What are you really selling your lumber for?

[Brian_Bailey]

 In the wholesale end, the buyers always set the price, directly or indirectly.  We also don't jump around from buyer to buyer.  Loyalty is something that fits both sides of the fence.  We look at the seemingly lower prices as an insurance policy for when times are lean.

Loyalty is one of the hardest obstacles to over come when you're trying to find a new buyer ( mainly cabinet / furniture shops ) for your lumber.

I don't know how many times I've heard the statement, " We've been buying our lumber from so & so and have been very pleased with their quality, which is our number 1 concern. Until that becomes a problem, we will continue doing business with them."

I find that it's very discouraging to hear that over & over, esp. when your list of contacts is just about depleted.

[Brian_Bailey]

Well this discusssion is beginning to wander too much to be any good - veneer logs, FAS lumber, green log run...

Any discussion of price is useless without including grade and dryness. Excluding any one of those points makes the information as useful as a weather forecast without naming the day or location.

Tom,

You need to know the cost of your logs before you can decide what market will be most profitable to you.

Even if your getting your logs for free, there is still a cost for them that you have to account for.

[twoodward15]

Kelvin,  I just wanted to post a price list from one of the sawyers I go to.  Keep in mind that this is air dried wood.  all prices are per bdft

pine   #2  95 cents         sel  $1.80
poplar   $1.10 any grade
red oak   $1.40 any                 .85 green
walnut       $1.80 any
ash          $1.40 any            .85 green
cherry         $1.80 any          1.10 green
sassafrass         $1.55 any
ambrosia maple      $2.30          1.65 green  
spalted ash/ maple/ gum  $3.80
maple/ gum    #2   1.70             .85 green
locust          $2.10 any
cedar    $1.95


Hopefully this will give you an idea of what I pay here.  Also this is one of the cheapest mills around.  The man that owns and operates does this for a living, and he makes a very, very good living at it.  Also, this wood is all pretty much 4/4.  he doesn't have much thicker wood.    

[Ron Wenrich]

twoodward

We're back to the grading thing again.  Good prices if you can pick through it, not so good if its been picked through.

Log run is a pretty iify thing.  If the logs are nice, then the lumbers nice.  If the logs are poor, so's the lumber.  

Brian

You're right about the loyalty thing.  Getting your foot in the door is always the hard part.  I know when I started out, I went to every operation I could find, just to see what they were doing.  I also listened to every complaint they had, then avoided it.  Most of them allowed me to take a tour of their operations, no matter how big or how small.  Show an interest in them, and they'll show an interest in you.  But, some of those small shops are hard to crack.

[twoodward15]

oops, my bad,  yes I can pick through his stacks or if I let him know what I need then he will pick through them and give me all clear FAS wood at that price.  If I remember correctly (not sure)  He'll sell the whole stack of wood even cheaper.  Again, don't quote me on that one.  It's all barn dried and really is very nice looking lumber.  Last time I checked he haid clear shorts for 85 cents dried and if it was less than 4 ft it was 65 cents per bdft.  Not bad if all you need is short wood.   Boards up to 20 inches wide too.  I think he'll S2S them for that money as well

[Brian_Bailey]

Twoodward15,  

I'm glad your sawyer is where he is because I'd be in trouble competing with those prices  :D :D.

His ambrosia & spalt prices are intriguingly out of line with his other prices. I wonder why?

I can get prime ambrosia logs for less than $500 / mbf. Spalted logs for much less .

From what your saying, I'd be slipping him a little xtra the next time I bought lumber from him  ;).

[Ron Wenrich]

You guys ain't too far from me.  So, what's ambrosia maple?

Some of our prices are a lot lower than that.  Locust at $2.10?  We've been selling it around 60 cents.  We used to throw it in the pallet wood.

We were selling clear pine for $1/bf and thought that was good.  

Gum prices are way out there.  I'm assuming that's black gum or tupelo.  We wouldn't waste our time saving that stuff.  

We pulled red oak for $1.40 and it was FAS 10', green off the mill.  The guy used it for bending.  We also pull some uppers for a few other guys, if they pay a little premium.  We sell our green oak for around 60 cents, but you're getting heartwood.  The grade is going somewhere else.

The best we can get for green poplar is 75 cents for the uppers.  Drop the grade to 1 Com and its only 38 cents.  So, I'd say his poplar prices are a little high.

His cherry is really low.  We're getting $2.65 for green uppers.  

[Hokiemill]

Ron,  ambrosia maple is just maple that has "damage" from the ambrosia beetle.  As best as I understand, the ambrosia beetle bores tunnels in the wood then "farms" a fungus (ambrosia fungus) that it eats.  This fungus reacts with the maple and leave blue-ish streaks along the tunnels.  Looks right interesting.

Here's a picture of a chisel box I made using cherry and ambrosia maple for the front panel.  Sorry about the glare.  Wengert recently did a article in Sawmill & Woodlot on bugs and ambrosia in particular.  He asked if he could use a picture of this chisel box in the article, but I never heard back and I didn't order a copy so I don't think it made it in there.

[Brian_Bailey]

Ron,  

Ambrosia maple is nothing more than wormy soft maple.

The term is used to enhance the value of the wood. Just like calling blue stained pine, "Denim".

[Ron Wenrich]

We've been throwing that stuff into the pallet lumber.  I salvaged a couple of hundred bf of curly ambrosia maple.  The wholesale market usually won't take it unless they are using it for painted stock.  Go figure.

[Brian_Bailey]

Ron,

You medium to large operations just keep throwing it into pallet lumber  :D :D.  

Wormy maple fills a nice niche market for some us little folks .

I paneled my shop walls and have built several pieces of furniture with it. Most people can't get over how beautiful that worthless swamp maple actually looks.

[GHRoberts]

I am just a Sunday woodworker.
No, a weekend woodworker.
No, a whenever I can get to my shop woodworker.

I usually buy high quality wood. I recently paid $10/bdft for figured 8/4x15" H. Mahogany, and $12 for plain sawn 5/4x20"x9' cherry (10 matched boards). (rough sawn air dried)

I show up with the intent of buying. I am willing to part with $2000-3000 (200bdft) when I buy. I let the seller set the price. I always offer a premium. I let the buyer select lumber for me. I try to get done as fast as possible.

I may not buy much, but the seller goes away happy and wanting to see me again.

I wish there were more buyers like me.

[beenthere]

 :D :D :D :D

Welcome to the forum. You may fit in real well.  ;D

[Brian_Bailey]

Welcome aboard GHRoberts.

I spent some time in Tulsa a couple of years ago while wandering along Route 66 on the motorcycle. Beautiful area !

I've heard rumors that there were buyers like you .
If your ever in W.NY I'd be glad to give ya directions to my place ;).