Sawing Contract

[Magicman]

Friends gotta stick together.   

[Solomon]

This is awsome Magic Man.  You cover all the bases!

In another thread I mentioned that I always sign and have the customer sign a contract before any work is done.  I designed my contract to be torn in half so that each of us get's a copy:


THIS AGREEMENT, by and between Customer:_______________________________________  and
Sawyer:  KNOTHOLE  SAWMILL, LLC,   with the Wood-Mizer one-man sawmill as follows:

1.  Sawyer agrees to cut Customer's logs at:  Customer's Site  or  Sawyer's Site  for $___________ per thousand board feet of lumber cut.  Charges are based on actual lumber cut rather than scaled volume.  (Note,  Net usable lumber will be greater than scale when cut with the Wood-Mizer).  A board foot of lumber is defined as 12"X12"X1".   Dimension
lumber sizes apply; ie:  0-1"= 1",  1"-2"=2", 2"-3"=3", 3"-4"=4", etc.  Logs less than 8' will be scaled as 8'.

2.  In addition to above,  Customer shall pay Sawyer $__________ for delivery and location setup of the Wood-Mizer.  Also, if the Sawyer is required to relocate the Wood-Mizer on site, there shall be an additional charge of $_________ per move.  In the event a saw blade is broken or damaged by foreign matter (nail, horseshoe, spike, fence wire, etc.) in the customer's log, there is a charge of $_________ per damaged blade.

3.  Customer agrees to provide _______ men to assist in loading and reloading logs and lumber.  All logs shall be stacked in location of mill so that there can be continuous loading of mill by rolling logs without moving mill.

4.  Payment in full shall be made as follows: _________________________________________

5.  It is understood by the Customer that log handling and cutting may be hazardous.  Customer shall be responsible for the conduct of helpers and observers and agrees to hold Sawyer and Wood-Mizer Products, Inc. harmless for any injury or damage whatsoever to helpers or observers arising out of the operation of the mill and the handling of logs and lumber.  It shall be the Customer's duty and obligation to keep all children and observers out of the work area.
Customer represents that he is the owner of the logs and/or has the authority to enter into this
Agreement on behalf of all interested parties.  Dated this ___day of ______________, 20___

Sawyer:________________________________Customer:_______________________________ 

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THIS AGREEMENT, by and between Customer:_______________________________________  and
Sawyer:  KNOTHOLE  SAWMILL, LLC,   with the Wood-Mizer one-man sawmill as follows:

1.  Sawyer agrees to cut Customer's logs at:  Customer's Site  or  Sawyer's Site  for $___________ per thousand board feet of lumber cut.  Charges are based on actual lumber cut rather than scaled volume.  (Note,  Net usable lumber will be greater than scale when cut with the Wood-Mizer).  A board foot of lumber is defined as 12"X12"X1".   Dimension
lumber sizes apply; ie:  0-1"= 1",  1"-2"=2", 2"-3"=3", 3"-4"=4", etc.  Logs less than 8' will be scaled as 8'.

2.  In addition to above,  Customer shall pay Sawyer $__________ for delivery and location setup of the Wood-Mizer.  Also, if the Sawyer is required to relocate the Wood-Mizer on site, there shall be an additional charge of $_________ per move.  In the event a saw blade is broken or damaged by foreign matter (nail, horseshoe, spike, fence wire, etc.) in the customer's log, there is a charge of $_________ per damaged blade.

3.  Customer agrees to provide _______ men to assist in loading and reloading logs and lumber.  All logs shall be stacked in location of mill so that there can be continuous loading of mill by rolling logs without moving mill.

4.  Payment in full shall be made as follows: _________________________________________

5.  It is understood by the Customer that log handling and cutting may be hazardous.  Customer shall be responsible for the conduct of helpers and observers and agrees to hold Sawyer and Wood-Mizer Products, Inc. harmless for any injury or damage whatsoever to helpers or observers arising out of the operation of the mill and the handling of logs and lumber.  It shall be the Customer's duty and obligation to keep all children and observers out of the work area.
Customer represents that he is the owner of the logs and/or has the authority to enter into this
Agreement on behalf of all interested parties.  Dated this ___day of ______________, 20___

Sawyer:________________________________Customer:_______________________________


This is just what I use.  You can re-design and customize it to fit your needs.

[Farm29]

Magicman i was reading your sawing contract and read where you said "  Dimension
lumber sizes apply; ie:  0-1"= 1",  1"-2"=2", 2"-3"=3", 3"-4"=4", etc.  Logs less than 8' will be scaled as 8'.
".  Is that meaning when you saw a 2by4 you figure your bf on 2"x4"x length instead of 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 just wondering I was wanting to work on some sorta contract or agreement so everything is in writing from the get go try to keep things clear as mud

[Chuck White]

I charge for the actual board footage sawed!

[Magicman]

Apply whatever agreement that you and your customer make before the lumber is sawn and I suggest that you modify the agreement to meet your sawing circumstances.  I charge the same for sawing a "2X4" no matter what the actual dimension is.  For example I charge $1.60 to saw an 8' 2X4 no matter how you measure it.

I am not selling a volume of lumber, I am selling a custom sawing service.

Another way to charge and it works mighty well for me is to charge by the linear foot instead of bf:  .20 for 2X4, .30 for 2X6, .40 for 2X8, .50 for 2X10, and .60 for 2X12.  Again the price per linear foot is the same no matter what the actual dimension is, and it's easy for the customer to figure/know exactly what his cut list will cost him before the sawing begins. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'm like Chuck and charge by the actual bf. Often I just measure the finished stacks and plug into an excel spreadsheet I made. I sometimes average the width of the stacks and count each one as wide board then record the number of rows. Other times I just measure and record each row separately as a wide board such as 1" T X 10' L X  47" W. There is very seldom any significant difference in the totals either way. If sawing standard sizes I just record the sizes such as 2X4X8 the enter the total number.

   I tell all customers under 1" billed by square foot same as 1".

    I have a 2 page contract, had my attorney look at it to make sure should stand up in court before I started public sawing. He then told me when i started he had a stack of logs needing sawing so he was one of my early customer.

   I have yet to use a contract but I have given one or two out to be sure people understood the rates and expectations. I'm dealing with rural folks who are pretty honest and down to earth and never been burned yet.