Portable sawmills are small enough to be easily moved around and set up in the field. They have existed for over 100 years, but grew in popularity in the United States from the 1970s, when the 1973 oil crisis and the return to land movement revived interest in small woodlands and self-sufficiency. Since 1982, when the portable band saw mill was first commercialized, their popularity has grown exponentially.

Probably the donkey motor was one of the oldest portable sawmills, as it was once used in the Canadian forestry. It was used to winch and transport log bursts in lakes and water, then winched to its next location on land or water and eventually reconstructed to run a saw to grind the timber.

The first private portable sawmills were described as the "One Man Farmer Sawhouse", which had large circular blades and was marketed in the early twentieth century by companies such as Sears, Montgomery Ward, and JC Penney. These mail order examples were "private label" machines manufactured by Belsaw Company. [1] Another company that made these types of mills was the American Lumber Mill Machinery Company. [2] Many older sawmills were designed to be belt-driven from a steam traction motor (which could be used to transport the saw).

Prior to the advent of the portable mill, small-scale sawmills were usually (almost always) jobs built and operated by two men keen to repair. This was and remains a traditional occupation for Amish men; Unlike most mechanical systems, small sawmills typically do not use electricity.

Band Saw Type Portable Sawmill

Swing type portable sawmill
More recently, with the invention of Wood-Mizer in 1982, [3] portable bandsaw mills represented a dramatic change in design. Unlike conventional mills, they used a thin notched blade of the type used on a band saw instead of a circular blade, which reduced weight and cost and reduced the size and weight of the bearings and support blocks. The smaller notch on these blades significantly increased throughput from a given log. The use of strip blades also allowed for a different design in which the head consisting of the blade and a power source moves back and forth while the billet remains stationary. [4] This is unlike traditional mills where the billet moves on a carriage while the blade remains stationary. Many companies now manufacture and sell personal and portable sawmills [5] and Norwood Saw Mills in North America have registered the most portable sawmill patents.