Not that long ago, someone special found my website and videos we've been making here on the homestead. He spent some time poking around the site and saw something that caught his eye. HIS SAWMILL!
I say it's his because he built the wood frame for the mill years back. The mill itself is in no way new. It dates back to the 1940s and still has the Search Roebuck Metal tag label on the carriage.
This man saw the mill and sent me an email via our website contact page. Then he sent me a few pictures of the mill when it was finished with the new wood frame. I must say he did a fantastic job and the frame today is still pretty stout. It has some rot in a few places and I have changed out some of the wood in spots but mostly the frame keeps the blade running straight.
Look how pretty this monster is? WOW!
He sent me 4 images of the mill with the brand new wood frame!
That is not the same blade as I have on the mill. It looks a bit bigger than the one I have. My blade is 42 inches and the mill can accommodate a blade up to 48 inches.
The black tube thing laying on the ground is the PTO (Power Take Off) that hooks up to a tractor. You need at least a 40 HP tractor to run this mill. Our 50HP Massey Ferguson handles the mill with no problem.
When we bought the mill, it was being used by another owner. He was going to upgrade to a very expensive band saw. But he got a good amount of years out of this mill. When we bought it, the mill was loaded on a very long trailer with a fork lift.
Winter is the time I'd rather be using this mill rather than in the summer, but I have yet to do anything this winter. I even have some cedar trees down waiting for me to cut them up on the mill but things have been so busy that I haven't had time. The wood we have cut previously has been used and is still being used for projects on the homestead. @hansjurgen has made some amazing projects with the white oak and cedar wood that was cut on this mill.
Surely there will be plenty more projects to come.
What did the saw mill look like in the catalog back in its day? Here you go!
This is called the Fulton and ours is called the Foley M14 Belsaw. But they are very similar. I couldn't find a picture of our exact mill in a Sears Roebuck. If you have an old Sears Roebuck and find a picture of the M14 Foley, please send it to me!
Want to see our mill in action? Here you go!
So that is our saw mill. Hopefully I can get back on it soon and cut some more boards.
ENJOY THE VIDEO!
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Your mill is awesome. Those pics are really cool. History is always interesting great post
I have always wanted a saw mill. I recall the first time I saw a video that these 'portable' saw mills existed and dreamed of enough land to keep a sustainable forest going to mill your own wood for the structures on your own land. This looks like a pretty amazing one. Do you have enough acreage to use your own wood or do you get felled trees from others after clearing land?
I really enjoy stories like this. The world isn’t so big after all.
I bet you were surprised to hear from the previous owner!!!
It is nice to be able to mill your own wood for projects around the homestead. How long do you let it dry before you mill and then before you use it in a project?
there you go... think this is your model.
Belsaw Machinery made the M-14 model. Many of which were sold by the Sears & Roebuck Co. from the catalog.
Now that is fantastic that you are in contact with an original builder of the frame, makes you realize how small the world is!
Thank you for sharing it!
Great pictures they look like they could have been taken yesterday. It is great to have historical background on such things. Keep up the good work. Your homestead is the envy of the internet I am sure . Toby
What an amazingly small world this is! Thanks for sharing! I plan to get a mill one day, Ive only been doing this for about 6 months but that is a machine that would be invaluable!
It's so cool. The design looks impressive. Great work you have done.
Zac I love the photos of this saw. I am drawing out and plan on welding a saw mil. I would like to know more and see more closeup photos of the slide system.
That’s an awesome sawmill! One day I hope to build one of these as well... seems very low maintenance and easy to fix if anything breaks! How much are the saw blades for this? Thanks!
blades are expensive.. about 2500.00 and up for new blades, but sets of teeth are relatively cheap at around 300.00 . The blades themselves, if properly cared for, can last a lifetime, but the teeth wear out and need to be relplaced every few years if cutting regularly.
Wow, more expensive than I was expecting, but then again totally worth it being able to mill your own lumber.
I love it!! Thanks for posting!!!
Wow. Great efforts. More grace to you sir.