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Sawmilling Tips with Sawing with Sandy

Experience Exchange:

Sawmilling tips with Sawing with Sandy and DEBOSS Garage

Rich from DEBOSS Garage recently got his HM130MAX Portable Sawmill, and prominent sawmill Youtuber Sawing with Sandy popped by to give some advice to the beginner sawyer

"What's the first thing you do when you go to start up your portable sawmil?", Rich, one of the stars of the Youtube channel DEBOSS Garage asked this question of fellow Woodland Mills portable sawmill owner and YouTuber, Sandy from the channel Sawing with Sandy. So what was Sandy's answer?

The two social media stars recently shared some time together as Andy finished building his HM130MAX Portable Sawmill, and Sandy offered some advice for the fledgling sawyer as he started his first cuts. Here are a few of those pointers worth knowing.

Sawing with Sandy on the scene

Sandy's Youtube channel focuses on rural Canadian living, running his woodlot, doing firewood management and features many videos about running his sawmill, cutting wood and other projects.

Rich's channel meanwhile shares videos focusing on automobiles, mechanical repairs and other tips and tricks for your vehicle.

Both are no strangers to running heavy machinery and doing equipment reviews. The two central Ontario influencers met up as Andy finished assembling his HM130MAX and his Woodlander trailer to cut some boards for the back of a wagon.

"Hey aren't you that Youtuber?" asks Andy as Sandy comes out of the woods to share his valuable knowledge with the beginner sawyer. The pair then went over some starter tips and even threw a log on the mill and milled up some boards on Andy's property.

Insights from a veteran sawyer

During their time together Sandy provided a lot of great tips, matter-of-factly explaining things to look out for when you start up your sawmill for the first time.

Getting started

Rich and Sandy first discussed all the essentials for getting their mill started: oil and fuel.

Rich mentions that he's followed the advice laid out in the owner's manual, to avoid using blade lubrication for the first 20 minutes of running the sawmill, to break in the belts.

The two pointed out the belt on the bandwheel sits loose, something that can catch beginner sawyers off guard but is perfectly normal and how the bandwheel and belts are designed.

Check for sawdust build up

Sandy pointed out that with a brand new mill there shouldn't be any issues, but in general before you start it up each time to:

    • Clean out any sawdust that's accumulated inside the saw head
    • Wipe down any dust and debris off the belts
    • Make sure the discharge chute for the sawdust is clear of any obstructions

Winter sawmilling tips

A few pieces of advice centered on keeping your mill running in the cold. At the time of filming, it was beginning to get below freezing in central Ontario, so Sandy suggested now was the point to switch lubrications.

Normally it's advised to use water with a teaspoon of dish soap for blade lubrication, but once it gets cold you'll want to swap to windshield washer fluid to prevent freezing.

Another tip Sandy gave was to look at your air cleaner cover on the engine and rotate it. There are two arrows and a snowflake symbol which line up, and you want to do this to recycle warm air from the engine during the winter. When it warms up you simply rotate it back so the arrows line up with the sun symbol on the opposite site and warm air is discharged away from the engine.

Other ongoing tips to remember

Going over a few last tips and tricks before starting to run the mill and turn the wood into boards, the star of Sawing with Sandy advised that you should always wipe down your logs before milling them, to prevent any dirt from clogging up or damaging the sawmill blade. He suggested a stiff-bristled broom should be more than enough to get off any dirt and debris.

After you're finished cutting wood at the end of the day, Sandy said that he likes to take the tension off the blade and re-tension it the next time you use it, as leaving it under tension at all times isn't recommended.

"Unless you're going to be leaving it for a short time, like you're having lunch and then coming back," he said, adding, "If you're leaving it overnight and then you un-tension the blade and re-tension it the next day."

More info on sawmilling and woodworking

After their educational chat the two Youtubers had a great afternoon having a few laughs and milling some logs.

Sawing with Sandy is a great resource for sawmilling videos, rural living and what it's like to manage a wood lot. Be sure to check out his channel.

DEBOSS Garage is also a fantastic resource on mechanical repairs and auto content. You should also check out their fullvideo on their HM130MAX build.

For more videos about sawmilling, amazing projects and awe-inspiring stories, check out the Woodland Mills Youtube channel.

For more advice from Woodland Mills sawyers, also make sure you're a member of the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook group, where there's new wood working projects, questions, solutions and insights shared every day.