I am a circle miller, or used to be, and also have a band mill. Circle milling, with a basic handset mill, can be dangerous beyond belief, and the thickness of the kerf is what made me sell mine.....plus bits and shanks are expensive. Plus getting a blade "tuned up" can be expensive. I like the bandmill aspect because, it is simple to get set up to sharpen bands...the kerf is small, you don't loose a board or two every log...things go a lot slower when milling....but with a larger mill, can go about as quick....and it certainly takes less hp and fuel then a big circle mill.
Now I will offer this advice also from the perspective of Oklahoma...we get walnut, oak, and cedar for milling, not really into building lumber. Hope this helps.
