Editor’s Note: Thomas O’Bryant is on a mission to tell the world all about TimberKing Sawmills. He’s owned several TimberKings. Right now he owns three. He has LOTS to say and not just in this blog post. He’s made dozens of hands-on, instructional videos on the finer points of using and maintaining TimberKing mills – see his YouTube channel. Thomas also hosts free sawmill events, shows, and demonstrations at his farm. He even takes phone calls from folks who have questions about TimberKing mills— all on his own nickel
Thomas has served our country for many years as a Naval Officer.
Meet Thomas O’Bryant, TimberKing enthusiast
“Hi, I’m Thomas. Before you read my story, it’s important you know I’m not beholding to anyone. I’m an independent sawyer. I’m not sponsored by anybody and I’m not selling sawmills. I do my videos and shows for fun and as a way to interact with other sawyers and the broader community where we live. I only hope I can provide some useful information to y’all!
I’m a Naval Officer by day, Country by the grace of God. I have a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a sub-specialty in wooden structures. I love sawmills and working with wood. I’ve owned seven sawmills including TimberKing’s 1220, 1400, and the best sawmill made — the TimberKing 2000. My eighth mill is on order; a TimberKing 2020. Oh, and I also own a Woodmaster Molder/Planer.
Thomas started sawing at 17
I was introduced to sawing at the ripe old age of 17 when my future father-in-law taught me to use his TimberKing 1220. I sawed on that mill for years. My dad and I used the lumber to rebuild our pre-Civil War era barn and our timber frame house. And that was just the beginning.
After several tours of duty in the Navy, my wife and I settled down with our growing family on a five-acre farm in Mississippi. I finally got the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream — to build my own home. Commercial lumber was very expensive, let alone the price tag to hire a contractor. That’s when I had an epiphany: I’ll do what I’d always dreamed of. I’ll buy a sawmill, saw my own lumber, and build our home myself.
TimberKing or Wood-Mizer?
I researched mills and narrowed it down to a diesel TimberKing 1220 or a Wood-Mizer. I chose the Wood-Mizer but quickly regretted that decision due to problems with the machine and the local dealer. I ended up giving that mill to my dad and bought a brand new TimberKing 1400.
Thomas has made DOZENS of instructional videos that detail important features and benefits of TimberKing sawmills — model comparisons, sawing demos in a variety of woods, how to adjust blade level, blade sharpening, how to turn scrap lumber into serious money, how to use TimberKing’s Computer Setworks, how to quarter saw, cut short logs, slabs, mantles, tables, and much, much more!
I did a lot of sawing with the 1400 and started shooting how-to videos about sawing and posting them on YouTube. I offered to show my mill to people who were interested and TimberKing sent a few guys my way for demos. I tell folks what I think of TimberKing mills and the TimberKing company: that the company runs the way a business should: great products, great service, and phenomenal people.
Today, I do a lot of sawing and I host sawmill demonstrations and shows at our farm. I love to talk about farm equipment, hunting, fishing, camping, livestock, life on the farm, and the crazy things my family and I do there. I’ve made dozens of videos, including many about TimberKing sawmills. They’re all posted on my YouTube channel.
I tell it like it is
I like to get sawyers and folks interested in sawing together and talk about sawing, issues, documentation, maintenance, operation, problems and solutions. At my shows and in my videos, I demonstrate and physically show how these things are done — including detailed instructions on things like how to use TimberKing’s computer setworks. I get phone calls from people asking sawmill questions, too, five or six a month. I show and tell it all — pros and cons — so people know the facts from an impartial, hands-on point of view.
200 show attendees
At a recent show, I had about 200 visitors. When we sawyers, farmers, builders, and homeowners get together, it benefits all of us. We cut logs, talk about lumber prices, how to charge if you’re cutting on the road or at your place. I’ve demonstrated things like making a cherry mantle from log to finished product. We go over sharpening and setting blades. We use and talk about sawmill brands and models. And a lot more.
Thomas hosted about 200 attendees at a recent show. He says he’ll host more free shows in the future.
I’m building a local community of sawyers
Each show is a great day with a lot of sharing of knowledge, stories and networking. It’s a ton of work to do these shows. We have to get restrooms, insurance, water, food, stage the property, park all the cars. Despite all that I still intend to host these events because it builds the sawmill community and everyone benefits. Running a sawmill, seeing other people’s sawmills, and doing events like this is a passion of mine. Once I retire from the Navy I look forward to doing stuff like this full time.
Ideal companion to the TimberKing sawmill is the Woodmaster Molder/Planer. It turns boards right off the mill into finished lumber.
All in all, between raising a family, living in the country, sawing, building, hosting sawmill shows, and shooting videos for my YouTube channel, I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do!
So many people ask me…
I get so many people asking me what sawmill’s right for them. Personally, I like TimberKing. But I tell them to shop around. Think of who you’ll be sawing for — yourself or others? Business or pleasure? Will you saw at your place or tow your mill to the job site? Set your budget and go bigger if you can. Get to know other sawyers in your area. Build a network and freely share information on products and pricing. Help each other out. And don’t forget to have fun sawing!”
— Thomas O’Bryant, TimberKing Owner, moving from Mississippi to Wisconsin soon.
Todd Langford is building a very successful business just outside Phoenix. He owns several TimberKing machines including his brand new 2520. Todd says, “It’s a production monster!”
Say hello to Todd and Terri Langford – they’ve grown their own successful sawing business
Editor’s Note: We posted our first storyabout TimberKing Owner, Todd Langford, just as he was getting his sawing business started. Following up now, several years later, his business is really booming. Read how he’s done it!
It’s like printing money
“Owning a TimberKing sawmill is like printing money! Every time you cut a slab, every time the blade comes out of wood, you’re making hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Back in 2014, we bought a TimberKing 1220. I retired from the Air Force a year later and started sawing full time in our backyard. Things have been growing ever since!
In the furniture side of the business, Todd’s guys build BIG custom desks, tables, and conference tables from Southwestern hardwoods
Movin’ up to the big time
By 2018 our family business had grown enough to move the operation to a bigger industrial location. Since then, we’ve added staff people, equipment, tools, and a full wood shop where we build furniture including a lot of commercial work like conference tables and desks.
Today we have 3 TimberKing machines and 10 employees including me, my wife Terri, and our son, Oscar. Two guys work full time in our wood shop building custom furniture. We just hired a dedicated customer service rep. Terri does the books. The rest of us work on the sawing and selling end of the business.
We have our original TimberKing sawmill, the 1220. We also have a TimberKing Talon Resaw system, a slab saw from Australia, a forced-air dry kiln, and another on order. Plus a Kubota articulating loader with a grapple, and a big Ford F550 flatbed.
New 2520’s big…massive…a production monster!
We recently bought our newest TimberKing sawmill, the big 2520. Oscar and I drove 40 hours in our commercial flatbed to pick it up at the factory in Kansas City. It was worth the trip — this machine is a production monster! It’s big, it’s massive. We didn’t get it to saw dimensional lumber; we got it to saw very large-growth desert hardwoods like ironwood, mesquite, acacia, and more.
For example, we recently sawed out a 2,000 year-old ironwood log. Ironwood is hard as steel. This log was 34” diameter by 11’ long. We run carbide blades with the feed rate set low for jobs like that.
The 2520 is a real money-maker. Right off the mill, ironwood can sell for $8.00/lb and this log weighted 3,400 lbs. But we’ll add even more value by processing the wood into products like writing pen blanks and knife handle blanks. Do-it-yourselfers buy these products. And when we add processes, we add value.
$200,000 payday from scrap wood
Here’s something that should be of interest to every sawmill owner. We’ve had remarkable success with a new product — charcuterie boards. Charcuterie (shar-KOO-ta-REE) is French for a type of wooden serving tray used to cut and serve hors d’oeuvres like meats, cheeses, fruits, and breads.
Can you say, “MONEY”? Todd and crew turned free scrap wood into 8,000 cutting boards. They sold every one they could make for $25 each, netting the business an outstanding $200,000!
Making these boards changed everything for us. TimberKing’s Talon Resaw made it possible. We modified our TimberKing 1220 to hold and saw firewood-sized logs in half lengthwise. Then, with the Talon Resaw, we slice off 1-1/2” thick boards, 12 – 16” wide by 24 – 30” long. Besides all our other produces, we made 8,000 charcuterie boards last year. We sold every one we could make for $25 each. So we turned free scrap wood into $200,000! We’ll do more this year and may use this product to start a second business.
Orders booked out 1 full year
Todd’s a dog lover. He told us he gives a discount to customers who shop with their dogs!
Orders are booked out a full year! Everything’s word of mouth. We had a website but took it down to keep up with the work coming in. We do no advertising though we have two pages on Facebook; one we put up ourselves and one on the TimberKing Owner Group site.
Our intention is to keep scaling up, keep growing. A friend of mine had an interesting observation. He said our sawing business is like a goldfish. I didn’t know if that was an insult or not until he reminded me a goldfish will grow as big as the enclosure it’s kept in. We’ll keep growing and, eventually, our son will take over. It’s been a real blessing to have him working with me.
Thank you, TimberKing
Please tell the TimberKing company — the TimberKing family — how much our family appreciates the help they’ve given us. Every time I contact them, they walk me through everything I need to know.”
TimberKing owner, Mark Eurich has a huge supply of walnut trees on his 105 acre farm. He says, “I wish I’d ‘cookie-sliced’ this chunk all the way down but rolled the dice and sliced it on its side.”
“My wife, Amy, and I have a farm in Nebraska, 105 acres. Through the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program, we put some in grassland and maintain it for wildlife and to control erosion.
Meet Mark Eurich – farmer, outdoorsman, sawyer, and all-around hands-on guy!
We also have a high concentration of trees; a lot of walnut, elm, ash, and more. In keeping with our conservation plan, I’ve started sustainable harvesting; selectively culling the trees that have died or blown down. Conserving and utilizing this resource on my property is very rewarding.
150 year-old walnut trees
Some of these trees are huge, over 150 years old. Some are over 100” in circumference and and 70’ or 80’ tall. There’s an ash tree 130” around. Cottonwood that’s 250” in circumference — over 6’ diameter! And elm that’s just monstrous. I sawed up a walnut tree that had been on the ground over 20 years. I turned it into beautiful 2 x 10’s.
Mark sawed out this awesome pair of bookmatched walnut boards. What are they worth? We at TimberKing estimate $1,000 or more for the pair. The walnut logs cost Mark $0. Now THAT’S what we call value added!
I’d always wanted a sawmill
Years ago, I had someone mill some of my walnut into lumber and I wanted to get a sawmill of my own. As a farmer, I’m very hands-on with mechanical things, fabrication, and all kinds of jobs around the farm. I’d always wanted a sawmill and the time was finally right.
Now, I’m cutting a lot of my own walnut. Most of what I’m sawing and milling is for ourselves. We’re building a home in about 3,000 square feet of our Morton steel building that’s almost 8,000 square feet. The whole idea is to have everything under one roof – home, equipment, workshop, and more.
You can’t find top-quality walnut like this at Home Depot!
Commercial lumber prices soaring
With lumber prices soaring these days, my mill will absolutely pay for itself. All this will evolve into a business, too. I’ll call my business ‘Legacy Walnut.’ I’ll be setting up a website soon. I’ve sold some walnut slabs and I’ll be making custom tables and doing more high-end woodworking. I don’t think I’ll be doing custom sawing for others, though — I have plenty of sawing to do for ourselves!
I looked at all the mills out there. I compared all their features and benefits and chose TimberKing. When I really compared mills, I liked TimberKing’s full hydraulics, 4-post head, and the big cutting width. All that really drew me to TimberKing. Also, we live relatively close to the TimberKing factory in Kansas City. I picked up my mill at the factory and towed it home on the highway. It tows fantastic.
Mark’s wife, Amy, gets in the act, too. She takes all the photos of their sawmill adventures.
Why a high-end model?
I chose this TimberKing model for several reasons. It’s one of their higher-end mills and comes with full hydraulics. You don’t get that in smaller mills. Mine has hydraulic toe boards, backstops, chain log turners, and more. That chain turners are a real game changer when it comes to turning big logs.
(Editor’s note: The TimberKing 2000 has been upgraded to the new 2020 model.)
Woodworkers fall all over themselves to get outstanding figured wood like these pieces. All in a day’s sawing for Mark
I like the toe boards that level the log. I like the overall durability and the big cutting throat. And the new setworks are absolutely, hands-down, simple and quick.
One other fantastic optional feature I got is remote start at the rear end. On a stock gas-engine TimberKing like mine, you set the choke, throttle, and start the motor where it sits up well in front of the operator’s position. With remote starting at the rear, every single control is right at the operator’s position.
Mill’s features work in unison
All these features work in unison and you can saw lumber into any dimension, whatever you can imagine — slabs, 2 x 10’s, 2 x 6’s 2 x 4’s, whatever. There’s a learning curve to sawing but there are lots of resources like forestry forums and blogs where you can learn about all kinds of sawing techniques. TimberKing’s own blog posts have given me lots of ideas.
The huge trees I’m sawing push the limits of my mill and I may upgrade some day; maybe to TimberKing’s 2220. I’ve discussed this with TimberKing’s president.
Besides my TimberKing, I’ve also got a Woodmaster 4000. It’s a remarkable 4-head molder/planer that planes and molds all four sides of your workpiece in one pass. I can turn what I saw into all kinds of finished lumber, trim, crown molding, and much more.
Here’s a taste of how walnut’s grain is highlighted once you put on a finish.
Do your homework and don’t cut corners
If anyone reading my story is thinking of getting a sawmill, my advice is to do your homework. Figure out what you want to accomplish and what you want to saw. You’ll be investing a good amount so get what you want. Don’t cut corners on a purchase like this. Do as much reading and research as you can.
I have only good things to say about TimberKing — the mill and the company. When you call, they pick up the phone. If you have a problem, they assist you. You can talk to TimberKing’s president, Will Johnson. I’ve been really satisfied with the response I get from TimberKing’s crew — Jason, Matt, John, and the others. They’re there to assist you with help and answers.”
“I retired at 55 and I didn’t want to just sit around so I got a TimberKing sawmill. That was six years ago and I’ve pumped a lot of logs through the mill in that time.
Western Washington State is home to some of the biggest red cedars you’ll find anywhere.
I once worked in the woods in the Olympic Peninsula. I always liked it — felling and logging. I ran sawmills in the past, too, so I had milling experience before getting my TimberKing.
I worked at Boeing as an Assembly Mechanic. I’ve always worked on mechanical things but I wanted to get into woodworking when I retired. Since getting my mill, I’ve made a lot of projects with lumber I’ve sawn, mostly things for ourselves. I have sold some lumber and a few things I’ve made but I don’t want to go into business. This is mostly for my own enjoyment though I’ve sold enough to pay back some of the mill.
Here’s Jack with a monster maple log. “I think this was the first log I sawed,” he says.
VisitJack’s Sawmill
(Editor’s Note: Jack’s been BUSY! Visit Jack’s Sawmill.)
Right now I’m building a six-foot fireplace mantle of spalted maple. I recently sawed out lumber and built an arbor for my son’s wedding. I went from log to finished arbor in just a few hours.
Here in western Washington State, we have a lot of red cedar and some of it’s really big. One so big I had to notch the sides to get it on the mill. I’ve sawn hemlock, walnut, maple, and oak — some of those woods are rare around here.
Trouble-free & easy to use
I looked at sawmills for quite awhile. I narrowed it down to TimberKing and another brand. I chose TimberKing because I liked how they’re built. The layout is simple and they’re easy to use. My mill has been trouble-free with very little maintenance. It’s easy to keep up and it handles big logs.
They grow ’em big in western Washington State. Jack had to cut divots to make this prize Western red cedar fit on the mill.
Customer service? Unbelievable
And TimberKing’s customer service is unbelievably good. Special thanks to Matt in TimberKing sales. I always get parts, help, and answers when I need them. And a shout-out to Roger, who delivered and set up my mill and trained me on how to use it.
Jack’s son tries his hands at sawing. Like father like son!
You’ve got a bad back!
I chose the 1400 because it’s a mid-range mill. I wasn’t really looking for hydraulics — I’d have settled for the TimberKing 1220. But my wife said, ‘You’ve got a bad back!’ So I moved up to the 1400 with hydraulics. I’m glad I moved up. I’d tell anybody thinking of a mill to work smarter, not harder. And if you’re looking at a mill for a business, at least go for the hydraulics and setworks.
Rewarding & fun
I highly recommend TimberKing. It’s a lot of fun using this mill. And it’s very rewarding to be able to take a log and make something nice out of it. I have nothing bad to say about TimberKing mills or the company. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me. No complaints at all!”
“I’m a retired businessman but I’m busier now than ever. I’ve had a lot of mechanical experience. I ran a plant that manufactures big agricultural equipment. I’ve done a lot of woodworking and metalworking. I’ve done welding, sales and marketing, and I’ve run a restaurant. I’ve flown planes and even sung opera!
Ed Ferguson is retired but busier now than ever with his TimberKing sawmill. He told us, “Owning your own sawmill opens up all kinds of woodrworking possibilities. What you can do is endless!”
You can’t walk into Home Depot and buy a 2” thick table top. I wanted a sawmill to turn logs into wood products and materials you just can’t buy — you have to make them yourself. Everything in commercial lumberyards or big box stores is plain and generic. You can’t buy lumber with the fantastic figuring you get when you saw your own. Owning your own sawmill opens up all kinds of woodworking possibilities. What you can do is endless!
Best design, higher than some, less than others
I wanted a new sawmill, not a used one with someone else’s problems. I looked at all the mills out there and bought the TimberKing 1600 (now upgraded to the 1620). My decision wasn’t totally on price: TimberKing is priced higher than some and less than others. I decided TimberKing offered the best advantages. You can stand in one spot to operate everything. You don’t have to walk beside the cutting head as it moves down the log. And I believe TimberKing’s 4-post head is the best design. And I like the hydraulics, too.
Ed sawed the 10″ x 10″ beams the crew is assembling for his new home
I drove to Kansas City to pick up my mill — more than 600 miles each way. It tows and handles lickety-split on the highway.
Ed’s new. home is quite a showplace! Beams like these can cost thousands of dollars apiece…but not when you saw them yourself as Ed did
Ed makes furniture, timbers, veneer, much more
I don’t do any commercial work. I make furniture like half-log benches, standard benches, river tables, and more. My work is rustic. I’m not a finish carpenter by any means but I have a Woodmaster Planer and a Woodmaster Drum Sander. I build things of pine, oak, ash, and elm. All are readily available around here.
Also, I sawed all the timbers for my new home. I sawed 20’ timbers into 10” x 10” beams. I sawed our interior half-log stair steps. I cut 5/8” oak veneer to panel a 60’ long support wall in our basement rec room. I’ll mount the panels right to the studs with the planed side out.
Ed turns out handsome, rustic, live-edge furniture like this bench. He saws the slabs with his TimberKing then processes them further with his Woodmaster Tools Planer and Drum Sander
Slabs
And what do you do with slabs you cut off while milling wood? You see big piles of slabs wherever there’s a sawmill. I turned some of mine into a privacy fence 7’ tall and 95’ long. I used my red pine slabs mounted to pressure-treated stringers. I use my oak slabs as firewood.
Good fences make good neighbors. Ed’s 7′ tall x 95′ long fence is a clever and effective way to recycle slabs from the red pine he saws
Wood disks turn into $100 bills
I made an attachment for my saw so I can crosscut logs into disks. I give them to my son who’s an artist. He has frame shop and a laser engraver. He’ll laser-cut a bible verse or saying, urethane them, and sell them in his shop. He turns a simple disk of wood into a $100 bill!
I only wish…
Money-wise, I’m really happy with my mill. But there are always instances where you wish you’d gotten a bigger mill. For example, I sawed up a 30” diameter log that was 100 years old. I wish I’d bought a bigger TimberKing. The 30” cutting width on the 1600 can be a restriction. (Editor’s note: the TimberKing 1600 has been upgraded to the 1620 which takes logs up to 39” wide.)
TimberKing is far and away the easiest sawmill to use. It’s not the cheapest but I’m very happy with the mill, the access to parts and pieces, and the customer service.”
— Edward Ferguson, TimberKing Sawmill Owner, Fargo ND
When Texan, Tom Brueggen, got laid off from his engineering job, he started building a business of his own with a TimberKing Sawmill
TimberKing owner, Tom Brueggen has many irons in the fire. “I’m always looking for business opportunities and running them through my head to see if they’re a play I want to make.” He’s made a lot of plays and runs several small, successful enterprises.
Here’s Tom with an Osage orange log ready to go onto his TimberKing 1220
Success key? All Tom’s endeavors support one another
Tom does excavation work and land clearing. And he’s on call to remove nuisance beehives. These jobs give Tom access to timber he saws into high-quality, very marketable lumber with his TimberKing 1220. His wife, Katie, is a one-woman, do-it-all cabinetmaker who uses Tom’s wood products in her business.
Here’s their business plan: diversification, integration, flexibility, quality, low production, high margin, and a sharp eye for opportunity.
“We’re both engineers and we both got laid off,” Tom told us. “We had great jobs but working in the corporate world can get boring doing the same thing every day. We decided to go off on our own.”
Tom writes, “Whooped myself and my mill with this 24″ x 16′ pine log with a funny S-curve. I was going to knock it in half and just make boards but realized I could slab it and capture the curves.”
Tom knows opportunity when he sees it. “Commercial lumber is very expensive right now. So people are looking for rough-cut lumber. On one of my first sawing jobs, I got some good timber and sawed the logs into boards. They sold instantly.”
Adding value adds profits
“Around here, I see high-quality hardwoods being sawed into low-value railroad ties,” says Tom. “I went after some premium white oak logs, straight as a string. I tried to get the logger to saw them for me but he sold them to a pallet mill instead.” Tom saw opportunity: controlling more of the supply chain would add value and profits — so he saws hardwood logs into high-quality boards with his TimberKing 1220.
“I realized you can be a high-volume business with low margins, or a low-volume business with high margins,” Tom tells us. “I chose low-volume with high margin.” And his margins are great with fees ranging from $70/hour to $150/hour. That’s why Tom’s 1220 TimberKing fits his business plan. “It doesn’t have hydraulics so it’s less expensive than bigger mills. It fits the work I do and I’m very happy with it.”
Tom’s got big plans for his future sawmill shed. “I drew this in Google Sketchup. It’s simple, easy, and free!”
Tom shares his business savvy
“General ads, like ‘I’ll saw your logs,’ don’t get attention,” he says. “But when I advertise specific lumber products and wood species,” he says, “I get all kinds of calls.”
“I don’t chase the slab market,” Tom tells us. “I specialize in hardwood boards, 1” and 2” thick. Hickory and oak are great, but the market’s real sweet spot is walnut. It’s hard to find good walnut down here, though, maybe 1 tree per 100 acres.”
And Tom’s very active on Facebook’s TimberKing Owners Group, posting photos, videos, and updates on his sawing experiences.
Watch how Tom coaxes a straight 6 x 6 beam from a VERY curved cedar log
Flexibility is key
Tom’s customers are custom woodworkers and folks building new homes or renovating older ones. Business is booming around Houston, says Tom. “The boom never ends. Houston’s always growing, more and more houses.” But flexibility is key. “I’ll sell a lot of wood mantles then that market dries up and other products like boards or beams get big.” That’s where being nimble pays off for Tom’s diverse, integrated businesses.
Some sawyers who sell direct-to-customers stock large inventories. Tom takes a different path. “I don’t want to get tied up with a lot of lumber inventory,” says Tom. “I show samples and people order from them.” That keeps his business nimble and his overhead down.
4-post durability
Tom’s little helper will probably become a sawyer some day!
Tom shopped around. “I looked at a competitor’s sawmills but I don’t trust their cantilever head, it just makes me nervous. I like the durability of TimberKing’s 4-post head. And their customer service is great. I just drop an email, or call Mike or Matt at TimberKing.
What’s next for Tom? “We’re installing a big vacuum dry kiln that’ll handle 4,000 board feet of lumber per load.” Besides drying his own lumber, he’ll diversify by custom-drying lumber for other sawyers throughout eastern Texas. “We’ll load it and leave it. It’ll add value and profits while we work on other projects.”
— Tom Brueggen, TimberKing 1220 Owner, Shepherd TX
GOT LOGS? John saws some BIG ones on his TimberKing 1600!
John Guehlstorff III
“If I had nothing else to do, I’d be milling lumber on my TimberKing sawmill eight or nine hours a day. But I have a lot going on. I’m a farmer, a sawyer, a woodworker, a commercial grower, antique and gift store owner, a father, and a husband. And I started and manage the TimberKing Owners and Users Group on Facebook!
Facebook forum for sawyers, timber folks, woodworkers
I started the TimberKing Owners Group on Facebook as an information exchange for sawyers, timber folks, and woodworkers. People thinking about getting a sawmill tell me this group helps them, too. It’s a labor of love but, honestly, I started it for selfish reasons. I knew there were sawyers out there who knew a whole lot more about sawing than I ever would. I wanted to learn from them and I still learn a lot by reading their posts.
SAWYERS POST questions, answers, comments, photos, and more on the TimberKing Owners Group John started on Facebook. The Group’s not sponsored by or affiliated with TimberKing in any way but we think it’s great!
What a beautiful stack ‘o lumber John sawed. Black walnut, we suspect
Today, the group has about 2,000 members from all over the USA and more than a dozen countries around the world. The group is not for socializing, really. We keep discussions focused around logging, timber, lumber, milling, and such. There’s no advertising or business promotion. It’s all very friendly. People join by registering themselves and are welcome to join any discussion, ask questions, give answers, post photos or videos of their work and their equipment.
Started sawing earlier than planned
I worked as a medical illustrator, then in the corporate world designing and selling custom kitchen cabinetry. Then I was an art director for a Nebraska newspaper. Along the way, I bought my TimberKing sawmill and figured I’d saw lumber in retirement. Then, my job got restructured and I retired early. I realized I’d be sawing sooner than planned!
John’s making this walnut-top table for a customer. Rock solid!
Love the hydraulics
I looked at all the sawmills out there. The ‘cantilever’ style scares me. I’m no engineer but I really liked TimberKing’s engineering and how it’s put together. I went to the TimberKing factory in Kansas City, test-ran some of their mills, and bought my 1600. That was a dozen or so years ago and they’ve since upgraded that model to the TimberKing 1620. I love my mill’s hydraulics but I’d have liked a bigger model with computer setworks.
John made this flooring for a customer. It’s acclimating to the home before installation.
Among other things, John makes outstanding walnut mantles. This one’s 4″ thick x 15″ deep x 12′ long. He’s selling it for $600.
I can’t think of another company with better service than TimberKing. Nothing against other sawmill manufacturers but I have friends who own Wood-Mizers® and they’re amazed you can call up TimberKing and talk to the tech guys for one-on-one, knowledgeable advice. And they ship parts fast.
Real people at TimberKing
The people at TimberKing impressed me as ‘real people.’ That really attracted me. When I went to the factory, I met and spent an hour with Will Johnson, the company’s president. I’m loyal to TimberKing and I like the whole picture: the way they build their mills and the way they treat their customers. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another sawmill but if I do, I know what brand it’ll be.
We have a 150-acre farm outside of Omaha, Nebraska. There’s a lot of high-value black walnut trees as well as oak, cedar, Siberian elm, and more. I fell the trees, saw them into boards, and air-dry them in our barn. I have a friend who runs a landscaping company and he brings me logs. I came home one day to find a 24’ walnut log, 38” diameter, in my driveway!
“I can’t sell the farm”
You never know what you’ll find out in the woodlot. John writes, “How do you forget a rifle in the crotch of a tree? Glad I didn’t come across this while sawing maple logs!”
Right now, I have 40 oak logs stacked and waiting for me to saw. I do custom sawing — customers bring me their logs. I saw for myself and my woodworking and building projects. Some of this is for fun and some is for income but It all keeps me busy! Some of my retired friends tell me I ought to sell our farm and get a nice little home someplace. I can’t sell it — I like being busy and I love working with my hands.
I’ve sold a lot of walnut in the last couple years. Live-edge lumber is very popular right now and I’m sawing a lot of it for new houses, mantles, shelving, offices, kitchens, bar tops, and more. I’m sawing logs to build tables, too.
Get a mill you can grow into
If anybody’s thinking of getting a sawmill, I’d say decide what you want to do with it and get one you can grow into. Figure what you want to do and buy as much mill as you can afford. As for me, if I won the lottery, I’d probably own all the TimberKing mills and Woodmaster Tools equipment they make!”
