Get a couple of warm days...

[Brian_Bailey]

an the phone starts ringing.  I answer an the voice at the other end says, Hey Brian, I've got some logs I want you to saw, can I bring them up?  I sez sure, but it will probably be sometime in April before I can get to them. I don't saw in the winter. That's OK he sez,  just want to take advantage of these couple of warm days and get them up to you. It's suppose to turn cold again tomorrow.

I really don't have too much room for logs because of all the snow we've gotten this winter,but what the heck, I'll make room for em cause it's just like having money in the bank.

[Minnesota_boy]

Three years ago, I didn't saw in the winter either.  It's tough on the equipment and on the sawyer I'd say. The jobs will wait untill spring.

then I got a call in February from a commercial mill.  We had a fire and our mill burned and we need some help getting out some special orders!

 I'll think about it, I replied.  A week later, I looked over the operation and the next day I signed a contract with them.  Not for a bunch of money, but a chance to saw a bit in the winter and get some extra income in a slack time.  Before I moved on to my already promised customers, I had sawed over 100,000 board feet for them and learned a lot about sawing in bad weather.

This year (two years later), I got a call just before Christmas from the same mill.  Will you be willing to buy an extension for your mill and saw long cants for us?  Our regular guy promised to come in October and hasn't shown up yet.  I'll think about it, I replied.  The money was better (per bd-ft) so I agreed to do that if they would increase the amount of logs to make the payback faster.  I've sawed over 30,000 ft so ffar and more logs are coming in.  

Yes, it is hard on the mill and on the sawyer.  I saw when I think I can handle the weather and won't damage the mill more than the payback will cover and will end up with an extra 50,000 bd-ft that I wouldn't have sawed this year, which will really help the bottom line.  If I had to, I'd get a snowplow for my truck and take on more jobs in the winter, as long as I had a little shelter from the cold wind and a decent place to stack the lumber, or a customer that would haul it out of my way.  I've learned that the cutoff temperature for my mill is around -10 degrees F, below that and the engine has problems, the feed hesitates, and the electric driven lift will pop the circuit breaker, so I look at the thermometer before I decide if this will be a sawing day.  Sometimes I will quit a little early if the weather is worse than I thought.

[Kevin_H.]

I have sawed inside at a customers farm for the last 2 days.
Raining and sleet outside, nice and dry inside, Plenty of room to get 10 logs inside and close the doors.
Man I have got to get me a building...

Same thing here brian, we get a couple of days of warm weather and the phone calls start. Problem is we book'em but never have enough good weather to get them done before we get behind.

Oh well I guess everyone needs to get a little behind every now and then.   :D

[Brian_Bailey]

Hows that saying go? If opportunity knocks ...  

I've let a few jobs slip thru my fingers that I should have jumped on. I also have taken a few large pole barn jobs and found that it got rather boring just sawing the same dimension stock day after day. So now I limit my jobs to small custom ones and sawing for myself. Life seems much simpler, which is what I strive for.  I rather hear my smoothing plane glide over a board on my work bench than to hear my teeth chatter from the cold   .

In about 2 weeks the guy that brought his logs up today will probably call asking if I had a chance to do anything with his logs yet. He'll remind me that there's no hurry but he was just checking ;D .  Yep, just like money in the bank :D  :D

[L. Wakefield]

an the phone starts ringing.  I answer an the voice at the other end says, Hey Brian, I've got some logs I want you to saw, can I bring them up?  I sez sure, but it will probably be sometime in April before I can get to them. I don't saw in the winter. That's OK he sez,  just want to take advantage of these couple of warm days and get them up to you. It's suppose to turn cold again tomorrow.

I really don't have too much room for logs because of all the snow we've gotten this winter,but what the heck, I'll make room for em cause it's just like having money in the bank.


 

   Yeah, they're in the bank alright!   :D :D :D  you get to withdraw them once the bank melts a bit.. lw

[Brian_Bailey]

LW,  I hope the bank doesn't melt too fast, cause I'll probably have to float a loan .  That woodn't be in my best interest :D

[Ron Scott]

The timber producer plowed 1/2 mile of access road into the cutting area on Friday so he can get started on an oak timber harvest tomorrow morning. The required road culvert and fill connecting the access with the county road had been put in earlier fortunately when there was less snow.

[Brian_Bailey]

My place is located in one of Lake Erie's infamous snow belts.  I'll be getting pounded by a snow storm and 5 miles north of me the sun is shining and no snow.  When someone calls me from a non belt area about getting some lumber or about bringing up some logs. I'll tell them how bad the weather is, I know they think I'm nuts, until they find out for themselves.

[Ron Scott]

I'm familiar with your Lake Erie snow belt there. It's very similar to our lake effect snows off Lake Michigan here. We've had some "hairy" winter landing approaches into the Jamestown, NY airport.

[Brian_Bailey]

The bad thing about the lake effect snow is, the bands meander back an forth as the wind shifts direction. The snow can pile up in a hurry. At least Erie freezes over and that pretty much shuts down the lake effect machine, now Ontario is another story, that lake doesn't freeze over.  Those poor folks from about Watertown, down to Syracuse,NY really get pounded. Once in awhile if the winds come out of the north or n.east we will get a taste of Ontario LES.

In the summer, we get a lot of cloudy days because of the lake.  That is why I went with DH instead of solar for a kiln.

[RMay]

Here in south Arkansas we;ve had only a trace amount of snow this winter .But tonight were geting freezing rain it is all ready freezing to the roads & powerlines . Hope it turns to snow soon .  :(  8)

[CHARLIE]

It's -2 degrees in Dover, Minnesota right now (9:45pm). Supposed to drop to -14 degrees before it starts warming up. Brace yore selves you Yoopers and Trolls. A cold snap is coming your way!