Storm Chasers ?

[scully]

I had a chance to go down to N.J. back when they had that bad storm . I guess this guy had mountains of timber that was downed because of the storm and he wanted it all milled . Urban stuff etc. I had just got my mill and felt that I could not do this because of the overhead cost of getting there and establishing myself etc. But , I'm due to retire in July and I was thinkin if there was a chance to capitolize on a storm event would it be worth it ? I did go to N.J. with a neighbor to rescue a horse a short time after and I saw so much timber laying in the woods etc . It drove me crazy ! What do you guys think ? It seems that there would so many angles to approach this ,but, I think done right one could become well off.....

[starmac]

I reckon that might depend of your definition of well off.
What is your thoughts, doing the logging to the finished product. Buying the trees, free trees, or possibly being paid to do the clean up?
One thought I have is, a massive storm might glut the market, both for logs and rough cut lumber.
There has to be a way to make a good thing out of a bad thing, just not sure what it is, would like to hear your ideas on it.

[Ron Wenrich]

I did work in NJ after Sandy hit.  The mill was in Newark and all the logs were urban.  So were the species.  Lots of sycamore and pin oak.  Markets are pretty good if you do the leg work and don't expect to get $2/bf for your low grade.  Going price is about $.80.  Expect metal.  We were doing about 8-10 Mbf/day. 

If you are doing a woodlot, then things change.  Your species will be different.  You'll get into some decent red and black oaks, as well as some tulip poplar.  If you're going to move any volume, then you'll have to go the route of wholesalers.  Expect prices like like the Hardwood Market Report puts out.  If the storm damage is recent, you can also get into some veneer.  Woods run quality is pretty decent.  A lot depends on what part of NJ you're in.

Storm damage will have a lot more cracks and breaks in the logs.  It depends on the storm.  If it just laid the trees down, there might not be too much damage.  A hurricane tosses the trees more and busts things up.  Bucking can be more of a challenge. 

[Nomad]

I had a chance to go down to N.J. back when they had that bad storm . I guess this guy had mountains of timber that was downed because of the storm and he wanted it all milled . Urban stuff etc. I had just got my mill and felt that I could not do this because of the overhead cost of getting there and establishing myself etc. But , I'm due to retire in July and I was thinkin if there was a chance to capitolize on a storm event would it be worth it ? I did go to N.J. with a neighbor to rescue a horse a short time after and I saw so much timber laying in the woods etc . It drove me crazy ! What do you guys think ? It seems that there would so many angles to approach this ,but, I think done right one could become well off.....

     Scully, don't feel bad about it.  I got a call from NJ too; might have been the same guy.  He was thinking I could drag my mill from Florida and do the job cheaper than the locals were willing to get it done.  The one I talked to either didn't think it through, or he figured he could find a real sucker from "out in the sticks."  I declined his generous offer. :

[Sixacresand]

Scully, it certainly would be an adventure to go to a far away place to mill.  However, It would not be for me:  I'm thinking hauling equipment to the site, lodging, pulling trees out of a heap, chainsawing, staging logs to be milled, weather and ground conditions, etc. 
But for a group of local Forestry Forum members, it could be a fun weekend adventure.

[Magicman]

The aftermath of a storm is hectic at best.  Utility and service crews restoring their facilities, home and landowners trying to salvage portions of their property, rubberneckers, thieves, and law enforcement personnel trying to maintain order and sift through who belongs and who doesn't.

Trees do not fall in an orderly fashion, many are splintered, plus support equipment is necessary to salvage them.  Since none of this was planned, the log owners often do not have a cut list, and do not have the presence of mind to provide one.  Crews moving in are often "carpetbaggers" trying to capitalize on the misfortune of others.

Sure, there is $$$ to be made, but not by me.  After 32+ years in the telephone industry, I served on too many restoration crews, and saw too much damage to be involved with anything other than lending a helping hand to those less fortunate.

[Satamax]

Well, a view from far away, we've had a few storms in france, the past 20 years. 2 bad ones, which downed a lot of pinus pinaster. They made piles of thoses, and sprinkles thoses. The prices remained low for years, and owners of plots of land didn't cut any new stuff for years. Some mills went down. And fair bit of people got sacked.


But it would have been any other forest, with proper wood, that wouldn't have been the same story.

My opinion on the thing. If you can get decent species out of a storm. That you have time and money on your hands. Enough space.  You flatsaw your logs, sticker them. And let air dry for several years. Do a mixture of 1 inch, 2 inches,  3 inches and 4 inches around the heart. Run a saw in the heart, so you have two quatersawn bits for table legs. 4 years air drying under roofing steel. And you've realy added value to your wood. Proper air dried wood, at 12% moisture sells about 25 to 40% more than freshly cut and kiln dried. 100% more than freshly cut and green. I mean over here.

[Magicman]

It's interesting that I was contacted today regarding sawing tornado damaged timber from last week's storms.  It is ~250 miles away, so I will attempt to refer the customer to a nearby sawyer.

[starmac]

Shoot MM, you should take them up on it.You are planning a road trip to Alaska anyway, that would put you 250 miles closer. lol

[Magicman]

I was able to put FF member @logs2lumber (Brandon) in contact with the customer.  Brandon donated his sawmill, time, and experience helping to saw the logs for our late FF member wwsjr, so I trusted his sawing abilities.

[dboyt]

I milled some salvaged logs after the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado.  As MM mentioned, they pretty busted up.  If FEMA is involved, there isn't much you can do other than watch the logs get hauled off, since the crews get paid by the load delivered to the landfill.  Most of what I milled was from logs salvaged as much as a year after the event (there are still standing dead trees).  Your best bet would be to develop a relationship with tree service companies.  Far more logs get wasted by tree trimmers than from storms, and the supply is steady.  Of course, you'll still have issues with metal, many different species, and poor form.