Finding a good local sawmill has gotten complicated with all the online noise flying around. As someone who’s been buying lumber from small mills for over a decade, I learned everything there is to know about what makes a great sawmill worth the drive. Today, I will share it all with you.
Whether you’re a weekend hobbyist or you’re building cabinets for a living, a local sawmill can change the way you source wood. Better prices, custom cuts, and species you’ll never find at the big box stores. Once you go local, it’s hard to go back to picking through warped 2x4s under fluorescent lights.
Why Bother With a Local Sawmill?
The number one reason? Cost. When you buy from a local mill, you’re cutting out the middleman, the warehouse, the shipping, and the retail markup. I regularly save 30-40% on hardwoods by buying direct from a sawyer about twenty minutes from my house.
But it goes beyond price. Most sawmills will cut lumber to your exact specs. Need 6/4 white oak boards 8 feet long? They’ll do it. Need a slab milled from a specific log? Many mills will let you pick the log yourself. Try asking for that at Home Depot.
And there’s the sustainability angle. Lots of small mills source locally — trees from nearby property clearings, storm damage, or managed woodlots. Your lumber didn’t ride a truck across the country. It grew a few miles away.
What Services Do Sawmills Offer?
More than you’d think. Most mills handle:
- Custom cutting to specific dimensions and thicknesses
- Kiln drying and air drying
- Wood grading and species identification
- Advice on which species works best for your project
- Delivery, if you’re buying enough to justify it
Some mills will also mill YOUR logs. Got a tree that came down in a storm? Haul it to the mill and they’ll turn it into lumber for you. I’ve done this twice — once with a big red oak from my neighbor’s yard — and the resulting boards were some of the most beautiful wood I’ve ever worked with. There’s something special about building with wood that came from a tree you watched fall.
How to Find a Mill Near You
Google “sawmill near me” and you’ll get results, but don’t stop there. The best mills often don’t have much of a web presence. Here’s what I’d actually do:
Ask at your local woodworking club. Those folks know every mill within a two-hour drive. Check with contractors and custom home builders — they buy lumber constantly and have opinions about every sawyer in the area. Your local lumber yard (not the big box store — the actual lumber yard) might also point you in the right direction.
Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace can be goldmines too. Small operations often list their slabs and boards there instead of maintaining a website.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Call ahead. Seriously. Sawmills aren’t retail stores with regular hours. Many are one or two-person operations, and showing up unannounced might mean nobody’s around. A quick phone call lets them know what you need and gives them time to pull stock or fire up the mill.
When you arrive, expect heavy equipment, loud machinery, and piles of logs and lumber in various stages of processing. It’s a working facility, not a showroom. Wear boots and be ready for some dust and mud.
Most sawyers I’ve met are happy to talk shop. They’ll explain what species they have in stock, show you the logs if you want to pick your own, and give you advice on what’ll work for your project. In my experience, the smaller the mill, the more personal the service.
How Wood Gets Milled
The process is actually pretty straightforward. Logs get evaluated for quality, size, and species. Then they’re placed on the mill bed — usually a bandsaw mill or circle mill — and sliced into boards at whatever thickness you need.
Fresh-cut lumber is soaking wet, which is why drying matters so much. Kiln drying speeds up the process and gets the moisture content down to usable levels (usually 6-8% for indoor furniture). Air drying works too but takes months or even a year depending on the species and thickness. I’ve found that kiln-dried lumber from a local mill is every bit as good as what the big distributors sell, often better because it hasn’t been sitting in a warehouse for months.
Some mills also treat lumber for outdoor use — chemical treatments that resist rot and insects. Worth asking about if you’re building anything that’ll live outside.
Common Species You’ll Find
What’s available depends on where you live, but most mills in the eastern US will stock some combination of:
- Oak: Red and white. The bread and butter of most mills. Strong, versatile, looks great with almost any finish.
- Pine: Cheap, abundant, and easy to work. Great for framing, shelving, and painted projects.
- Maple: Hard, dense, beautiful when finished. My go-to for cutting boards and countertops.
- Cherry: Gorgeous color that deepens over time. Perfect for fine furniture and cabinetry. It’s pricier, but worth every penny.
Western mills might carry Douglas fir, Western red cedar, and Ponderosa pine. Southern mills often have cypress and pecan. Part of the fun is discovering what’s local to your area.
Safety at the Mill
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Sawmills are working industrial sites with heavy machinery. Wear closed-toe boots (steel-toed is even better), eye protection, and ear protection if the mill is running. Stay in the designated areas and don’t wander into the processing zone without permission. These machines are loud, fast, and don’t care about your fingers.
What About the Environment?
Most small sawmills are surprisingly eco-friendly. They harvest selectively, use nearly every part of the tree (sawdust becomes mulch or animal bedding, slabs become firewood), and keep it local. It’s a pretty tight loop compared to the industrial lumber supply chain.
If sustainability matters to you, ask the sawyer about their sourcing practices. Most are happy to explain where the logs come from and how the forest is managed.
How Much Will It Cost?
Lumber from a sawmill is typically priced by the board foot. Prices vary by species, quality, and whether the wood is dried. Rough-sawn, air-dried oak might run $3-5 per board foot. Kiln-dried cherry could be $7-10. Custom milling your own logs usually has a per-hour or per-board-foot fee.
Always get a quote before committing. Some mills have calculators on their websites (if they have websites), but most will just give you a number over the phone. I’ve found that being upfront about your budget helps — sawyers will often suggest alternatives if your first choice is too expensive.
Should You Mill Your Own?
Portable sawmills are available for purchase or rent, and if you’ve got access to logs, it can be tempting. But here’s the reality: a decent portable mill costs $3,000-10,000, it takes time to learn, and you’ll spend hours maintaining it. For most hobbyists, it makes more sense to haul your logs to a professional mill and let them do it. The cost is reasonable and the results are better.
That said, if you live on wooded property and process a lot of lumber, owning a mill pays for itself pretty quickly. I know guys who mill their own stock year-round and love it.
Mistakes to Watch Out For
Don’t underestimate how much wood you need. Always buy 10-15% more than your calculations say. Boards have defects, cuts go wrong, and you’ll want test pieces for finish samples.
Be specific about what you need. If you tell the sawyer “I need some oak boards” without dimensions or moisture requirements, you’re going to have a bad time. Write down your cut list before you go.
And don’t skip the drying step. I’ve seen people take green lumber home and start building immediately. Six months later, their tabletop has a gap you could fit a quarter in. Let the wood dry properly.
Specialty Services to Ask About
Some mills specialize in reclaimed wood — lumber salvaged from old barns, bridges, and buildings. Reclaimed oak and chestnut have a character that new wood simply can’t match. The weathering, nail holes, and patina tell a story. I built a coffee table from reclaimed barn oak last year and it’s the most-complimented piece in my house.
Other mills can cut custom beams and timbers for post-and-beam construction or mantels. These large-format cuts require specific equipment that most mills have but not all offer to retail customers. It never hurts to ask.
Preparing for Your Trip
That’s what makes visiting a local sawmill endearing to us woodworkers — it connects you directly to the raw material. Know your project dimensions, your species preferences, and your budget before you go. Bring pictures or sketches if that helps communicate what you’re building. And bring a truck or trailer, because you’re going to buy more wood than you planned. Everyone does.
