Log Splitter, Firewood Processor, or Portable Sawmill: What Do You Need?

If you've got fallen or felled timber on a property, there are two very different things you can do with it: turn it into lumber, or turn it into firewood. TMG Industrial Australia sells equipment for both, and the right choice depends entirely on which of those two outcomes you're after — not on machine size or price.

Start With What You're Making

• Milling lumber from logs — you need a portable sawmill (bandsaw mill). This is the only option here that produces usable timber boards.
• Processing logs into firewood — you need either a simple tow-behind log splitter, or a full firewood processor that cuts, splits, and conveys in one pass.

If you're not sure yet, a fully milled log is worth more as lumber than as firewood — but a sawmill is a bigger investment and slower per-log than a splitter. Match the equipment to what you'll actually use most.

Comparing the Main Options

(Confirm current stock against the Log Splitters and Portable Sawmills collections before publishing.)

Sizing: Match Tonnage or Blade Length to What You're Actually Cutting

• Log splitters are rated in tons of splitting force — denser or larger-diameter logs need more tonnage. A 25-ton splitter handles most typical firewood-diameter logs; step up to 35 tons for consistently larger or harder timber.
• Sawmills are rated by maximum log diameter and length — check both, since a log that's short enough but too wide (or vice versa) won't fit the carriage.

Why Now Is a Practical Time to Process

Firewood needs months to season before it burns efficiently — wood cut and split now has time to dry out before next winter's heating season. If you cleared land or timber earlier this year, spring is a practical window to process that material rather than let it sit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tonnage log splitter do I need? For typical firewood-diameter logs (under about 30cm), a 25-ton splitter is usually sufficient. Larger or knottier logs benefit from the extra force of a 35-ton model.

What's the difference between a log splitter and a firewood processor? A log splitter only splits pre-cut rounds. A firewood processor (like the TMG-GLS20) cuts logs to length with a built-in chainsaw, splits them, and conveys the split wood away in one continuous pass — much faster for high-volume firewood production, at a higher cost.

How do I know what size portable sawmill I need? Check both maximum log diameter and maximum log length against what you're actually milling — a mill rated for your log diameter but too short in bed length won't handle longer logs even if the blade could otherwise cut them.

Final Word

The choice here comes down to what you're trying to produce — lumber or firewood — before it comes down to size or budget. Browse the full ranges in the Log Splitters and Portable Sawmills collections, or get in touch with the TMG Industrial Australia team if you're not sure which fits your setup.