“I recently retired from my career as a heavy equipment mechanic for a national company, working on on-road and off-road cranes. I traveled to jobs all over the U.S. And I was a volunteer fire fighter and an emergency medical technician for my town.
I have a love of going into the woods, felling trees, and bringing them to my TimberKing Sawmill to produce useable lumber that can be transformed into something useful. I find this whole process satisfying and rewarding.
It all started with a circle mill
I got the bug for sawing lumber years ago while living up in Maine. I had a Lane circle mill at the time. Then, in the early 2000’s, I moved to Connecticut and bought a TimberKing 1220 mill.
Maine has a lot of nice, clear softwood and I sawed plenty of it. Here in Connecticut, it’s mostly oak. I’ve regularly sawed dimensional lumber for my own use building sheds, barns, trailer decking, that sort of thing. There’s a wooded camp property near me where I cut standing trees and harvest blowdowns.
1220’s value: does what I need and the price was right
You want to get a mill to fit what you’re sawing. I’ve never been into production sawing so the manual 1220 was a good choice for two reasons: it did what I needed and the price was right. I think it was an excellent value.
I looked at a lot of other mills and saw the TimberKing is built much heavier than others. It has strong performance and is really built quite substantially for a small mill. It’s solid welded frame doesn’t go out of adjustment. Mine mill has two sections of track and I bought an extension so I can saw logs up to 18 feet. Sawing is stable and predictable. I have it set up outside but I always cover the cutting head. I’ve really had no problems with the mill.
Bob’s automation innovation
My 1220 was a manual mill; I’d turn a crank to raise and lower the head and to move it down the track. I got the bright idea to automate it. I was able to add a motor from an electric wheelchair to raise and lower the head and a computer unit to set the depth of the cut.
I recently built a log arch out of scrap steel to move logs too large for my tractor loader. It’s working out great. Takes stress and abuse off my tractor and keeps the logs clean.
I also sharpen my own blades with my sharpener and setting equipment. It’s precise work, extremely important to keep your blades sharpened correctly.
TimberKing company bends over backwards for me
I’m very satisfied with my 1220 TimberKing. Their tech assistance is great and the company is very customer-oriented. They always bent over backwards for me, always helped when I wanted it. I’ve recommended TimberKing to others.
Maybe I’ll make my stationary mill road-towable
Right now, I’m working on home repairs, then I’ll get back to sawing. My son, for example, wants lumber to build a barn. I’ve thought of rebuilding a trailer to make my mill portable so I can take it to different job sites, peoples’ homes, and do some custom sawing. I want to return to the enjoyment I find in the process of harvesting and sawing lumber!”
— Bob Gardner, TimberKing 1220 Owner, Haddam CT
HAVE QUESTIONS? 3 ways we can help you
• Email us [email protected]
• Call us 1-800-942-4406
• Visit us on Facebook