unless you’re milling in some remote location where you are not near a saw mill then it pays to own one but if there is a local mill nearby, it wasn’t feasible. The local mill near me will allow me to bring in my own logs to cut but that still wasn’t real feasible. Just cheaper and a lot less back breaking work to go to the mill for me. I love this channel. You are a true homesteader. We pray for you and your family to be blessed

Good morning Mike. Your channel is a learning experience for sure.

AS always, I enjoyed the video. You seem to have such a positive attitude about everything.

Captain great video, you’re a hard worker that takes so much pride in your projects! Thanks for sharing. Kevin

For cleaning the logs, an angle grinder with 'cup brush' works really well. It's also great for cleaning up areas of bark on a standing tree (especially near the ground), so you don't destroy a chain on the saw.

I'm looking to get a hobby mill, and this video and all the comments have been very insightful. Cost is not going to be a huge factor for my situation - looking to just be a little more self sustaining. With 37 acres of woods, I don't think I'll run out of source material - and my project list keeps growing. You brought up a lot of "points to ponder" - thanks and keep up the great work!

the best part of all of this no matter the cost is your satisfaction that you did it and the wood is from your land. That would be priceless to me and my family.also anyone can go and by wood.thanks for the time you give.

You have a good friend!

I have to tell you Mike, You and your wife turn out the best videos. Really love watching you guys. Great content, Thank you guys so much.

Thanks for sharing your insight on the sawmill.

Thanks for your input on the mill ,I have always lived within a few miles from mills so never considered but I do enjoy learning from others experiences

I think job very well done thank you for Sharing your experience with all of us

I really have to hand it to you... You are one hard working guy. The place is coming together nicely and looks great. Testament to your vision.

I think you did a very fair assessment of having you own mill. Most people would probably also want a shelter for it and a good place to work.

There is a lot to what you say Mike, its just not for everyone. I do think that say five years of using the mill for projects that pop up, its mighty handy. You tried and did your best. I would think that what you learned is got to also have some value. Plus, you buy this mill only one time and if the cost overall is to pay for a mill, it never made it... yet in five years only five hundred board feet, a very small number in my thinking.... it would certainly have more than paid its own way. That temporary mill setup is about a fraction of dangerous as logs roll when sawing or any thing that you can add in. Lets say that you find a mill for thirty five hundred dollars. You barely paid yourself snack money for your labor. In a real world, I would use it for a number of things that I want to build, I save dead trees off of my property that are good lumber logs as to firewood logs. In other words, firewood should cost less than lumber. Say DP Mike needed a deck on a trailer and you have good trees from clearing land. Getting those trees to that mill would cost more than going to the store and hand pick the best from the pile..... I always get there just in time to go through and find wood/boards I need after twenty people beat me to it. I love that wood arch and have shared this video or videos of you taking trees out with it so others can see how much a trailer like that saves on chain saws or even that mill. You have no free time as your committed to hard work doing Mikes moving equipment to the job that pays for your family to live. I am glad that you did get this part of milling experience and want to know, did my constant nagging ever make you curious to try and make a farmers eye in some cable? I can see where if you are doing something for Mike that it might save the day if all tow straps are broken and your still in axle deep in someones lawn. I delivered wood to some people close to me and they ask if I could just back my rig down further to their woodshed... I looked and ask, is there anything buried in there?? Nope, good to go so backed up to shed and let the dump box do its job an up it went to about three fourths of the way and in a instant put my truck on its side and the headache rack in the side of their house and now we know where their septic tank used to be!! No one hurt but my pride

Thanks Captain that was very informative. You live in such a beautiful area and I enjoy the views over the river. Best of luck to you and may God bless.

Can I confess that I've tried watching Dirt Perfect's channel a few times but I just don't get into it. I do appreciate the charm and "can do" attitude right here, though. Thanks Mike. I'm a better and more decent person because of you.

The saw mill videos and the boat cabin are my 2 favorite projects on this channel

I considered get a small mill, just as a hobby. But it still wouldn't payoff in the long run. Thanks Captain. Enjoy the video's, keep em coming.

A lot of good information on saw mills

Great video Mike👍pretty cool little mill Looking forward to more KZfaq yacht Have a great day

Love the videos. Keep going.

Thanks for the videos, always enjoyable

Captain the was to stop saw dust. From going in to that vent / sight glass tube. Is get a small piece of fiberglass screen. Then place over the open end. Hold with a hose clamp. God bless

All good stuff Mike (CK)👍👍👍👍

Thanks for sharing, always interesting and entertaining. Milling looked great, interesting to see the progress over time. A while back a channel that used to be more active “pure living for life” milled their own Timbers for a timber frame house. He had a great deal of lessons learned the hard way. Had to level the mill just about for every log he loaded, although he was cutting to a very strict self imposed standard. Just about every alternative solution he found was later replaced with a less creative solution although a great deal of his projects were exceedingly impressive in results. My personal favorite was the kitchen cabinets he built from the scrap firewood trimmings from cutting the Timbers for the house. You might find their old videos interesting if you ever get to the point during standby time at work that you conclude you have finally reached the end of the internet, and there is nothing left to look at. Stay safe, wishing you and your family the best.

Thanks capt.

Mike you have many skills, I can see where you’re coming from about cost however milling your own timber means that you can determine the quality of your timber. Deduct some cost for the knowledge and experience you gained and the pride you should feel working hard and achieving a lot. My point is, it’s not only about monetary cost, it’s also about what a craftsman it makes you. I’m seriously impressed with your knowledge and hard work ethic, you’re inspirational and impressive. Keep up the excellent work , much respect from Britain 👍🇺🇸🇬🇧

Awesome video.

I like your beautiful tea house

FYI. Mike: board footage is called lineal feet in the construction world. Thank you for sharing, sir! You sure look like your having fun. I just don’t have that kind of time. Maybe when I retire in 6 years! LOL

Great thing about a portable sawmill is that they store well and they hold their value. A lot of value in just instant availability since most take 6-12wk to deliver. I also bought a sawmill for my dad, son & I to have another reason to spend more time in our 40-acre woods together.

Hi Hi Captain. Good afternoon from Jamaica 🇯🇲. Thanks for another interesting video 😊😊📸

Hey captain great video .got some wood to start out 👍 looking good .keep up the great video s👍✌️👌😎🇺🇲

Great info,...thanks for sharing 😎👍✌️🙂

enjoyed that vid very much, ty

For that vent hose , a small plastic dish scrubber made of plastic netting , could be easily secured by folding around the tube and securing it with a rubber band . Many types of breathable materials could fit the bill as well , any porous barrier will prevent clogging .

Quite informative video. Thanks for walking us through your entire process. Have a fine week and a nice Thanksgiving. 👍🏽🙂

Excellent information, thank you.

Say Captain, when learning and gaining experience, unless you completely fail, you can't go wrong. I agree with you on having a solid base for the saw mill your using. I consider the saw your using more of a hobby saw. Love to have a short one to compliment my wood shop. With a good drill and tenon cutting bits, you can turn them cutoffs into rustic benches.

👍 fair analogy. Perhaps including more (man hour co$t) into the your final board foot pricing, which would include sawdust removal... even under the mill. Still very informative.

The biggest advantage of a portable Sawmill is you get exactly the dimension timber you want, in the timeline you want. My house is around 100 years old and was constructed using imperial measurement timber. To do any alterations, I can now only buy metric timber and so unsatisfactory compromises must be made. Milling my own timber means I can get what I want.

I'm thinking that if you put an "air stone" attachment from an aquarium it will allow the tube to breathe yet keep saw dust out. If it had to purge water, that would in fact flow through the air stone also! I have not owned nor even tried a bandsaw sawmill yet but I do notice that the used ones for sale are maybe $1,000 less than what they cost brand new and most are 5+ years old. That means that the person bought the sawmill new, used it for 5 years, then sold it and only "lost" around $200 per year so take that into consideration. They really hold their value as long as they are taken care of and still work as new.

I have an HM 122 mill also. The vent tube that you have sticking out at an angle should be vertical and through the holes in the tabs on the end of the water tank. I have never had a problem with saw dust getting in the vent tube. I have cut several kinds of wood on my mill. I believe Woodland Mills makes one of the best thought out mills for the price on the market. I've had mine almost 2 years now. I really like it. Lots of fun to mill with. Best of luck with yours. Bob

Great job thank you love your videos

Great sharing

The Harbor Frieght sharpener makes my top 5 tools list of all.time. havnt touched a file in 2 years.

Good video.

Grass by the pond looks great.

Lumber is out site good luck Mike

An expensive hobby if you're not going to use it much.... can see why the numbers don't make sense for you to buy one of your own. On the other hand, you have truly taken raw materials and turned them into timbers for your goat and chicken barn. You have learnt another skill that can come in handy down the line Mike!!

That vent tube on the water tank is actually a gauge. Nice video I have the 130 max and love mine. Got the wood and the tractor highly recommend it. God Bless

I can relate that portable sawmill not for everyone! My neighbor/best friend, Randy, was working on his portable mill, when he dropped his tape measure fell on ground! When he reached down to pick it up, twisted log rolled off mill an crushed him to death! Not for everyone, an ones that do have mills, please be extra careful!

I watched these out of order and late but I'm still watchin! For the vent, look up 1/8 npt sintered bronze filter. You can get a brass nipple that will go into the plastic hose and the other end has 1/8 npt female threads. Thread the filter on and you are set. If the filter gets crummy just unthread and blow through with an air hose.

Hey Mike, had to think about your ROI numbers for a while, but this is more about convenience to have versus not to have. This is like buying a regular tool: Chainsaw, circular saw, or GPro, just the initial $3600 price tag! Why buy a drill, when a screw driver cost $2 bucks! Yes, the cost of maintenance adds up on all of these (new blades, oil, sharpeners, batteries, memory cards, etc). Buying the wood: Cost, availability, hauling, and TAXES! If you don't have a vehicle to get down to the mill in, there are more cost (Rentals or delivery fees). It all adds up in the end. Your advantages (or ROI) of having a saw mill is you have tax free wood (we all know that getting it from log to mill cost money), but you can cut it at anytime, any length, no waiting for stock in place or inflation or cost. All the maintenance savings is the ability to re-sharpening your own blades, eliminate taxes, delivery fees, and personnel vehicle wear and tare. You mention building more rental cabins in the future, maybe you might want to reconsider. Need wood for concrete pad pours and wall build, roof building. 😁

Ok, yes there's a cost ratio to consider. BUT, when all is said and done it can simply come down to once whatever you're building is finished and you sit back and look it over there's the satisfaction and pride of having done so from timber to lumber to finished project pride / bragging rights which can be priceless. Ooh, I also left out that sometimes it just plain fun doing a project like that. Like you awesome bridge build. One more edit. Those 38" planks will be good for staggered chicken perches.

A simple gauze bandage or equivalent over the vent of the water tank.Job done.

MM77 👍🏼👍🏼 Approved

(Time stamp) 2109 A few of those cuts with that design glued together would make a interesting looking table top.

Good video You don't know the real cost until you do it yourself.

I just bought a woodland mills hm 126-14 it is almost finished being built. I need to set the level and zero out the blade and everything and then the fun projects begin. I want to build 24x50 barn, 8x12 chicken coup, (4) 8x10 chicken tractors, 30x40 equipment shed, 30x60 work shop, and then lastly build my little house 24x48. A friend of mine will be milling as well building his house for the homestead and a workshop for him. I felt like the price of lumber and self sustainability justified the expense of the mill.

Enjoyed your video! I own the big sister, Milly is her name, the hm130max. Pretty rewarding, especially when my Mom tells me I'm awesome every log I mill! 😁 You have a voice that could narrate a movie. I'd watch it! Take care and have a wonderful day! ✌

Another fine vidjeo Sir! Lots to think about there Bud ;-)

I use a tractor with a front end loader for log movement myself. I have chain two hooks welded to the top of each side of my bucket. Hook the chain on each side hook with the tongs hanging below the bottom of the bucket. Lower both hooks down and latch on. Much easier than using one IMO. Good job sawing but it does take twice as long to build something.

Seeing as you have returned your friend's mill this suggestion is only food for thought or possibly for any interested viewer mulling over buying or borrowing a mill. If using a pressure washer (or even just a garden hose) is not an option, a portable air compressor might be a viable alternative for pre-cleaning logs to increase the life of the blade teeth. Like everything else in your cost accounting formula, the cost of an air compressor would have to be a factor if it was purchased solely for a mill operation. Air compressors can be electric or gasoline powered so the prices would vary greatly depending on the choice of power. Another way to "pre-clean" would be to use an adze to debark the log, at least on the "leading side" of the log. Most things in life have cost tradeoffs.

For blade longevity if you ever do decide to get a mill look into the option of a scoring blade. It’s basically a circular saw that runs ahead of your bandsaw blade to score the cut line and clear out any trash before your more expensive bandsaw blade hits it. I had some wood milled and the guy that did it had one on his mill.

lotta extraneous labor involved in milling lumber - specially alone with small mills. but i'm glad you did it. pond looks great - water is clear and clean looking.

Coffee filter taped on the end of the vent

I built my own band saw mill out od a boat trailer and an old 6x6 ATV with a broken transmission. I probably have about 1000 bucks in it and am going to mill up the lumber to build a chicken coop, workshop, barn and house with the trees I have on my property. And so far its been pretty satisfying to make my own lumber and build my projects with it.

Hello Mike . for the water tank deaerator of the sawmill you can look at : mini pitbike tank deaerator ( mini pitbike tank luchter ) . further in the video I now understand from the video that the sawmill has now been returned to the owner . thanks for the video . Sincerely Hollandduck from the Netherlands

Just found this video after advising you to make your own! I had remembered you borrowing one earlier but didnt remember you saying this portable one wouldnt fit your needs. I guess my comment still makes sense tho make your own and design it how YOU like it and so it will work for YOUR situation ?? i just love watching you rig things and make things work.

Just add a longer hose on that vent/level indicator and make a couple loops (2 is plenty) in it, after the top hole, so the tube faces down and zip tie the loops together. You retain the vent and no more clogging

My friend just ordered the same mill. He said it be a good way to spend time with his son, and they have alot good wood. I wonder if the pressure wash helped with the (water) lube for the blade? You did a great job. Logger Wade will take care of you from here on.

sawmill lube hose looks like a chain saw gas filter would fit right on that vent hose to try from stopping up plus easy to take off and clean if needed

The water isn't just for lubrication. It also cools down the blade which gets hot from friction which can lead to it's streaching and getting weaker. Yes, you should make that tube longer and once it's thru that upper guide hole make a large no kink bend in it then loosely tie wrap the end to itself to keep sawdust out of it.

Great breakdown of the costs of owning a mill. Since you are in an area where you only pay a buck a board foot at your local mill, oh hell no - just go to the mill!

To bad you couldn't put a larger hose also.here to help

Just a thought= those live edge leftovers are valuable to someone. Not a huge gain $$$ but maybe more valuable than firewood. Keep up the good work Mike

Greetings from Russia, Mike!

Future barn project.... Running water to it. :)

Buy a rip chain for your chainsaw. Cheap and easily resharpened with that Chicago Electric chain sharpener. Lay a 2x8 on the log and shim it until it is flat. Use the edge to guide your chainsaw for the first cut. Snap a chalk line on the cut you just made to have a reference for your board cuts. If you want to get a bit fancier, there are numerous inexpensive chainsaw guides on the internet. One big advantage is you can cut your lumber where you fell your trees. It's easier to make really long boards and it's relatively cheap. Thanks for making this video Mike.

What you can do as a permanent fix for the water tank sight glass clogging, is put a T piece at the top of that clear tube and run 2x plastic fuel filters in parallel as air filters and cable tie them to the top of the tank. I can give you a tip on how to debark. It might not work on all types of tree, but trees with thick bark like at 24:05 it works really well if you do it straight after felling. * What you do is, with a chainsaw tip you run 1, 2 or 3 longitudinal cuts down the length of the log (depending on diameter) so it just cuts into the timber but completely cuts through the bark layer into the log. * For longer logs you need to run a circular cut around the entire log at one or two positions to create bark segments for removal. * Next, you get a log splitter and using the square backside of it pound really hard and fast next to the longitudinal cut you just made at one of the log ends. Keep pounding until the bark becomes macerated a bit. Then you bang next to that area and work your way down the log bark looking for the bark to release. As it releases only light taps are required. The banging releases the bark in large rounds. You can peel it off in big sections. The cambium layer acts as a lubricant and by pounding the bark straight after felling helps release the bark in that area enabling it to be removed easily. Because you've segmented the bark with the chainsaw its holding power is reduced and the pounding next to the cuts helps to break it away from the log. Needs practice but bark removal becomes so easy that you don't even think of it after awhile. I used to use a crow bar or pry bar but have become so adept at it I hardly need to use it because I can read the bark and pound in an area that is still stuck. It won't necessarily work at branches so cut flush the branch off and make another light longitudinal chainsaw line cut through the branch intersection cut in the main log and pound away. It's all about blunt force trauma, vibration, natural lube and technique. I taught myself this but I do live in a forest so one gets to work these things out due to the endless firewood burden of heating. I never had the need to remove bark until one day I did and it took me about an hour or two to discover and refine this technique. I haven't tried it on dry logs.

if you use aderondack siding you will get 3 or 4 more boards out of each log which adds up I bought a hud-son mill about 4 years ago i'm building an ICF house but the inside is going to be all wood floor walls and ceiling plus a post frame garage i figured it was a beak even i paid $13500 for the mill but the price of lumber has gone way up so i will save money and still have the mill I have also built a post frame garage for my son and 3 sheds already. another thing you have to add in is if you have to buy the logs plus i like doing it and yes i'm not figuring in my labor . i'm also in the works for building a spec house which i will mill alot for . i'm going to be 65 this year so i'm slowing down some but i keep on moving nice vid thanks

Get a clear plastic bottle so you can see through it. (Blade water lube) Trees are full of sap and the sap gets on the drive pulleys belts and collects continuous saw dust build up. The build up causes the tension on the blade to increase continuously till they break under tension.

Great video. Full of good information on sawmills and relate costs. I have some pretty old walnuts, (20+), and was wondering if getting a mill "wood" be worthwhile. I watch Out of the Woods, and he uses diesel for lubricant vs water. Also, Matt Cremona's channel. He uses carbide blades and he built a huge bandsaw mill. Don't remember the overall cost. I really enjoyed the flyover at the end. The pond is filling up nicely and that area looks beautiful.

A few questions I would like answered/addressed: Does anyone buy a sawmill for one job? Where did you get this arbitrary board foot pricing? $1/BF is extremely low... for example, cherry ranges from $5.40-$8.90. Maple - $8.00-$9.60. Love the content. Stay after it.

Good day