Everything you need to know before you buy a sawmill.

Why Wood-Mizer

Built to cut. Built to last.

Since 1982, Wood-Mizer has been the global leader in personal and portable sawmills. Over 40,000 mills sold worldwide. Three decades in Australia. A patented cantilever design that's still cutting straight boards for owners who bought their mills in the 1980s.

The cantilever head — engineering that lasts

The Wood-Mizer cantilever head is our signature. Supported by one rugged beam on the left, open on the right — the same engineering principle used in bridges, balconies, forklifts, and cranes.

Some competitors argue that a four-post frame is more stable. In practice, the opposite is true. Once the blade bites into the log, the cantilever head stays perfectly parallel to the bed and cuts straight boards, every time. No twisting from misaligned posts. No fussing with levelling on uneven ground.

Three practical advantages for Australian sawyers:

• Setup on any ground. The head stays parallel to the bed even when the ground isn't level. No riggers to adjust, no perfect concrete pad required.
• Off-bearing without obstruction. The open right-hand side means you can pull boards off the mill without dragging them over a second rail. Odd-shaped logs fit without chainsaw trimming.
• Lighter and easier to move. No second rail, no rectangular bed — the mill weighs less, tows easier, and stores more compactly. Without sacrificing strength.

Built to last — the proof

• 30+ years in Australia — supporting local sawyers since 1994.
• 40,000+ mills sold worldwide — cutting billions of board feet.
• Manufactured in the USA and Poland — Wood-Mizer's own factories, not outsourced.
• Fully welded frame construction from the professional tier up — no flex under load.
• Solid steel bed — engineered for the density and weight of hardwood.
• Long-term parts support — parts still available for mills sold decades ago.

The Australian difference

• Australian team, in-country. Not a reseller — a direct Wood-Mizer operation.
• Genuine blades stocked locally. Bulk packs, individual blades, subscription delivery, and local re-sharpening and re-tipping services.
• Local phone support. Talk to someone who knows the mills, not an offshore call centre.
• Delivered Australia-wide. From metro to remote.
• FinApps financing — monthly repayment plans for owner-operators and commercial sawyers.

Sawmill Basics

What is a portable sawmill?

A portable sawmill is a bandsaw-based mill designed to be brought to the log — turning raw timber into boards, planks, and slabs without needing to haul logs to a commercial sawmill. Wood-Mizer's portable range spans from compact mills that sit flat on the ground through to trailer-mounted mills that can be towed anywhere in the country.

How it works

A portable sawmill is a bandsaw mounted on a frame that travels along a bed. You load a log onto the bed, secure it, and the sawhead moves through the log, cutting a slice of timber. It's a simple principle applied to some serious engineering.

The basic process:

• Load the log onto the bed and clamp it in place
• Set the cut height using the sawhead's vertical adjustment
• Advance the sawhead through the length of the log
• Return the sawhead to the start
• Set the next cut height and repeat until the log is fully milled

The differences between models come down to how much of that work is automated: manual mills rely on the operator's muscle and mechanical advantage, while hydraulic mills use powered rams to load, turn, clamp, and advance the log.

What can you produce?

The output depends on the mill and the log, but the range is wider than many people realise:

• Dimensional timber — construction lumber, framing, decking, flooring boards, weatherboards
• Furniture-grade boards — book-matched from the same log, quarter-sawn, live-edge
• Structural beams — for barns, workshops, verandahs, sheds
• Slabs — for tables, benches, feature timber pieces
• Firewood rounds — cut to your preferred length
• Custom cuts — the mill doesn't care what the timber becomes; you set the dimensions

Manual vs hydraulic

Manual sawmills rely on the operator: loading logs with cant hooks or hand cranks, turning logs by hand, pushing the sawhead through the cut. Cheaper, quieter, and mechanically simpler. Ideal for hobbyists, weekend woodworkers, and small-scale operators who don't mind trading elbow grease for a lower price tag.

Hydraulic sawmills use powered rams to load, turn, and clamp logs. The sawhead advances under power. Faster cycle times, less physical work, and typically double or triple the throughput of a manual mill.

Buyer's Guide

How to choose the best sawmill.

Three factors decide the right mill for your operation: the largest log you'll be milling, how often you'll be milling, and what you can invest. Get those three right and the category picks itself.

1. The largest log you'll mill

Your mill's log-diameter capacity is a hard limit — you can't cut a log that doesn't physically fit. Plan for the biggest log you'll realistically encounter, not the average one.

• Under 60cm — LX30, LX50 SUPER (Hobby & Standard range)
• 60–80cm — LT15 series through LT35 (DIY and Professional)
• 80–100cm — LT40, LT50 (Professional and High Production)
• 100cm+ — LX250 Twin Rail (Wide Cut, for oversized logs and slab work)

If most of your logs are 40cm but you occasionally get a 90cm log, plan for the 90 — the biggest logs are often the most valuable ones to mill.

2. How often you'll mill

Frequency is what tips you from manual into hydraulic:

• A few times a year — Hobby & Standard mills. Manual is fine because you're not doing it often.
• Once a month — DIY range (LT15 series). Still manual but capable of more.
• Weekly — Professional (LT20, LT35 Hydraulic). Hydraulics start to justify themselves in labour saved.
• Daily — High Production (LT40, LT50, LT70). Powered log handling, faster cycles, higher throughput.

3. Your budget

Wood-Mizer's Australian portable range spans from around AUD $5,200 to $150,000+. Every mill is engineered to the same core standards — there's no "cheap and shoddy" tier. Wider budget just opens more options for automation and log-handling.

• Under $10,000 — Hobby range
• $10,000 to $25,000 — DIY range
• $25,000 to $80,000 — Professional
• $80,000+ — High Production

Match your work to the category

• Weekend woodworker with occasional slabbing — Hobby & Standard range
• Rural landowner milling for personal projects — DIY range (LT15 series)
• Small commercial sawyer or farm-based operator — Professional range (LT20, LT35 Hydraulic)
• Multi-shift commercial operation — High Production (LT40 to LT70 Super)
• Slab specialist or feature-timber sawyer — Wide Cut (LX250 Twin Rail)