One sawyer, Two TimberKing Sawmills — one in California, one in West Virginia
“I worked in the Sheriff’s Office in Los Angeles and retired from there after 26 years. I started looking at sawmills at the Los Angeles County Fair. Some, like the Wood-Mizer®, made you walk along beside the saw head as it moved, on the same side as the sawdust exhaust.
As I looked around, I realized TimberKing was the best bang for the buck and I bought a TimberKing 1600 in 2006. I ran a portable milling service in Los Angeles with that 1600 for many years.
I called my business ‘Urban Logs to Lumber.’ People cut trees down and I milled them into lumber. Slabs or lumber, whatever they wanted. I’d tow that mill an hour on LA’s freeway and saw logs in Hollywood Hills, Malibu, and many other locations. I sawed one tree that was 65” in diameter! I had to rip the logs lengthwise into four pieces with a big chainsaw to get it on the mill. It made 6,000 board feet of lumber!
John’s #1 TimberKing – model 1600 in urban California
While still living in Los Angeles, I bought 55 wooded acres 3,ooo miles away in West Virginia. For several years, we spent part of the year in Los Angeles and part in West Virginia.
John’s #2 TimberKing – workhorse 2000 in West Virginia
In 2000, my wife and I bought a second mill, a TimberKing 2000, to use when we were at our place in West Virginia. So I had two TimberKings for awhile — one on each side of the country. My 2000 is a real workhorse! It has lots of efficiency features like full hydraulics, log stops, computer up/down, and thickness setting. I keep the oil changed and do basic maintenance. If any little thing breaks, it’s my fault.
Now that we live full-time in West Virginia, I sold my 1600 to a good friend in LA. A big storm came through here and took down a lot of trees. I sawed out my own lumber with the 2000 and built my first cabin here – styled like a caboose. Then we built our home, and now I’m building some guest cabins to rent.
With today’s high lumber prices, John saws his own
It’s really enjoyable to build your own home with lumber from your own trees. And with lumber prices where they are, we couldn’t afford to build with purchased lumber. In 2020, we bought a small hardware stor where we sell my own rough-cut lumber. So I’m milling with my TimberKing 2000, building guest houses to rent, and running our hardware store business, too.
TimberKing folks know their products inside and out
Working with the TimberKing factory is great. I’ve never had any problems at all. I just call and ask for advice or parts and they’ve always been right there. When they say they’ll call me back, hey always do. And they know their products inside and out.
Looking forward, depending on the economy, I may sell the hardware store and retire again. Meanwhile, I really enjoy living way out in the country on our 55 acres. I’ve got logs for a year’s worth of sawing. I estimate I have as many as 60,000 board feet waiting to be sawn out!”
— John Brent Cashion, TimberKing Owner, Victor WV
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