Just milling around?: A hobby to make and save thousands of dollars

Disclaimer: I purchased this product and this is not a sponsored post. However, I have received free advertising products in exchange to speak openly and honestly regarding my views on the products purchased and contained in this post.  I always provide my own opinion despite any incentives to speak about those products. I do feel extremely compelled to share this information with my readers for the mere love, ease, and income potential that can be derived from these products.

Yes, you can call me crazy but if you’re looking for a hobby that he will, she will, or you both will enjoy, then this is definitely worth of a further look. This little hobby is great for newly retired couples, those who like togetherness with their significant other, or for anyone who may not have an abundance of creativity but looking to make an income from a hobby (but maybe just not sure what hobby to get into yet).

Curious… I was too, so just keep reading….

If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on being what you’ve always been, nothing changes unless you make it change…

Foley in ‘The Samaritan’

Having a hobby is essential to relax the mind and unwind, increase pride, accomplishment, self-esteem, and can be a way to experience in-group associations (make new friends) with like minded hobbyists. In a world that can at times be hectic, thankless, and mentally not stimulating, to make something that didn’t exist in the same form as before, leaves your own unique mark on the world. Therefore making anything out of wood, whether it is signs, furniture, home decor, homes, trailers, the limits are really endless, requires someone to get the piece from point A (the tree) to point B (the product).

Ok so now is the time to tell me I’m crazy… but really I’m not. If you have a little bit of land (you really don’t need more than a shed-size open spot of land)… how about making signs (I get into this more below) by milling wood as a hobby. WAIT, understand this… owning a mill is NOT hard, it’s NOT that expensive, and you cut wood down from thicker pieces to a size a customer wants or for your own creations. The saw does all the work and you make something a great deal of customers NEED…. Wood. Here’s how to do it and how to earn from it.

You can’t succeed if you never try and if you never try, you’ll never know.

I found out about this because I wanted to build a barn. A storm came through and downed a lot of trees. I got a couple out of a neighbor’s yard and we got some when the township came through and opened up the road. I just called the land owner and asked “Hey, would you like those trees out of your yard?”. It was just as easy as that. So, with a chainsaw in hand, we cleared out the land. We didn’t have to worry about the tops, we just took care of the trees themselves and cut them with a chainsaw to a length we could manage.

The change we made:

It took us 3 months to pull the trigger and we haven’t regretted it yet… we knew it wouldn’t take long to recover our investment.

After extensive research and debate, we bought a portable sawmill from Woodland Mills. It actually took us 3 months to pull the trigger and we haven’t regretted it yet. We bought the HM130 because we do have the ability to pick up larger logs and since prices of portable bandsaw mills start at just over $2000, we knew it wouldn’t take long to recover our initial investment.

According to the Woodland Mill design team, their mills are designed to be a better value in quality and longevity than the more expensive mills that most people automatically would think makes this hobby out of their price reach.

Specifics of our mill:

The mill we bought has a 14HP Kohler gas motor with electric start (which is essential to me – this chick doesn’t pull start ANYTHING). The blade stays cool with a water drip system that really only requires us to fill it every once in a great while (and with a few squirts of Dawn detergent). We also purchased the blade sharpener that once we take a couple minutes to set it up, it sharpens the blade automatically and shuts itself off when it’s done. The standard cutting ability of this mill is a log 30 inches in diameter and 10 foot 5 inches long. We got an extra track extension because thinking ahead for barn building, we knew we would need 16 foot lengths and we saved on the shipping cost when we bought everything together. We only needed to buy a 12V battery for the electric start option. The best part for me is that the height adjustment handle on this mill turns super easy and you walk behind the motor when it cuts and it does all the work so it is just as easy as pushing a grocery cart (well…without the bending over… but I really would rather cut wood then go to the grocery story any day). The 2 year warranty on the mill and 3 year manufacturer warranty on the motor made me feel much better about my upcoming purchase.

The Woodland team are such great people to talk to, you can just TELL when the employees are proud of their product and customer service.

Woodland Mills had so many reviews on their site at Woodlandmills.com. I think just about every review on their mills had 5 star reviews and there were so many videos, as I watched each one, I fell in love and I had to try it.

How we are making and saving thousands of dollars:

So now with the mill at the farm, we are always cutting something. We have not regretted our purchase although we did ‘tweek’ a few things. The measuring pole wobbled for us quite a bit so with some electrical tape, we secured it rather nicely. Additionally we hung a 5 gallon bucket off the side so the saw dust collects in the bucket for dumping rather than all over the ground.

We have put up a pole barn over the mill, a donkey stall, a pump house, and are now finishing the main barn with the wood we are cutting. WE ARE LITERALLY SAVING THOUSANDS in lumber costs just for ourselves here on the Misfit Farm. Our savings has paid for the mill already and if we cut wood for customers, then we can charge per the board foot or approximately $75 per hour. Not too shabby for a hobby.

A Hobbyist’s Hobby:

Now from a hobbyist perspective, I LOVE making signs and front porch decorations. Did you know that people are actually paying for sign blanks to make their own signs? There is a huge interest in Rustic and Primitive home décor and customers DO NOT want their wood nicely smooth and planed like you find at the Lowes or Home Depot. They want the rough cut feel just like you get freshly off a sawmill, a sawmill you can operate, he can operate, and together you sell the wood, make your own signs, or sell your own home décor items at craft fairs, county fairs, on Etsy, Ebay, and even on Amazon (just like we do here on the farm).  

Signs are a decorating trend that is taking online shopping for home décor by storm. Pinterest has great ideas for any kind of sign and you can’t ignore that Hobby Lobby, Wayfair, and even Tractor Supply are getting into the act by selling them in their local stores. Check out Walmart and Lowe’s Holiday displays and see all of the signs. Typically made from MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard), their signs are nice (and expensive) but real wood looks, feels, and smells better while lasting longer in the elements (yes, I smell wood… and I thought I told you I WASN’T crazy…). Just don’t copy someone else’s idea. Use the signs you see as a creative spark and put your own flare on them. Making signs that someone else already makes and sells is wrong. So do it honestly and have fun with it.

If you’re curious to find out what other items you can make with your bandsaw mill, check out how you can make this rustic shelf with absolutely no skills.

So if you’re looking for a hobby and are really serious about getting your creative juices going while sharing some time with your “other half”, this is worthy of at least checking out. Visit the team at Woodland Mills. If you have any questions, just please ask… they are soooo nice and they are willing to help out in any way… and hey… If I can do it… well I’m fairly sure you can too.

Have a little fun, find a hobby, make some money.

Thanks for reading.

~Sue 🙂

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