Milling Lumber

Milling Lumber · 05-07-2009, 11:43 AM

Is there any suggestions as to who I can call to help clear felled oak & pine trees and mill them into lumber in the Raleigh area? Or mill on-site, etc?? About how much woud it cost, etc? 8 to 36 in dia trunks

Any help or connections on this would be appriciated.

lottathought · 05-07-2009, 01:18 PM

I am not an expert on this but I have seen this question asked before.

It is my understanding that most of these people will not mill lumber in yards.
The reason is that the chance of getting nails or other metal in these trees are pretty high.

I am suspecting you are talking about felled trees in your yard.
If this is not the case then, I would suggest you describe the situation you have so that the local mills can give some advice..

And Welcome to the site.

Travis Porter · 05-07-2009, 01:32 PM

It has been years ago, but I used a guy in Hillsborough or Efland area who came to site. He had a mill that would pick the stuff up and do I think up to 36" logs. IIRC, it was around 30 cents a board foot, and you paid for all chipped teeth in his blades.

Unfortunately, I don't have a name or number.

DaveO · 05-07-2009, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by cll

Is there any suggestions as to who I can call to help clear felled oak & pine trees and mill them into lumber in the Raleigh area? Or mill on-site, etc?? About how much woud it cost, etc? 8 to 36 in dia trunks

Any help or connections on this would be appriciated.

Charles if you look up in the top Brown menu you will see a listing for Woodworking in NC. In that drop down menu is a list of sawyers by region you might try contacting some of them and see if they can help you out. I know that Jack Murdock does some great work, but I am not sure if he is mobile.

Cost is going to be very dependent on the mill operator and if they need to come to you or you can bring the logs to them. Expect to pay a blade charge if metal is found in the logs, which is a very common problem with "urban" timber. Log diameter at the narrow end is the most important measurement, as the log will have to be squared up first before milling into boards. Anything under 12" dia at the top end isn't going to result in much lumber and should be put on the lathe

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted. There is nothing like going from a tree to furniture, it give you a much greater appreciation for the wood and all that goes into it.
Dave

RobS. · 05-08-2009, 10:28 AM

I used a guy from Bailey who had a portable sawmill. He came to my site down in the woods and milled right there on the path. I stacked the boards straight into the back of my truck as they came off the mill. His mill would also lift the logs (we had to roll them to the lift) and I think he could handle over 40". I know the pecan he cut for me was just over that. He charged by the hour and I had to pay for a couple of blades. Last time he came he had a metal detector which spared me the expense of another blade. Problem is that was 12 + years ago and I think he's retired. I can't find his card anywhere.
There was someone else near me a year of 2 ago who had his cards in several locations around town but recently I haven't been able to find one nor anyone who knows him. I need to locate a sawyer by next winter.

Your best bet would be someone with a portable mill who will come to your site. Saves a lot of time and expense of hauling to a mill. If they are yard trees, count on a couple of nails here and there.

jlwest · 05-08-2009, 03:02 PM

I used HS&I tree services in Raleigh. Ask for Jonathan Peck. Did a great job and has a cool portable mill. 919-796-2165. Tell him I recommended him to you.

Jeff West

sediener · 05-08-2009, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by DaveO

Charles if you look up in the top Brown menu you will see a listing for Woodworking in NC. In that drop down menu is a list of sawyers by region you might try contacting some of them and see if they can help you out. I know that Jack Murdock does some great work, but I am not sure if he is mobile.

Jack is mobile and will come to you... not sure of his setup costs but he charges by the bdft I think somewhere around 30-50 cents depending flat/QS/etc.. If they are yard trees be prepared to buy a bandsaw blade or two for around 25$ each. I've used him a couple times and was always happy.

- Steve