NEWBIE Wood-Mizer LT-40 super hydraulic

[matt s]

I ran into a situation, which I am excited about... My wifes best friends Dad, gave me a call and told me to come get his woodmizer, he doesnt run it anymore and doesnt want it... takes up to much room.  3-5 years old? 180 hours on it.
Im a photographer now. but before that I dried lumber for over 10 years.  I played with a old saw mill on a farm years ago and enjoyed it... I want to run this WM. my questions are as follows and thanks in advance for the help.
Where can I start to get some jobs? some one said start by cutting pallet material? is this good? who do I contact for logs? someone also said get in touch with tree service people they have non saleable material...?  Basically how do I develop leads to find some work. I know these are simple questions, but Ive been out of the industry so long I dont have any contacts anymore.

Thanks again Matt

[beav39]

welcome matt,this is a great site for info.first off what area of the country are you in and are you going to saw only part time or full time?do you intend on selling lumber or just sawing for others?these things will play a roll in what types of wood you will need,.is there any other millers around you ?        scot

[Tom]

Matt,
Just get the saw before he changes his mind.   :D

Work will find you.  Your first jobs will probably be custom sawing.  That's not bad. It gets your name out.  you need to start circulating yourself.   Go to wood working clubs and visit (you don't have to hard-sell) Pass out business cards.

I wouldn't be too concerned with buying logs and selling lumber until I had a Market.   It will take some time to realize what you can do and what you want to do.

[Bibbyman]

Welcome to the Forum!   8)

Like Tom said,  if you do good work,  work will find you.

[matt s]

Thank you all for the replys thus far.

I am located in Wisconsin. I plan on starting out part-time. I was maybe planning on selling, if I could find a market...? As a photographer in Wisconsin I do seasonal work, usually wrapping up late November. I then close the doors I thought I would then Saw hard until June the start of my pictures.

[Tom]

When you custom saw, there are many excuses to keep the camera out.  :D

www.tomssaw.com

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Matt,

I don't know, but I suspect that you may have nothing to go WITH
the mill - peripheral equipment.  If that is the case, it sets up an interesting
situation:

While sawing at your own place is a good idea, it does demand facilities and
at least minimal equipment to move logs and handle and store lumber.  On
the other hand, sawing for others often is different in that they have those
issues to worry with, rather than you having to always do it.

Now for the "catch."     Cutting for others before you know HOW can do a
bit of damage to your word-of-mouth marketing.  We all know that that is
the best, but only if you are doing good, fairly efficient work to be talked about.

Tell us more.    P.S.   DO GET THE MILL, PRONTO, (anyhoo)!

PHil L.

[jackpine]

Matt

Welcome to the forum As others have said starting by custom sawing is a good way to do it as it provides some income right away. If you have no experience sawing with a bandmill tell your first customers this and if they still want you to saw, give them a special reduced rate with the understanding that all will not go perfectly and that down the road this rate will no longer apply. That is how I started custom sawing and it worked well for me. The buying of logs and selling lumber can be added as time, money, experience and demand permit

BIll

[Dave Shepard]

Welcome! I bet that the sawmill will work well with your photography business, you can schedule sawing when you aren't working with the camera. I say get the mill home and get a log on it. Then stop in to tell us how you did.


Dave

[zopi]

Welcome.


Go Get The Mill.


Take lots of pictures.



Post 'em.



These guy's'll tell you where you went wrong.


<>

[beenthere]

There are several members with WM mills in Wisconsin..and may be near where you are located. Visiting them or the WM dealer (Steve) in Mosinee should help you get started too. Where ya at?  

Welcome to the Forum.

[stumpy]

Welcome to the Forum,
I don't know where ya are in Wisconsin, but I have a WM and live in Pewaukee.  If ya ever want to come over and chew the fat, drop me a PM

[CLL]

Unless its for practice, stay away from pallet lumber, not hardly any profit,(at least in my area) and it takes a lot of extra equipment to make money. There's a lot more knowledgeable people on here than me. So take my advice with a grain of salt. ;D

[thecfarm]

Need to figure out how much to charge.Don't want to make $2 an hour.There is alot to it with what you are about to under take.There will be good jobs and bad ones.Take it slow and eyes wide open.

[matt s]

Thanks again everyone..... Every little bit helps

[zopi]

considering your overhead >pretty much none< play with the mill for awhile, get a feel for it..saw 15 or 20 logs..they don't have to be big logs..

i have the Woodmizer 6 DVD set..good seminar covering some of the ins and outs of the sawing business...for the point of view of a small sawyer...

don't be in a hurry to jump into business and get wrapped around the axle with it...enjoy it and learn the
art of peeling a log for the best gain, before you are running in the traces and have to produce on a learning curve...

sounds like a sweet deal for you tho'..