Like Ralph, woodland owners throughout the nation are finding portable sawmills to be a significant management tool that maximizes options, optimizes resource utilization and increases revenues while making a positive environmental contribution.

 Portable Thin Kerf Milling Profits the Small Woodland Owner. When first introduced on a commercial basis about 25 years ago portable thin kerf band sawmills drew little attention from the commercial forest industry but the low cost of the units combined with their capacity to produce fine quality lumber, even when run by neophytes, led to enthusiastic acceptance of the new concept by hobbyists, farmers, and others wanting to saw relatively small quantities of inexpensive lumber to support personal needs. 

More importantly, the availability of this new technology provided a tool to profitably turn previously "useless and worthless" trees into valuable lumber with an initial investment less than the cost of a small tractor.  The highly portable mills can be operated by a single operator to produce lumber from logs conventional sawmills cannot or will not accept. 

Portability equates to the mill going to the logs and minimizing transportation costs.  Clatskanie, Oregon mill owner, Tyler Bond easily tows his mill behind his pickup to locations within a 50 mile radius of his home as he saws custom lumber to support his family.  He says, "Within 20 minutes his LT40 super hydraulic mill can be set up and working although the location may have uneven ground."

Additionally, thin kerf band saws use blades as thin as .045 inch to produce very thin kerfs resulting in smooth and consistent lumber often useable without secondary processing.  "Kerf" is the thickness of the cut a saw blade makes as it passes through wood fiber when lumber is milled.  The ratio of usable lumber to sawdust generated in sawmill operations has a direct relationship to kerf.  Thinner kerfs yield more lumber and generate less sawdust from a given volume of wood fiber. 

Thin-kerf mills produce more, and higher grade, lumber from each log processed when compared to those processed by traditional circle saw mills with .250 inch or greater kerfs.  And, more lumber means more value and profit generated.

In many cases sawmill owners have found that the portable thin kerf mills not only enable them to turn a profit from their own woodlands, but many have expanded into custom sawmilling for neighbors to supplement their income and some have even gone into part or full time sawing businesses.

Ralph Pelham’s neighbor is a small woodland owner managing 54 acres.  He purchased Wood-Mizer’s LT40 thin-kerf mill with a hydraulic package to mill lumber for his own use, knowing that others also could benefit, and would pay, from the service he would be able to provide.   Now he supplements his own income by custom sawing for people like Ralph. 

Some mills are equipped with hydraulic lifting arms, clamps and log turner taking much of the labor out of milling logs as big as 36 inches in diameter and up to 21 feet long.  Oversized logs can be split with a chainsaw prior to milling. In addition to hydraulics, portable sawmills come equipped with a variety of optional features that enhance their usability.  Computerized controls, debarkers, lubrication systems, automatic clutches and attachments to cut shakes or beveled siding increase their value as an asset and their utility.

Environmental Benefits – A Significant Bonus. A number of tangible and measurable environmental benefits are realized by utilizing thin-kerf sawmills. 

While there may be considerable controversy regarding greenhouse emissions and global warming, most agree that where greenhouse gases can be reduced with little difficulty or expense, they ought to be.  Portable sawmills can, and do, play an important role in some of the carbon mitigation strategies many believe to be critical in reducing atmospheric carbon. 

Portable sawmills often utilize raw materials that otherwise would be left to rot, burned or at best processed into chips, all of which eventually release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.  By converting these materials into lumber, the durable wood products sequester the carbon and thereby minimize contributions to atmospheric greenhouse gasses.  Additionally, the lumber recovered from this type of material reduces the need for additional harvest from standing forests.  The forests allowed to remain standing continue to "scrub" carbon from the air and release oxygen further contributing to atmospheric health, not to mention the reduction in emissions associated with harvesting and processing the trees.

Not only did Ralph Pelham have his storm-downed fir trees milled, he also had several thousand board feet of cedar logs processed.  These cedar logs had been left to rot after a logging job a number of years ago and Ralph salvaged them.  Although they offered little, if any, commercial value, by using the services of a portable sawmill, a significant amount of good and high valuable lumber could be produced.

The utilization of thin kerf technology also increases the amount of lumber produced from a given volume of logs.  Thin kerf saw mill operators often report yields above scale ranging between 30 and 200 percent depending on the length and quality of logs being processed.  By producing more lumber and less sawdust from a log even more carbon is sequestered.

The availability of this technology not only allows woodland owners an option for a more profitable business but also enhances the environment.  Land best used for growing trees is optimized by managing not only for greatest income but to enhance wildlife habitat, provide watersheds for improving water quality and contribute to atmospheric health.

Portable Thin Kerf Sawmilling – An Alternative to Commercial Harvests. For some timber holders, thin kerf sawmilling may provide a more flexible, and more profitable, alternative to traditional commercial harvests philosophies.  In commercial settings, a significant number of trees must be harvested at one time in order to make harvests financially feasible.  In the less than ideal real world, most land owners have a significant number of lower quality trees that net negligible return to the land owner, even though there is a significant amount of wood fiber shipped.  Utilization of a portable mill offers several potential advantages over such traditional commercial harvest.

Portable mills allow landowners flexibility to manage small woodlands for optimum long term production.  Landowners can remove and mill trees that most improve the future of their stand, rather than being forced to produce a certain volume to pay for logging and in order to ship full loads to mills.

Lower quality trees can be harvested profitably.  Portable mills offer the flexibility to work around defects of individual blocks and can profitably mill trees that would be significantly depreciated at the mill’s grading yard.  Rather than shipping a "poor quality" log to a commercial mill that will only pay a small amount for it, the portable mill can glean much valuable lumber for the owner’s personal use or to sell to others.

The higher yields produced by thin-kerf saws increase value realized by the landowner.  Simon Petree and an associate near Nooksack, Washington operate two thin-kerf Wood-Mizer sawmills.  Simon explains the value his customers glean from his service, "A mill may pay $1400/thousand board feet for premium cedar logs per scale.  I often produce twice as much lumber as scale would indicate and the resultant lumber is worth $2.00 a board foot.  The log owner can get $1,400 from the mill (less transport costs) or they can pay me $400 to mill the same logs, get 200% overrun and have $4,000 worth of ready to use lumber."

By Simon taking his mill to the logs, transportation costs are also significantly reduced. The need to transport logs to the mill is eliminated and a small tractor can usually move blocks into stacks where they can be rolled onto the lifting arms. Once processed into lumber, farm trucks, pick ups or trailers can easily transport the boards at a greatly reduced cost than an 18 wheeler would charge. This saves fuel and wear and tear on highways resulting in yet another environmental contribution while putting more money in the pocket of the land owner and/or the sawmill owner.

Many sawmill owners provide additional services for their customers.  Tyler Bond connects customers with a lumber grader, hauls lumber to a nearby dry kiln and offers a finishing service to process flooring, moulding or siding with his four-sided planer-moulder.

Thin-Kerf Mills Have a Successful Record. With perhaps 50,000 or more very thin kerf units operating world wide today, portable thin kerf sawmilling has demonstrated its viability as not only a business but it has also taken its place as an important asset for those seeking to enhance the earth’s environment. 

For small woodland owners, portable thin kerf sawmills provide flexibility in management and harvesting practices.  Harvesting decisions can be more influenced by long term forest health and profitability than allowed by standard commercial harvest.  Greater short and long term yields can be realized from trees harvested.  Portable thin-kerf mills make positive environmental contributions.  Portable thin-kerf sawmills provide many good options and alternatives that would be lacking in their absence.

Whether thinning, harvesting, or cleaning up after a storm, small woodland owners may benefit from utilizing portable custom sawmilling services.

Biographical Information:  Jeff Mullins is a new OSWA member who pastors a rural church in northwest Oregon where he lives with his wife and seven children.  He is a regular contributor to a number of forest and timber publications and recently purchased a portable sawmill.