How do you charge for lap siding?

[backwoods sawyer]

I have been building a lap siding jig similar to what Woodmizer sells.

I have a couple of small siding jobs that I will be milling out of my own logs. Moreover, both are wanting different thicknesses widths and lengths. I am wanting to find a pricing method that will work for these customers as well as for portable milling where the customer owns the logs. What are your thoughts on this?

[Buck]

customer logs....I bill same as cutting 1x's.

[Chuck White]

I agree with Buck, saw same as 1" and go by the board foot, or figure out an hourly rate.

It would be a little more time consuming than regular 1" lumber.

[weisyboy]

i charge "weatehrboards" out on an hourly rate.

i would imagine on a mizer you would have to lift one side of the cant and drop it back down between cuts?

his would tke longer than just sawing out 1" boards, also you have more cuts, as for every 3 - 1" boards worth of timber you have to make 4 cuts instead of 3.

[sdunston]

I would have to say charge the going BF rate. Post some pic's of the jig when you get it done. I was going to make or buy the WM jig but am leaning towards a resaw just because with the jig you are lifting large cants and are left with a 2x at the last cut. With a resaw you can just pull out some 1x and slice it and one board makes 2. Yes the resaw is 7x's the money but I have had a lot of calls on lap siding and it might pay off in the long run.
thanks Sam

[just_sawing]

I charge the same as cutting 1 inch boards. If I am cutting siding from their logs it is.
1 Make 1 " boards (25 cents per board foot)
Lap siding 25 cents to run it through the resaw

[redbeard]

I have milled alot of beveled cedar and fir siding using the factory built shingle and lap sider from TK pretty much the same one as WM, your limited on longer lengths 12' works best and when your cutting for sales from your own stock it eats up the quality logs. Usually what worked best for me was I would cut out the shorter lengths from the longer logs with crooks, bows and defects get a pile of 10'  8'  6' make them into cants and then decide which would be siding or side wall shakes.hard to compete with lumber yard on the 5/8 x 8" the thick cedar 5/4 is the best money i usually just check to see what its going for at local  lumber yard.

[sigidi]

Personally I don't like cutting them, Lucas make a good enough attachment to slice out w/b's on the mill but the way it's done, you only get to use the mid 1/3 of your log for w/b's and as I don't get many logs, I don't like that kind of usage from a log.

I used some 150x19 boards on a cabin I made here at home, turned out to look almost the same as a cabin with proper w/b's and that way (for me personally) I got to use a lot more of the log.

For a customer, yeah I'd slice weatherboards all day if they wanted, but would also charge it out at hourly rate

[Just Me]

 A majority of the houses that I restore use beveled cedar siding and I have seen an increasing amount of siding that is not sawn right in the last few years. Enough that I am no longer buying any prestained product because once its stained it yours.

The growth rings should be perpendicular to the surface for any siding that is under 5/8 at the thick side or it will be too prone to cracking both during install and as it moves with the seasons. I now buy it raw locally so I can check out the way it is sawn before I buy it, and then send it out to a prestainer. My last job I lost 30% of the siding. I usually figure 20%, and at that I should have a fair amount left for future repairs. so on that job I lost 10% out of my pocket and have no stock for changes and repairs in the future. It was from Potlatch, so it was not from someone that does not know better.

Just my 2 cents....

[backwoods sawyer]

I appreciate everyone's input.
With portable milling jobs where the customer owns the logs I figure on just charging by the hourly rate. However, for logs that I own it gets a bit more complicated as the customers want a price up front. And each one seems to want different thicknesses widths and lengths. Not to mention that the side boards do not make lap siding and have to be marketed separately. I have a couple of small jobs that I will be tracking the recovery out of the logs. One of these siding packages is Incense cedar and the other is Western red cedar. I have had some interest in other woods like Ponderosa pine and Doug fir. So log prices and availability will have to be built into the base price. I am starting to consider charging by the linier ft rather then the board foot, then I can use an 8" wide board as my base price and add or subtract for width and thickness.
Still tinkering with the lever to get it to work right.