I've had 2 band mills over the years. Of course its hard work, I always thought that was a good thing for a young man. I milled hundreds of thousands of board feet of lumber by my self. I'd fall the timber, skid it to a sorting yard, using a couple teams of horses that I trained, keep the good logs for my mill and send the rest to area mills. I made good money from the lumber and timbers that I cut with these mills. Sure I had a couple accidents, who doesnt? I broke my leg once when I slipped on the ice and the horses dragged a large log over my legs turning one leg around backwards. Another time I got tangled up in some rigging on a draft mule and was dragged for over a mile before I could cut myself loose. Just broke most of my ribs and had a serious concussion.
I'm looking for a good broke team of draft horses now. I'll probably get some young horses and train them too. I kind of miss logging and milling lumber.