After sacrifices, hard earned savings, research late into the night, what comes next to choose the right sawmill. Check out these guidelines from Wood-Mizer to avoid costly mistakes and regrets.
First-time sawmill buyers and even experienced sawmillers often have a tough time deciding which sawmill to buy to start a sawmilling business or grow a business further.
Although there are basic differences between the questions a first-time buyer and an established sawmiller would ask when hopping for an upgrade, the fundamentals remain the same.
General guidelines
Budget:
Keeping to the budget is important, but don’t make cost the first priority. It can exclude several other, and equally important factors that can determine the success or failure of your new enterprise.
Sawing capacity:
Always buy a little more mill than the initial estimate. Extra capacity and more functions are better and cheaper to get off the bat than an under-specked buy than be costly to fix when the business grows.
Milled product:
What type of product is/will be milled? Is it hardwood or softwood, will the end-product be short or long-length, will it be furniture grade or industrial timber?
Cutting heavy, difficult-to-handle big diameter hardwood logs or smaller diameter, lighter, long or short length softwood logs play a role in deciding which sawmill and features to get.
Output:
What is the daily sawn timber output target for the new/existing sawmill?
The estimates below give an indication of the average volumes that sawmills of different sizes produce:
Small: 6-12+ m³/day
Medium: 15-30+ m³/day
Small-scale industrial: 30-50+ m³/day
Industrial: 100+ m³/day
*Cubic meters per day (m³/day) – log diameter & length, species and final sizes produced also shape target volumes.
These estimates can guide a sawmiller on what size sawmill they need to achieve these targets.
Specifics
On the back of the general guidelines comes a more specific set of performance indicators that in total can help sawmillers determine which sawmill is closest to what they need.
1. Power
2. Design
Wood-Mizer provides maximum flexibility with sawmill designs making it possible for sawmillers to choose the optimal sawmill design for their specific application.
3. Operation
There are two aspects that determine a sawmill’s operation: Feed System and Operator Control Location.
The feed system is how the sawmill head moves through the cut.
4. Operator Control Location
This is where the operator is positioned when operating the sawmill.
5. Log handling
This can be done manually or hydraulically
Manual
Manual Toe Boards
Manual Side Supports and Log Clamp
6. Hydraulics
Hydraulic Log Turner Options
Hydraulic Loading Arms
Log turning
Hydraulic Side Supports
Toe Boards
7. Wood-Mizer Sawmill Quick Selection Chart
Wood-Mizer offers a full range of sawmilling equipment that includes entry-level through to high volume industrial solutions and systems that are built to meet the requirements of sawmillers in Africa. Please visit our website – www.woodmizer.co.za – to find out more.
*Note – The sawmill features unpacked in the overview do in some instances include optional extras that are not standard. Our sales team are ready to assist with any customer enquiry related to this.
Contact: Wood-Mizer
Source: SSA Newsletter – February 2025
