Looking for large capacity band sawmill operator/service

Paul Downes

Member
Messages
959
Location
Westphalia, Michigan
Hey, I'm looking for someone in mid-Michigan who has a band mill that can saw a 60 inch+ crotch walnut. I have 2 standing trees 36" x about 12 ft. main trunk and a 60 inchish by about the same tall walnuts that are dying from gypsy moth damage. I also have a walnut at my house about 48" diameter that I might take down. That one does have some bullets and an ingrown clevis. (I know where that is)
 
Thanks John, I forgot about that listing. I wish I was close to this guy; https://mattcremona.com/shop/plans/wide-cut-bandsaw-mill-plans
Perfect mill for the job. I have thought about welding up one of these.

I had a friend close by that had an LT 40 hydrolic. He up and moved to North Carolina a few years back. But even that mill might not have been big enough. He did saw a 36" beech log 18 ft long for me. I know of an Amish guy who is milling basswood for me but I haven't asked him about this yet.

Regardless i don't plan on taking the trees down until it gets colder. This will be a bucket truck job because both are close to my friends house. The tree at my home is about 3 feet from my pole barn. It has been hit by lightening and has some dead branches but is otherwise healthy. I may take it down for the value and peace of mind that it won't drop a limb through the roof. A lot of the top overhangs the barn.
 
i have a guy but not sure he can do 60"
Let me know Larry if the guy states he can saw it. The 2 trees that are dying are North of Lowell.

A buyer stopped by and offered $2000 for the straight tree and said he would remove the trash tree (60" crotch tree) and pay maybe $1000. He stated that there was a beetle killing the trees and not to wait because the lumber would not be good for long....Flat out lies. The beetle killing walnut trees has NOT been found in Michigan yet. State of Michigan Forestry has issued a warning about these thieves lying to landowners. I figured out the brd/ft of the 60" crotch tree and low end values retail for $16,000. It could go well into the $20,000.s if the feathering figure is good and it has small to normal defects. The straight tree has retail value of $6200 on the low end. If it is sold full width as slabs. All three trees could fetch northward of $50,000 if I fell them, dry them, and market them. Or I might just keep them for furniture builds.

What a bunch of crooks.
 
Be careful on that lighting struck tree. They can look solid but do weird things when trying to fell them because their cells sometimes are not attached and they splinter or swing, etc.
 
If you are just interested in slabs you might also look around for someone with a chainsaw mill (CSM), or build your own. You would lose a bit more lumber due to the wider kerf, but 60" is certainly doable. There is a Facebook group called Alaskan Chainsaw milling that has a lot of good info.
 
I have access to a chainsaw mill. Sawed heavy logs in the woods and fields with it to reduce weight so I could pick it up with a backhoe. Otherwise the backhoe tires were coming off the ground.
With a high value log I don't like the kerf waste.

I have worked as a logging sawyer in my youth. I heated my home and barn with wood for over 20 years. Later I worked on a crew that cleared log jams in rivers. I was the saw boss and trained the guys in safety. It was great fun and I never had to buy a case of beer. Which was the penalty for going in over your waders. This was a rule I conveniently instituted. On Fridays we knocked off at noon and roasted sausages and drank a few beers.

I know, or know of, about 7 guys killed by trees, plus several severely injured. All of the cases involved safety violations. Some really dumb and frustrating, some of these unfortunates simply weren't trained.
So a lightening damaged tree, as in mine, will get that limb sawed off in blocks.
my sawyer can only cut 52", give this guy a call (Tom) 269-908-0772. extremely fair on logs

Thanks Larry, I will do that if I get the green light to take down the trees.
 
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