Pricing a Portable Sawmill

High School shop class (with ties to mathematics and economics)

 

I. Objectives (The student will:)

II. Overview

Sawmills come in many varieties and sizes. Some are suited for 24 hour per day, 7 day per week operation devouring truck loads of logs per day with minimal human intervention. Others are suited for personal or hobby use and will require substantial hands on effort to utilize. In this lesson the student will explore the pricing and available options at this low end.

Your teacher has $5,000 (perhaps personally but assume it is in the school shop equipment budget) to spend on a low-cost portable sawmill. He has a large tract of Red Pines available which are in dire need of initial (third row) thinning. This thinning will allow remaining trees to grow into saw logs and utility poles. Many areas in northern Michigan were planted to Red Pine starting with CCC work projects during the depression and continuing even today. Assume the available trees are typically 6" to 12" dbh (diameter at breast height), with an occasional one of 16" dbh. Your teacher also wishes to build a new building to house additional shop equipment. The school board authorized money for shop equipment and student labor, but there is "no money" for building any new buildings.

Some logs up to 24' long would be nice, but 12' lengths will suffice. In addition, some available hardwoods of assorted species and sizes (6"-36" diameter) can be culled for lumber for student projects or resale and their tops cut into firewood for faculty heating use and to provide student labor. The student will thus compare costs and options of a few sawmills and submit a purchasing recommendation to the teacher based on information found.

Locating Inexpensive Hardwood for Kitchen Cabinets
36"x11' Sugar Maple "butt" log Sawyer and mill (Red Maple) HHF, October 1988 looking north

Pictured above are a large maple tree on your teacher's property which was past its prime (note also pine grove needing thinning in the background), a sawmill your teacher has used extensively (but the owner is raising his rates), and your teacher's father's property.

III. Procedure

  1. Print out this web page ( http://www.andrews.edu/~calkins/math/webtexts/sawmill.htm). There is a table at the end for entering/summarizing your data. Some data may not be available on-line, thus some boxes have been shaded. (Data obtained by completing the online request for information was used.) Examine the table to familiarize yourself with the questions to be answered.
  2. Go to http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/, click on the link Before you purchase a portable sawmill, and acquaint yourself with any unfamiliar terminology. Pay particular attention to vocabulary such as band vs. circular, kerf, and hydraulics.
  3. Go to http://www.portablesawmill.com/ and get information on the Wood Chuck model.
  4. Go to http://www.norwoodindustries.com/index.htm and get information on the LumberMate 2000.
  5. Go to http://www.procutsawmills.com/ and get information on a build-it-yourself option.
  6. Write up your recommendation in a one page executive summary and be prepared to present it to the class. Be sure all your prices are in U.S. dollars if possible (several are also given in Canadian).

  7. The last column is optional, but for extra credit you may find another brand in this price range with on-line advertising and compare costs/features. Possibilities are listed below, but these will not be awarded as many points as something off list. You can poke around at http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/, http://www.portablesawmill.com/, and http://www.procutsawmills.com/ for ideas of other brands. If prices are for a used model, be sure to specify. Other sites (which might not include prices) are as follows: http://www.enercraft.com/intro.htm and http://www.timberharvester.com
  8. For more extra credit: a neighbor has offered to "go halves" on a more expensive saw mill. What features could be acquired with twice the budget?
item\brand     Wood Chuck     Lumbermate 2000      Procut      Another Brand
base price    
maximum log length    
maximum log diameter    
cutting accuracy    
band, circular, or chain    
Engine size (in hp)    
kerf size    
cost for 24' 3×295=985  
cost of engine upgrade    
cost for trailer option 695