what to charge for 8"x16"x42 foot timber

[northernss454]

I have someone that needs a long timber I can cut,I know there should be a premium it comes out to 448bft. Can someeone give me a example of what they charge.
thanks

[customsawyer]

Need a bit more info. What kind of log/timber is it? How plentiful is this species in your area? How many other sawyers in your area that can cut it? Basically it boils down to supply and demand and wane will be allowed.   

[northernss454]

White spruce very common in area,as far as someone that can cut timber that long dont know of anyone in my province. A few sawyer around noone will do that too much work to keep moving timber down.i was thinking a buck a board foot am I low?
Thanks

[bill m]

To figure out what you need to charge for it you need to figure all of the costs involved. How much do you have to pay for the logs and is that on the landing or delivered? Then figure how long it will take you to saw them and what you charge per hour. Don't forget trucking costs if you have to deliver them or loading costs if you have to load them. In some areas of the country moving long logs like that is common so finding someone to truck them is easy. In my area it is not so common and trucking can be a little more expensive.

[Brucer]

...I was thinking a buck a board foot am I low?

Yes.

If I were to cut that in Douglas-Fir, I'd be charging $3.40 per BF, or about $1500 for the timber. And yes, people do pay that sort of money for a #1 structural D-Fir timber. To put this in perspective, I charge (and get) $1.50 per BF for 8x8 timbers under 20'.

Part of the price is species-related, so you would need to consider that. Here are some of the factors that come into play in my case.

• I'd need a straight, defect-free log measuring 19" at the top. That would cost me about $600 delivered.
• Besides the main timber, I could probably get 230 BF of small timbers off the side, and about 340 BF of relatively low-value side lumber. Unless I had an immediate call for the smaller stuff, I'd have to cut it, store it, and hope to sell it before it deteriorated.
• Handling 42 -foot slabs and flitches takes longer than handling the equivalent volume in shorter lengths.
• Cutting time per BF is higher.
• I would need to recover the extra cost of the mill extension.

[Don_Papenburg]

TJIs run about 3.00 on up a running foot .  LVLs about the same or more . two inches or less in width.  That is all less than 30 foot , longer lengths cost a lot more . TJIs  are made of lumber chips ,LVLs are laminated veneers,  so they are all made of cheaper and shorter lumber. Don't be afraid to ask a premium for a premium product. Go to a local lumber yard and price an LVL in the demention that you need to saw . You will be amaised at the price .   

[customsawyer]

If you start cutting them for a $1.00/bf than it won't be very long and you will have more work than you can do. This will not be a good thing as you will be losing money or just breaking even on each timber. The reason these timbers cost so much more is that there is that much more work in handling them and the lumber off of them.