Sawmilling & Selling Lumber on the Side - WoodMizer

[jameson.p.g]

Hey there - new here and very interested in hearing about your sawmill experiences.

I'm looking at purchasing a WoodMizer LT15 GO.  I'll give you some backstory then get to the point.

About a year ago some friends and I built a solar kiln & bought a handmade sawmill (bad idea) with the intention of selling lumber on the side, hoping to build it to something full-time.  Well, since we bought a sawmill that required a lot of calibrating with every blade change, it eventually just didn't cut well, we grew frustrated and let the mill sit with uncut logs while we continued with our day jobs.

We recently got rid of the bad mill and will be moving the kiln to my brothers farm which has plenty of land is ideal for setting up a milling operation.

I'm not too interested in discussing which mill to get as I'm set on my budget and again, this will simply be for making money on the side and enjoying the simple act of milling lumber into beautiful lumber.

What I am interested in is what variety of species & dimensions do you typically keep in stock?
Obviously there is a large demand for slabs for people who really don't understand the art of furniture making & quality lumber (let's be honest) - so I'll have a decent amount of slabs.

As far as dimensional lumber, what do you typically mill?
- 4/4
- 8/4
- 16/4 beams?
- Anything outside of this that you find sells well?

Thanks - Looking forward to discussing this with you all!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Welcome. Please update your profile with your location and support equipment to help us answer your questions. What kind of lumber will you be cutting? What makes you think there is a market for it? What do you think your customers will be using the lumber for? That will help answer your question as to the sizes. I personally try to leave my logs in log form as long as I can. I tell folks there is the same amount of wood in a 2X4 and a 1X8 but once I saw it I am stuck with my choice. While in log form I can still cut either one. Of course there are the customers who will drive up and buy all the 4/4 poplar I have cut. My 1X4 stack will build up from the ones who think wide lumber is better then somebody will come by wanting strips to put under a metal roof and he will buy all my 1X4s.  If I have to cut stock  to prevent the wood going bad, I like to cut oversized 2X12s if the log will make them then I can resaw into 2X4, 2X6 or 2X8 etc.

    Are you sure there is a big demand for LE Slabs in your area? Good luck. Keep us posted.

[jameson.p.g]

Sure - I'll update it - As far as equipment goes, we'll have tractors, trailers, chainsaws, etc. in order to move/load logs.  I haven't found much as far as purchasing logs in my area (i'm in North Texas but we will be working and selling out of East Texas).  I'm confident there is a market for slabs and I'm friends with a few furniture makers in the DFW area so I have a good idea for what the demand is - mainly White Oak, Walnut & Maple for furniture - Construction lumber though; pine, we have plenty of in East Texas.  We also have plenty of red cedar which people like.  With Walnut, we just don't have much in our area so I'll either have to get lucky and find some I can cut down or find someone whose selling walnut logs.

I like your idea of leaving logs in log form as well as cutting them into 2x12's until you have a specific request.  I want to have a decent inventory for customers to choose from but I can also see how having some cants milled can allow for a simple loading and milling based on specific needs - definitely like this!

I have a decent idea of what the demand for types of lumber will be but I'm also fairly limited with what's available in our region - we have a few connections that will allow us to go out and cut trees off their land so that's a plus.  Mainly what I've found it Pine, Red Cedar, Red Oak, Post Oak & Hickory.  Should have some pecan out there and would love to find some Maple, Cherry & Walnut but not sure I'll find much if any.

[Pepe_Silvia]

I've been milling (started with an Alaskan and recently upgraded to an LT15WIDE) and selling lumber out of Plano to get a little bit of side money for a few years now so I can give you my views on what the market is like.

Around here, the money is predominantly in larger live edge slabs.  On dimensioned stuff you're competing with outfits like Brazos Forest Products.  For dimensioned wood of any given wood type (walnut aside) you're going to have to be selling for $2-3/bdft dried rough cut.  Slabs will fetch closer to $10/bdft.

In slabs the name of the game is variety.  Most people have a set of dimensions they're operating in ("I need a bar top that's 20" wide x 8' long" or "I'm making a coffee table that's 24" wide by 48" long") and with slabs (again, this is just my experience) matching the dimension typically trumps the wood type.  People tend to be willing to get creative and use less traditional woods.  The majority of my logs are urban yard logs, so I cut just about anything that people put in their yards 30-75 years ago.  I've cut and sold slabs in mulberry, bradford pear, walnut, burr oak, live oak, shumard oak, mesquite, cypress, elm, pecan, ash, hackberry, bodark, cedar, plus more.

[jameson.p.g]

Thanks, Pepe_Silvia - I'd love to come by sometime and check out your operation if you'd be ok with that.

How do you typically source your logs? Do you usually have people come to you with logs they've cut down and need milled for themselves or do you actively seek them out?

I've considered reaching out to tree service companies but with all of our equipment in East Texas it wouldn't really be feasible to source logs from the DFW area.

The one question I did have on the mill is between the LT15 Wide and regular LT15. Have you found that you have a large amount of logs that require the extra capacity?

[WV Sawmiller]

   If a large or even just a significant portion of your sales will be slabs you will want the wide mill. Keep in mind the handling requirements for such slabs. I just sold a  9/4 X 10'walnut slab that was 43 bf that weighed over 200 lbs. Most of the slabs off that log were even bigger. If it had been oak or other denser woods it would have been even heavier. Are you set up to handle, dry, store and transport pieces like that?

[jameson.p.g]

The LT15 Wide doesn't have the capabilities for a trailer package, is that right?

As far as handling requirements, we have everything we need to handle, transport and store it all.

[Pepe_Silvia]

Thanks, Pepe_Silvia - I'd love to come by sometime and check out your operation if you'd be ok with that.

Sure, always happy to have people by.  I'm giving a presentation to the North Texas Woodworkers Association tomorrow morning at 10 if you're free, but you can also come by individually any time I'm here.  Shoot my a PM if you'd like my details.

How do you typically source your logs? Do you usually have people come to you with logs they've cut down and need milled for themselves or do you actively seek them out?

I have a couple tree services that contact me to pick up logs.  I've got a dedicated log loading trailer so it makes it easy for both of us.  They just leave a downed log and I come by and scoop it up.  Also, I keep an eye on Craigslist for downed trees.  Occasionally I'll hear about one word of mouth.

The one question I did have on the mill is between the LT15 Wide and regular LT15. Have you found that you have a large amount of logs that require the extra capacity?

I agree with WV Sawmiller - I'd absolutely go for the wide.  I was going to a guy that had an LT15 and the extra 10" was a really big difference.  I get very few logs that are over 36", but get a lot between 28" and 36", which are in the slab wheelhouse.
Also, as WV Sawmiller said, they're heavy and take up a lot of space, so be prepared for that.

[Pepe_Silvia]

The LT15 Wide doesn't have the capabilities for a trailer package, is that right?

As far as handling requirements, we have everything we need to handle, transport and store it all.

There is no trailer package from the factory.  I think some folks on here have made their own, and I am planning to eventually make mine portable.  It's basically done with 2 sticks of 2x6 rectangular steel that you weld to the bottom of the Woodmizer frame, then attach an axle and leafs to that.  Throw on a few leveling jacks and that's it.  Obviously, if you plan to be portable you'll need log-loading options as well. 

[jameson.p.g]

Unfortunately I've got to head out to to East Texas tomorrow morning but I'll definitely PM you to set up a time to come by.

Sounds good on the Wide - about the same price point minus the trailer package so that's no big deal.  

I think I'll be able to get a decent amount of variety with our current connections but I think I'll eventually work to make some connections with tree services in order to obtain some of those hard to find species.

Thanks for all the input - any other thoughts on running this on the side are much appreciated.  

With our solar kiln, it will definitely be helpful but does anyone ever pay someone with a vacuum kiln to get a load dried and if so, what do the rates typically look like?