GOT LOGS? John saws some BIG ones on his TimberKing 1600!
Facebook forum for sawyers, timber folks, woodworkers
I started the TimberKing Owners Group on Facebook as an information exchange for sawyers, timber folks, and woodworkers. People thinking about getting a sawmill tell me this group helps them, too. It’s a labor of love but, honestly, I started it for selfish reasons. I knew there were sawyers out there who knew a whole lot more about sawing than I ever would. I wanted to learn from them and I still learn a lot by reading their posts.
Started sawing earlier than planned
I worked as a medical illustrator, then in the corporate world designing and selling custom kitchen cabinetry. Then I was an art director for a Nebraska newspaper. Along the way, I bought my TimberKing sawmill and figured I’d saw lumber in retirement. Then, my job got restructured and I retired early. I realized I’d be sawing sooner than planned!
Love the hydraulics
I looked at all the sawmills out there. The ‘cantilever’ style scares me. I’m no engineer but I really liked TimberKing’s engineering and how it’s put together. I went to the TimberKing factory in Kansas City, test-ran some of their mills, and bought my 1600. That was a dozen or so years ago and they’ve since upgraded that model to the TimberKing 1620. I love my mill’s hydraulics but I’d have liked a bigger model with computer setworks.
I can’t think of another company with better service than TimberKing. Nothing against other sawmill manufacturers but I have friends who own Wood-Mizers® and they’re amazed you can call up TimberKing and talk to the tech guys for one-on-one, knowledgeable advice. And they ship parts fast.
Real people at TimberKing
The people at TimberKing impressed me as ‘real people.’ That really attracted me. When I went to the factory, I met and spent an hour with Will Johnson, the company’s president. I’m loyal to TimberKing and I like the whole picture: the way they build their mills and the way they treat their customers. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another sawmill but if I do, I know what brand it’ll be.
We have a 150-acre farm outside of Omaha, Nebraska. There’s a lot of high-value black walnut trees as well as oak, cedar, Siberian elm, and more. I fell the trees, saw them into boards, and air-dry them in our barn. I have a friend who runs a landscaping company and he brings me logs. I came home one day to find a 24’ walnut log, 38” diameter, in my driveway!
“I can’t sell the farm”
Right now, I have 40 oak logs stacked and waiting for me to saw. I do custom sawing — customers bring me their logs. I saw for myself and my woodworking and building projects. Some of this is for fun and some is for income but It all keeps me busy! Some of my retired friends tell me I ought to sell our farm and get a nice little home someplace. I can’t sell it — I like being busy and I love working with my hands.
I’ve sold a lot of walnut in the last couple years. Live-edge lumber is very popular right now and I’m sawing a lot of it for new houses, mantles, shelving, offices, kitchens, bar tops, and more. I’m sawing logs to build tables, too.
Get a mill you can grow into
If anybody’s thinking of getting a sawmill, I’d say decide what you want to do with it and get one you can grow into. Figure what you want to do and buy as much mill as you can afford. As for me, if I won the lottery, I’d probably own all the TimberKing mills and Woodmaster Tools equipment they make!”
— John Guehlstorff III, TimberKing Owner, Pony Creek Sawmill & Woodworking , Council Bluffs IA
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