How to Build a Sawmill for Under $1,000

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by Adobestock/romaset

The author didn’t know how to build a sawmill per se, but learned by doing while drawing up these homemade sawmill plans.

Before I decided to build my family a log house in the woods of central Georgia, I’d had no experience with a sawmill or any association with the sawyers’ trade. However, when it came time to square logs and cut extra-thick floor joists and roof beams, I found the most practical and economical way to get it done was to design and build my own mill … from scratch and on site.

I am by no means an expert on sawmills, but I am happy to share with MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ readers what I have learned the hard way about how to build a sawmill, by “just doin’ it.”

You might ask why anyone would want their own sawmill. I have some good reasons. First, if you work with wood, you know how lumber prices have gone through the roof lately. A common construction-grade, kiln-dried, 8-foot 2 x 4 wall stud increased in price by another third just last winter to about $3.50 in some places. A 2″ x 10″ x 12′ board used for roof beams or floor joists costs around $15. So, one advantage of having your own mill is cutting out the delivery middleman and eliminating the cost of shipping lumber all the way to you, which means saving money — a whole lot of money if you have a house, barn, or similarly large structure to raise.

  • Published on Jun 1, 1994
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