Sawmill - Paying for Itself

[heloWelo]

Okrafarmer, thanks for the additional info and confirmation of other posts.

I like the look of the auto Peterson and TurboSaw mill options - so I can sit in the shade as it works ;)

JustinW_NZ, thanks for the clarification. I'm going to start asking around to see who wants what.

[longtime lurker]

Dunno about down south but up here the market is saturated with small low grade slabs. I would suggest to you that green there is little more then cost recovery in them based on the prices I see on stuff.
Bar top sizes do okay, and you want those at least 3 meters long.
Slabs start to fetch a premium when they are over  1200mm wide. Longer the better.

Here's the thing with slabs... It doesn't matter what you've got, some guy always wants one that just a bit wider, or just a bit longer, or doesn't like cracks in the face, or wants it red and you've got pink or... Learn to value add them, cut a few legs as you go, drive a few nails, etc etc... people want to take them home and slap a coat of varnish on and say "lookit my new bar" . Woodworkers on the other hand want to buy the timber for nothing then spend weeks playing with it then say " see this bar, it cost me 200 dollars to make and the guy down the road wants 2 grand for them". Different mindset.

A two dollar dinner plate sized slab with a ten dollar Chinese mechanisim is a 40 dollar clock.

If you want to turn dollars the best thing you can do is start looking at the small Sauno style kilns IMHO.

Id suggest a Lucas mill as the best bang for your buck out there today. Lot of versatility and designed to handle Australian hardwood. Best backup service of any company I've ever dealt with anywhere. Good resale if you decide you want out.
The auto Peterson is a pretty good saw, but once you step up to that price point there's other options out there you should probably look at too. Maybe you need to draw up a budget and get some equipment prices and a plan together. There's a lot of experience in this forum, and mostly we be happy to share what we know.

[Okrafarmer]

Okrafarmer, thanks for the additional info and confirmation of other posts.

I like the look of the auto Peterson and TurboSaw mill options - so I can sit in the shade as it works ;)

I forgot to make mention of the TurboSaw--I've never seen one in person, but looking at all the info about them, I do like them. They look like a very simple, easy to use competitor for the Lucas and Peterson. The simple version is available shipped to the US ready to use, I think, for $12,500 which is a deal in anyone's book. And they have the automated one if you want to go that route, too.

[heloWelo]

Longtime Lurker. Thanks for your feedback. I'm thinking of ways to add value. I see your point about the clock. I'll need to find a niche that I would enjoy, although I'm glad there wouldn't be as much commercial pressure to make it happen if it was operating as a meal ticket.

Btw, why the Kiln? Are you suggesting this is an added value stage, a way to generate income faster or offer it as a service?

Okrafarmer, I've been looking at the larger version of the Warrior TurboSaw. I like the auto feature and it seems to have all the features of the Lucas Mill but it is obviously a much smaller outfit with a lot less product shipped. I wonder if any forum members have used one? I called Peterson a couple of times but they haven't got back to me. If the sales department is like that, what is their support like?!

[longtime lurker]

Turbosaw is Jake Peterson, with Carl in the background. Both used to be with Peterson sawmills but aren't there any more.
Peterson sawmills is  now an unrelated company, if you call them about a turbosaw they arent going to be too interested.

I'd suggest a small kiln, either DH like the Sauno or even better would be a decent solar kiln, as a way to improve cash flow. Slabs - most timber come to that - pretty much double in value between being green and being dry. Air drying two inch or better thick slabs can take a couple years... or 90 days of air drying and about the same in the kiln. Drying is the most basic of value adding methods around a sawmill, and the quicker you can dry it the quicker you get a return on the $ you have invested into that piece of timber. Ignoring degrade and case hardening for a minute its simply a question of do you want to make a $10 dollar piece of timber worth $20 in 6 months, or do you want to make it a $20 piece of timber in 2 years? KD timber isnt necessarily better then air dried (and a lot of purists prefer air dried) but its a faster return on your investment. You can tie a hell of a lot of money up in timber if you only air dry, and then you reach a point where you have to sell green to cover running costs while you finish seasoning whats already cut.

[gimpy]

I gotta throw in a few cents here.

I bought a used (2001) Woodmizer LT40. No hydraulics. Bought it for my own use and not to make money but to save money and have some fun. That said:

I have had 20ft pine with 18 inch tops on my mill. Actually, my 5 ft 100# wife handled the manual winch to load them on the mill. Easier than I thought. I'm about to get a couple of 30"+ pines and I will try to report on loading them manually.

I have a little residential traffic flowing by my home. As I said before, I didn't buy it to do work for others. HOWEVER (Yes I am shouting) Every time I turn around I get someone pulling over and interrupting me yo ask question and ask if I could cut some trees or book match a slab they have or cut some cants for them. It's getting to where as I get more comfortable, I am now starting to think maybe a few bucks in my pocket and a little more fun cutting might be worth considering. Sawing logs is like trying a very addictive drug. Always trying to figure out how to do more and better and thinking about larger logs.

I have asked about pricing here on the forum on how much to charge. Opinions very and hours v. bdff prices are hard to explain to a customer. So now I went as far as to get some help with a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet on lumber prices. Broke it down to the "normal" dimensions and "normal" lengths. Now I can give out a price sheet and stop stuttering on how much I would charge. They can look at my prices and go to the lumber store and see what they charge for the same (although not kiln dried) sizes.

All I can say is if you have a little traffic and are willing to cut what a customer wants, this stuff can get out of hand. Locally I have small mills advertising on Craigslist and I still get people stopping but to ask questions.

Got stopped in the local Home Depot when I went to buy some screws and was asked why I was there instead of sawing my own wood. Funny how things work out.

Don't know much about slabbing for profit but am getting the idea that if I'm willing to cut what they want, I could be a lot busier and be putting money in my pocket.


Good luck and keep control of that monkey about to climb on your back.   8)
Bartering for you lumber is also possible for things you never thought of.