Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Are The Right Blades All You Need For Portable Sawmill Success?


It's an interesting question to ask yourself.  Are the right blades all you need to make your portable sawmill as efficient as possible?  Well, yes and no.  Having the right blades, such as Cook's Super Sharp blades, can certainly improve your odds of success.  However, there's a lot more to maintaining your portable sawmill than just that.

For example, it's very important to properly maintain your blades.  Maintaining your blades in the right way can not only increase production, but also increase the life of your blade.  That will lower your replacement blade costs and increase your profits.

There are three steps to maintaining a blade.  First, you have to see to it that the blade stays sharp.  Second, you have to ensure that it is set properly.  Third, you have to make sure that the blade is flat.  If any of those things are not quite right it can send your portable sawmill productivity and profits plummeting.

Luckily, there are plenty of tools to help you maintain your portable sawmill blades, including the Cat Claw Sharpener from Cook's Saw.  However, you also have to keep in mind that even the most well-maintained of blades has to be replaced now and then.

So, do you need to purchase new portable sawmill blades or the equipment necessary to maintain them?  Also, would you like to learn more about the other steps involved in maintaining a portable sawmill?  If so, click here to get started on the road to portable sawmill production increases and better profits.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Using The Best Blades To Meet Your Portable Sawmill Goals


Are you a sawyer who is sick of using outdated machinery or not meeting your portable sawmill goals?  If so, you aren't the only one.  Recently I visited a portable sawmill owner who had a large operation and several sawmills going at once, but he still wasn't meeting his goals and he couldn't figure out why.

One of the reasons that his portable sawmills weren't producing as many board feet per minute or hour as they otherwise might is that he was using 20’4” long x 2 inch wide blades.  So, I quickly suggested that he use Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades, instead.

At first, he was not impressed.  He had one machine in particular that kept needing a blade replacement every 3 hours.  I didn't understand why because I had checked the new blade myself.  It was sharp, set, and flat.

I watched the machine and quickly realized what the problem was.  The blade wasn't staying in the cut because the machine itself wasn't level.  Once we leveled the machine and put in the Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades on that single machine his production increased dramatically.  So, we did the same for all of his portable sawmills.

The moral of the story is that the right blade makes all the difference, although basic maintenance is also important.  So, do you want to increase your portable sawmill output?  If so, remember to perform regular maintenance on your machines and click here to invest in super-thin Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades.  That's the best way to maximize the output of your sawmills.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Quitting Your Day Job: Making Portable Sawmills Work For You

If you're sick of your day job, you may need to find something that you really enjoy, but can still make money at.  Well, who doesn't enjoy being in the great outdoors?  That's part of what makes being a sawyer fun, as well as lucrative.

Few people know that better than a sawyer by the name of Scott Irvin.  He had been in the papermill business for 17 years when he switched to the sawmill business by getting himself two portable sawmills.  With some employees and some help from his wife, Scott quickly found himself enjoying being his own boss and being in the same business that his father was in before him.

It wasn't always that way, however.  For the first two years that Scott was in sawmilling he was also still working his papermill job.  It took him a lot of time and effort to get his sawmilling business to really thrive and it wasn't at all the same as when his father ran things.

You see, in order to be a portable sawmill user, you have to learn to adapt to changing markets.  Scott has done exactly that.  He cuts both pallet stock and rail ties.  He also cuts low-grade lumber, material for board road and more.  Many other sawyers are just as versatile and adaptable as Scott is.

So, do you want to make portable sawmills work for you, just like Scott has?  If so, you need to learn as much as you can about the sawmilling process and pick the portable sawmill (or combination of portable sawmills) that works best for you.  Click here to get started down the road to a new and more enjoyable portable sawmill career path.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

How The Mechanical Circular Saws Of The 1960's Became Portable Sawmills

In the 1960's and 1970's there were a lot of mechanical circular saws around.  However, there weren't as many band saws.  The circular saws were faster and cost effective, at least when doing certain cuts.  So, since most sawyers wanted to be quick about it, they stuck to mechanical circular saws.

Nevertheless, there was a movement towards using band saws.  The advantage of band saws is that they were better for things like bundle cutting and layer cutting.  They also offered more capacity than mechanical circular saws.

The biggest complain about the band saws of the past is that they created far too much sawdust.  They seemed quite wasteful because of that, even though sawdust also has a few uses.  So, it was clear that advancements had to be made.  That's why Kerf blades were introduced to band saws as the 1980's began.

Since the 1980's, band saws have become just as popular as mechanical circular saws, if  not more so.  These days, companies like Cook's Saw are famous for their portable band saws.  In fact, as improvements were made in band sawing, companies like Cook's Saw have also gone out of their way to improve sawmill portability.  So, now you can bring your portable band saw right to your logs.

It's easy to see why the portable sawmills of today are much more efficient than early mechanical circular saws.  That's especially true when it comes to the efficiency of portable band saws.  So, do you want maximum efficiency?  If so, click here to find out how to order a portable band saw.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

How To Make Your Portable Sawmill Business "Green"

Owning a portable sawmill business is great, but what could make it even better?  Well, one thing that could is understanding that it can be a fully self-sustaining business.  In other words, you can make your portable sawmill business "green".  There are a couple of ways to do that.

First of all, if you happen to have a lot of land, you should consider planting some trees on a regular basis to replace the ones that you cut down.  Not only is that good for the environment, but it also means that you'll have more lumber to cut a few years down the line.

The other "green" thing you can do with a portable sawmill is you can take some of the lumber that other people don't want and turn it into some great pieces.  For example, many sawyers avoid using "difficult" trees in their business, such as cyprus trees.  Yet, with the right portable sawmill anyway, they can be quite easy to cut.

The same goes for driftwood, river salvage and lumber that could have foreign objects in it, such as nails.  In many areas that lumber just goes to waste, but a good portable sawmill can allow you to make the most of all of it.  You could create anything from flooring to log cabins to fine furniture.

All it takes to realize your green portable sawmill business dream is the right portable sawmill.  Are you interested in giving it a try?  If so, just click here to browse through a selection of great heavy duty portable sawmills that can help you to make your business better for the environment and more profitable, too.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

What Is Your Portable Sawmill Goal?

If you are going to run a portable sawmill business, it's important to have a goal in mind.  In fact, you should have several smaller goals, but they should all add up to one thing.  That thing is efficiency.  The more efficient you are as a sawyer, the more profit is made and the less time is wasted.

Well, it's impossible to be an efficient sawyer without the right blade in your portable sawmill.  Many people are using the Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades in their portable band saws now for exactly that reason.  They need the maximum efficiency to create the maximum output.

If you don't have the right blade, what happens?  The answer is simple.  The blade breaks and one of your employees has to spend time replacing it with a new blade.  Also, you have to spend money to buy the replacement blade.

With the Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades, that's less of a problem.  There are some customers who cut over 150 board feet per minute with Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades in their portable sawmills.  Not only that, but if installed properly, the blades will work for a full 9-hour shift, saving man hours and money.  In fact, you can easily cut 1,000 board feet per hour with a Cook's 2" Super Sharp blade, which is more than can be said for the competition.

Another great thing about the Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades is that they create less waste.  So, you can cut more board feet per log.  Does that sound like a great way to make your portable sawmill business thrive?  If so, click here to get started using Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades and improve your efficiency levels as quickly as possible.