How much do you charge?

francismilker · November 25, 2012, 07:43:45 AM

I've wondered what the going rate for custom sawing is. I've been asking $40 per hour or .50 per bd. ft.

I realize it depends on how much wood you turn out and a lot of differen't variables like equipment, logs, conditions, and etc, but is there a general "per hour" price to get me in the ballpark?

I'm not interested in doing it as a 40 hour work week, but folks are asking me to slice their logs and I need to know what's fair. One guy brought me 26 cedars last week and jumped at $40 per hour but I wondered if I was overcharging him. One thing about his specific deal was that before I started cutting I told him the type of logs he'd brought would be low producers. They were all 14" at the base and 4" at the tip type of trees. It was a sentimental deal where his wife wanted "those" trees cut into boards to line her horse stalls and he was happy to ablige her. I just hate all that turning and slab removal to get four 8' 1x4's!!!!!!
Thanks.

bandmiller2 · November 25, 2012, 08:01:58 AM

Fran,your in the ballpark.Charge more for hardwood.As long as you explain things to the customers so they understand, you can't get chicken soup from chicken s***.

ladylake · November 25, 2012, 08:05:26 AM

$40 a hour seems low, .50 a bf seems high. What kind of mill? Steve

dgdrls · November 25, 2012, 08:07:27 AM

"It was a sentimental deal where his wife wanted "those" trees cut into boards to line her horse stalls and he was happy to ablige her."
Looks like your helping a fellow with a Honeydo :D.

Your price seems fair to me and the gentlemen didn't balk so it may even be a bit low.
Keep going and let the gentlemen know what your production per log is earlier than later.

Best
DGdrls

Magicman · November 25, 2012, 08:26:15 AM

My immediate thought was the same as Steve above. The hourly rate is a bit low, and the bf rate is a bit too high. At least for my area anyway.

As you saw more jobs keep records. Compare the lumber produced figured both ways. On a full day's work I like for it to figure out about the same if charged either way. I prefer to bill hourly rate on Cedar, and bf on everything else.

slider · November 25, 2012, 08:37:09 AM

I'm with steve and mm.Hourly is low and bd ft is a bit high.On soft woods i get 30 cent for portable work.If they bring it to me i charge 25 cents.If some hard wood is in the mix i usually don't charge extra.

ladylake · November 25, 2012, 08:39:41 AM

One other thing, sawing any small or crooked logs just go by the hour. Steve

irvi00 · November 25, 2012, 09:43:38 AM

Do you guys have an understanding with the customer for any damages from metal in the log? We charge by the hour to offset any downtime if we have to stop and change bits or file any damaged teeth.

thecfarm · November 25, 2012, 09:51:58 AM

Ask Magicman to show the link for his contract. ;)

Ga Mtn Man · November 25, 2012, 10:44:22 AM

On a recent two-day mobile job, I sawed SYP into 1x for 0.30/bd-ft and made better than my target hourly rate of $50/hour after expenses, despite some serious blade issues mentioned in an earlier post . Last week I was sawing red and white oak at 0.35/bd-ft. The job should have taken one day but stretched into two for a number of reasons: the logs were short (8'), the customer didn't know what lumber he wanted sawn, he was kind of slow as an off-bearer, and he didn't want to get started any earlier than 9 a.m . The job netted me about $25/hour :(. I'm considering going to an hourly rate for everything except for pine.

YellowHammer · November 25, 2012, 11:42:57 AM

Around here, if they bring the logs to my mill, I charge $0.35 /bdft but increase to $0.50 per bdft if the logs are less than 12 inches in diameter or shorter than 8 feet long. I also charge $75 per hr if I have to crank up my chainsaw. I don't like necessarily pricing at the current market, I have come up with these prices based on my production and profit experience, (and how much I need to get paid to make me saw someone else's logs) :D.

On the other hand, many of the established mobile sawyers I know of charge around $75 per hour because, as one of my sawmill buddies said "it keeps the customer motivated to help and not talk so much."

To most folks these hourly rates aren't unreasonable because they know from experience that other heavy equipment with a skilled operator such as bulldozers, wheel loaders, track hoes, and others usually run in this same range per hour.
YH

Mark Emig · November 25, 2012, 12:32:03 PM

I just had a guy contact me for a job-"a big one" Told him I charged 45 bucks an hour plus damage to blades, plus truck mileage. He told me that he paid the "going rate" of 35 bucks an hour, plus he wanted a discount for 8 hour days of sawing-$320 day. He said the last guy had no problem with the $. I asked why the last guy wasn't still milling for him then. Rule #1-you can't lose money on a job you refuse. Figure ALL your costs-this includes downtime for repairs etc, taxes on $$ made etc.. I just charge an hourly rate-don't bother with the BF pricing. If you figure realistically 45 bucks an hour isn't much. You'll end up with 20-25 an hour left IF you're lucky/good, and that really is not much of a wage at todays level. You'll find it difficult to get 40 billable hours of sawing done in a week.

Magicman · November 25, 2012, 01:57:25 PM

My rates are not negotiable. I may round off a half hour's sawing or not scale a few boards, but that is my option.

Sawing contract for any that are interested: LINK

pineywoods · November 25, 2012, 02:28:46 PM

I'm considering a totally different method of charging. I've found that most customers don't have a clue what a board foot is and have no idea how much time it will take to saw a log into lumber. Using either method sometimes leaves the customer feeling he's being ripped off because he doesn't any idea what the job will cost out of his pocket. I'm considering charging by the foot of log length ie a 12 foot long log will cost you 12 X my rate, an 8 footer 8 X the same rate. Customer knows ahead of time what the cost will be. Probably set one rate for anything under 18 inches and another for over 18. I'm thinking if I set the rates right, should average out about the same as bd ft or hour. Customer happy knowing cost before hand, I'm happy with a decent return..The sticky part will be setting the rates that are fair to both.

Charles135 · November 25, 2012, 02:36:17 PM

MagicMan,
I like the contract! I will use if you don't mind.

Pineywoods,
With your new paymebnt schedule, how do you adjust for different thickness? Are you just figuring you have the same number of cuts for a 4/4 board as you do, say a 16/4?
Charlie

John Bartley · November 25, 2012, 03:15:46 PM

I have always, and will always charge by the hour. Customers who are slow at the off-bearing, or who have bad logs should not have an impact on the income of the sawyer. We supply a professional service with professional equipment, and we work at a consistent speed, so why should our pay rate vary because of factors that we have no control over?

My rate is $60.00 per hour. I start charging when I turn the key, and I stop charging when I stop for a break or to quit for the day.

That's just how and why I do it, and is not a comment on anyone elses's way of doing things.

John

francismilker · November 25, 2012, 06:00:08 PM

Thanks so much for the replies. I just got intouch with a guy (10 minutes ago) in my area who saws with a lumbermate 2000 and is getting $75 an hour which I thought was a little high. He says he's done trying to cut by the bd. ft. due to customers bringing undesirable trees and expecting desirable results which I understand.

Majicman, thanks for the link.

ladylake · November 25, 2012, 06:17:20 PM

Thanks for the reply, too many post and we never hear back from them.. Too me $75 a hour with a manual mill is high, with a hyd mill that puts out 300bf + per hour is fine. Steve

Solomon · November 25, 2012, 06:19:40 PM

I know one other fellow in my area who has a band mill and he makes his living with it. Its an older LT40 with a 2 cylinder onan motor and few bells or whistles and he is Charging $90.00 per hour. I have charged $1.00 per bf. We are in a metropolitan area and the only two doing it within 100 miles of us and he is the ONLY one doing it full time around here. If and when I saw for some one I get a $500.00 minimum. As you can see I have a good size Hydraulic mill.

WindyAcres · November 25, 2012, 06:23:24 PM

Hello guys,

this is a great forum!

I have bought a WM Lt40 Hd G28 last year and milled a lot for myself so far. Currently building a 26x30 woodshop... In the winter I cut 9000 bf of hemlock for a guy.. It was a nightmare because I charged 25 cent/bf and he wanted anything from 1x2s to live edge siding, 3x8s, 8x8s.. Length anything from 8-16 feet, from 6 inch at the small end to 20 inches.. He was the only helper.. So I had to help him off bearing (the beams e.g.), I kept track off all the different dimensions for calculation,.. some of the logs had like a 4 inch sweep in it...
It was very frustrating (probably cut around 1000 bf in a long hard day). I should have quit but I did a good job and got it done. It was a learning experience and wont happen again.

I now charge 45$/h for my labour (I am not there to off bear for free all the time, to talk to the neighbour, to work by myself because the guy as an appointment,..) with a 3 hour minimum and I charge 30$ for a damaged blade (rocks, metall,..). Setup Fee and Milage Fee depends on contract volume. I dont charge for taking a brake, for machine problems,..

Thats pretty much it. 45$/h is not much but I am happy with it. Anything less is not acceptable for me- thats why I am charging by the hour.
I make sure that the costumer understands my mill though.. If he has a lot of small logs (small end 6 inches).. I tell him what I expect to get for a production rate... you can get a dry, planed, stamped 2x8 for 55 cent/bf delivered to your house from the store.. Of course there are other factors.. there is a value of using your own lumber,etc. But I want both- my customer and myself happy. I like things clarified before I start..

Once in a while somebody drops in and asks what I charge.. I tell them and so far I got no orders (not true, I have a small job coming up but..). I am really busy with other things but on the other hand, I am not using that expensive equipment as much as I should. And I love the milling, so would be good to do more. Maybe I get rid of the mill in a few years if it doesnt pick up. We will see..

Happy milling,
Fabian

ladylake · November 25, 2012, 06:35:06 PM

Quote from: WindyAcres on November 25, 2012, 06:23:24 PM
Hello guys,

this is a great forum!

I have bought a WM Lt40 Hd G28 last year and milled a lot for myself so far. Currently building a 26x30 woodshop... In the winter I cut 9000 bf of hemlock for a guy.. It was a nightmare because I charged 25 cent/bf and he wanted anything from 1x2s to live edge siding, 3x8s, 8x8s.. Length anything from 8-16 feet, from 6 inch at the small end to 20 inches.. He was the only helper.. So I had to help him off bearing (the beams e.g.), I kept track off all the different dimensions for calculation,.. some of the logs had like a 4 inch sweep in it...
It was very frustrating (probably cut around 1000 bf in a long hard day). I should have quit but I did a good job and got it done. It was a learning experience and wont happen again.

I now charge 45$/h for my labour (I am not there to off bear for free all the time, to talk to the neighbour, to work by myself because the guy as an appointment,..) with a 3 hour minimum and I charge 30$ for a damaged blade (rocks, metall,..). Setup Fee and Milage Fee depends on contract volume. I dont charge for taking a brake, for machine problems,..

Thats pretty much it. 45$/h is not much but I am happy with it. Anything less is not acceptable for me- thats why I am charging by the hour.
I make sure that the costumer understands my mill though.. If he has a lot of small logs (small end 6 inches).. I tell him what I expect to get for a production rate... you can get a dry, planed, stamped 2x8 for 55 cent/bf delivered to your house from the store.. Of course there are other factors.. there is a value of using your own lumber,etc. But I want both- my customer and myself happy. I like things clarified before I start..

Once in a while somebody drops in and asks what I charge.. I tell them and so far I got no orders (not true, I have a small job coming up but..). I am really busy with other things but on the other hand, I am not using that expensive equipment as much as I should. And I love the milling, so would be good to do more. Maybe I get rid of the mill in a few years if it doesnt pick up. We will see..

Happy milling,
Fabian

With good logs cutting 1" oer 1-1/2" lumber you should put out 300bf per hour with your mill which is a bargin for your customer at $45 a hour. Cutting small logs small sizes should alway be done by the hour. Steve

Sawdust Lover · November 25, 2012, 06:48:15 PM

Quote from: YellowHammer on November 25, 2012, 11:42:57 AM
Around here, if they bring the logs to my mill, I charge $0.35 /bdft but increase to $0.50 per bdft if the logs are less than 12 inches in diameter or shorter than 8 feet long. I also charge $75 per hr if I have to crank up my chainsaw. I don't like necessarily pricing at the current market, I have come up with these prices based on my production and profit experience, (and how much I need to get paid to make me saw someone else's logs) :D.

On the other hand, many of the established mobile sawyers I know of charge around $75 per hour because, as one of my sawmill buddies said "it keeps the customer motivated to help and not talk so much."

To most folks these hourly rates aren't unreasonable because they know from experience that other heavy equipment with a skilled operator such as bulldozers, wheel loaders, track hoes, and others usually run in this same range per hour.
YH

I have had people say that to me. How can you get $70.00 an hour when a $200,000.00 excavator only gets $100.00 an hour. I tell them the same way my lawyer charges me $100.00 an hr and my accountant charges $65.00 an hour.

WindyAcres · November 25, 2012, 07:20:55 PM

Steve,
you are right. It might be a bargain for the customer when cutting nice logs for 45$/h. But I have to say: good for him! I am happy when I get my hourly rate.

Yes, its scary what kind of money you have to make these days.

learner · November 25, 2012, 08:02:17 PM

I charge $65 an hour from off-loading to loading their trailer with the sawn wood. $30 for each and every blade damaged by foreign objects and the clock keeps running while the blade is changed out.
The clock stops only for breaks, lunch or the end of the working day. Being a new startup mill I haven't worked out what to charge if they want the wood stacked and just air-dryed or also kilned. Both drying techniques require space and extra work. I also need to figure out what to charge if they want it all planed or cut to length. Any ideas good people?

John Bartley · November 25, 2012, 08:16:21 PM

Quote from: learner on November 25, 2012, 08:02:17 PM
I charge $65 an hour from off-loading to loading their trailer with the sawn wood. $30 for each and every blade damaged by foreign objects and the clock keeps running while the blade is changed out.
The clock stops only for breaks, lunch or the end of the working day. Being a new startup mill I haven't worked out what to charge if they want the wood stacked and just air-dryed or also kilned. Both drying techniques require space and extra work. I also need to figure out what to charge if they want it all planed or cut to length. Any ideas good people?

How about $65/hr ... ?

John