sawmill ??? for Lyle Niemi or anyone else, long.

I would like to know what is involved with relocating an old circular saw mill that has been idle for about 30 years.the carriage, and saw head/mandrel, blade is there but no power unit or anything else, there might be an edger but not sure. I do know there is an old very large cast iron planer also. wondering what ball park value of it is and if it is even worth it or just to get a portable band mill? Used to have a bandmill, but not familiar with a circular mill. what to look for, stay away from etc... thanks for anyone that can educate me on this.

Question is: How much wood are you planning to cut/mill, are you cutting firewood or going into the Lumber Business? To move a full scale lumber mill might just be cost prohibitive, it might be cheaper to buy the mill & land, & install a power unit. Don't forget Labor costs, bandsaw or chainsaw units are basically one-man units, anything larger and you are going to require help.

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About 25 years ago I purchased an old Frick sawmill for $2000. It included the carriage with 3 headblocks, the ways with track, main shaft with a multi v-belt pulley, 48" blade, and the main part (forget what it is called) with the carriage cable drum and pulleys to run the carriage back and forth. It did not include the needed flat belts, any power uint, and there were some babbot bearings missing. It was an old unit, probablly early 1900's but was solid and good shape. I bought it on a whim without knowing much about mills, it laid in the barn for a couple years and decided to sell it, and an Amish fellow bought it for what I paid for it so I think I was lucky. Several years later logged a bunch of trees from the farm and hired in a bandsaw mill. It did excellent sawing, got it done now, at the time I think it was 12 cents a board foot for bandmill sawing. With the circular mill I would have needed an engine or tractor big enough with some way to hook it up, was going to build a building to set it up in, plus I never did find all the needed vintage parts. I recomend that if it is just needing to saw lumber that you need to not bother with a circular mill. If you desire to experience working with vintage equiptment and go in knowing the needed costs and time to do it then that is a different story.

Just my opinions on what I have experienced.

I'm sure there are some steam/old tractor shows that would like to get their hands on it if the price was right. Our local show practically run theirs from dawn to dusk for three days straight.

got all mine one a 20 ft gooseneck including the power unit , the husk , 3-16 ft. sections of track a 16 ft carriage , 2-10ft sections of conveyor . now it's under shed

The circle mill makes a lot more lumber per man hour but you need a helper or two to be efficient. The bandmill makes more lumber per log as it makes a smaller kerf but it is a lot slower. I have heard of the old planers going from $25 up to $1000. I met a guy at an auction who said he had bought one for $25 and just put it in his shed, I wish I could find one for a fairly reasonable price but he was not interested in selling.
Zach

I'd suggest registering on the "Foresty Forum" and looking for a thread about doing what you're asking about: Forestry Forum>General Forestry>Sawmills and Milling>A circle sawmill journey. The mill can definitely be moved, but it will be much simpler if you have something to help load it....forklift/frontend loader, etc. My main concern would be the lack of a power unit. A circle mill will saw more lumber with multiple folks, but even when running it by yourself, will saw much more lumber than will a bandmill. btdt.
good advice here

Alot of work if the woodwork needs replacing a whole lot of work,plus if you have never operated one it'll probably end up killing you.

The first question I would ask is what is it you want to do. I own about 1600 acres and there is always a tree falling down. I am on my third woodmizer now. each time I have moved up in model. Older circle saw mills are for sale cheap around here. They are good for sawing crossties or big cants but not for finish lumber. You just have to decide what you want to do. Moving and setting up a mill will take some time. What ever you do take time , think it thru, get a good level place with PLENTY of room. Too many folks get in a tight place with the mill.

30+ years ago I helped the people I was working for root one out of barn storage and set it up.

They layed up masonry piers to set it on, built the roof over it later. They tracked down a reverser to run it off tractor pto.

One advantage they had was an old sawmill guy to walk them through the setup. The owner is still using it.

thanks to all for the input, guess i need to go and take inventory of what is there and what is needed now and see what missing parts if any are needed and what they will cost. Thank you all for the knowledge you have shared.

The extension service put out a good little booklet that tells how to set up the head saw works, very good info on setting one up.

Now thats a flywheel. There have been several mills around the neighborhood, thats the first I ever saw with a flywheel on the mandrel. Bet its a great help if you are using a smaller power unit. Thats a nice looking mill. Joe

Man in our neighborhood ran sawmills most of his life. Before he retired he quit using the circle saw and switched over to a band saw unit on his farm. As Zachary Hoyt mentioned, the band saws take a much smaller "bite" and create a lot less sawdust.

feedworks