“Many years ago, I saw an interesting article on sawing lumber in Popular Science magazine. I never dreamed I’d become a sawyer and own my own mill.
I’m a retired electrical engineer. When I retired, my wife and I decided we didn’t want to spend $8,000 on a vacation to Hawaii to celebrate. That would have been nice but it would have quickly become just a memory.We got a TimberKing 1220 instead.
We’re very practical — we decided to spend the money on a sawmill instead. I’d done too much sitting as an engineer and I thought that the activity of sawing would be good exercise.
Physical activity keeps you healthy and I have plenty to do here on our 100-acre farm in Missouri — building and repairing fences, gardening, roofing, sawing, and much more.
Today’s hobby, tomorrow’s income
I do sawing for several reasons. Today, it’s a hobby but someday I can saw part time to generate income selling lumber to individuals and to lumberyards.
Right now, I supply our
son, Jonathan, with lumber for his furniture making business, Red Leaf Woodcraft. Of course, our son’s business was just an excuse; I wanted to get the saw anyway!
We have about 30 acres of mature trees and I’ve sawn thousands of board feet of lumber on my TimberKing. Elm, hickory, white and black oak, cottonwood, and more.
Right now, I have two white oaks I plan to saw. One is 43” in diameter, the other is 34”. I’m planning to get a 36” chainsaw and saw them into quarters, then quarter-saw them on my TimberKing. Then I’ll turn the boards into flooring for our living room with my Woodmaster Molder/Planer. I may end up getting Woodmaster’s 3-Side Molding attachment to make the flooring.
Jim takes his mill to the tree…or brings trees to the mill
I really enjoy the activity of sawing. I like seeing the blade slicing through the wood and seeing the sawdust pile up. I often tow my 1220 to the tree rather than skid the tree to the mill.
It’s a matter of convenience — if I can set up and take down the mill in less time than it would take to skid the logs, I take the mill to the tree.
As I said, I’m very practical. I looked at four or five sawmill companies and chose TimberKing. I’d give it a very high rating – probably a 9.5. I live relatively close to their Kansas City location so it’s convenient. I picked up my saw and didn’t have to pay shipping. And these days I drop off my saw blades at the factory for sharpening and pick them up later.
An inexpensive first-time mill
I picked the 1220 because I wanted to go as inexpensively as I could on my first mill. I wanted to see if I liked milling lumber and would use it. That’s the way I buy many pieces of equipment — I’ll buy a lower end model and use it. If I like it, and use it, I’ll trade up to a bigger model. Right now I’m fine with the 1220 even though it doesn’t have hydraulics. If I trade up, I’ll get the 1600 TimberKing with hydraulics and a computer.”
— Jim Hilton, Carrollton, MO, TimberKing 1220 Owner
WHICH WOOD IS WHICH?
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