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Beam me up Scottie! There is no intelligent life down here.

Started by Busy Beaver Lumber, December 01, 2010, 06:23:58 PM

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metalspinner

Back in the day (when people spent money they didn't have) I used to hire college kids to assist in the shop.  I would spend the first couple hours of my "interview" sitting across from the kid with a tape measure and an 18" steel ruler.  If they didn't "get it" or couldn't retain it, out they went. :D  Those that got it moved onto the caliper and micrometer.  If they showed promise there then they were asked to come back after lunch. :D 

BTW, that would have been just two kids of many over the years... ::)
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

pasaw

I had a call from a guy who needed some boards to make stair treads from, he had a few 28" maple logs that he wanted me to cut them from so i tell him to bring them to my place and we would cut them up. As he arrives in his pick-up with no trailer my eyebrows raised....yep he had 6 logs 28" in dia that were only 20" long so I told him due to the grain and the way they would have to be cut that they would more than likely split so badly they would be unuseable....i warned him 3 times .....he insisted so I cut them the only way i could. Yes I turned them side ways on the mill, oh what a bad idea on my part, the chips really clog up the mill but I cut them as I told him I would

Magicman

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

black

Here in South Africa people don't know the imperial system, if I have to ask a laborer to get me an 11/16 spanner, he would come back with an 11 and 16 spanner.  :D
It's hard to believe that an American cant read an imperial ruler, I was under the impression that everybody used it.

Cedarman

I hired a guy that didn't know what the small marks were between the big marks on a tape measure.  Just needed him for labor.  Eventually he learned them well and became a good edger man.  His early education didn't help him any.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

black

It's not what's in the head, but in the heart.
If you have a man that wants to learn and work, its worth investing in him.

pigman

The best is someone that knows. The next best is someone that doesn't know, but knows that they don't know and is willing to learn. The worst is the person that doesn't know, but thinks they know and isn't willing to learn. If you understand what I have written please explain it to me. ;)
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Magicman

There was an old black man that lived on our place when I was quite young.  His favorite saying was;

"It's good to know, but it's better to understand".   Auze Jackson.
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

Buck

 "It's good to know, but it's better to understand".   Auze Jackson.
[/quote]   Good one.
Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.

Live....like someone left the gate open

Doc Hickory

Several years ago  a guy I work with and I got to talking and he was tellin' me about having to cut off a lot he had bought as a spot to park his 5th wheel camper for some weekend R&R. I asked if the trees had any size to 'em' and he assured me that they were fair sized trees.  I needed some firewood, so I told him I'd cut it off for him.  I got there mid Saturday morning and found his enthusiasm had gotten the better of him and he'd fired up his big box store chainsaw and started lopping down his forest.  It was a collection of saplings which wouldn't have made tomato stakes, and he'd cut em' high so the stobs were at least 6'' long, guaranteed to bust the tires on his purty camper.  My heart isn't as big as most of you guys, so after a little small talk I begged of that lumberjack job and went to greener pastures. My bad...
Feed a fire, starve a termite...

Cedarman

Doc Hickory, you agreed to cut "fair sized" trees.  When you got there and saw that there were no fair sized trees there is nothing wrong with bailing on the project.  You didn't agree to cut whatever trees were there, only the fair sized ones.

Once in a while I have a customer that orders some cedar and when they get here they say "Oh, I can't use that , it has sap wood on it.  I need all red cedar".  At that point I let them know the price for all red is a good bit higher than wood that has sapwood.  Most understand and pay the extra because they know it is special wood and I know they have no use for wood with sapwood at that point.   When people change the specifications, do not feel that you need to honor the   agreement to the first price.   The same applies when a customer says "Oh, I can use those boards with bad knots".  Then they can get a better deal because they can use wood below the specs originally given.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Busy Beaver Lumber

Doc

I could not agree more with Cedarman. When the conditions or terms of a deal change, you have every right to change your position or what you previously offered to do on your part. But some of the times, this actually works out to your benefit.

I think most times that the missunderstandings are just simple honest mistakes. We deal with wood and logs on a daily basis and can tell the difference between a 6 inch diameter log and a 15 inch diameter log without even grabbing for a tape measure. For whatever reason, most customers that want to sell you logs always think they are bigger in diameter than they really are and somehow they always think they have more than what they have as well.

I had a lady about 2 months ago call me and wanted me to clear two acres of land in exchange for the wood. She said it was all oak and maple trees as far as she knew. This is something I often do since I not only cut lumber, but also sell a large quantity of bundled firewood. She thought I would get approximately 20 truck loads of wood out of the job. I went to look at the job expecting to see a decent stand of trees. What I saw was one 8 inch diameter oak, one 10 inch diameter maple, and about 30 very nice pine trees that were all in the 4 to 6 inch in diameter category.

I took the oak and maple down which barely filled the bed of my truck and then I did something that made here extremely happy and put some much needed cash in her hands. I have a friend that owns a tree spade. He came and bought the pines off her for $25 each. She was so happy that she wound up sending me a check for $200 in the mail.

I started out expecting to get 20 truck loads of wood, wound up with one truck load, a very happy customer, and some nice spending money in my pocket. Some times you just got to roll with the flow and adpat the game plan on the fly.
Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
Epilog Mini 18 Laser Engraver with rotary axis
Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
6 x 10 dump trailer
Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
Grizzly 6in Spiral Cut Joiner
Twister Firewood Bundler
Jet 10-20 Drum Sander
Jet Bandsaw



Save a tree...eat a beaver!

sigidi

BBL, what the heck is a tree spade and what did ya mate use the small pines for???
Always willing to help - Allan

paul case

he was transplanting them. a tree spade is a machine that can transplant big trees. some tree spades here in the states can transplant a 20''dbh tree, 50 to 60 feet tall. pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

Busy Beaver Lumber

sigidi

It is not uncommon in the midwest for developers to buy up farm land and put up a hole neighborhood of houses. The only problem with that is since it was farm land, there are usually very few, if any trees on the property. If you go to a nursery to buy potted trees, they are usually small enough for one or two people to handle them and plant them, but then it takes 15 to 20 years before you get a tree bid enough to give you any shade.

What some people do as an alternative is to hire a fellow with a tree spade and buy larger, taller trees from him and have them brought in. As the name implies, it has 4 sharp spade like blades that go around the tree and have hydraulic cylinders that push them into the ground. The tree is then lifted out of the hole and taken to be transplanted at the new location. When they get to the new location, they use the same tree spade to dig out the hole for the new tree and take that dirt back to fill in the hole the tree originally came from.
Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
Epilog Mini 18 Laser Engraver with rotary axis
Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
6 x 10 dump trailer
Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
Grizzly 6in Spiral Cut Joiner
Twister Firewood Bundler
Jet 10-20 Drum Sander
Jet Bandsaw



Save a tree...eat a beaver!

ScottAR

Scott
"There is much that I need to do, even more that I want to do, and even less that I can do."
[Magicman]

sigidi

Gee!!! thanks guys!!! That was cool 8) ;D really enjoyed that vid...it looks like a cool bit of gear
Always willing to help - Allan

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