FF member interview surprise

[Old Greenhorn]

SO I have been doing this commute of just over an hour each way every other day roughly to harvest Mushroom logs and to pass the time I have been listening to podcasts. Mostly Mike Rowe's stuff, but I also have some local things in there and one my cousin does. Today I needed a break from Mike so I decided to catch up on a local one from the Catskill Forest Association which is a weekly broadcast on a local radio station then presented as a podcast for later listening. I always find it interesting and sometimes they have folks on I know, woods people, millers, foresters, etc. I was about a month behind on this one so I cued it up this morning. I got through the first one and just before I arrived at the cutting ground the second one came on and who do I hear but our own @Spike60 talking about...wait for it.. Chainsaws and such! It's about an hour show, with some musical interludes and I found it enjoyable as usual. You might too. You can avoid the podcast player thing and listen to it HERE. Small world, right? (Nicely done Bob.)

[Roxie]

That's good stuff!  Thanks for the link. 

[Spike60]

Thanks Tom. I've done about a half dozen of those shows. Ryan is a good friend of mine and that was one of those, "You busy tomorrow night? I need a guest." So, there was no prep on that one; just us yapping away for an hour. You'd be surpeised how fast it goes by.

Ryan is also really smart and on top of it regarding The catskill Forest Association. Some of his writing in the monthly CFA newsletter is very imformative. This month's on the variety of tree species in our forests is a good one. There's also an interesting one a year or so back about an encounter with a predacious bear on a backpacking trip.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well it was an interesting surprise. Yes Ryan is a smart fella and I have referred folks to him for CFA consults. I have also worked with him to organize some GOL classes. I enjoy the show but WIOX is a bit out of my listening area, so I catch it on the podcast. I was also surprised to hear Hoppy on a few of the shows and it prompted me to drop him a note to say 'hi'. I pass his place frequently and should stop in one of these days. But I have yet to catch him working in the yard when I go by. I did meet him by chance at Tetta's one day, but he had to run to do his bus route.
 It's an enjoyable show in any event and I was glad to hear you on there sharing your experience. I think that is a critical part of keeping it real around here with the working folks and also informing the newer residents of how things (and people) work around here, assuming they find the show.

[Caloren]

Really enjoyed the podcast. Interesting to hear from clear across the country about what is going on there. One of the differences is wood processors, never seen or heard of one here in California, though they may have some in the Sierra's where they get 10 or 12 feet of snow in the Winter.

[Real1shepherd]

Wood processors have taken over just about any loggin' operation where the terrain will allow them. Out here, the steep stuff is still high lead. And for those lucky enough to be in decent scale, still chainsaw fallers.

Kevin

[Old Greenhorn]

Kevin, the processors that Caloren is referring to are firewood processors. It's really the only way to make money with firewood, assuming you can get logs to feed it, which was what that discussion was about, in part. There are at least 2 processors within a mile of my house. It's a big part of life in the wood business around here.

[Real1shepherd]

Kevin, the processors that Caloren is referring to are firewood processors. It's really the only way to make money with firewood, assuming you can get logs to feed it, which was what that discussion was about, in part. There are at least 2 processors within a mile of my house. It's a big part of life in the wood business around here.

Ahhh....I was referring to harvesters.

Yeah, I've been watching the vids on YouTube for the mechanized firewood business. But the guys who seem to be successful at it have unbelievably expensive equipment for an operation of that size. Having been in the cord wood business in my youth, I don't see how that pencils out. I'm sure at some point you get all your equipment paid for, but I suspect yrs.

Yeah and if anything slows down acquiring your logs in the first place, that could be catastrophic.....expensive equipment like that has to be in use continually to pay for itself.
 
Kevin

[mike_belben]

i suspect you have to start with some money and the input wood has to be cheap while the output wood has to be high.  


I hear being surrounded by lazy rich retirees from manhattan whos wives like ambiance fires in the third home on weekends really helps pay the iron off faster.   

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I've been watching the vids on YouTube for the mechanized firewood business. But the guys who seem to be successful at it have unbelievably expensive equipment for an operation of that size. Having been in the cord wood business in my youth, I don't see how that pencils out. I'm sure at some point you get all your equipment paid for, but I suspect yrs.

Yeah and if anything slows down acquiring your logs in the first place, that could be catastrophic.....expensive equipment like that has to be in use continually to pay for itself.

Kevin

Well like any other business a lot of guys start small with a source of logs and a splitter. Then then get a better 6 way splitter, then maybe a bucking table or a bucking splitting attachment on a bobcat, then add a conveyor to load trucks and continue to work their way up until they get as far as they want. Not everybody gets equipment like Bargemonkey has with a Bells processor stuffed inside a building with a big circular blade and a full log beck filling trucks every few minutes. Most guys size equipment dependent on the number of customers. Most don't run full time, they run when the weather, mud, snow, or rain gives them time and they build some pretty big piles. Some folks just sell local, some got far afield. For instance, there is decent money in supplying the restaurants in NYC even though it has to be really clean wood, split smaller than you would for residential use, palletized, and delivered by flat bed truck. Some guys are just good at running a business, getting logs, and making money, but it is in no way easy. Just like most things.  ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Sometimes you have the advantage when your on public land run by mills, not DNR. The supply is steady, no chasing the next block. :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Not much of that around here, but the loggers will look for outlets to dump the wood that doesn't make mill grade, that is, if the loggers don't have a processor themselves to run in off time, which a lot do. It's a good side fill job. Bob talks about some of these topics in the podcast. I know it's an hour, but you can skip the intro and music if you like. I listen to these on my driving time and plan to download a bunch for the trip to the pig roast.