Finding saw logs... any pointers?

[barbender]

Most if the time I spent chasing free logs, or cut em and you can have em type of logs ended up being a waste of time. I guess I had more energy back then😁 The logs I make money on are the ones I bought from loggers. Even though they seem expensive, buying exactly the logs you need saves you from wasting a ton of time.

I would suggest reaching out to a logging outfit. Tell them what you're looking for, and given your distance from the loggers, I'd offer to pay for the wood up front. I would go over and meet them when they load it to make sure you're getting what you asked for, and have a big envelope of green to pay for it right there. The reason is that no one is going to risk sending a load that far and not get paid for it. The trucking costs are going to be huge for a haul of that distance. Once you get someone to bite, then you can start forming a relationship with that logger. If they can get paid, get in and out, basically make money with no drama, they will likely continue to bring you wood.

My boss (I work for a logger) doesn't like to mess around at all, but we have a mill 2.5 hours away we will bring wood to. It's an Amish mill that buys good grade hardwood logs from us. Now, we shove load after load of hardwood logs into the local pallet mills, and we don't have any close grade mills. I cringe at the beautiful hardwood logs that go to the pallet mill. But the Amish pay enough to make it worth our while to sort the good logs (probably almost twice the $$) so when they call looking for logs, we try to supply them. We would do the same for you if you were in our area, if you paid upfront.

[Cornerstone]

Mist if the time I spent chasing free logs, or cut em and you can have em type of logs ended up being a waste of time. I guess I had more energy back then😁 The logs I make money on are the ones I bought from loggers. Even though they seem expensive, buying exactly the logs you need saves you from wasting a ton of time.
 
 I would suggest reaching out to a logging outfit. Tell them what you're looking for, and given your distance from the loggers, I'd offer to pay for the wood up front. I would go over and meet them when they load it to make sure you're getting what you asked for, and have a big envelope of green to pay for it right there. The reason is that no one is going to risk sending a load that far and not get paid for it. The trucking costs are going to be huge for a haul of that distance. Once you get someone to bite, then you can start forming a relationship with that logger. If they can get paid, get in and out, basically make money with no drama, they will likely continue to bring you wood.

My boss (I work for a logger) doesn't like to mess around at all, but we have a mill 2.5 hours away we will bring wood to. It's an Amish mill that buys good grade hardwood logs from us. Now, we shove load after load of hardwood logs into the local pallet mills, and we don't have any close grade mills. I cringe at the beautiful hardwood logs that go to the pallet mill. But the Amish pay enough to make it worth our while to sort the good logs (probably almost twice the $$) so when they call looking for logs, we try to supply them. We would do the same for you if you were in our area, if you paid upfront.

With the sheer amount of nutburgers these days pre paying, preferably in cash, is a must in a new business relationship... I agree 100%. Your post reminded me of a contact I had forgotten about, a business acquaintance who has several friends who are loggers. He said he would put me in touch with them when I was ready. 
Thanks barbender!

[Cornerstone]

I googled arborists in my area and low and behold, I've got a new connection. The company is family owned, only a couple miles away and very willing to help a brother out. The owner and I spoke for a while today. He said he has been considering buying a sawmill for obvious reasons, and asked me what the throat width was on my mill. He's got a 20' over 40" dbh pecan log that he's been wanting to be slabbed out for over a year.  Unfortunately I can't help him out since he wants to keep it live edge and I can only go upwards of 32". They are a busy company with crews taking down long logs daily. His main concern was doing zero damage to customers lawns, understandably. We then discussed my equipment and capabilities. They are using those fancy plastic matts that keep ruts from forming in the grass, and said I would be able to use them with my equipment. Apparently there is a tree disease going around and a lot of the area parks are loosing many big trees to it. I do believe this will be an excellent source for inexpensive and or free wood. I'm thinking my next project will be a log arch for my trailer like Matt Creamora built.

[ljohnsaw]

He's got a 20' over 40" dbh pecan log

  Don't do it!

[Cornerstone]

Probably against better judgement, I took a trip out to the ranch, and brought equipment with me to get started. I had some of the details of the the story wrong earlier in the thread, but nothing that really changes the outcome. Turns out the ranch is several thousand acres, not 400 acres. Also, it's not 30-40 trees, it's 70... so far. We worked a 60/40 split on any logs we harvest. I get 60% and he gets 40%. He gave me a cut list of 21 various beams and posts I've agreed to mill for him as well. About half of them are 8"x8"x10' and the others are mostly 6"x12" anywhere from 10' to 17' long. The deal seemed like a no brainer to me, especially since his 30 year old son who has good experience felling trees will be helping me. It will be a learning experience if nothing else. I'll keep a record of my expenses to figure out what these logs end up costing me. Here are a few pictures of the place.

This is how it looked upon arrival, then I got to work cutting all the brush under the trees to allow the felling to go much quicker.


 

It took about 8 hours to clear under 70 trees.


 


If you look closely, you can see my new chainsaw. It has a 20" bar, if that helps you gauge the size of the post oak. This tree is probably a little bit larger than the average DBH. I think it turned out to be 28" inside the bark.


 


This was the first tree I cut down. I think it was a 23 incher. What a cool sound it makes when it starts to go. Once I notice the tree starting to lean, I shut the saw off and wait for the loud POP! as the last few fibers of the tree break. I can feel it in my feet when it does that. It's quite the visceral feeling when that big honker crashes to the ground. I was so excited I yelled out "TIMMMBERRRR!!!" even though there was no one near me for miles away.


 


I briefly tried to count the rings but decided to get a cleaner cut and try it again. Any one care to guess the age? I think this one is over 85 years old.


 

That's 3 down, only 67 more to go.


 


This one had a big ol' hole in the center. No big beams coming from this one I guess.


 



I was asked to leave a decent sized stump so a dozer will not have too much trouble removing them, otherwise I would have taken them much lower. It's all good with me since my mill can only handle a 17' log anyways. So far I have 2.5 days of work involved.

When do I need to Anchorseal the ends of the logs? Let me guess... the sooner the better?

[WV Sawmiller]

   That hole in the tree is for him to run his wiring through  when you cut the beam from it.

  Nice post. I'm waiting to see what the lumber looks like.

[Cornerstone]

Here are the some of first of the post oak logs that I got delimbed and moved to a loading area. I had help on my third day out there.



 




 

Then, I got a call from my tree service guy this afternoon telling me of a couple of good sized pecan crotch's from a local city park free for the taking if I wanted. I'd bet a donut it's got metal in it, so I'll use a blade that's already borderline toast. I wasn't too busy at the moment, so I headed over with the skid steer and loaded them up on the front of the trailer.



 

These are the large ends


 



 

After I get all these logs to the house I need to get busy sawing!

[WDH]