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Chainsaw mill vs bandsaw mill

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a few logs, or you have a woodland’s worth, and the advert in front of you says portable sawmill. Chainsaw mill vs bandsaw mill is not a choice between two Amazon frames. It is three machines: a clamp-on frame that uses the saw you already own, a rail that still cuts with a chain, and a bandsaw with a thin blade. The nine clamp-on listings in our [mobile sawmill comparison](/hub/power-saws/mobile-sawmill) were read on 20 October 2026 by Peter F. This page does not pick a winner among them. There is no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a few logs, or you have a woodland’s worth, and the advert in front of you says portable sawmill. Chainsaw mill vs bandsaw mill is not a choice between two Amazon frames.

Our top picks

XSLOER XSLOER 36 inch chainsaw mill

Best overall

XSLOER XSLOER 36 inch chainsaw mill
7.0/10about £124.70
View offer
Zozen Zozen 36–92 cm chainsaw mill

Best value

Zozen Zozen 36–92 cm chainsaw mill
8.6/10about £69.99
View offer
zozen zozen 14–36 inch chainsaw mill

Rank 3

zozen zozen 14–36 inch chainsaw mill
8.9/10about £89.45
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three different machines
  2. 2.Waste, finish and effort
  3. 3.What the money buys
  4. 4.Hire instead of owning

Three different machines

A clamp-on chainsaw mill is a frame you bolt your saw into. In this set the horizontal frames with a usable spec sit at £69.99 to £124.70 and about 7.5–8.2 kg. The kerf is a chainsaw kerf. A rail mill is still not a bandsaw. Logosol’s UK page prices an F3, in a 4 m version, at £1,500, stated at 53 kg, for a log up to 70 cm, and it asks for a saw of at least 5.3 kW. A portable bandsaw uses a thin blade. Woodland Mills lists the HM130MAX at £4,390, 420 kg and an 86 cm log, with trailers from £3,690 and smaller portable bandsaws from about £2,590. The Chilterns note describes mobile bandsaws as often about a tonne and towable. You will not put that in a car.

Waste, finish and effort

The Chilterns note calls chainsaw mills the cheapest on-site option, and the slow one, and a poor tool when the timber is valuable because the cut is wide. The chain has to be filed for ripping and sharpened often. A bandsaw is faster, with a narrow kerf, and hire is how most people get one for a short job. Wood-Mizer states a band kerf of no more than 2 mm and a chainsaw kerf of at least 5 mm. That is the maker’s claim, not a measurement made for this page. No Amazon frame here prints a kerf.
XSLOER XSLOER 36 inch chainsaw mill

Testsieger

XSLOER XSLOER 36 inch chainsaw mill
7.0/10about £124.70
View offer

What the money buys

A Granberg MKIV from Brian’s of Risborough is £344.52–£453.60, still a chainsaw, with a dealer who states the bar the clamps use. That maths is on the chainsaw mill buying guide. The Logosol F3 at £1,500 does not give you a thin blade. The HM130MAX at 420 kg is the bandsaw on the ladder. The Chilterns figure of about a tonne describes the class, not that model. Either way, you tow it or you hire it.

Hire instead of owning

These day rates are single adverts, not a UK average. Anglian Firewood advertises a Wood-Mizer LT20 with an operator at £375 a day, plus £1 a mile. One Durham listing shows £250 a day for chainsaw milling and £350 a day for a Wood-Mizer. Ask what is included. Hire a bandsaw when the timber is valuable or the pile is more than a weekend. Keep a chainsaw frame when the logs are few and you already own a saw that can rip. The England felling allowance comes first, on portable sawmill for a small woodland. The first face is on how to use a chainsaw mill.

Common questions

Which tool wastes less wood?
A bandsaw, on the figures the makers and the Chilterns note actually publish. Wood-Mizer states a band kerf of no more than 2 mm and a chainsaw kerf of at least 5 mm. The Chilterns note calls the chainsaw cut wide and says that waste is why the tool is a poor match for valuable timber. No Amazon frame in this set prints a kerf, and there is no yield percentage behind those millimetres. One firewood log does not justify the bandsaw on waste alone.
Can I put a bandsaw in a car?
No. The HM130MAX is listed at 420 kg. Trailer versions on that shop start at £3,690. The Chilterns note describes mobile bandsaws as often about a tonne and towable. A clamp-on frame at about 8 kg, plus the saw you already own, is the one that goes in a car. A Logosol F3 at a stated 53 kg is a lift for two people, not a bandsaw and not a pocket jig.
What does a day of hired milling cost?
There is no single UK rate on this page. Anglian Firewood advertises £375 a day for a Wood-Mizer LT20 with an operator, plus £1 a mile. One Durham advert on sawmillers.co.uk shows £250 a day for chainsaw milling and £350 a day for a Wood-Mizer. Those are two businesses. Ask what is included before you compare either figure with a £90 frame you still have to run yourself.
Is a Logosol a bandsaw?
No. The F3 on Logosol’s UK page is a chain sawmill: £1,500 for the 4 m version, 53 kg, logs up to 70 cm, and a saw of at least 5.3 kW. The cutter is still a chain, so the kerf is still a chainsaw kerf. You buy it for a rail and a repeatable cut, not for Wood-Mizer’s 2 mm claim. If the thin blade was the point, this is the wrong rung of the ladder.
When is a chainsaw frame the right tool?
When you have a few logs you can reach on foot, a saw that can rip, and timber you can afford to turn partly into chips. The Amazon horizontal frames at £69.99–£124.70 are that tool. A Granberg at £344.52–£453.60 is the same class with a dealer price. It is the wrong tool when the wood is valuable, the work is regular, or you need a face a wide chain will not give you. Then hire or buy the bandsaw.

Related pages

Best portable chainsaw mill UK

Mobile sawmill

Chainsaw mill buying guide: type, bar, then the saw

How to use a chainsaw mill: first face, oil, wedges

Portable sawmill for a small woodland: the licence

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf date 20 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK, when a felling licence is needed (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Forestry Act 1967, section 9 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved October 2026)
  4. HSE, chainsaw PPE (retrieved October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, supply of machinery regulations (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Chilterns, on-site sawmilling (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Brian’s of Risborough, Granberg MKIV (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Logosol UK, F3 chain sawmill (retrieved October 2026)