DIY Sawmills: Turning Logs Into Lumber for Furniture

For most woodworkers, buying lumber for our projects usually happens at the local hardwood dealer, local big box store, or even online. However, in some rare occasions you might just find yourself with a whole log that needs to be milled after you cut it down… so now what?

Turning Logs Into Lumber

So, if one day you come home and find a log sitting in your front yard, you’ve got some options to choose from that will turn that log into useable lumber.

First off, you can try to find a local sawmill to take it to and have them cut it. Depending on the size of the log and how willing you are to strap it to the top of your Honda Civic, that may not really be possible without further help (and cost) to get it there.

The second option is to bring the sawmill to your log. There are lots of sawyers out there with portable mills that will literally come to your front door. I found a couple portable sawmill locators online. One is provided by Wood-Mizer, a company that makes portable sawmills that setup a locator service. I also found out that Ron Trout, a member of LumberJocks (TreeBones) and operator of a portable sawmill operation, set up a website that will help you locate portable sawmills.

Build Your Own Sawmill

I’m always a huge fan of taking the initiative and trying something new. There are a few ways that you could get this accomplished on your own, each with varying degrees of difficulty and final outcome. You can try to use a chainsaw to hack it up, but it would be pretty difficult to freehand that, and chainsaws have a pretty big kerf and waste quite a bit of material.

For the truly brave and daring, you can just build your on milling bandsaw like Matthias Wandel did.

Things to Think About Before Milling Your Own Logs

I’m absolutely no expert on sawmills, so I suggest finding out more from someone who has experience milling logs or even a sawmill operator. However, here are a couple things to keep in mind.

First off, you will have to wait for the wood to dry before you start using it for projects. The general rule of thumb is one year per inch of thickness, but rules of thumb are only general guidelines. Each case will be different, but the takeaway is there will be a drying time before use. Also, you need to realize that there will be quite a bit of waste that comes off the log. So, if you think you will be getting 10″ wide boards out of a log that is 10″ in diameter, think again. You’ve got bark and a lot of sapwood on the edges, so the usable yield will be smaller than the log.

I hope this article opens up new ideas and avenues for sourcing wood and getting it milled. I was lucky enough to purchase some wood that was privately milled from felled logs, and it’s amazing what doors that opens up for you. I wasn’t involved in the milling process, but having access to thick boards and an entire tree really provides some design freedom that you typically can’t get from store bought lumber.

I’m curious how many people have actually milled their own logs (with or without your own homemade sawmill) to be used in their woodcraft. Have you milled your own logs before, or would you give it a try? Leave a comment and let me know.