Check out used sawmill equipment for sale – pre-owned equipment that is ready to power your next project!

About Us | How We Can Help

About Us | Cooks Saw MFG - Leaders in Bandsaw Technology Legacy in Motion

Legacy in Motion:
A Personal Message from Stephen

 

 January 31, 2025

 

Hello,

I’m Stephen Cook with Cooks Saw Manufacturing (CSM).

I wanted to take a moment to share a bit about who we are and how we got started. Maybe you’ve heard of us, or maybe this will be your first introduction to Cooks Saw. Either way, I’d like to give you a brief history of our company and invite you to reach out if you have any questions about sawmills or sawmill equipment. My brother Tim and I were raised in the sawmill industry, and over the years, we've picked up a lot of knowledge and ideas that might help you with your operations.

Cooks Saw MFG Sawmill History - Process of building sawmills through the years.

Our history with saw blades dates back to the late ’60s and early ’70s. I was just a kid back then—about 7 or 8 years old—while my brothers, Tim and Danny, were around 10 and 12. We grew up with sawdust in our veins.

Our dad was a preacher at a small country church in Wicksburg, Alabama, the same little community where Cooks Saw is still located today. With three young boys to support, he wanted to provide more for our family. Rather than asking the church for more money, he approached the elders to see if he could start a small saw repair business on the side. That decision turned out to be the seed that grew into Cooks Saw Manufacturing.

Dad had a knack for working with metal and saw blades. Maybe it was in his blood because his father, "Doc Cook," ran a saw blade repair business himself, traveling from cabinet shop to cabinet shop in a van equipped with a grinding machine to sharpen blades on-site. Inspired by that, Dad bought an old VW Bus (I sure wish we still had that thing now—it’d be worth a fortune!) and rigged it with an old grinding machine fitted with a diamond abrasive wheel for sharpening carbide saw blades.

Example of circle sawmill blade - Ranged from 42 inches to 60 inches in diameter

It didn’t take long before a local circle sawmill owner reached out, asking if Dad could help with his sawmill blade. This was a whole different ball game. Circle sawmill blades ranged from 42 inches up to 60 inches in diameter, with most averaging around 52 inches. These massive blades had to be hammered and rolled to ensure the metal from the teeth to the center stayed perfectly balanced and rigid during high-speed cuts. Dad mastered this specialized technique, becoming known as the “Hammer Man” for sawmills all over the region.

Hammering saws wasn’t just about brute force; it was an art. You had to know exactly where and how to stretch the metal so it would perform flawlessly under extreme pressure. This was knowledge most "hammer men" kept as trade secrets, but Dad was different. He believed in passing on what he knew, and Tim picked up those skills, becoming quite the expert himself. I didn’t get the chance to learn hammering, but I spent years replacing thousands of carbide teeth in gang saws. Tim always jokes with dentists that we’ve done more teeth than they have—just saw teeth, though!

As the business grew, so did our reputation. Dad had a weekly route, driving hundreds of miles to pick up saw blades from various mills, repairing them, and returning them the following week. We could fix almost anything—from chipped teeth to rebuilding entire shoulders that had snapped off from hitting hidden metal in logs. One time, we even repaired a 5-foot cutoff blade where the entire center had broken out. I still can’t believe that job worked out, but back then, blades cost thousands of dollars, and people relied on us to save them whenever possible. That spirit of doing whatever it takes to help our customers is still at the heart of Cooks Saw today.

Cooks Saw MFG grew from repairing circle saw blades to building portable sawmill equipment.

When Tim and I graduated, we joined the business full-time, and that’s when things really started to shift. We moved from just repairing blades to building equipment. Dad had bought an old machine shop, and we dove headfirst into learning metal machining. We even joked that some of the machines were so old they must’ve come off Noah's Ark! But those machines taught us the skills we needed to start manufacturing our own sawmill equipment.

Since then, we’ve grown from a small saw repair shop to a full-scale manufacturing operation. We started building bandsaw blade sharpeners in the early ’90s, and that eventually led to designing and producing our own sawmills, like the AC36 Hydraulic Portable Sawmill, the MP32 Manual Mill, and even super wide sawmills capable of cutting logs up to 62 inches in diameter. We’ve also expanded into products like skid steer grapples and the Trail Blazers.

Cooks Saw motto: We do whatever it takes to help our customers succeed.

Even though we’ve grown, our core values haven’t changed. We still believe in working hard, treating people with honesty and integrity, and helping our customers succeed. We’re incredibly blessed to do what we love, and we’re always looking for new ways to serve the sawmilling community.

If you ever have questions about sawmills, blades, or equipment, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love the opportunity to help you, just like we’ve been doing since Dad started that little saw repair business all those years ago.

Thank you for being part of our story.

Stephen Cook
Cooks Saw Manufacturing

Start Your Own Sawmill Journey with a Custom Cooks Sawmill Package

Schedule a Call

Cooks Saw MFG—Fueled by Sawdust, Driven by Grit

Cooks Saw isn’t just a sawmill equipment company—it’s a legacy built on hard work, ingenuity, and a deep understanding of what sawyers need. For decades, we’ve been helping sawmill owners cut more efficiently, sharpen better, and produce high-quality lumber with precision. But before we were building world-class sawmills and blade sharpeners, we were a small family business with a simple mission: help sawyers get the most out of their equipment.

Why Sawyers Choose Cooks Sawmills and Service

  • Precision-Engineered Equipment — Built for durability and efficiency. Explore our MP32 Sawmill.
  • Hands-On Expertise — We’ve sharpened, hammered, and cut wood ourselves. See how our Sharpener-Dual Tooth Setter Combo helps maintain your blades for peak performance.
  • Customer-First Approach — We don’t just sell equipment; we help sawyers succeed. Learn more about our trusted Blade Sharpening Service.
  • Innovation That Works — We design sawmills and sharpeners to solve real-world problems. Our bandsaw blades are engineered for precision cutting and long-lasting durability.

The Legacy Continues

From our father’s VW Bus sharpening service to building industry-leading sawmill equipment, our mission has never changed: helping sawyers cut more, cut better, and cut smarter.

We’re still those same kids who grew up in sawdust, working hard to create tools that help sawyers get the job done right. And we’re still dreaming, designing, and building for the future of sawmilling.

Want to See Our Equipment in Action?

Explore our lineup of Cooks Saw Equipment that keeps sawyers running strong. Whether you need durable bandsaw blades, precision blade sharpening tools, or expert advice, we’re here to help you cut smarter every step of the way.

Cooks Saw — Built by Sawyers, for Sawyers.