What It’s Like Owning a Giant Sawmill

What It’s Like Owning a Giant Sawmill

Bert Sarkkinen of Arrow Timber talks about how he came to buy his first sawmill. But for timber framers, you can’t just have any old sawmill.

Bert has worked with mills like WoodMizer and now a custom Cooke’s Saw. Although it may seem like a cinch, there’s a lot more to sawmills than just cutting big logs.

To get beautiful free-of-heart timbers you need a consistent saw with sharp blades. When you cut through giant timbers like the ones used for Rustic style Timber Framing, there is a lot of wear and tear on the logs themselves. The sawyer must be very aware of not only the saw itself but the logs he’s cutting.

You don’t want any old knotty piece of work, the sawmill is meant to cut premium grade timbers. There’s little room for mistakes with a sawmill as one mess up could ruin a giant log.