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First mobile job

Started by Chaser357, April 09, 2018, 09:24:27 PM

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Chaser357

Getting ready to do my first mobile job.  I know I've read a post on things to be sure not to forget to take along but can't seem to find it now.   I've done a lot of sawing at my place and am confident in my sawing, just nervous about sawing in front of others.   One thing I was thinking about, do y'all let the customer sticker their lumber as you saw or make them wait till the end of the day?   How's a nice way to tell the customer to wait?

Crossroads

Don't tell them to wait, tell them to pick up the pace lol 
I make sure to bring my chain saw, gas/oil, cant hooks, extra blades, extra 5 gal. Water for the blade lube. Extra fuel. Bottle water and a box of cliff bars. I don't stop for lunch unless the customer forces me to by providing lunch. Otherwise I grab a cliff bar on the fly. Charging by the hour it's easy to convince the customer that my time is better spent making lumber as opposed to stacking lumber. Have fun
With the right fulcrum and enough leverage, you can move the world!

2017 LT40 wide, BMS250 and BMT250,036 stihl, 2001 Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins, l8000 Ford dump truck, hr16 Terex excavator, Valley je 2x24 edger, Gehl ctl65 skid steer, JD350c dozer

WV Sawmiller

   How much and what size lumber are you sawing? How many helpers does the customer have? Is the lumber being moved or air dried where you cut it?

An advantage to them stickering as you cut is you can show them how to properly sticker it. If you do be sure everything is set up before you start cutting. This includes plenty of stickers, dunnage or pallets for all sizes to be cut close to the mill so they don't delay cutting to move it to the stack.

Xroads makes a real good point about how you are charging. If hourly no problem to let them sticker as you saw.

 Many of the steps I can do alone as fast as with a helper such as pushing flitches off on the loading arms for future edging. Removing the slabs by myself is almost as fast if the slab pile is right behind me. I can push the cut boards off on the arms or let several rest on the cant and they can remove and stack them from there while I continue cutting. They can safely pull off boards on my return trip to the front of the cant.

I do it both ways depending on the job. If you are wanting to rush through the job tell them up front they have to keep up and not delay you. I am very seldom in that much of a rush. Good luck.

BTW - this is a similar thread you may want to read 
General Sawing tips for portable sawyers in Sawmills and Milling
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Magicman

I see no problems and many advantages to stack/sticker as the lumber is pulled off of the sawmill.  My preference is to never tough a stick of lumber or a slab.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

SawyerTed

I did my first mobile job a few weeks ago.  Yes sawing in front of others is intimidating.  I sawed into a back stop for the first time on that job And had to back out of the cut for the first time.  I also had a minor breakdown on that job, the first on my mill.  The following is based on advice I got here sometime ago.  it amounts to a truck load of gear.

Some things to remember:
Fuel
Blades
Cant hooks
Wedges in case you have to back out of a cut
Hammer or hatchet to drive the wedges
Basic mechanics tools, wrenches, screwdrivers, socket set, pliers, Allen wrenches
Owners manual
Chainsaw, fuel, oil in case logs need trimming (extra charge if mine fires up)
Blade lube-Dawn or whatever recipe you use
Blocks to level the mill
Safety gear-glasses, hearing protection, gloves
Fire extinguisher
First aid kit (for yourself - others in an emergency)
Tape measure(s)
Small framing square
Leaf blower to blow the sawdust off/out of the mill
I carry an additional jack because I have trouble releasing pressure on my leveling jacks - probably operator error.
Lunch, water, coffee etc

If the owner is off bearing or paying the off bearer, aka tail gunner, and they can sticker and offbear AND keep up, then great.  Stickering as you go is likely a two person job.  If they are slowing you down, not a problem on an hourly job, big problem on a board foot job.  Off bearing and log handling was my biggest slow down on my first job.  The young twenty somethings the owner hired just were a little slow on doing the next thing that needed doing.

As crossroads said-relax and have fun.  Most folks haven't seen a mobile sawmill operate.  Educate them a little before you arrive and things will go much smoother.
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

Chaser357

Thanks for the comments.   Exactly what I was looking for.   I will be cutting beetle killed syp.  Customer is remodeling his house and wants the blued lumber.  Just didn't know exactly what to expect with the lumber handling.   I have everything setup the way I want it with just me at my yard so I'm sure it will be different if everything isn't exactly as it usually is.   And I know handling the lumber takes me more time than any other part of it. 

Crossroads

Something to keep in mind is that it's pretty easy to keep 2 helpers busy if they are stickering as you cut. 1 person can almost keep up most of the time, but with only 1 helper you can plan on either waiting for them to catch up or push them in the bottlenecks by helping when you have them buried. Typically I help them get caught up, but sometimes I take advantage of those times to fill up the gas tank, fill up the lube water, fire up the leaf blower and clean the mill off or knock down the pile of saw dust. I never fill my coffee cup or grab my cliff bar while the customer is getting caught up, I'm just not wired in a way that I can watch someone else work while I'm drinking coffee (around the sawmill anyway, my day job is union and we have trade lines we aren't supposed to cross, 20 years ago that was a real struggle, but I'm learning lol)
With the right fulcrum and enough leverage, you can move the world!

2017 LT40 wide, BMS250 and BMT250,036 stihl, 2001 Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins, l8000 Ford dump truck, hr16 Terex excavator, Valley je 2x24 edger, Gehl ctl65 skid steer, JD350c dozer

DPatton

I did my first mobile job over a year ago January for an ex supervisor of the company I still work for. He owns a company that we still hire on the side when needed.  It went great. It went better than great, as I was working for a guy who understood the value. He actually sent me a $200.00 bonus because he understood exactly what he had in the lumber I sawed his logs for him. Very satisfying!
TimberKing 1600, 30' gooseneck trailer, Chevy HD2500, Echo Chainsaw, 60" Logrite.

Work isn't so bad when you enjoy what your doing.
D & S Sawmill Services

justallan1

Although I don't saw mobile I do have folks at my house and one of the very first things I tell them is to stay away from the side of the mill that the sawdust shoots out, for fear of the day a blade will also.
My mill kicks out sawdust on the operator side, so I stack on the off side when I have help, but you can guarantee someone will always come stand right in front of the sawdust outlet to try to talk. I keep an eye on where everyone is at, but I don't talk to folks while the blade is in the log.
Another thing to look at is for some reason some young lady will show up with a new born baby for a picture or whatever. It's happened twice now and I shut the mill completely off and explain that some species can cause an allergic reaction and/or respiratory problems, especially for the little ones.
Possibly I'm a little too leery, but so far everyone's happy and healthy.

Magicman

Quote from: Chaser357 on April 09, 2018, 09:24:27 PMOne thing I was thinking about, do y'all let the customer sticker their lumber as you saw or make them wait till the end of the day? How's a nice way to tell the customer to wait?
I thought a bit more about this today.  If you are sawing by the bf and the help is stickering instead of keeping the slabs/lumber flowing from the sawmill, then that is a problem.  Your object is to make production and that can't be done when the help is not helping.  When that happens it's time to have a casual conversation with the help and re-establish priorities.  I said casual because that should get it done.  
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Chaser357

That's what I was thinking.   I will be sawing by the bd ft.  I have known the guy for a long time and I think things will be fine just don't want to get started out on the wrong foot by making him mad or him making me mad either.

  I don't know how much mobile work I will be doing but hoping to get a little more in the future.   I haven't advertised any but have had several calls for on site sawing.   I really have a pretty good gig sawing pallet runners for a local pallet shop.   I make more money doing that but they have me on a quota of sorts.  But I don't have to sticker that or trim ends or anything.  They want 10 or 12 ft runners for specialty equipment pallets and they trim them as needed.  They don't care if it's pine or gum or whatever I can get.  Really works out good cause I raise cattle as my main job and it gives me time to devote to both.  Have had really good luck getting logs for a great price from a logger friend. 

Skipper11A

Quote from: justallan1 on April 09, 2018, 11:59:51 PM
Another thing to look at is for some reason some young lady will show up with a new born baby for a picture or whatever. It's happened twice now and I shut the mill completely off and explain that some species can cause an allergic reaction and/or respiratory problems, especially for the little ones.
I want to hear more details about this problem with the young ladies!

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