# Shavings mill



## Hddnis (Sep 7, 2009)

I'm planning to set up a shavings mill to deal with the pine logs. A ready made one is very expensive. I was thinking there has to be used planers available that could be modified. Mostly I just need the planer heads, two so that it will cut in both directions.

I have a 90hp detroit that I can get cheap to use as a power plant. So far all I've found online was planer heads for cabinet shops and hobby machines. I need something much larger. Anybody know of upcoming auctions here in the PNW that might have such a beast available? Online mill equipment dealers would be good too. I've been seaching but figure I'd ask here and cast a wider net. (No pun intended.)

If I knew this was a business that would take off I'd just buy a new machine, but right now I'm trying to get a little more than firewood prices without a huge investment.


Mr. HE


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## hermit (Sep 7, 2009)

Try sawmillexchange.com they have all kinds of equip for sale.


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## Backwoods (Sep 8, 2009)

Try “Roseburg tractor” they dismantle sawmills all over the PNW they also go by “I-5 Auction” A grate place to go brows.


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## Coalsmoke (Sep 8, 2009)

Do you figure you'll get more money out of shavings per slab than firewood? This is something I have been toying with myself, and am currently doing firewood because I feel that having something to sell during the winter off season will be good.


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## Hddnis (Sep 8, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Just browsing those sites is helping me better envision what I need and how to set it up. 

My thinking is that pine is not the best firewood. The maple, oak, doug fir, alder and a couple of others make better firewood. I'm laying in some huge stacks of them.

The pine is just sitting. Some I can mill, but that market is down. Unless I make something out of it the return barely covers expenses. 

I think the shaving mill would be a good way to get a product that has a fairly developed market and good profit margins. It won't just be during the off season. The stables around here take monthly, or even weekly, deliveries of shavings. 



Mr. HE


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## Mike Van (Sep 8, 2009)

How will you dry those shavings?


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## Hddnis (Sep 8, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> How will you dry those shavings?





The big stack of wood I have now is already seasoned 1+ years. It won't need drying.

I can either let the wood season first, which is harder on the knives and creates more dust, or I can put in a dryer. There is a farm a couple of miles from here that has an old bedding dryer that they don't use anymore. It could be refurbished and would dry shavings.



Mr. HE


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## motoroilmccall (Sep 8, 2009)

My uncle runs a Salsco Shaver Mill with a 30in box and an 84HP CAT motor. Honestly, its been a POS lately. Fix one thing and another breaks. The cutter head cuts in both directions, you don't need 2 heads, although it would nearly double your output.

The shavings don't need to be dried unless you intend on bagging them. In fact, if you're dealing with high dollar horses, you want moist shavings. Horse owners (mostly of high dollar horses who don't mind going through more bedding) want absolutely ZERO dust... Dried shavings are dusty, and shaving dried logs beats up knives and is very dusty. 

Red pine shaves the best for us. White isn't straight enough, and it tends to chunk as much as it shaves. Scotch is alright, but usually not real straight. Spruce is horrible to work with, too much pitch. Poplar shaves well, but stinks like *&^%, so obviously you don't want to fill a barn with it. 

Biggest thing you have to do is keep the logs clean! Otherwise you'll be burning through a set of knives a day. 

Just a tip, start talking with boarder's and horse farms now. If they already get free sawdust in your area they obviously aren't going to pay for shavings. Not just that, but you'll need a connection to start moving product. Our biggest account is with a trucker who works for Vernon Down's (horse track), he sells all the shavings he can get, and takes 1, sometimes 2, 20-22 yard deliveries a day. 

Another thing. go with the biggest box you can afford. Our 30" box is too small... Salsco markets it produces 15 yards per hour... Maybe if you filled it with perfectly square wood, and completely filled the box, and had razor sharp blades, and they were set real high, and, and, and... Its just not gonna happen in the real world.


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## Hddnis (Sep 8, 2009)

motoroilmccall, thanks for the reply. Very helpful information. If your uncle was willing to chat with me on the phone that would be most helpful. You can PM me contact info.

I'm already toying with the idea of a debarker for logs for milling. I peel lots of them by hand now, grind the bark and use it for mulch around my place. From what I gather it helps a lot with the life of the knives.

Thanks again,



Mr. HE


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## motoroilmccall (Sep 14, 2009)

HE,

I'm not trying to put you off or anything, but I'm sure you know how farm life goes. He barely talks to me on the phone, and when he does its usually, "How fast can you get here... Bring tools." 

Debarking doesn't seem to make better shavings, although it does keep the logs clean. If you do it, make sure you take the logs from the pile, to the debarker, to the mill... Don't debark them until you're ready to shave them otherwise they'll get dirty and the debarking was a waste.

Here's a pic of our mill, its kinda crappy, but it was the first week we had it up. We've since built a pole barn to store shavings, and a pavilion to cover the mill. We use a conveyor to load trucks, its easier than trying to load a full dump with the Bobcat or Tractor.


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