How to Use a Manual Sawmill

Once you have the log on the track, cutting the boards is the easiest part of milling lumber. The trick is getting the logs onto the track. If at all possible, allow gravity to help with this. Running a sawmill is much easier if there are two or more people. These instructions are for a Band saw sawmill. Circular sawmills work entirely different.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• A Cant Hook
• A Manual Sawmill
• Logs
• Gloves and Safety Glasses
• Heavy Rubber Mallet (optional)

1. Set the carriage of the mill in the home position. Check the blade and blade tension, the water reservoir, and for gas and oil. Correct anything that needs attention.
2. Load the first log onto the track. Set the dogs into the log to hold it in place. You may need to use a rubber mallet to secure the dogs.
3. Start the engine on the sawmill. Start the water drip and then engage the blade. Allow the blade to make several revolutions before cutting.
4. Position the blade to the desired height of the first top cut on the log. This should be approximately 1” less than the diameter of the small end of the log.
5. Slowly push the sawmill carriage forward until the blade enters the wood. Keep steady pressure on the forward motion of the carriage until you reach the end of the log.
6. Son cutting first log Pull the slab from the log. This is where a second person comes in handy. Turn the log a quarter turn and make another cut. Repeat until you have a square cant.
7. Move the carriage back to the home position. Depending on what thickness of boards you are cutting, drop the blade position to that height.
8. Repeat this procedure for each cut you make.

Tips & Warnings

• Most manual mills come with a cutting guide mounted on the frame of the carriage making it easy to position the blade.
• Always use a sharp blade to cut lumber. Change blades if a tooth becomes broken or the blade becomes dull.
• After running a mill for a while, you can tell by the sounds it makes if the blade needs changing.
• Wavy boards generally mean that either the blade is dull or it needs more tension.
• Running a manual sawmill is hard work. Expect to have sore muscles the next day.
• Always practice extreme safety precautions around a sawmill.
• Never allow children to play around a sawmill, even if it is turned off. The blade is sharp and an accidental fall against it can cause severe harm.