Portable Sawmills Since 1929
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“My TIMBERKING SAWMILL will feed my woodworking business”

Huge log on Martin's TimberKing 2020

Martin Burkhart saws LOGS SO BIG he’s had to whittle them down a bit to fit through the TimberKing’s cutting throat. How big is that? His 2020’s max log diameter is 39″. So this big boy’s pushing 40″ wide or more!

“The sawing business has been in my blood for generations. Both my granddads ran sawmill businesses. My dad’s father had a sawmill run off a tractor. My mom’s father had a big mill, too. And my dad owned a lumber business running a planer mill. I worked in that business from about 14 years old through high school.

I always wanted a sawmill

So, I grew up knowing the concepts of sawing lumber. About 30 years ago, I went to the State Fair in Raleigh, North Carolina, and saw a bandsaw mill for the first time. That stuck with me all these years. Every once in a while, I’d search bandsaw mills online. I always wanted one, but I never really had the time or energy to get one.

What triggered me getting a mill was my son. He’d built a home in our old farmyard and decided to build a garage. He cut several old oak trees to clear the site. I got a mill and sawed them into 5/8” boards, dried them, and planed them down to 1/2” for the interior of his garage. 

Once he got his TimberKing, Martin was off to a fast start. Here’s a shot from his VERY FIRST JOB — sawing out oak logs from trees his son felled. This handsome stack now graces the interior walls of his son’s brand new garage, with some left over for Martin’s “man cave” walls.

Competitive sawmill nothing but trouble

What I wanted was a fully hydraulic mill. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people. It basically came down to TimberKing vs. a sawmill built by another company. TimberKing’s smallest hydro mill is the 2020. The competitive mill company had a smaller, full-hydro mill with a cantilevered head. It was less money, so I went with that one. It was nothing but trouble, and I turned it back in.

During the cantilever mill’s 30-day trial period, it broke down seven times. The last straw was the whole wiring harness burning up completely. It was nothing but trouble, way below my expectations, and I wasn’t going to put up with it.

Many calls to TimberKing

So I called TimberKing back and talked several more times with Jason Harris in Sales. He was a great help, and I settled on the TimberKing 2020. It has a 37HP Briggs & Stratton Vanguard engine with EFI, electronic fuel injection. 

I like TimberKing’s hydraulic features, including the valves. Everything’s fully hydraulic – not electric-over-hydraulic – so there are no computers, no chips to go bad. It’s not sensitive; hydraulic just goes. The Setworks feature is great and easy to learn.

OPEN WIDE! What this log lacks in length, it makes up for in width and sheer mass. Martin says his machine has solid weight, physical integrity, and high quality. “You can feel it when you start sawing.”

I’ve run heavy equipment all the time, and I know TimberKing’s in a whole other league compared to Wood-Mizer. TimberKing’s got solid weight with its 4-Post Head, physical integrity, and higher quality. You can feel it when you start sawing.

TimberKing’s Customer Service has been great. When anything’s come up, they helped me resolve things. Much better service than I got from the cantilever mill’s dealer close to me.

Martin’s 1,120 sq. ft. ‘Man Cave’

How’d you like a ‘man cave’ like this? Here’s the wall Martin built to section-off over 1,100 sq. ft., turning it into a workspace where he can really spread out.

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I have the 2020 sawmill set up in a shed my dad and I built in 1976. I also have a new building that measures 40’ x 72’ with a 15’ ceiling. I’m turning 28’ x 40’ (1,120 sq. ft.) of it into my wood shop – it’s almost done now. I’m setting it up with my Woodmaster Planer and my old Foley-Belsaw planer my dad bought in the 1980s. (Foley-Belsaw is the ancestral forefather of today’s Woodmaster.) I also have a dust collection system, and a CNC router with a 4th-axis and a laser.

Did you know? Martin’s planer (left) is a Woodmaster Planer. Woodmaster is the proud sister company to TimberKing, both out of Kansas City, USA. His machine at the right is a vintage Foley-Belsaw planer, no longer being manufactured. This machine, as Martin says, was “the ancestral forefather of today’s Woodmaster.” Martin’s dad bought and used it in the 1980s.

Cappsized Woodworking

This all got started because my son cut oak trees, but I’m going to turn this into a woodworking business. It’ll be called ‘Cappsized Woodworking – Flipping Trees into Treasures.’ My grandkids call me ‘Capps’ so that’s a good name!

Over the years, many TimberKing sawyers have told us one of the most exciting parts of sawing is opening up a log and seeing what’s inside — Nature’s beautiful grain and color. Martin notes some of the most striking grain is often found in tree crotches, as in this photo.

TimberKing will feed my woodworking business

The TimberKing will feed my woodworking business. I’ve already sawn oak for the shop and my son’s garage. I’ve done some custom sawing, too, and I have 30,000 board feet of lumber sawn and stacked. Business plans are still being nailed down, but I’m thinking of making wine racks, game boards, signs, artwork, and more. I’ve got a website domain already, so my website will go up soon.

Here’s Martin with his TimberKing set up in the shed he and his dad built back in the ’70s. Best of luck as you start your woodworking business, “Cappsized Woodworking,” Martin!

Sawing a log and seeing what’s inside is exciting, and I’ve made some very pretty lumber already out of rainbow poplar. That’s Mother Nature’s artwork. I’ve put in a lot of work getting this going, but it’s not work, it’s fun!”

— Martin Burkhart, TimberKing 2020 Owner, Cappsized Woodworking, Lexington, NC

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Since 1929, we’ve been building mills and taking care of customers by following two simple rules: build the machines as heavy and rugged and simple as they can be and back them with personal service and the strongest warranties in the industry.
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