What to charge?

[9shooter]

I have a guy that wants some wide long slabs cut and i wonder if you folks charge a premium for these over "regular" sized stuff.  He wants beech and maple 18" or wider 16-18 ft. long. 6/4 and 8/4. I'm milling the beech now and some of the boards should go 28" wide. They know that these boards will cup and move when drying and are actually counting on that as an positive. ??

[backwoods sawyer]

I would just charge my hourly rate.
To me it does not matter whether they are making pennies per bft or dollars per bft, I stick with my same rate.

[metalspinner]

Are they from your logs?  If so a premium should be attached. 

But, if it's the customer's logs, you may be better off by the BF if you have a hyraulic mill and an efficient setup.

A manuel mill and the bare neccesities  (cant hook and sweat) by the hour for sure.

This opinion is coming from an experienced customer - not a sawyer.

[James P.]

hi 9shooter, can't advise you on what to charge but I would be interested in knowing what use they have for the beech, I have some big beech trees and always thought they were good for RR ties and not much else. really just curious. Would be nice if i could use them for something for myself. thanks James P.

[9shooter]

The boards are going into a multi-million $ home for some kind of shelf?  I don't know the particulars but it sounded like a shelf that sticks out of a wall, cantilever style.  I warned them that this wood moves a lot when drying and would crack. They said that was desirable and that it would be further distressed for effect. ??  Them rich folks can have anything they want in the lumber world as long as they pay!!  Funny that they did not want anything in the "normal" department. It had to be something us regular folks couldn't get.

[Tom]

There's two ways to get what "regular" folks can't get.   One is to have enough money that you buy what you want and pay someone to install it.   The other way is to buy, or build, the tool and make it yourself.  If you can make it to sell to someone with  bunch of money, you can make it to use yourself.

Woodmizer's  "Best" contests are examples of what Mr. Average can do with a tool.

Having a sawmill falls into the same catagory as having a fish hook.  :D

The people who buy everything they own are the label on the football.  Those who built it, are the air, the pigskin and the threads.   No air, no football. :D

I've got a friend/customer who is a framing contractor who builds strange stuff for people who are building having built, big homes.  I've sold him many timbers for shelves.  Some have been in the 20"x4"x 20' range.  Yep, they had the idea that it was going to be a shelf that made a room divider and they were going to put a big fish aquarium on it.  "More power to them", I said, as I sliced it up.  ;D

It has always been from the customer's logs and sawed by the board foot.  They would keep coming back.