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Cookie question ?

Started by dustyhat, May 29, 2018, 10:44:11 PM

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Andries

By the way, my last attempt at crack-proof cookies resulted in the picture used in my avatar. 
:D  :D  :D
LT40G25
Ford 545D loader
Stihl chainsaws

Just Right

LMAO.  You bet cha.  I'll have to get a special batch just for you.
If you are enjoying what you are doing,  is it still work?

dustyhat

Well the Cookie customers keep coming now, the first i cut were a success ,now women are coming out of the woodwork wanting Cookies. i just cant figure out how you guys make any money at it. i start the price at three or four dollars and they start flipping there hair and smiling, batting them eyes and before i know it they drive off with a big pile of wood for a dollar a piece.

WV Sawmiller

   And when you run out and go broke you send them over to Jim Rogers I guess to buy some pine slabs.  Customer's projects pictures thread in Sawmills and Milling
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Drafthorse

I cut 75 for a lady last year. Cut them from Red Cedar that had dried for 4 years on log pile. The lady used them a week later for her daughter's wedding and then resold them to someone else for their wedding. Some cracked a little, but the second lady thought that added character.
Since then it seems these so called cookies have been in demand. I have learned to wedge to log in the mill at different angle to get several different shapes.

YellowHammer

Dusty,
No, no, no, you got it backwards, you're supposed to be the eye candy, you're supposed to bat your eyes at them, chat them up, and they're supposed to pay YOU more.   :D :D
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

WV Sawmiller

Hammer,

   I have not seen a picture of Dusty. No offense intended. He may be doing good to get $1 each. :D Don't get his hopes up to an unrealistic level. ;D Besides you may be getting sympathy buyers getting your cookies. ???

   I cut a walnut here a few days ago and cut the tops into cookies and cut another one today and am optimistic the tree has been dead long enough it is dry enough they may hold up without cracking. I do know the next time I cut them I am going to get my wife or granddaughter there to run the clamp while I hold the wood in place. That is the hardest part about making them for me. Once clamped the go quick an din a hurry. I have been cutting on an angle for more of an oval which are more stable and less inclined to crack than a true round cross cut.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WDH

$1 per cookie?  Send them Hobby Lobby.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

CX3

Quote from: Joed on May 30, 2018, 07:26:33 AM
The last cookies I cut, I packed in sawdust. Kept them for two months ( July & Aug). Then took them out, none cracked or split. Put them back in the sawdust and gave them to the customer. They were at a wedding a week later.


Where did you get the saw dust?
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

WV Sawmiller

   Is that a trick question? ???
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Magicman

This lady stopped by just as I was finishing a job.  She had no log(s) but wanted cookies.

My customer thought about a couple of ERC logs that were behind his shed that he did not want nor want to have sawn.  He drug them out and we started sawing.


 
I asked how thick and she said "various thicknesses".  She then asked "how much"?  I told her that the logs were free and so was the sawing.  She was a very happy lady when she left with her cookies.   :)
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

WV Sawmiller

   I like her approach. As my old pastor used to quote 2nd Hesakiah 4:14 "He who asketh not, getteth not."
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

YellowHammer

Quote from: WDH on July 03, 2018, 08:01:08 PM
$1 per cookie?  Send them Hobby Lobby.
smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup

If I'm going to give them away, I'll do it just because I'm the president of the company, like MM, and for some reason I think they deserve it.   

However if it's business, its $5 per cookie. ;D  And I grab the end of the log with the grapple and hold it out like a sausage, pull out and crank up the big dog chainsaw to get the customers to "Ooh and Ahh" and start slicing cookies like I'm in the Stihl chainsaw competition while they watch.  Then I bat my eyes, toss my hair, give them a smile and say "We take cash or Credit." ;D

YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

WV Sawmiller

YH,

  JMHO I would suggest you not allow my customers to see me cut them with a chainsaw. Around here everybody has a chainsaw but there are few mills. Don't ever let them think they can do the same thing you can. no_no

  Kind of like the old Kipling story (I think it was him that wrote it - confirmed - The Tiger's Heart) about the high ranking village hunter in India who was the only man in the village with an old musket type rifle. He got cornered and killed a man-eating tiger with his machete then shot into the wound so he had powder burns and a bullet hole on/in the skin. When a close friend asked why he did that instead of admitting he had actually killed the vicious beast with a machete he told him "Yeah, but then I would be out of work as everybody owns a machete. As long as they think you have to have a firearm to kill a tiger my job and standing in the village is secure." fudd-smiley
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

YellowHammer

I hadn't heard that story.  Good point, except they don't have my logs and most don't have my chainsaw. :D

I don't really take selling cookies too seriously, so actually tell people I'd rather sell them the log and they can take it home and work on it there.  Then typically they start talking themselves out of it, such as it would take them all day, their saw isn't sharp, doesn't cut straight, or the wife makes the executive decision for me to do it, so I ask them to pick a log, how thick do they want, and if they want ovals or rounds.  Then I ask them to stand back and start counting as the cookies drop to the ground.  If the log is a shorty, I'll just keep slicing until I'm out of wood, they get to pick the best pieces, and I put the rest on a pallet for the next customer.
My 661 drops through them fast, makes a good show throwing chips like a firehose, and it provides a little entertainment for the customers.  It's all in good fun, and gives them something to talk about on the drive home.
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

WV Sawmiller

Hammer,

  Yeah, they don't have the wood or saw like you do but they think any wood and any saw will do the same thing. ::) We need to preserve the mystery.

   I know Lynn's customer is bragging on her catch and telling all her friends how quickly he made them with that big fancy sawmill he was operating.

   I run into it all the time with primitive, live edge benches I make. They are pretty simple to build if you have the mill to make the LE slabs, a decent tenon cutter (Current about $200 I think), a heavy duty high torque drill to run it, vise to hold the leg stock, other minor hand tools then the mill again to cut all the legs the same height and angle and belt sander to finish them if so inclined. I take them to a flea market or such and people even take pictures and I hear them say "I'm going to go home and build me a couple of them."
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Andries

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on July 04, 2018, 08:54:40 AM. . . I hear them say "I'm going to go home and build me a couple of them."
... but, you know they never will, right?

Just like I know that YH will never toss his hair and bat his eyes at his adoring audience.
Which is a good thing.
Cause his wife Martha is much better at that.  :D  ;D  :D 

LT40G25
Ford 545D loader
Stihl chainsaws

WV Sawmiller

Andries,

   I have seen the wife call him down and say "Well, I have been after you for 5 years to build me one and you haven't yet so go ahead and load that one on the truck."

    In some cases the guy may actually try but never get the tenons right or he will try to cut the legs with his chainsaw and never get the legs the same so it always wobbles.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

alan gage

Some people just can't stand to pay for what they think they can to do themselves. Doesn't matter if they ever do do it, don't do it very well, or don't do it as good as you can. Even if they see you cutting cookies on a sawmill they'll be thinking they can do it with a chainsaw. Or they'll be thinking they can build or buy their own sawmill and start cutting logs themselves. They must exist in nearly every business and are some of the worst customers out there. I'd guess 75% of the people on this forum (me included) fall into that category to some extent.

The best customers are the ones that have money to spend and don't have any desire to do what you're doing even if they have (or think they have) the skills to do it. It sounds like Yellowhammer has a high percentage of these.

Alan

Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

Crusarius

When I used to sell my sole doing fabrication for Jeeps, I had the hardest time selling my services. more ppl wanted to go buy $2500 worth of welders and cutters to build a $200 bumper than actually were willing to pay me $200 to do it.

The other extreme was someone saw a $900 bumper on the internet somewhere. They brought me a picture and asked me to make it for less. I looked at them and said just buy it I can't build it for that. They argued with me every time.

Thats when I quit doing that kind of work. At least for other ppl.

Around me everyone wants something for nothing. I have a hard time believing I will be very successful in all the endeavors I want to do. But hey, I am willing to try.



WV Sawmiller

Cru,

   So true. Early in our marriage we decided we needed a picnic table and benches. They were $50-$60 in the local discount stores so I decided to build one. Found a design in a book from the base library, bought a bunch of western cedar and went to the wood hobby shop on the USMC base and started building. The longer I took the lower the prices got in town. By the time I finished I had over $80 plus my time invested in a table that still wobbled and the sets in town were less than $30. Who'd have thunk it.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Crusarius

I am trying to break myself of that habit. I am now letting other ppl work on my cars cause I am sick of doing it. And it really is time consuming.

Ianab

One thing I will say is that most folks haven't seen a big pro grade saw running with a sharp chain. When the do, they are amazed, and thinking how different that beast is to their dull chain box store toy. :D

That's what YH is doing with his little "Show and Tell" session.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Crusarius

Just buying a 261 I had no idea what a chainsaw was till getting that saw. and I know its still a toy compared to lots of other saws.

all my previous saws were.... well, junk comparatively.

YellowHammer

Ianab is right, many folks who visit are excited to be given a tour, see all the equipment, gawk and just have a good time while getting what they want.  Sometimes when I'm cutting cookies, I'll haul out the big dog and let it run.  I enjoy it as much as the customers, it makes selling cookies fun.  

Whats better than firing up the biggest, baddest chainsaw most customers have ever seen, hearing it scream, and watching the show?  Do you want a cookie, or do you want a COOKIE!  


Last weekend, I had a family that wanted a few cookies for table tops.  So I had them stand out of the way, and I picked up a log with the grapple and started sawing.  Out of the corner of my eye, standing by their car, I saw the little boy jumping up and down clapping.  It brought a smile to my face and the parents were very happy with their purchase.

To me, people who buy cookies are doing it for a reason bigger than a few cutoffs.  Once I talk to them and figure out what it is, then we head over to the showroom and I sell them the rest of what they need.  Maybe wood for a wedding table, or a bench or a wedding arch, or who knows.  Cookies are good appetizers for the main course.




YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

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