What's Fair?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Last November......LAST NOVEMBER.....9 months ago.......I go to the mill and find 12 of the prettiest Red Oak logs. Everyone sawn 8'-6" with no taper.
I ask everybody I knew....make phone calls, etc. Everybody wanted them but they were honest and said the logs didn't belong to them.
The logs were dumped in the middle of the yard......so I moved them and blocked them up off the ground.

Time passed and passed.......until yesterday.

A guy comes to the mill in his car, parks and starts walking around the yard. I turn the mill off and walk out to talk to him.
He said.....There they are....the 12 logs I brought.
Before anything registered in my mind on how I was gonna reply......I pointed my finger at his face and told him he he ever pulled another stunt like that.....he would be charged with trespassing coming down here.

He turned white as a sheet. The bad thing is knows me....we have seen each other at lunch at the country store 82 times in the last 9 months and he never said a word. I don't know him but have seen him.

Short story long.....he wants the 12 logs sawn and is gonna bring 16 more.

I was gonna saw the logs for firewood and wished I had now.

Question? I'm gonna put up a sign that reads......Any logs dumped here without my knowledge and lay here for 3 weeks without notification......will be sawn and sold as my lumber.

Is 3 weeks fair? This just got my goat! (old saying ).

[Magicman]

Has it ever happened before?  If not, then I would just chalk it up as an oversight by the customer.  If it is a regular occurrence, then 30 days should be fair.

[barbender]

Boy oh boy, you're an ornery old cuss! ;D I would think a sign saying no drop offs without prior authorization, or something like that.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Has it ever happened before?

It has happened before but not a 9 month wait. I have had logs dropped a many a time but always get a call or a come by within 24 hours.

[JB Griffin]

I think that it should be 30 days, thats a pretty common timetable (no return after 30 days) comes to mind.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Boy oh boy, you're an ornery old cuss! ;D I would think a sign saying no drop offs without prior authorization, or something like that.

Most customers call first.....I have tons of logs in my yard, organized per customer along with my personal logs....some customers will come and dump in the wrong place. Cedar is the worst.....they bring a load of Cedar in....see a pile of Cedar.....and dump their Cedar with the rest of the Cedar that belongs to someone else. 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I think that it should be 30 days, thats a pretty common timetable (no return after 30 days) comes to mind.

You're probably right J.B. 30 days may be best.

[barbender]

Sounds like you need a gate, with a sign stating the hours available for log drop offs.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Sounds like you need a gate, with a sign stating the hours available for log drop offs.

Well....my mill is on the farm and there's several ways to get to the yard.

[JB Griffin]

Sounds like you need a gate, with a sign stating the hours available for log drop offs.

that might be the ticket      MANY gates ;D

[Bill Gaiche]

I can see the problem. If a man forgets that he has dropped off that many logs for more than 30 days, then he has lost them to the sawmills owner for rent of space. I would hate to waste my time trying to figure everyones logs that have been dropped off. Its not the responsibility of his to keep up with until the owner has made some arraignments about the logs. Time is money and frustration is worse. bg

[YellowHammer]

Sounds like you need a gate, with a sign stating the hours available for log drop offs.

I was about to say the same thing, seems a little "open" and if people can drop off logs they can take stuff, also.  I use a wireless video security system and love it.
Of more concern is how did he unload the logs?  Did he just hop on your tractor or loader and use it?  That would be unacceptable. 
Aside from that, I specify 30 days for pickup or I sell the logs or wood from the logs and have a a big sign with my cell phone number at the gate and my barn.
Sounds like you already had a good talk with him.
YH

[justallan1]

Your much nicer than I am, but you do this for a living and have to put up with it to a point. Myself, I'd call them mine after a month, IF I was in a good mood. ;D

Allan

[schmism]

"logs dropped off without prior owner permission are subject to storage fees.  Logs may be sawn and sold to recoup storage fees after 30 days"

[thecfarm]

That is a LONG time. What was he thinking?? :

[Peter Drouin]

Every one gets a 2# chance, After that ,Well you know 

[WDH]

That would get my goat, too.  Some people can be impertinent. 

[Tom L]

"logs dropped off without prior owner permission are subject to storage fees.  Logs may be sawn and sold to recoup storage fees after 30 days"

that sounds like the way to do it

[Dewey]

ALL CUSTOMERS SHOULD CALL FIRST !!!! My biggest pet peave is moving material more than once... No one drops logs of hear without calling me first.. If left to the customer they will be dropped in the middle of the yard ....

[NMFP]

I have about 10000 bf of soft wood logs here in my yard that were dropped off last year when I was on vacation for a week.  I have no idea who owns them, no neighbors know anything and no one has called me. 

Talk about a pain in the rear when I have this much laying there and no clue what to do with it.

[ellmoe]

I have about 10000 bf of soft wood logs here in my yard that were dropped off last year when I was on vacation for a week.  I have no idea who owns them, no neighbors know anything and no one has called me. 

Talk about a pain in the rear when I have this much laying there and no clue what to do with it.

   In

I have about 10000 bf of soft wood logs here in my yard that were dropped off last year when I was on vacation for a week.  I have no idea who owns them, no neighbors know anything and no one has called me. 

Talk about a pain in the rear when I have this much laying there and no clue what to do with it.

In both cases, they sound like gifts ( of logs ) to me,

[giant splinter]

This situation has only happened once here ..... the sign came down and a gate went up with the phone number on the gate. I later found out that the trucker that dropped them could not read or write so we worked it out and he has the gate combination now, when logs get mixed up or dropped with other similar logs it can be difficult to deal with and may result in errors at the mill ....... I get in enough trouble without that stuff happening, my operation is small and normally easy to keep up with. A game cam has been added to help me sort out the things that get fowled up or dropped in the wrong spot. People are people and at the end of a long day they just want to get home and rest ..... pulling out from under a load of logs is the last thing on the list, maybe thats how the term (Drop) got started. materhead

[goose63]

Sounds like thy are yours now just do what you want with them :D

[LittleJohn]

I have about 10000 bf of soft wood logs here in my yard that were dropped off last year when I was on vacation for a week.  I have no idea who owns them, no neighbors know anything and no one has called me. 

Talk about a pain in the rear when I have this much laying there and no clue what to do with it.

FIREWOOD  :D :D

[sealark37]

It sounds to me that this situation is backwards.  On this side of Char-Meck, the customer visits the sawyer beforehand, marks his logs clearly, calls or comes by every week, until he stops by in the rain and finds his lumber dead-stacked with white stuff growing on it.  As I see it, unmarked logs and no contact in 30 days makes them your logs.  The two words that I have always had a question about are "fair" and "enough".     Regards, Clark