Peterson Portable Sawmills Reviews

What our customers are saying

Peterson Portable Sawmills pride themselves on listening to the feedback of our mill owners. Below you can find a selection of the many portable sawmill reviews we’ve received over three decades of quality manufacture and service.
We also have a huge selection of editorial articles available to read here.

Customer service and maintenance second to none

”If I had six hours to cut up a tree, I’d spend the first four sharpening the saw” -Abraham Lincoln This saw is incredible and honest Abe wouldn’t need to spend nowhere near 4 hours sharpening his blade if this was available to him. With this saw we can cut up to 6-1/2 foot wide slabs and up to 16 feet long making us extremely versatile in what we are capable of doing. Besides the actual equipment the customer service and maintenance from Peterson is second to none. - Oak Hill Iron + Wood

Dean Curfman North Carolina, USA

The only one I would recommend

After a lot of research and comparison of mills, I decided to purchase The Peterson 8" WPF mill new in 2008. The mill was used to mill Large Redwoods and Doug Fir trees to build our living structures and landscape projects. Peterson Portable Sawmills build a quality product, the only one I would recommend in the industry for durability excellent milling as well as holding its value. I owned the mill for 15 years and then relocated and no longer had need of it. I just recently put it on the used Petersen Mill website in which it sold within a very short time. The demand is great- don't hesitate. Our personal experience owning the mill over all the years has been excellent. Never an issue and Peterson has great customer service all around. Thank you Peterson!

T Baughman Oregon, USA

Well, after the days cut there is no more question about accuracy and output

I’m a worker in the forestry business and know a lot of different types of mobile sawmills, all of them bandsaws. I had experiences with using them and watching them go too. But all of the time I felt something missing. The ability to cut up real big trees and that with a blunt sawblade the cut wasn’t accurate any more. And knots in the tree made the blade go off course too. Now using the Peterson Winch Production Frame, I’m so satisfied and happy with it. Every time I show up with my mill the new customer is worried how this small packed up mill will cut his 8 metre long trees. But when he sees how it is set up and how accurate the manufacturing is, he gets more confident. Well, after the days cut there is no more question about accuracy and output. Also I like that the machine is so safe to handle. The CE certificate made Peterson put a lot of more safety devices on, that now are standard on all of their machines. One I like is the E-stop at the front to stop the engine in emergency, but so far it never happened that I needed it. They told me so far there has never been an accident with the mill as users had followed the good instruction manual closely. Also the handling bar at the front is very good to use. You have a good grip and everything is so easy to handle. Keep it nice and clean and add a little oil as my father says, and the machine is running easy. So far I had no complaints what so ever about the manufacturing and handling. We Germans have the reputation of so good engineering but I must say the New Zealanders are quite good too. All is so easy and well thought off, no – as we call it, schnickschnack – no unnecessary extras like hydraulics or computers or else, that might brake or malfunction in rough use, so the idea about being small easy and efficient is best put to use. Thanks a lot for such a nice mill!

Georg Dettmer Germany Read Full Story

I still marvel at the quality of the lumber produced by these machines

The quality is top-notch, and I am more pleased with my WPF now than ever! For what I need, I don’t think there is any better product on the market. I still marvel at the quality of the lumber produced by these machines! My mate’s ASM is a beast – it chewed up logs and spit out lumber! That thing could work three good men to death!!!! For a stationary mill, I don’t think you could beat it. And it’s still relatively simple and straightforward. It is portable too, just not as much so as my WPF. I think we both made good decisions on the mills we needed. And Peterson made good products to meet those needs. So again, thanks for making all this possible. Keep up the good work!

Jimmy Edwards Louisianna, USA

I would not even consider owning a different sawmill

Peterson Portable Sawmills are the best portable sawmill available and the people that produce it are wonderful. They’re there to help you every step of the way and, amazingly, they listen to us, their customers, and make improvements based on our needs. I can’t say enough good about them or their product. In fact, I would not even consider owning a different sawmill. If you are EVER THINKING about owning a portable sawmill, save yourself the time and check out Peterson Portable Sawmills.

Chad Burrell Vermont, USA

EcoMadera South America Sustainable Harvesting

Our favorite feature of the Peterson has to be its portability

Our operations are in a mountainous region of tropical forest. For our application it’s perfect. Liquid soap in the cooling water helps with sticky resin and the blades perform well in hardwoods. The only modification we made later, was cutting down the 5.7m rails in half for even easier transport. Plus I’d recommend the largest hp motor if you are intending to saw hardwoods frequently. Our favorite feature of the Peterson has to be its portability. The motor and carriage can be easily disassembled into three lighter parts for transport. We greatly appreciate the ease of breaking it down, hauling it in piece by piece, and establishing a new site. I really love the simplicity of sharpening and all-round durability. The sawmill stays in a site until we’ve harvested a radius around the site with a total area of roughly two hectares. With our selective cutting system this equates to approximately 40-50 cubic metres of logs.

Blair Rynearson EcoMadera, Ecuador Read Full Story

I’m not wasting time sharpening blades

I really like the fact that the Peterson can handle big logs and I can leave it outside and it won’t rust. The Peterson mill is exactly what I needed. Boards come off the mill accurate and dead straight and I’m not wasting time sharpening blades.

Rich Thompson North Carolina, USA Read Full Story

Such a well-designed machine in every aspect

Truth be told, I was actually looking at a Lucas mill, having never heard of Peterson’s. Just in the nick of time though, a neighbour asked if I had looked into the Peterson mills. I went to the internet and did just that, and never looked back at any other mill! If I had to choose one favorite feature it would definitely be the portability. It was much better than I expected – I still can’t believe how easy she is to break down and move and set up again in no time flat. It’s such a well-designed machine in every aspect. I get nothing but good comments on it at every job site!

Lonnie Green Washington, USA Read Full Story

I absolutely love it and it’s everything I wanted

My WPF is just marvellous – I absolutely love it and it’s everything I wanted. It is a good quality product, the set up time is virtually nothing, and the service has been exceptional.

Bryce McIntosh Te Kuiti, New Zealand

I can take it anywhere I want, and do all of the work myself

One look at the Peterson indicated that it was built better than the others. I like the mill because I can take it anywhere I want, and do all of the work myself. Having the electric winch saves a lot of unneeded walking, which is a concern because of a bad leg. The support staff don’t make me feel stupid when I ask questions or ask for help. I’ve communicated with several of the staff, who all had the same characteristics; honesty, humility, detail oriented, and open to other people’s thoughts and opinions. The only thing I’m disappointed about, is that everyone who doesn’t want to waste trees, doesn’t have a Peterson mill.

Greg Gianas Redmond, Washington Read Full Story

Peterson can’t be beaten for speed and timber recovery

I've been running a Peterson 8 inch for almost 20 years have seen and used most other brands available in NZ and the Peterson can't be beaten for speed and timber recovery... takes me 30mins to set up and start milling from arriving on site and gone even faster, especially when the pubs open...

Michael Reilly Fielding, New Zealand

Peterson certainly makes the most versatile of the lot

I purchased a Junior model back in January, my mill had a couple small issues that they took care of pronto. I now have close to 50 hours on the mill. About 20% of my needs so far have involved double cutting. After looking at 1-2 man manual saw mills for 5 years I am certain that a swing mill is the best for most needs and Peterson certainly makes the most versatile of the lot. I am sure glad that I waited to purchase a mill until I could afford the best and didn’t settle for less!

Butch Cherrington Ohio, USA

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The answers you are looking for are most likely here.

Don't take our word for it

Speak to Peterson owners in your area

If you’re researching a sawmill purchase, the best people to speak to are those who operate the machines on a regular basis. The millers in our Owner’s Network have made themselves available to you to ask questions by phone or email, and some of them even offer private demos and open days at their milling sites.

Can't find an owner on the map?

Some owners aren’t publicly listed. Reach out to us, we’ll check our records and connect you with owners in your area.

JP (Junior Peterson)

ASM (Automated Swingblade Mill)

WPF (Winch Production Frame)

ATS (All Terrain Sawmill)

WPF + DWS Combination

DWS (Dedicated Wide Slabber)

WPF + DWS Combination

Clip-On Slabber

Clip-On Slabber

EZ Dogs

Planer Blade

Sander Disk Kit

Weatherboard Attachment Kit

Electric Winch Upgrade

Giant Frame Upgrade

Track Extensions