Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Three Keys To Perfect Portable Sawmill Blades And Better Productivity


Most beginning sawyers are under the impression that all it takes to have a good portable sawmill business is a good portable sawmill and some good blades to go in it, such as Cook's Super Sharp blades.  Well, it is true that a great mill and some great blades will lead you down the path to being a great sawyer.  However, there are still several roadblocks that you need to look out for on that path.

For instance, many people neglect blade maintenance, especially if they are beginning sawyers.  You have two choices when it comes to blade maintenance.  The first is that you can simply throw your blades away as soon as they get dull or slightly bent.  However, that's going to cost you a lot of money in the long run.  The second is that you can actually maintain your blades.  There are three keys to doing that.

First, you have to keep your portable sawmill blades sharp.  That's going to require the use of a sharpener, such as the Cook's Cat Claw sharpener.  Second, you are going to need to get yourself a blade setting device and learn how to use it.  Setting the blade simply means aligning the teeth in the proper way for the best possible cut.  However, since portable sawmill blades are flexible, you may have to adjust for the fact that the teeth are going to flex back into a different position after you set them.

Finally, you need to keep your portable sawmill blade flat.  Otherwise there's no possible way that it can cut through the lumber properly, let alone quickly.  The people at Cook's Saw have perfected the art of flattening portable sawmill blades over the years.  Would you like to learn more about their technique?  If so, just click here.

A Portable Sawmill Production Increase Story


Are you wondering how to increase your portable sawmill production?  If so, you could do what Del Franklin did.  Like many sawyers, Del found himself in a bit of an odd spot.  He already had a full-time job, but he happened to know someone who encouraged him to start a portable sawmill business on the side.

Del purchased a basic portable sawmill and eventually was cutting up to 3,000 board feet per day.  At the time, he thought that was good.  However, the demand soon outweighed the supply.  That led Del to search for bigger and better ways to improve upon his sawmilling business.

That search led Del to the AC36 portable sawmill model from Cook's Saw and the Cook's Super Sharp band saw blades.  By purchasing an AC36, Del increased his output to as much as 7,000 board feet per day.  In fact, the increase was so great that he is now considering quitting his day job in order to turn his portable sawmill business into a full-time thing.

The fact that the Cook's Super Sharp blades are built to last has really helped Del to save money and build his business up.  Between that and the help of his family, including his wife and his brothers, Del is glad that he made the choice to be a sawyer.  Would you like to be able to say the same?  If so, just click here to see how to get started in the portable sawmill industry today and build your business up, just like Del did.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

How A Portable Sawmill Business Evolved

Scott Irvin isn't one to give up on family or give up on a dream.  However, his dad's business was sawmilling and, at the time at least, Scott wasn't totally sure that it was the best business to be in.  After all, his dad was using old equipment and doing things in an outdated way.  That's probably why Scott's brother wound up with the family business initially.

It wasn't until a mill fire that happened after Scott was in another business for 15 years or so, the papermill business, that he decided not to let his dad's dream die.  Of course, by that time his dad had passed the business on to Scott's brother, who was eager to sell his share to Scott after the fire.

That was when Scott really decided to update the family business in a big way.  He looked around for the most heavy duty portable sawmills he could find.  He found them in two slightly different versions of the Cook's Saw AC-36 model.  The biggest differences between the two were that the second one had a slightly higher powered motor and a bed that was almost double the size of the first one.

Scott's two highly versatile and heavy duty portable sawmills have kept him going ever since and he quit his papermill job about two years after buying out his brother's share of the sawmill.  He's also quick to give credit where credit is due.  He tells anyone who will listen that the people over at Cook's Saw really have both portable sawmill design and customer support down to a science.

So, do you want to preserve your family's sawmill business or start a new family sawmilling tradition?  If so, click here.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How To Achieve Maximum Portable Sawmill Efficiency


Are you happy with the output of your portable sawmill?  How many board feet are you cutting per hour?  If you said less than 1,000, you could be much more efficient.  So, it might be time to figure out how to achieve that maximum portable sawmill efficiency.

The great thing about a portable band saw is that it can move much faster and get much more done in a short time than a circular saw blade can.  That is, of course, if it has the proper blades.  These days, the thinner the blade, the better, for a couple of reasons.

One good reason is that a thinner blade can make more board feet out of large logs.  Thicker blades create a lot of saw dust, which has its uses, but is not as profitable as usable board feet of lumber. 

Another good reason is that a thinner that is properly designed can move faster.  So, more board feet can be cut per minute or hour.  That's why many people are turning to Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades to meet their sawmilling needs.

Cook's 2" Super Sharp blades are really built to last.  They don't need to be replaced as often as other blades, although all blades have to be replaced sometimes.  So, there is not as much need for blade replacement, especially if your portable sawmills undergo the right regular maintenance.  So, would you like to cut more board feet per hour and make more profits as a result?  If so, just click here to get the right blade for the job.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

What Every Sawyer Should Know About Sharpening Portable Sawmill Blades

The portable sawmill business can be very lucrative.  However, replacing your portable sawmill blades all the time can lead to a lot of unnecessary costs.  That's why there are certain things that every sawyer should know about sharpening their blades.

Terminology:

First, you should know some basic terminology.  For example, you need to understand things like tooth spacing, gullets, hook angle and tooth face.  You also need to have some understanding of the construction of the blade body itself.

For example, some blades are built to be more flexible than others.  Flexible blades last longer, but may not be capable of cutting through certain types of lumber well.  Rigid blades might be stronger, but won't last as long.

As for the tooth terminology, tooth spacing, gullet and tooth face, those are not as complicated as they sound.  The tooth spacing just refers to the number of teeth on a given blade and the distance between one tooth and the next.  The gullet refers to the “negative space” between each tooth on the blade.  As for the tooth face, it's the sharp, or at least hopefully sharp, front edge of each tooth that is responsible for cutting into the lumber.

You could just replace blades when they wear out, but it makes more sense and saves more money to sharpen, set and flatten the blades periodically.  Luckily, there are plenty of simple tools that you can buy to accomplish those tasks.  So, do you want to get started?  If so, just visit www.cookssaw.com to choose the best blades and sharpening tools.