A guy came in today and asked if I would drive 120 miles and cut by the hour. I said $45 hour 4 day minimum, plus fuel plus blades plus per diem. He said okay. Under my breath I said DanG me and my big mouth. Then I tried to rescue myself and said I don't have the time really, and added I would not get to it until fall at best. He said okay again. Guess he is in no hurry.
That's too far to drive. Surely by then he will have found someone else.
$45 per hour sounds like alot but it is too cheap for running an LT40 120 miles from home ain't it. What should I have done ??? Besides say no.
This guy is in East Texas somewhere but he said the cutting site is (I have already forgotten) a couple hours from me so I figure about 120. If anyone in East Texas wants this guys number let me know. He seems like a decent guy and man this guy is talented with a welder and some wood. I will shoot you his websites (yes plural) for those interested in discussing cutting ERC under these terms, or your own terms of course. He seems to know his way around the woods and these trees he describes would be very nice to have on a mill, it's just too far for me to go this year.
$45 an hour is way to little for around here.
I would have given him a sawing charge comparable to portable sawing around home and then a daily charge for being away from my own warm bed and beautiful wife plus room and board and mileage, to include fuel for the truck. Trips home to sharpen blades would be chargable unless he wanted to buy me new blades and have them shipped to the site.
My hourly rates were 50 to 60 and hour, depending on the conviences.
That's what i figured 45 being too low. But I did say per diem (hotel) blades, and fuel. Still, I better hope someone closer can help him.
I would schedule it where my bride could come too. That much I did think through.
Sometimes it is good to get out of the comfort zone and do a job that stretches our abilities. You will have to be self contained so a lot of thought will have to be given as to what to take with you in case you break down. Weather may play a role too.
You did quote a price, but realize you might have spoken too quick. You might call him up and apologize profusely that you spoke too quick and forgot some details that will cause you to raise the hourly rate.
By doing it now will also give him opportunities to look elsewhere.
If you go into the job wishing you hadn't, then you may begrudge the job and it will be all work instead of an enjoyable experience.
You say it's cedar? Hmmm!
Well you did say $1400 for 4 days work, plus blades and fuel. Ask him put up you up for the 3 nights and provide meals. Do the road trip ,pocket the cash, and be home by Friday :)
Thats what Lil would tell me anyway ;)
Cheers
Ian
OK, Kevjay, where in east Texas, 120 miles puts it close to here.
We might be able to make a happy camper out of him, depending on the particulars.
Let me know what you can about him. I'm going up to my mill's birthplace this week to pick up some stuff, leave some stuff and perhaps 'build' some stuff.
Did he give any indication as to his use for the ERC?
I just called the guy and asked him to repeat the name of the nearest town again where the trees are and he said "Cash". Well Cash, Texas is about 59.99 minutes from my driveway. An hour at best. ;D For perspective for you Texans, it is about 3 blinks south of Greenville.
Still, if one of you guys wants to drive that far the offer is still open. I really should not go do it this year unless they are monster cedars. I do know that general area is know for having big cedar although I have never logged any there. I asked him to go put another eyeball on them and he said he was going that way tomorrow.
I found Cash, Texas all the way from my place. It's on highway 34 and CR-3503. They have a cul-de-sac just to the east-northeast, a tad, called Walden Lane. (!) Yessir, must be big city types with those kinds of street projects. :D Not just everybody has a cul-de-sac. :P ;D :D
I noticed on the Texas Handbook Online website that the town tried to get itself named "Money, Texas" after their first postmaster J.A. Money (circa 1895), but it was rejected by the state and so they settled for . . . . . Cash. :D Only in Texas. We really are a strange bunch. :)
P.S. Culdesac is a common term here, but even more common is bar-ditch. They are not the same thing I know but around here they are synoymous with each other and, you hear the term bar-ditch often in conversations about the final disposition of rural drunks ;D ;)
A rural Texas cul-de-sac is called a turn around, usually found at a locked gate. With bullet holes. 8)
Quote......With bullet holes.
On which side? :D
Both. :D Similar to both sides of my mailbox.
Bar ditch is where 'slop' from the bar was deposited, and ran to somewhere else. Not necessarily pleasant for the 'somewhere else'.
Not to be confused with the sewage ditch. Indoor toilets would sometimes empty right where they were into a ditch under the building...to somewhere else.
Pulled a young, female cousin out of a sewage ditch once.
I suppose, kevjay, that in technical terms, Cash could be considered 'east texas'.
Still an interesting possibility, however.
In TN, a bar ditch is alongside a (usually country) road; probably short for borrow ditch; dirt was borrowed to build up the road.
Thurlow I would tend to think I am the cause of the mixup on how far into East Texas these trees were as opposed to Harvey being the cause. I have a hard time listening and paying attention more than a few minutes at a time before I come back to earth.
Anyhow, tomorrow I will hopefully get him to firm up for sure the size of these things. In the least, if they are as big as I hope, he said he would sell me a few sawlogs outright even if I don't go and cut them.
I never count on trees being as large as what the customer thinks though. Seems like they always end up smaller. I even did to myself one time. I had told my wife about some big pecans i was gonna take I had seen earlier in the month cruisin in one of my gimme woodlots. When I went back in the woods it was if someone had replaced these "50 inchers" with 36 inchers. In my excitement I had really not looked them over well evidently. I bet we have all been guilty of that a time or two.
More info. This guy says I can have the white oaks that are under 20". Says there are lots of 'em that size and lots much bigger but don't want me cutting the ones over 20". I didn't try to work him over yet but I'm gonna.
I never run into White Oak here in my county I'd like to cut some. That's too small for 1/4 saw though ain't it. Is flat sawn white oak worth the time? I know the market is depressed right now. But he says they are all nice and straight.
Quote from: kevjay on June 06, 2007, 06:30:30 PM
That's too small for 1/4 saw though ain't it. Is flat sawn white oak worth the time? I know the market is depressed right now. But he says they are all nice and straight.
14"+ would make great q.s. flooring. White oak logs are hot right now. Making alot of wiskey barrels and Q.S. Oak is picking up steam. Alot of people dont know what q.s. oak but they love it when they see it.
A fellow told me one time he went to look at some 3' cedars. A woman said she had a lot of cedars. He asked how big they were. She said about 3' and made a big circle with her arms and said she couldn't begin to get her arms around them. So he drove a good bit to her place and went to look at the big cedars. He said he couldn't wait to look at cedars that big. She went out back of the house and said there they are. A field full of 10 foot tall cedars that were about 3' diameter. Thats from tip of the limb to tip of the limb.
He said he asks more questions now.
Quote from: tcsmpsi on June 06, 2007, 11:50:46 AM
We might be able to make a happy camper out of him, depending on the particulars.
Let me know what you can about him. I'm going up to my mill's birthplace this week to pick up some stuff, leave some stuff and perhaps 'build' some stuff.
Did he give any indication as to his use for the ERC?
Hey Tcmpsi when you go up to Nac... do some recon & look to see how "Mr. Rodgers's" mill is coming along!!! They're building it and I'm busting at the seams waiting to get it!
Cedarman: Pretty funny about the 3' Cedars!
I'll do just that, hammerdown. Your's is the LM2?
Don't bust. Just work on getting all your other stuff done, and ready for the mill.
You ain't going to have time for much of anything else once you get it. ;)
Quote from: Cedarman on June 06, 2007, 11:15:23 PMHe said he asks more questions now.
So do I. That's why I askked him to go back out there and look at them again before I drive all the way out there. I'm wising up too after having experinced this Big Tree Syndrome more than once myself.
I even told him if he wants to email me some pictures that would be great. He said he would if he could rustle up his camera.
I should hear from him later to day. If not that's the first red flag but I am thinking positive. :)
Quote from: 379hammerdown on June 06, 2007, 11:29:12 PM
Hey Tcmpsi when you go up to Nac... do some recon & look to see how "Mr. Rodgers's" mill is coming along!!! They're building it and I'm busting at the seams waiting to get it!
Cedarman: Pretty funny about the 3' Cedars!
hammerdown,
They're doing lots of stuff up there presently. Looks like they've hired on a couple more hands, and are in the process of enlarging a bit. I looked at the list....
Don't go busting. There are some LM2 heads in various stages of production. I don't remember what your preliminary delivery date was, but I suspect it might be a little longer.
And then, I showed up. :D
I ust read over on fishman's "what to do with these oaks" where Bibbyman says good white oak will bring more than the lumber sawn from them. I guess he is talking about the ones that will make veneer? I didn't want to hijack fishmans thread when I have already got some white oak questions here.
Another question Mike H you say I can q.s. 14"+ - that would mean rift too I suppose mno true q.s.ing, bit still rift sawn makes okay flooring too? Reason I ask is I thought white oak moves alot and with logs <20" I just fured waste would be too much.
Here is a old 14" red oak I quarter sawed all bark had fallen off.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14977/IMG_8184.JPG)
Then I take the four quarters and take more true q.s. boards.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14977/IMG_8185.JPG)
Then run trough edger at 3.25",4.25",and 5.25" for flooring at 2.5",3.5"and 4.5"
ended up with about 40bdft of pure beauty.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14977/IMG_8186.JPG)
More time to cut? yes, more waste? That depends on how you look at it. There is a Church down the road that has original Q.S. White Oak floor over 110 years old. The reason its still there is stability of Q.S. Oak.
Mike
That was an excellent tutorial Mike, thank you. How did you clamp the wedge?
Lay wedge flat, slide clamp under push up a little and squeeze againt rollers on dog. It will pop off a few times, takes a little practice. The rollers usually hang up in bark so you can get a good low squeeze.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14977/IMG_8185.JPG)
This one was real hard to get with no bark, otherwise its pretty easy.