Sawmilling Oak with Wood-Mizer Machines at the Welsh Customer Days 2023

In 2023, the annual Wood-Mizer Customer Days were held at the Oak Frame Company in Saint Asaph, Northern Wales. Simon Belfield, a passionate sawmiller and company owner, specializes in making various oak and larch products, including ready cabins, gazebos, garages, and garden sheds, but above all – the oak roofs, framing, and constructions. “I have always enjoyed working with wood,” says Simon. “Wood appeals to everybody. It has so many end-uses. It’s a phenomenal product at the end of the day.”  

Simon Belfield has always been keen on wood, so he became involved in timber felling and joinery works after graduating from secondary school. “I started my sawmilling about 30 years ago with a fellow contractor. I should mention my fellow sawmiller Dai Watkin Jones, who helped me a lot in establishing my business. I then built my sawmill based on a big circular rack sawmill, which I later upgraded to a static band sawmill. 13 years ago, I moved to my current location and bought my first mobile sawmill, the Wood-Mizer LT40 Mobile,” says Simon. 

Simon’s LT40 sawmill did very well for the volume of timber he was processing back in the day. With the LT70 sawmill, however, he can improve his production, especially when coupled with the EG300 board edger, the log deck, and the material sorting table. “We decided to upgrade our workshop to the LT70 sawmilling line because it has wider capabilities than the LT40, and it can handle a higher throughput of timber,” explains Simon. “The durable log deck can take enough logs for one work shift. The sawmill head and bed can handle larger logs, which is better for customers looking for wider boards. There are board fingers behind the sawhead to remove the freshly sawn timber onto the conveyor belt that transfers it to the next machine.” 

The EG300 is also an essential machine in Simon’s sawmilling line as it makes exact dimensions of the boards. “I like my EG300 because it eliminates the handling process through the sawmill. Now I receive the slab off the mill, forward it to the edger, put the boards on the sticks, and off it goes to the dryer. We make ready lumber without even having to touch it again. It’s true that with the sawmilling line, we need less labor for the handling process, but on the other hand, we raise the employment further down the line, on the edger, the planer/moulder, or the SlabMizer.”

The Welsh Customer Days, organized by Wood-Mizer UK and co-hosted by the Oak Frame Company, was an excellent occasion to discover what is new in the wood-processing industry. During the 23-24th of June 2023, dozens of visitors came down to Simon’s backyard to look at the latest Wood-Mizer machines and equipment and watch his way of converting oak into premium wood products. Apart from the presentation of the machines, Wood-Mizer experts were ready to advise on many sawmilling and woodworking projects the visitors might ask about. Visiting the show also allowed customers to exchange views and experiences on wood-related topics with fellow sawmillers and woodworkers, along with Simon Belfield and his team. 

“Yesterday was busy for us with so many people visiting the show,” reports Simon. “Wood-Mizer showcased a range of new machinery and equipment, for example, the impressive LT15 WIDE Battery-Powered Sawmill, which is just debuting in the UK, the LT15CLASSIC Mobile, the LT40 WIDE Mobile with the new, efficient 25 HP diesel engine, the LT70 Mobile with the strongest G57 petrol engine and the 50-mm wide blades, as well as the LT70 WIDE static sawmill with the remote station, log deck, and board sorter.”

Heeding the Wood-Mizer motto “From Forest to Final Form,” the visitors of the Welsh Customer Days could also explore the complimentary products, including the MB200 SlabMizer for planing tabletops, the newest MP280 four-sided planer/moulder, as well as the proven MP360 planer/moulder unit. “We’ve recently been making some oak tabletops on the MB200 SlabMizer, which turned out stunning. Each time I’m about to cut open a new log, I can’t wait to see what grain and texture I can discover inside. It always makes my heart miss a beat,” admits Simon.   

“The four-sided MP360 planer/moulder is a great complimentary solution to the sawmilling, as it allows for quick and precise profiling of wide boards and cants.” points out Simon. “So is the MB200 SlabMizer for surfacing wood slabs up to 1,4 m wide and 3,5 m long. This machine can do what other machines can’t do. With the SlabMizer, you can take off a minimal amount of material without losing much on the thickness of the slab. Wide boards and slabs are very marketable, and customers are willing to pay extra for these premium products.” 

Lastly, visitors could watch the newest battery-powered Wood-Mizer LT15 sawmill cutting a tremendous 90-cm diameter oak log. The mill just premiered on the UK market, already catching much attention from the public. “The LT15 battery-powered sawmill is based on the well-known LT15CLASSIC design having outstanding features for such a small sawmill,” explains Simon. “It’s nice, quiet, and operator-friendly, with amazing battery life. If I were a small entrepreneur, the LT15 battery-powered sawmill might be an invaluable tool in my workshop.” 

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