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Buying Maple logs?

Started by Iron Mtn Scott, February 06, 2013, 07:08:55 PM

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Iron Mtn Scott

I've retired from the "regular" job & have owned a Lucas Mill for the last few years. Cutting Maple (bigleaf) and birch off my land. Times come to do a little more and get some wood for woodworking stored up into the barns. I have mostly milled all 5/4 until now but see I need lots of 8/4, 16/4 as well. So here's the situation. I live here in the southwest of BC Canada.  The maple market was hot as can be until the economic crash a few years ago. Soft maple was selling for approx $80/cu meter. Now using my math, (vol of a cyclinder) a Cu meter of wood should be approx 8 1/2' long log, with a small end of 26". (Hopefully someone will tell me if this is so as I spent about 25 minutes trying to get to this!) A log truck driver I just spoke with a local log truck driver who seemed to think a cu/m of timber required a log 30" X 10'.  So maybe I'm wrong? Doyle scale says it should yield perhaps 320 brd/ft of lumber. Scribner says pretty much the same.  We had 2 local mills buying maple hardwood in my area. As I mentioned, back when life was good, they paid $80/cu meter delivered to their mill. These had to be prime logs, straight, without any defect and to the mill within 10 days of being cut. (was mostly exported to China) 
Now after the financial crash, the mills only paid $40-$45 a cu/m. Then one dropped maple buying all together & just recently so did the other mill. Only cutting cedar & Doug fir now.  Most maple it seems get sent for chip and barely pays for the trucking now. (so I'm told) I'd like to try to buy logs from various sources here for myself although it appears the maple market is kaput.
Would it be best suggested for me to offer to pay as much as the what the mills were paying for the logs after the crash & they stopped buying, or do I need to sweeten the pie to generate some action?  I've bought the odd individual tree from tree outfits which is alright but when I need to pay for a self loading short truck, it costs me about $100/hr for that operator & his truck. 
When I look at what the mill was paying, it seems I should pay about $40-$50 for a 26" top, 10 1/2 foot log, straight, fresh maple log delivered. Does my math and costing seem legit to you gentlemen?  I expect to pay a fair price for a quality log, but don't want to be gouged either but I need it to be worthwhile and worthwhile for people who access these logs to want to do business with me. Any thoughts are always appreciated. Iread a good thread on "buying logs" on the forum but it often spoke of yields of tons/volume or discussed softwood yields which are of course quite different from hardwood. 

WIwoodworker

If I could get 24" TO 30" Hard Maple logs 8' to 10' long straight with minimal defect I would happily pay $45 cubic meter. That works out to about .15bf. Log prices are very much a regional thing but I would pay twice that and not even feel bad. That said, you've got nothing to lose by getting an ad out there offering to buy. Start at the level you're thinking. You can always raise the price you're offering if it get's no response.
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pyrocasto

I agree I would pay that or more, but my area of the market is different than most and prices on the market do differ a lot.

Iron Mtn Scott

Oh I hear what you saying but you have to remember, this is bigleaf soft maple. Not nearly the highly sought after eastern hard "rock" maple.  Man, if I could buy hard maple for that price I'd be doing a jig!  But alas, all I've got here on the west coast is soft maple. (mind you it scores almost the same as walnut on the "Janka" ?scale for hardness so "soft maple" is a bit of a bad name, and it does have a higher liklihood of figure too!   Does that seem reasonable to people?  Paying $40 a cu meter for log delivered? (most logs I'll mill will be in that size)

terrifictimbersllc

Bigleaf maple is used for guitars and stringed orchestra instruments (double basses etc).  This past year I resawed a stack of bigleaf maple acquired by a double bass maker and held by him for over 10 years (first link).  I would think there a market for this wood if you knew the cuts and could identify prime logs.  Knowledge and connections would be key.

http://www.uptonbass.com/Upton-Bass-Concord-Upright-Bass/
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/woods/body-woods/big-leaf-maple
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2003710429_maple17m.html
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/exotic_hardwoods/domestic_wood/big_leaf_maple_lumber/big_leaf_maple_wood.html


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