So basically you're saying more HP (and the potentially resultant blade speed) means you can cut faster.
There are many mills to choose from. A huge consideration is do you want a hydraulic or a manual mill? Hydraulic mills are very nice and do a lot of the hard work for you, but you pay dearly for that comfort up front. They can pick up the logs to the bunks, rotate the logs and cants, and the saw head assembly can have hydraulic feeding capabilities. Manual "push" mills are much more budget friendly and are better for hobbyists in my opinion, but you have to do a lot more work, and can't get anywhere near as much production/board footage per day. If you're planning on using it daily and for a business, it may be worth the investment in a fully hydraulic mill, especially if you are splitting the cost 50/50 with your son. I personally chose Woodland Mills and bought my Woodland Mills HM130MAX in July of 2022, so about 2.5 years now. I have no regrets with the purchase. This video of mine is a good overview of my reasons as to why it's the best choice in this class of manual sawmill. I also have a bunch of videos of it in action. This playlist shows some of those videos! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJuReiCT784qQevPbcmC2po5V8jLOHY3A Hope this helps
Sirbuildalot, this is valuable, substantial advice. We will probably be in hobby mode for a while and maybe for good, unless my son's woodworking needs or his market for milled boards mushrooms. Going to check out your videos in the next couple days, during breaks from the day job. Whatever we end up choosing, probably in the latter part of the year, I sense that one of the Woodland mills will provide good value for its price.
Don't forget to add in all the extras. Spare blades. Sharpener Tooth setter. Tractor to move the logs around and oh yeah , that tractor now needs a grapple to make loading logs easier. To the mill I have also added a digital readout, this makes setting my thickness way too easy. Adjustable blade guide , out of the box it wasn't adjustable. Lap siding attachment , now able to tilt the head. Laser line so I am able to see the blade line from one end of the log to the other A cookie jig I made , stand up logs and cut cookies. Works great and lives at the far end of the rails and not in the way when not in use. It has been a work in progress but a ton of fun. The biggest piece of advice I have for anyone starting out is " Take your time setting it up" , make sure everything is square , level and dead nuts on. You won't regret it in the end.
