Are TimberKing mills built to last? Ask Tom Berryhill. His ran 20 years, 4,500 hours, before he rebuilt it. Here’s Tom’s story.
“I own an older TimberKing sawmill. What really impresses me about this mill is it how it lasts and lasts. When it was 20 years old, with 4,500 hours on it, I went through and reworked the hydraulics and the engine. That gave me a deep understanding of the mill so I can maintain it myself without having to take it somewhere.
TimberKing is America’s first 1-man mill
I’d looked around at mills and knew I’d be sawing solo so I wanted a saw with full hydraulics. That was the best decision I ever made. I work full time in banking and saw part time. This mill It paid for itself in less than a year just sawing dimensional lumber. I operate it as a 1-man mill and I’m impressed with the output.
I narrowed my search down to TimberKing and a couple other mills but I was leaning strongly toward TimberKing. I really favored TimberKing’s 4-post head. With the TimberKing design, it has held up over 20 years. I’m extremely happy with it.
Sawdust in his veins
If you cut my veins, sawdust would run out. I’m fifth generation in a family of lumbermen. My great-great-grandfather had a sawmill. My great-grandfather bought an old planer mill in about 1910, rebuilt it, and ran a timber and lumber business until he died in 1972. My dad got into the business in the 50’s and I worked in the lumberyard as a kid.
All my logs are free. I cut some from our farm but I’ve also made connections with tree services. They’re happy to give me the trees they cut instead of paying to dispose of them. Then, a man who was clearcutting three acres gave me all the logs I wanted. I salvaged three trailer loads of pecan logs and started cutting them into live edge slabs for countertops.
3-month backlog of orders
I do custom cutting, too. People bring me logs and tell me what they want. One man brought me cedar to cut so he could build his own coffin! Another customer brought a huge oak log cut from his great-grandfather’s farm. He’ll turn the timber into a beautiful dining room table.
The only advertising I do is on Facebook. In no time at all, I had a three-month backlog of orders. At first I was sawing only after work, then on Saturdays, too. But I promised I’d never saw on Sunday, a day of rest.
I’m extremely happy with my TimberKing. And their customer service and tech people have been very responsive. I can call them any time and they spend as much time as needed to help me.”
— Tom Berryhill, TimberKing Owner, Dardanelle AR
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