A few questions about a big order of cedar lumber

[Kwill]

A guy contacted me through facebook last night about some cedar boards. He is wanting 700  1/2 × 6 in x 10ft boards which figures out to be 1750 bd ft of lumber. I will be cutting all the logs and doing all the milling myself as I am a one man band. I talked with a friend of mine that has a bigger mill and edger about it and he told me if I could cut the logs into 6x8 cants he could then cut the 1/2  boards out for me which would speed the process up and save me some time and labor since I'm all manual mill.. He is pricing his service reasonable and I will still do good on the job. My question is with a order this size do you guys ask for some kind of a down payment of some sorts on custom orders like this. I dont want to involve a friend and get all this lumber cut and be stuck with it. I'm new to taking custom orders and sawing for other folks and need a little advice. Thanks

[Southside]

Absolutely get a deposit. 50% is what I collect on orders like that. Someone who is serious won't have an issue. You don't want to be stuck with that. 

[Bruno of NH]

I would take a 50% deposit on that order.
Because I don't stock 1/2" lumber.
I don't take a deposit if it's a size I can easily sell if the order is not picked up.
It happened to me right around Christmas time this year. 
The good part was I sold it for more than what the original order was for.
I had cut alot for the guy but he ghosted me on his last order.
He's now been fired.

[moodnacreek]

Everybody will say get a deposit. It is not that simple. I stopped taking deposits years ago because didn't work. People went on to the next project while waiting for me to finish their order and still did not come back. I will not waste my time with contracts. Either I own the wood or you do. That is what it needs to be.  If the order is for something I can sell, it goes on sticks in case it does not get picked up. No deposit. It belongs to me. If it is something odd, pay up front in full.    None of these rules apply to my established [and cherished] customers.                       The half inch stuff is tricky. You are using some one else to resaw and what happens if you have to store it? Will it buckle on sticks? Sticks 12" o.c.?  I guess a deposit would be better than nothing but always expect the worst and have a plan. Dealing with people is the hard part.

[Magicman]

No.  First off, no way would I saw nor sell ½" lumber cheaper than 1" lumber.  For me, up to 1" equals 1".  ½ X 6 X 10 = 5bf, same as a 1 X 6 X 10.

I don't sell but no way would I saw a custom order of odd dimension lumber without a deposit.

[btulloh]

FWIW, 1/2" ERC behaves pretty well so you shouldn't have any problem with it just because it's thin.  I have no input on the deposit, but what MM about 1/2" = 1" for computing BF is standard in the industry.


Good luck with the order.  You're staying mighty busy with the ERC bidness!

[dgdrls]

To your question, yes I would request a deposit.
2nd half payment before it leaves the yard or is dropped off the truck

Other question(s)
  Who's logs are you sawing, His or your??

D

[Kwill]

To your question, yes I would request a deposit.
2nd half payment before it leaves the yard or is dropped off the truck

Other question(s)
 Who's logs are you sawing, His or your??

D

My logs

[Kwill]

No.  First off, no way would I saw nor sell ½" lumber cheaper than 1" lumber.  For me, up to 1" equals 1".  ½ X 6 X 10 = 5bf, same as a 1 X 6 X 10.

I don't sell but no way would I saw a custom order of odd dimension lumber without a deposit.

I priced it out at 2 1/2 bd ft  at 1/2 inch didnt know about the industry standard. I'm got some follow up questions for the guy and I am going to ask for some sorta deposit. I dont know this guy from adam and dont want to get stuck.

[Resonator]

Make sure he is legit before you cut anything (I've had way to many scammers and time wasters). Make sure he knows the difference between green lumber and dry, and that he will accept the quality of wood you will produce. Remember if he doesn't pick it up, your stuck with it, (I've learned this the hard way.) So be sure it's a product you can easily turn and sell. If it's your trees your cutting, make sure your getting your money's worth out of them (they take a long time to grow back!)

[dgdrls]

To your question, yes I would request a deposit.
2nd half payment before it leaves the yard or is dropped off the truck

Other question(s)
 Who's logs are you sawing, His or your??

D

My logs

More reason for a deposit,
He's buying your logs as much as a finished product.
Once you saw those logs they are committed to that product and if it goes bad
you cannot fill an order for 6"x6" posts with them.
You can also put some early cash into your friends pocket, which I'm certain he will appreciate.
D

[Magicman]

If you priced it at half price, then you can back out.  Don't sell yourself, your sawing, nor your lumber at less than value.

[Kwill]

In my area for cedar I priced it about the same as everyone else. My guess is when I ask for a deposit he's gonna bail. Which is fine cause theres no way I'm gonna get in that deep without some assurance

[Hilltop366]

I agree with the same as 1" pricing, there is less wood per linear foot at ½" but there is more work and more sawdust per board foot of log for custom sawing, a dedicated gang saw mill, that may be different.

Also wondering why you would want to send out the resewing of the cants unless you really don't have time to do it, to me that is the best part of sawing, no bark or dirt, 6"wide cuts for easy going, the cant is already on the mill, easier to handle boards coming off the mill than a cant, don't have to truck the cants down the road, won't owe anyone else money for sawing, you have already done the hard part of handling the log and squaring the cant.

[Kwill]

I agree with the same as 1" pricing, there is less wood per linear foot at ½" but there is more work and more sawdust per board foot of log for custom sawing, a dedicated gang saw mill, that may be different.

Also wondering why you would want to send out the resewing of the cants unless you really don't have time to do it, to me that is the best part of sawing, no bark or dirt, 6"wide cuts for easy going, the cant is already on the mill, easier to handle boards coming off the mill than a cant, don't have to truck the cants down the road, won't owe anyone else money for sawing, you have already done the hard part of handling the log and squaring the cant.

Me being all manual was why I was considering sending them to my buddy to do. It will take me alot longer to do what he can in a day or so.

[Mike W]

Agree as others on the 1", we do a lot of white pine siding, no matter 3/4 or 5/8, its all billed at 1".  You know your operation better than anyone, but kind of agree on doing it yourself, I have a manual mill as well, we just knock out two or three cants at a time, stack em side by side and rip through them.  Seems about as time cost effective as loading the cants, transporting, unloading, having them cut, then the reverse all over again back to your place.  As said however, you know your setup better then anyone else, so sure its a well thought out process on your end.  Best of luck, your other cedar posts look great and sure the customer will be happy with this order as well, look forward to the update on how it all goes.

[Kwill]

I told him I would need a deposit on a order this large. He offered 10% I told him I couldn't do it for any less that 50% and I ain't heard back from him. So I'm not gonna worry about it. I dont know anyone that would take that job on without half up front.

[stanmillnc]

Good decision! I'm learning the hard way as I've gotten a couple 'Ghosts' recently after what started out as serious requests. Hate that feeling that you just wasted your valuable time and labor for some jerk all for nothing.

[Kwill]

Yeah I'm just starting out with trying to get my business off the ground and a deal like this could make ya or break ya. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 trees I will have to cut to do this order so 40-50 logs cut up into 1/2 boards laying around that someone wont pick up and might be tough to sell. I just cant see doing that with out half assurance.

[SawyerTed]

For some reason I've had two or three people ask for odd ball dimensions recently.  Once they hear I require a deposit equal to the value of the logs up front, they disappear.  

The last asked for 2x9x9' white oak.  He wanted 120 pieces.  I told him I required a deposit equal to the value of the logs (10' logs) he started telling me how honest he is. That raised a big red flag.  I waited on the deposit, it never came and I've not heard from him. 

[Southside]

If he bails then you are ahead of the game as you didn't loose any logs or time. 

[moodnacreek]

Everything less than 4/4 is sold as 4/4. That's the old tradition and I have always used it. But that's for 1/4" kerf [and that's me]. I'm not sure this applies to thin kerf band mills.

[Magicman]

It has nothing to do with honesty, it's about you covering your expenses.  If a customer bails because of a deposit on a special dimension order he just saved you from being stuck with an order of special dimension lumber.

[Kwill]

It has nothing to do with honesty, it's about you covering your expenses.  If a customer bails because of a deposit on a special dimension order he just saved you from being stuck with an order of special dimension lumber.

Yes sir. I had a bad feeling about the deal anyway. Sure it would have helped me get my business off the ground had it went 100%. O well he seemed kinda pushy about it anyway and wanted a complete date which I couldn't give as it has alot to do with weather.

[Kwill]

Everything less than 4/4 is sold as 4/4. That's the old tradition and I have always used it. But that's for 1/4" kerf [and that's me]. I'm not sure this applies to thin kerf band mills.

I'm going to keep that in mind in the future when pricing orders. Thank you