iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Cost for planing lumber

Started by DR_Buck, June 18, 2019, 09:33:59 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

DR_Buck


So, I know there is "value added" for planning your kiln dried lumber, but what and how do you charge a customer for planning their lumber?    I know a lot of you don't do this, and I have never done it, nor do I desire to do it.   However, this is one of those questions that popped into my head this morning as I was preparing an order of short (5 ft)  rough 4/4 kiln dried ash for a customer that I am selling at cost to get it out of my way.    My though was, now that I quoted a price for this, what if he wants it surfaced?   My initial thought was to at least triple the board foot cost.  ;D
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

farmfromkansas

Be handy to have a 20" planer for those times you need it. Guessing a lot of hobby woodworkers do not have a planer.
Most everything I enjoy doing turns out to be work

WDH

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

Brad_bb

I don't own a real planer yet.  Just a Dewalt 732 -a "lunchbox planer", or hobby woodworker's planer.  Those planer are not up for any production duty. I would not planer customers board on one of those.   It's fine for your own little projects, but it's not a real planer like and industrial planer designed with enough power to run continuously without an issue.  I'll step up to one of those next year.
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

YellowHammer

Quote from: WDH on June 18, 2019, 09:17:58 PM
I charge 50 cents per bf.
Me too. It's a reasonable price for retail customers, (it's voluntary, so they can take it or leave it) and a reasonable rate of return for us, at 400 to 500 bdft per hour, so a minimum gross profit of $200 per hour.



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

scsmith42

For S1S I charge .50, for S2S $1.00 per bd.  S3S is $1.50.  $20.00 minimum.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Don P

And a knife deposit or very clear understanding if you hit their steel.

DR_Buck

First, I do have a larger planer.  I have the 5 HP Woodmaster 718 with a spiral cutter head and self adjusting in/out feed tables.   My bottleneck is my dust collection.  It is only 55 gallon and fills quickly when I surface lumber.   And, no, I don't want to vent it outside.

Second, I'm confused on the rates posted so far.   Is the BF rate for doing one, two or 3 sides?    I see scsmith42 charges by the board.   I assume this is any length? 
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

WDH

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

WV Sawmiller

   I'm like Brad with a small, home use planer and not set up to offer this service commercially. I will occasionally plane one side of a board for a customer to show them what a finished board will look like and once I planed enough cherry for a farm table top (25-30 square feet) for a customer who had been super nice and did not have a planer. I would suggest anyone offering planing services do it on a square ft rate vs bf. 
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

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on June 19, 2019, 09:55:13 AM
I would suggest anyone offering planing services do it on a square ft rate vs bf.
Seems like the same logic would apply that most people use when milling. If billing by the square foot you'd get paid the same to plane two sides of a 1x6 as two sides of a 6x6. But there's a lot more work running a 6x6 through as opposed to a 1x6.
Alan
Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

YellowHammer

If boards go up to and over 3 inches thick, we double the price, also our max width is 21 inches.  

Our fee is actually 50 cents per bdft per 1/4". Thats for two 1/8" passes in the planer, whether it's on one side or two.  

After that it's another 25 cents per 1/8" pass.  Our planer will take more than 1/8" but that is a good reference cut for the customer.  

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

Tom the Sawyer

$60 per hour (or $1 per minute).  I don't do big volumes, usually planing everything in a batch to a consistent thickness.  Some may have more cup than others, so takes more passes.  If it doesn't take long - it doesn't cost much.  Grizzly 20" with helical head.
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

scsmith42

Quote from: DR_Buck on June 19, 2019, 07:42:38 AM
First, I do have a larger planer.  I have the 5 HP Woodmaster 718 with a spiral cutter head and self adjusting in/out feed tables.   My bottleneck is my dust collection.  It is only 55 gallon and fills quickly when I surface lumber.   And, no, I don't want to vent it outside.

Second, I'm confused on the rates posted so far.   Is the BF rate for doing one, two or 3 sides?    I see scsmith42 charges by the board.   I assume this is any length?
I charge per board foot, not per board.  The problem with planing a few boards is that you have all the time involved in handling the lumber, and this has to be factored into your pricing.  

If it's something unusual, then we charge by the minute to plane, wide belt sand, do a glue up, etc.  $1.50 per minute for the first man, $1.00 more for the second man.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

customsawyer

I'm at $0.50/bf. But I ran some for a customer on Friday that took 3 passes with my 30" double sided planer to clean up both sides. I was talking with Danny yesterday about charging $0.25/bf per pass. Even with that customer I was still able to gross better than $200.00/hr so I can't complain to much. Most of my planing customers bring 300 to 600 bf at a time and is of consistent thickness.  Just wish they all were.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Mfrost459

When you are planning do you first flatten it on your jointer or just send it through the surface planner? Or is there an additional charge to square the board then plain the surface?
Wood-Mizer LT50 Wide 2021 - LT-40 - 1992
EG-200 board Edger - New Holland Skilsteer - Kubota SVL95-2 skidsteer
Nyle L53 Kiln -  Nyle L200S Container Kiln


Have a great day milling!

customsawyer

That's the nice part about the double surfacer that I have. it eliminates the need to use the jointer first. 
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Al_Smith

It's been some time since I've bought any hardwood .However if memory serves it was both sides and squared one side from 1" to 3/4" for about 50 cents .With only a hobby planer is was worth it to me .What they did in ten minutes would have taken me a half a day .That was at least ten years ago .Kiln dried red oak .  

customsawyer

That is where I use the jointer mostly is to square the side of a board.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

YellowHammer

We outsource a lot of our planing by the 25 foot flatbed trailer load, every week, and they, rightly so, charge me per pass.  Time is money, and if I tie up their people for twice as many hours, then I need to pay for it.  Typically, as most thicker wood does flatten better with multiple passes, I voluntarily pay for 2 passes on 8/4 or thicker, even though they may be able to do it in one pass, because 2 passes guarantees it will be flat, and I don't have to mess with the 8/4 boards when I get them home.  So 4/4 is one price and 8/4 is another price.  Its fair, and I've been doing it for years.

If kiln dried and planed boards have crook, we will batch run them with a few hundred others on our Baker custom double blade edger, which is set up as a near SLR, and is accurate to well less than 1/8" straightness over 8" which is more than good enough for customers to run on their table saw.  

If they want it dead straight, then we charge 50 cents per bdft to run it on our true SLR or jointer.

We don't hand re-face or joint boards unless they are slabs destined for a table top and specifically requested by the customer, who has to pay fo that service.
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

Thank You Sponsors!