Mill Site Layout

The mill is towed to your site behind my 4 wheel drive pickup truck. The mill is 26 feet long and weighs almost 4000 pounds. It will be set up next to where you've staged your logs so this area needs to be accessible, and it needs to be level, or close to it.

Logs should be staged off the ground on runners if possible. 4x4s work well for this. The centers of the logs should line up with each other. The logs may be stacked, but don't stack them more than two or three high - a high log pile can be dangerous! Any limbs should be trimmed flush.

Once the mill is positioned next to the logs, the truck is disconnected from the mill and moved. Ideally, it will be moved far enough to be out of the way, but remain close enough to allow convenient access to tools and supplies.

The sawyer works at the end of the mill that had been connected to the truck (the front end of the mill). The control station allows for full control of the mill from this position. The mill cuts through logs as it moves away from the sawyer.

I will need one or two people to help with the milling operation. The off-bearer/s will work at the front of the mill stacking lumber and slabs as they come off the mill. Material must not be stacked in the exit path of the mill. The helper/s will also be required to help roll the logs up to the mill. I will provide cant hooks and peaveys to help roll the logs.

Lumber coming off the mill is normally "flat stacked" i.e. stacked without preparing it for air drying. This is the fastest way to do it. If you wish to clean the sawdust off your boards and sticker-stack them as they come off the saw, you will need more than one off-bearer.

Safety Equipment for Anyone Working Around the Mill

• Hearing protection is necessary close to the sawmill during operation.

• Gloves are usually a good idea, and absolutely required when working with pine.

• Safety glasses or a faceshield are a smart thing to have, mostly due to windblown sawdust.

• Boots, preferably steel toed, are good protection from a rolling log.

• A dust mask isn't a bad idea either.