Is Milling Your Own Lumber Worth it?
Reading Time: 5 minutes
by Jenny Underwood
Is milling your own lumber worth it? Consider milling your own wood if you live on a farm with wooded acres and many building project needs.
There seems to be an unlimited amount of building projects on a homestead or farm, and ours is no different. Since we own mostly wooded acres, we decided a portable personal sawmill from Woodland Mills was a perfect choice for us. We purchased the manual model 126 and the optional trailer (which I highly recommend). This comes, unassembled, right to your house. You’ll need some tools to complete the setup, but everything else is included. Before you order your mill, decide on how much of the work you’re willing to do yourself, whether you plan to move it frequently or set up somewhere permanently, and the size of logs you need to cut.
Assembling the Sawmill
First, you’ll need a tractor with a bucket, or something capable of lifting the parts around, as they’re in large, extremely heavy metal crates. The saw head itself weighs several hundred pounds. The mill does come with detailed directions for assembling everything, so be sure to read it carefully and watch a few videos on assembly. A word of advice here: Now would be a great time to have several strong people to help.
Lay out everything and go through your list of parts. Make certain you have every single piece before beginning. The instructions will tell you exactly what bolt goes where; follow this to the letter or you’ll have to go back and undo work.
Pick a flat spot to assemble all your parts. In our case, we were building the trailer first, so we used our driveway. Make sure it’s out of the way, because this can take a while. Take your time and make sure it’s perfectly joined together. Speaking from experience, never assume you know what comes next as this will waste time when you have to undo it.
A Word About Safety
In my experience, these mills are incredibly safe and user-friendly. That being said, you’re dealing with a very powerful cutting machine. Wear ear and eye protection. Wear sturdy shoes. Always check the fluids in the sawmill before operating. Keep extra blades on hand. Take your time and don’t allow unsupervised people around it while it’s running.
Learning to Use It
Once everything is assembled and you have your saw head installed, it’s time to learn to cut your boards. This is definitely a learning curve, and your first boards may look anything but professional. Take heart; you’ll quickly get the hang of it. Get some logs that you can practice on first; don’t start with your grade logs you’re planning to make into a fireplace mantle!
If you’re using your own logs, it’s a good idea to go out several weeks or months in advance and cut them. Haul them close to where you’ll be sawing to save time. Be certain to cut them into lengths you can handle and saw on your particular sawmill. Some woods are extremely difficult to saw (such as Osage Orange), so it’s wise to start with a wood that works more easily (pine is a great choice). Try to choose trees that aren’t full of knots and are relatively straight.
You’ll need a way to load the logs onto the rails. We use a tractor bucket with a chain wrapped around the logs to set them up on the rails. Alternatively, you can build or buy a ramp and use a cant hook to move the logs up. After loading your logs, snug up the movable wedges to hold the log in place. Some people replace the metal wedges with wooden wedges. This is hugely beneficial if you forget to lower them as you saw and accidentally saw into one. It’ll be necessary to turn the log over as you’re squaring it up, so a cant hook comes in very handy!
Time to Start Sawing
Start by squaring up the log. Take off an even amount on four sides to make a square log. These are scrap pieces known as slabs. A side note: Many people use these in outdoor wood furnaces for fuel, or you could use them in a firepit. You’ll have lots of these, so have a plan for all your scraps. Next, you need to decide what size boards you’d like. To practice, you can start just cutting boards the entire width of the log. Then you may turn these on their sides and cut into smaller boards. With practice, you can learn to get the greatest, amount of useable lumber from each log. Smaller diameter logs can even be used to make posts, such as 4 x 4s and 6 x 6s. One of the wonderful things about milling your own lumber is you have the option to make custom sizes. Some people draw out the diagrams on the end of the log of the cuts they want to make. There are lasers available to make sure your logs are evenly cut, but the sawmill itself comes with a moveable, marked cutting gauge.
After cutting, these boards will need to be dried. If you’re like us and don’t have a kiln or roofed lumber storage shed, you can stack one level of boards off the ground on slats. Then lay several slats crosswise over these boards and start another level, repeating until you’re done. These can be tarped and allowed to dry. If the type of wood is prone to warping (think sweetgum) you may place heavy beams over the top of the stack and place ratchet straps tightly around both ends until they’re dried. Optionally you can build your outbuildings with green lumber, but expect the boards to move some as they dry.
Keep It in Good Shape
Be careful to keep your sawmill well-maintained. Keep the fluids at appropriate levels and change as needed. Keep your blades sharpened. Don’t allow sawdust to build up around your workstation. Always level your machine before sawing. To help preserve your sawmill head, there’s a special cover you can put over it. It’s also best to put a lock on the trailer hitch to help prevent theft!
In my opinion, a portable sawmill is one of the most useful pieces of equipment you can have around. We’ve already built a woodshed and have plans for another woodshed, a small cabin, garden sheds, an outdoor kitchen, and a greenhouse, in the near future. This is an excellent way to make use of your timberland, save money, and use high-quality materials, for a fraction of the cost of purchasing from the store. It’s just one more step on our path to greater self-sustainability.
Jenny Underwood is a homeschooling mama to four lively blessings. She makes her home in the rural foothills of the Ozark Mountains with her husband of 20 years. You can find her reading a good book, drinking coffee, and gardening on their little fifth-generation homestead.
Originally published in the September/October 2025 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
