Cutting for a mill

[colincb183]

Today for my forestry class we went and took a tour of a pretty big hardwood mill.  At the end of the tour we were waiting in the office for the other groups and the mill owner, who gave the tour, asked if any of us had any interest in going into logging so I raised my hand.  I told him i had a couple years experience cutting pulp and bolts and had my own saw.  He said they needed more people to cut and grabbed a pen and paper so I gave him my name, number and email and he told me their foresters would be in touch.

I'm in school full time right now and working 30 some hours a week so the soonest I could start would be the end of May. 

So I was just wondering how many of you guys cut for a mill and what its all about? I'm looking for anything you can tell me about it.  Any information is much appreciated. Thanks!

[Mark K]

I cotract cut for a big hardwoods mill. Paid by the thousand to cut skid and buck. I went and got TLC and am in the process of master logger certification.  Pays better here if you are at least TLC certified.  Have to carry liability, disability and workmens comp. Main thing in contract cutting is you have to produce. With the price of fuel and insurance it makes it tough. Its all in how hard you want to work. Ive seen alot of young guys jump in with both feet and go into debt and within a year there gone. Best thing is to go work for somebody for a bit and decide whats best for you. Is the mill supplying the equipment?

[colincb183]

Unfortunately I didn't have the time to ask too many questions on contracts, expectations or the equipment situation (I don't have a skidder or forwarder as you might have guessed) or that kind of stuff before we had to leave. So I'm just going to wait to hear from them or call them soon to ask questions and get more details.

As far as certifications and insurance, I don't have any certifications but have had one brief chainsaw safety class and another that was done by a former Game of Logging trainer.  And on top of that, before this happened I was already signed up to take FISTA classes, Wisconsin required chainsaw safety, which I'm starting next month as well as SFI certification classes in May.  I haven't seriously looked into insurance yet. Thanks alot Mark!

[Mark K]

Some mills dont require comp. Most mills in NY do, other than fuel its one of my largest expenses. Not trying to scare ya, theres plenty of room in this business for new guys. I have more work than I know what to do with. Just have to look at reality and see if you can make it work.

[CCC4]

Cutting for a mill is no problem as long as you know the particular mill's needs. Example... the hardwood I cut goes to tie mills, you need to know what lengths the mill wants, you need to know the size requirements as far as diameter, what the mill will take as far as a rotten spot on the butt end, you need to know if your particular mill will except double hearts, etc. Every mill is similar yet different on specifics. Always trim flush and make your measurements count. Good luck to ya!

[BargeMonkey]

  The going rate out this way is 160-180 a thousand. I deal almost exclusively with wagner-bailey, they treat me decent. I wont ship anything over a decent #2, we saw all our own lowgrade so they tend to accommodate a little better. Look around for a decent local guy, most good loggers will help a younger guy out especially if he is motivated. Learning diff sorts for diff mills, and basic grading will go a long ways.

[Kemper]

In my experience I believe if you can find your own timber it's better to work on your own where you can take the wood where you want. I know this isn't the best situation for everyone, but it suits my needs better.

[lumberjack48]

I logged Co. purchased stumpage the last 16 yrs i logged. I've been on both sides, it was a steady job looking for stumpage, and buyers. Then the high stumpage payments. I seen one pine block, 75,000 before we could cut a tree down.I did this with my father for about 10 yrs or until the big boys bid us right out of business.

Co. logging, no stumpage, don't have to worry about buyers, they take care of the trucking, they move your equipment, they put roads in and help with landings. But you have to be productive, know how to cut Pine logs and hardwood logs. I'll put it this way, they want loggers that know what there doing out of the gate. The Co i was logging for had asked me many times over the yrs if i would consider going to work for them.

The only small guys around here, that could even think about staying in the business, were guys with wifes that had a good job.

[BargeMonkey]

 I have "family" who works for Wagner. They run him, his crew, and his equipment ragged. Everything had to be done last week. Always pushing for the next job. They take good care of him, but your paycheck is at their mercy. Something to keep in mind.

[loggah]

Working for the "MILL" your at the mercy of their scale slip!! i always bought my own stumpage ,or land and stumpage,had a independent  trucker, and picked the mills i sent my logs to. when the truck mysteriously shrunk, the logs went to another mill. you also could sort by specie and send the wood where you got the most for it.

[Ken]

When I simply did skidder and saw work finding enough private stumpage was fairly easy.  Now that we cut significantly more wood having industry contracts is critical to making the payments.  They have the wood and a requirement to have enough in the yard to run their operation so you generally know that there will be another block when you get finished one.  The trick is to find a company that you can work for and with.

That being said I have been working for one company about 3-4 months/year and doing private wood during the other months.  Generally more money/cord in the private sector but it does cost a lot of money to chase down work, put in roads, etc etc

[colincb183]

Well my best guess is that they would set me up with one of their main contractors as a subcontract cutter.  So I think the mill would pay him then I would get mine.  I've looked into insurance a bit and got a few general numbers on it, not as much as i thought it would be, but still alot.  Not having to pay for stumpage sounds good to me but like you guys have said, my paycheck is at their mercy which sounds like it could be good or bad. But the mill owner was telling me that they were getting more for their lumber and paying more for logs, and they also had quite a bit of wood bought.  He didn't give any specifics though.
I do have a part time job with pretty flexible hours that I plan on keeping when this gets going so I can do that a couple nights a week or some weekends for a little extra steady income

For the time being I'm really just trying to get my foot in the door a little further, make a little money and get back in the woods. 

[Corley5]

I like my independence 

[clww]

When I simply did skidder and saw work finding enough private stumpage was fairly easy.  Now that we cut significantly more wood having industry contracts is critical to making the payments.  They have the wood and a requirement to have enough in the yard to run their operation so you generally know that there will be another block when you get finished one.  The trick is to find a company that you can work for and with.

That being said I have been working for one company about 3-4 months/year and doing private wood during the other months.  Generally more money/cord in the private sector but it does cost a lot of money to chase down work, put in roads, etc etc

I completely agree. There are going to be pros and cons on both sides. You may have to try them both before you can know which one you prefer.

[colincb183]

Thanks everybody for sharing your experiences.  Glad to have a little better idea of what I could be getting into if this works out. 
I've been looking for an opportunity like this one, so if they are willing to give me a shot I'll take it. 
Thanks again, and i'll keep you posted