In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Any "Mobile Dimension" users here?

Discussion in 'The Sawyer Room' started by fuelrod, May 25, 2018.

  1. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    I've really been getting serious about building a mill, band mill that is. I came across a MD mill on c/l just a few miles away. Any user with insight hanging out here?
     
  2. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    One came up close to me on c/l. They have been around since 1962? and were a pioneer in portable milling. They use a modified VW (flat 4 cyl) motor @ about 67 HP. This guy want's too much, I'd do $10k, he's willing to go to 18. There is question weather the company is shutting down or not. They are looking for a buyer. Not great news for an mill owner as the engine has a few "non VW parts like an extended crank and additional crank support in the case.
    They are very clever and produce a finished board with each pass of the saw. It travels down and back on it's own, dragging the board back to you. Truly a one man mill. Here's the c/l ad and for those that are curious a link to the mill.
    Mobile Dimensions 1992 Portable Sawmill
    Portable Sawmills | Mobile Manufacturing - Mobile Dimension Saw

    Then during my "pondering", wth am I thinking, I can buy finished Hemlock lumber for .50 bd/ft. :rofl: :lol: But who hasn't wanted a mill all their life.:D
     
  3. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Cool. Definitely a proven engine. And I don’t say that just because I’m a fan of that engine....:yes: well, yes it is most of the reason; but my 2 part last name is initialed VW, so that’s the other reason:thumbs:

    I would look for one a little lower on the asking price, even if it meant a day’s drive, yes fuelrod? :handshake:
     
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  4. Flamestead

    Flamestead

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    I wasn’t familiar, so had to do some searching when you first posted. I saw a bunch of older posts on “forestry forum” (a different site), as well as video. Then later, by chance, I saw a new 6-tooth saw blade for sale on CL. Looks interesting. I’ve helped a friend on a band mill he built, but haven’t sawn on my own. It looks addictive.
     
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  5. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Care to share the link?
     
  6. Flamestead

    Flamestead

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  7. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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  8. Flamestead

    Flamestead

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    West Baldwin (where the c/l ad is) brings back great memories - my first Jersey heifer came from a farm way back up in the hills there.
     
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  9. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    I've got posts at a few site's seeking opinions and experience on the M-D saw. I remember seeing them back when I was a kid in ''mechanics illustrated" or popular mechanics. It seems the "swing mill" has taken it's position or popularity.
     
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  10. T.Jeff Veal

    T.Jeff Veal

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    My dad bought a brand new one in 1980. We ran it for several years. It cuts great dimensional lumber, one drawback is it wastes alot, the main saw curf is 5/16", edger saws are 1/4". If you are planning on milling high value wood, a band saw mill is better. That being said, the MD will produce boards faster, as one pass, one board without all the turning you have to do to square up the cant on band mill.
     
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  11. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    They are an interesting sawmill, though we do not have one.

    If they have a saw kerf of 5/16 then I would recommend NOT buying one. That means for every 16 boards a person cuts, they lose 5 boards to sawdust. That is about 33% of usable wood going to sawdust.

    We have a an old 1900 or so Lane Sawmill and it has a 48 inch, 3/8 kerf and it can saw 5000 bf per day, but makes sawdust out of six boards for every 16 boards sawn.

    A homemade chainsaw mill we had did the same thing, but was worse because it was REALLY slow. I joked that it started a board today, and MIGHT finish it tomorrow. I have since converted that to a bandsaw mill because they lose only 1 board to sawdust for every 16 boards cut. That is a huge difference, and really big if a person has smallish logs. Even then, the biggest tree has a small top at some point, might as well get as many boards out of the tree as a person can get!
     
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  12. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    I like the idea of a finished board coming off with each stroke once your into the log. Hemlock logs are cheap enough and the waste is not a concern as any lumber cut will be for my own use. Other than having wanting a mill for ever, I can buy hemlock boards for .50c bd/ft and that's the number that's giving me heck when I'm trying to justify the expense.
     
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  13. Boomstick

    Boomstick Banned

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    Unless you plan on building a house and you have lots of time and energy, justifying a mill for standard lumber is not conducive.

    You can save money with larger stuff(2x12) or hard-r to find things like...Timber frame, slabs, inteiror trim peices, flooring.
    If you wanted to put in effort, you can use softwoods everywhere for a shed build or barn.
    For me (and im cheap)It's not worth dragging it out much less milling stack-sticker etc.

    A big Part of having a mill is thinking of projects you could do with it.:D
    Building is (a mill-its easy)a big part of the fun too.
     
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  14. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I am on the fence on whether a sawmill is worth having or not.

    I have always had sawmills, but most of the time I just pay a custom sawmiller to come in with their sawmill and do the sawing for me. The reason is time. They take 2 days to do what would take me a VERY long time to do, and all for $750 or so for the average project I need done. (3000 board ft or so)

    Another aspect is just plain physical effort. This sounds lazy, but wrestling with big logs to get them on a manual sawmill, then off-loading heavy lumber off the sawmill, is very taxing on the body. Compare that with just paying someone $750 to lug 3000 board feet off the sawmill, and flip the big logs onto the sawmill with their hydraulic sawmills. It sounds like a small

    But...at the same time...it is nice having a sawmill kicking around to saw out the occasional batch of lumber. As a farmer I always need lumber for barns or buildings, and most of my cedar is big in size, so breaking down the big logs into quarters for fence posts requires a sawmill. But for the average homeowner...I am not sure. A cheap sawmill will cost $4500 or so, which means having your own, and paying a custom sawmiller means the break even point is around the 5-6 major building projects.

    I think what people do not realize is the time difference in manual, low budget sawmills and more expensive hydraulic ones like the custom sawmillers use. The amount of time it takes to convert logs to lumber is so much shorter. My friend who sawed up the 7000 bf for his house recently, spent about a month and a half, one and off as time allowed, to do the sawing. How much time do people have? That is really the question.

    The other aspect FOR ME and me alone, is that I am not a huge fan of sawing lumber. It is interesting to see how much lumber I can get out of each log, but for the majority of the time, I find sawing lumber very boring.
     
  15. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    This is what has me interested in a M/D mill. You put the log on one time!
    If I went bandmill I know myself enough that I'd want full hyd. That also put's a big damper on building one, now if I had a buddy that was a hydraulic expert.....:D
    It does seem that a 2nd hand mill's price is (or nearly) "bottomed out" at that point if you take care of it. Re sale should bring near what you have in it, or close enough for me.
     
  16. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I hear you chirping big bird!

    I grew up with a sawmill, and often got pressed into service to drag boards off the end of the saw rig. I learned fairly quick (about 2 hours in) that there was two places to be on a sawmill; running the headrig, and anywhere downstream. Yet, the ONLY place to be was on the Headrig; lugging lumber sucks!
     
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  17. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    1) The first step is to find a flower shop where a dozen red roses are cheap.
    2) The second step is to get the Supply Center Catalog
    3) The third step is to browse, buying parts from Supply Center for your sawmill build at the same time you buy a dozen red roses for the wife. Timing the flower arrivals at the same time as the UPS man is key, that way she will not get upset at all the sawmill expense.

    All joking aside, we could easily help you build one. Hydraulics is very simple. Supply Center has a lot of hydraulic parts for pretty cheap prices.
     
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  18. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    I have 2 of their catalogs in the shop and one by the "throne". :whistle:
    It's the sizing that I worry about, well that and making lot's of parts that move. I think I don't need to tell you the added fab work that will take, especially a log turner. :handshake:
     
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  19. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    What I have found in building things is to just break everything down into functions. It all seems overwhelming when you try to picture a fully hydraulic sawmill, but taken in steps, it is not that overwhelming.

    The log turner is a bit more complicated because it has two functions and thus compound, but taken one at a time, it is not that difficult to fabricate I would image. I would definitely incorporate it though as that takes A LOT of work out of the milling of lumber, and also adds a sense of speed.

    A log loader would helps as well.

    One thing I noticed, but seldom see on sawmills...even professional ones...is a powered shuttle of the mill. Even the guys that mill for me on a custom basis have to walk back and forth all day. I would find a way to ride on the thing one way or another. Walking wears a person out!
     
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  20. T.Jeff Veal

    T.Jeff Veal

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    Wouldn't be hard to do on the shuttle part. The Mobile Dimension had it figured out. It has rack and pinion deal where the rack was mounted on the track and pinion gear was under the carriage. You engaged a lever, it carried the saw unit down the log, set a movable stop pass the end of the log, when it reaches that spot, it kicks over into reverse and brings the board back to you.
     
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