How big would the bill be if you cut it?

[AnthonyW]

My father purchased me a doyle based measuring stick. There is an eastern white pine log I am hoping to saw this weekend. According to the stick it contains ~730 bdft. Based on these prices, if I sold it at $1/bdft, that log would be $730? If I milled it for some at $0.50/bdft their bill to mill that one log would be $365? That seems like a high price to mill one log.

that would be over a 42" diameter 8' log. Also white pine is cheaper than SYP. Figure the labor involved in felling and limbing the tree. Bucking the log, hauling the log, and milling the log. That price doesn't seem out of line to me.

Actually it's a 16' 32" diameter log, but bdft is bdft. I did not take into account this is not my log. I did not fell it or have to limb or buck it. It is would technically be a 'their' log (it was given to me).

I have an 'offer' to mill enough lumber of their trees to build a shed. I'm trying to decide on pricing. From what I see on posts like this, it is a 50-75% discount to mill their logs, depending on help and loading equipment. As this 730 bdft log is a 'their' log, instead of $730 it would be $180-200 to mill one log. Still seems a high price, but I'm still new to pricing this stuff out. I'm most interested in is how long it will take me to mill it. I have never watched the clock while I was milling a log or specific amount of lumber. Based on time and bdft, I will set my pricing.

[hackberry jake]

It is easy to say we are charging too much when you look at a job and realize you made $40 or $50 an hr. Just like it is easy to say we aren't charging enough when we consider how much all of our equipment costs to run or when you have a major breakdown and realize you just lost $700 out of pocket.

[Dave Shepard]

There is a regional variation here, but thinking you charged too much at $40-$50 an hour can only come from an employee mindset. You have to pay expenses, and all the other things that go with being in business before you get to take home a "paycheck".

[Nomad]

There is a regional variation here, but thinking you charged too much at $40-$50 an hour can only come from an employee mindset. You have to pay expenses, and all the other things that go with being in business before you get to take home a "paycheck".

     Agreed.  If you think this too much, try hiring somebody with a skidsteer in your local area.  I bet you get an eye-opener.

[AnthonyW]

Are these differences in price, do you also charge for blades or include for blades in the pricing? ie., Are blades extra? I'm thinking of a lower bdft or hr price but a separate charge for blades.

[sandsawmill14]

i charge by the bdft  $250 per 1000bdft  that includes blades gas and everything else takes to run the sawmill. IMO cant saw without blades just like you cant saw without a sawmill. I dont charge customers for blades not even when i hit metal. the way i see it after seeing 1000s of logs if i couldnt see it why should i expect them to. the only exception is if they dont want to throw the log away i will saw it but they buy EVERY blade after the first one. ;D good luck with whatever you decide

[drobertson]

Region changes everything,  log cost and salability.  Custom sawing is one thing, selling lumber is another.  Which is why some folks don't mess with it.  It can be brutal.  That said, in the Ozark region, one would sit a long time on one or two inch rough sawn pine at a buck a bd/ft. nuff said about that.   All we can do is count the log value, the cost of sawing, and getting rid of the lumber.  Not much else to say, if there is no profit, then no sense in working for nothing, if there is a profit, albeit for wages, then go on to the next job.  It has always been a rollercoaster ride for me in custom sawing.  A few mother loads, and a few days of blood, sweat and tears.  I say a bird in hand is better than two in a bush., If the bills are paid, but we still have to pay the bills, 

[WDH]

David,

To me, 2" pine boards versus 4/4 pine boards is a different animal.  You cannot buy 4/4 pine boards a full 1" thick rough sawn in the lumberyard or Box store.  They have plenty of 2" stuff, but not the full 1" boards.  That is a different market. 

[AnthonyW]

David,

To me, 2" pine boards versus 4/4 pine boards is a different animal.  You cannot buy 4/4 pine boards a full 1" thick rough sawn in the lumberyard or Box store.  They have plenty of 2" stuff, but not the full 1" boards.  That is a different market.

I'm lucky, I still have one production mill in my region that sells after each step. They sell rough, planed, and shaped/molded. I don't need to visit them anymore, but they are still there (there used to be two, but one closed)

[drobertson]

David,

To me, 2" pine boards versus 4/4 pine boards is a different animal.  You cannot buy 4/4 pine boards a full 1" thick rough sawn in the lumberyard or Box store.  They have plenty of 2" stuff, but not the full 1" boards.  That is a different market.

Yes sir, you are right, no doubt about that, around these parts folks, many of them are just looking for the best deal they can get for the end use.  I've sawn a bit of wanes coating for folks, and a good bit of siding as well.  I just go below the cost of our lumber yard and if they bite then the deal is done.  I try not, for the most part to keep a lumber yard here, just custom saw as needed.  That said, full cut stock has value in my book, and for many folks, it's hard to come by with consistency.  the  main reason I get orders, they are few, but they get what the need and are happy,  the money for the most part is not the mother load, but a good days wage.  I will say, if an offer on the mill was offered to my wife, she might sell it ;D  but it would be a fight ;D   I love doing it, and it beats factory work for the big guy and day of the week.   I just try to meet the need with some profit, and it usually works out.  No mention of the small persimmon I sawed today, this is another story, 

[WDH]

I want that persimmon  ;D. 

[red oaks lumber]

there is a market to be made anywhere go make one!
david, i mean this in a good way, thinking negative keeps giving you negative results. if you think it will work,it will

[dablack]

About two months ago, I called around about 2000 sqft of 1/2" pine.  It was going to be $1050 right off the mill.  I got pretty much the same price from two places.  So, about 50 cent per sq ft of 1/2" pine. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Anthony,

   I think normal blade usage should be included for normal sawing. I do charge for foreign damage because I feel the customer is in a much better position to know if the log came from a fence row or yard tree full of metal. As mentioned by others, he can't know all the time but he has a much better chance of knowing than I do.

   As we have mentioned on other threads if you want to charge a lower bf rate then charge extra for blades that is fine as long as the customer understands and agrees to your pricing scheme. If I were the customer I would be nervous because I have no way to know what is normal blade usage and no way to control it. I prefer the bf rates to hour rates for the same reason but in some cases to be fair to me I have to use the hourly rate (small, crooked wood, special cuts, etc.) where I can't make reasonable production through no fault of my own. At least with the hourly rate the customer sees me at work and knows I was working steady and he is not paying for idle time.