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Price Paid for the Ax Men's Logs

Started by just_sawing, March 28, 2008, 02:09:51 PM

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just_sawing

What is the cost of logs that they are cutting. I just had a customer complain that my charges for lumber was higher than Lowes (Apples to Oranges) but when I looked at what Lowes charges it made me wonder how cheap are these logs.
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KnotBB

Current price delivered to the mill for saw logs, +12", is $300/m for Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce, D. Fir should be about $100 more.
That's for long logs 32' to 40'.  Not for sure but but generally "short logs" are less.
To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

logwalker

 This Week
                         
                                                                        Mar 28    Mar 21 Year Ago 2007
Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price*      $238    $238    $274
KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L Mill Price                 207    205    234
KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes  286     285    310
Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L (Portland)                208    200    238
Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L                          270     276     255
KD Coast Hem-Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L                              200    190    260
Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1x12 R/L                    425    440    680
* Weighted average of 15 key items

This is a reprint of "Random Lengths" which is the industry newsletter out west. Note the Kiln Dry price for Coast Hemlock/Fir FOB at the mill. These are the lowest prices ever after adjusting for inflation. Very real, very scary. Joe
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

beav39

log walker you are right !very scary for the average sawman hope things change for the better these times will take alot of people out as for lowes prices small guys cannot compete with them .
sawdust in the blood

fencerowphil (Phil L.)

That figure for the Hemlock/Fir per thousand IS astounding!

Of course I realize that that is wholesale in big bulk (at least a bundle?
maybe by the truck load?), but that is less than just my sawing charge!

Sure does put a sharp point on the fact that the small sawyer must be
flexible and must fill a need or a niche!

Phil L.
Bi-VacAtional:  Piano tuner and sawyer.  (Use one to take a vacation from the other.) Have two Stihl 090s, one Stihl 075, Echo CS8000, Echo 346,  two Homely-ite 27AVs, Peterson 10" Swingblade Winch Production Frame, 36" and 54"Alaskan mills, and a sore back.

DR_Buck

Quoteas for lowes prices small guys cannot compete with them .

I've been in a lot of Lowes and Home Depot stores and I've yet to find ANY white oak, QS red oak, cherry, walnut, etc....


Don't compete with them.  Sell something better.    Somebody complains about my prices and I'll send them to Lowes.   They'll be back.  ;D
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

zopi

A small sawyer should be no different from a custom paint artist...fill in where the big volume guys can't tread...sure you can get your bike painted at Xbody shop for less $$$...but you won't get a flame job of the same quality ...

it doesn't pay to cut construction lumber...so cut timbers..or cabinet grade...
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

Dan_Shade

custom cutting construction lumber does pay.  If I were selling lumber, I wouldnt' stock construction lumber, though....

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

KnotBB

here's a link to retail prices in southwest Oregon

http://www.goldbeachlumber.com/MarketReport.htm

small town, small market but still buying from wholesalers and trying to be competitive.
To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

Tom

I have cut construction wood and it paid as good as the niche stuff.  I think the proper way to look at it is:  Don't try to compete with the big mills in cutting construction wood.   They can bury you in 2x4's before you can crank up your mill.  

They don't produce many 16" wide boards or 12x12 timbers or (6') 4x4's or crotch figure or boards that a furniture maker can plane to 1" and only have to pay 4x4 prices.

They also don't cut the end customer's logs.  If you buy their  lumber, you are buying sawing, drying, finishing and tree too.

Our customers can make out because it's their tree. We are just massaging it for them. :)

ladylake

I was at Menards the other day, I found some cherry and black walnut both priced the same 1 x6 x 6'    $43.50 each  or $14.50 bf.   At that price I could saw 50 logs a year and be happy.    Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Joel Eisner

If you are talking construction lumber, the further you get from the 2x4 the better you should do.  I am building an addition on our place and had all the framing lumber delivered from Stock Building Supply.  Ill cut all the siding out of poplar, bit B&B and shingles.  That is where you can start to compete with the big box stores.  Also the clear pine trim boards etc.  If you were to do B&B siding using SYP trim boards from Home Depot, it would be crazy expensive.
The saga of our timberframe experience continues at boothemountain.blogspot.com.

fencerowphil (Phil L.)

I am with you on that theme, Joel.

Right now I am about to use up some of my "construction lumber"
for some lumber storage facilities.  What that means is that some of
this fine #1 pine is going to be used where its strength will pay off.

No, I did not have luck getting what I thought I should for it.  As a matter
of fact, the only time I seemed to get an interested buyer was when I
had just sticker stacked what they needed at the bottom of a six foot
tall drying stack.   By that point I was fresh out of desire to restack that
given pile to sell $75 worth of 2X6s, etc.

The storage facilities will be a good use for this wood.  That way at least
I will have a way to properly segregate, display and store the more unusual
cuts which are not available at the local suppliers.  My original intention that
I cut either "big" or "weird" still seems to hold true - that is, if I am cutting for
inventory to be sold.

Phil L.
Bi-VacAtional:  Piano tuner and sawyer.  (Use one to take a vacation from the other.) Have two Stihl 090s, one Stihl 075, Echo CS8000, Echo 346,  two Homely-ite 27AVs, Peterson 10" Swingblade Winch Production Frame, 36" and 54"Alaskan mills, and a sore back.

WH_Conley

I will have to second the "construction" lumber part, especially 2x4 and 2x6x8 foot. I just tell them the box will sell them cheaper than I can buy the logs. Longer lenghts will be different, be suprised how many come back and want my 2x4's after the look at the quality, haven't lost a sale on a 2x10x16 yet. ;D ;D
Bill

Warren

Ditto what Joel and WH said.  Last year our church built a handicap ramp for a family out of PT SYP.  I priced the material list at Lowes, Home Depot and the local yard which is known for it's high prices.  The local yard was almost a $1 per piece higher on the 2x4x8ft versus the big guys.  HOWEVER, Both Lowes and HD play games with the pricing.  Their 2x4x10ft were about 50% higher than their 8ft'ers.  Their 2x4x12's were almost double the 8ft'ers.  Same conditin for the PT 2x6's.

Long story short, local yard was $15 less on a $500 order than the cheapest big box when the whole cut list was considered.  And saved 60 miles of driving.

Warren
LT40SHD42, Case 1845C,  Baker Edger ...  And still not near enough time in the day ...

cantcutter

I don't cut construction lumber. For starters I am not willing to be liable for selling un-rated structural lumber; if somebody asks me to mill 2x4s I tell them to go to lowes. I don't know what area you are in, but around here beating lowes and home depot on price is easy. Once those stores are in a location for a few years their prices rise drasticly. I am not competeing with them at all because I sell rough sawn which is real hard to find in this area.

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