I brought a "portable" sawmill[1] a few years back, after doing a fair bit of research around this. As I looked into it it seemed that there were some major ca

I brought a "portable" sawmill[1] a few years back, after doing a fair bit of research around this. As I looked into it it seemed that there were some major caveats to making boards with a chainsaw. 1. It's slow, 2. One looses a lot of wood due to the chain kerf (thickness), 3. Regular chain sharpening is needed. On the other hand, it is pretty portable as this video shows. I ended up going with the sawmill because it addressed these concerns. The downside being that one has to bring the logs to it. Cost wise it compared pretty equally to larger chainsaw mills I was looking at. Having now used it for a coupe of years, my thoughts are: 0. It is amazing to see in action. I recommend watching the videos, but in person it is even better. It's the first think you need in order to become a Bond villain. 1. You need a lot of boards to cover a floor or a wall. It is hard work with my mill, and I wouldn't want to do it with a chainsaw. 2. It is surprisingly tiring (I find anything involving forestry is pretty hard on the body) 3. You will struggle to make a business out of it (I knew this going in, but just to reiterate) 4. Making straight lumber is a little tricky. Trying to do it is trees below 30cm in diameter is pointless. Making boards with a live (i.e. wiggly) edge is the sweet spot. 5. While I was super excited about this, it was actually the woodland mills wood chipper that was the better investment. That all being said, it is amazing go fell a tree, then drag it over to the sawmill, cut it, then go and nail it up! [1]: https://woodlandmills.eu/product/hm126/ https://woodlandmills.eu/product/hm126/