Got a little Walnut to mill.

[tburch]

I went and looked at this walnut this morning to mill for the guy in the photos.  He's 6'3" tall..  He wants it slabbed. 

What would you charge? 

The main trunk is about 10' long and is probably 45" diameter at the smallest area.  It has a rot hole up the middle, maybe 1' diameter at most, tapering smaller up the tree.  Tree was cut several years ago, but the heart wood is still sound.

[Brad_bb]

I'd try slabbing it too.  Could be some interesting table tops in there.  I would think you'd have to do it on an hourly basis.  I'm assuming you have a big enough chainsaw mill to slab it?  What you charge also depends on what equipment and manpower you need to do the job.  If he's got the equipment to move the slabs -forklift or FEL with forks, it makes it easier.  If you have to bring in equipment, charge what the rental company would charge.  It's going to take some hours to do the slabbing.  Don't forget to include your chain resharp time.  I'd look at the top branches and see if any of that is worth milling.  I look for curved stuff that I can cut naturally curved timber frame braces from.  You don't want pith in them unless they are large cross section.  I can't tell you what your time is worth.  You should be able to figure out equipment costs though.

[dgdrls]

tburch,

you have a project there.

I'm guessing he wants the main stem(s) slabbed?

I would charge by the hour to get the log bucked to where it can start to produce what the customers wants.
Then as indicated charge for the support Eq unless customer can provide,
Then charge by the hour for actual sawing.

good luck if its a go take some pics!!

Dan

[Delawhere Jack]

You might want to cut the trunk section loose first and see if there is rot. It looks like there was an open limb wound right behind the client in the second photo. If that's what it is, and it's been collecting rain water for years, there may not be much good material in the trunk. I've seen this a couple times with walnut. Both times, the client and I wept...

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I think your hard labor on this project will pay off really nice in the end.

[tburch]

In the second pic, that is indeed a hole in the limb that is pointing down.  About 2-3" in diameter.  We know there are voids in it, but there's still PLENTY of wood to harvest.  If my mouth was big enough, I would try to blow through the tree...

I'm pretty sure he wants to slab the whole thing.  Wish I had a band mill as well... I'd be able to get the best yields and production.

[Kbeitz]

Wow thats going to be a lot of cutting for a chain saw.

[tburch]

It's a chain saw chain, but a Peterson Mill with the slabber attachment.  But yes, it's a lot of chain-sawing.

[Nomad]

     First thing I do in a case like that is suggest he get it into a more "sawyer friendly" configuration or be prepared to pay the sawyer to do it.  Meaning the limbs are cut off and stacked in an accessible manner, etc. if he wants me to mill them too.
     Have the main trunk placed where a mill like yours can be set up around it, as well as braced and supported so you can get him maximum recovery from his log.  Or, again, be prepared to pay you to do all that prep work at your fees.
     You might want to ask him if he has the ability to handle those slabs?  Folks don't always think it through.
     I had a guy last year who wanted me to slab a 56" diameter pecan log, 12' long, in his back yard with no access for equipment.  He was going to take care of the labor with his 12 year old son and carry the slabs 60 yards into his garage. :

[scleigh]

$300 :D.........an hour

[Arkyrick]

Most people see and old walnut tree like that and think they are going to retire on the money they are going to make. If they are being realistic they will see there is a lot of time and $ cutting it and moving it too your mill just to cut it into slabs. I know of 2 walnut trees that a man called me about over a year ago on land where they were difficult to get out I made him an offer he thought it wasn't enough they are still laying there and rotting.

[Ianab]

Advantage here is not having to move the log, although it's going to need a bit of breaking down into more manageable chunks. But that might only be rolling a section of the trunk 6"ft to the side.

There is likely some treasure in there, but you are correct that there is a lot of work involved in getting it out. But when you start talking about $300 slabs of wood...  A big table top sized slab doesn't need to be perfect to make some great table.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Going to saw the last ugly log of a small whack of walnut today.
After this job I would run not walk away from that monster unless a fee such as scleigh posted was involved.

[tburch]

Got the log back at the house.  This was the last big piece to load.   Quite a hole in it, but still lots of nice lumber.

Here's a video of loading the base trunk section.  About 9 feet long.  3 cameras and 3 perspectives.  About 4.5 minutes long. 

https://youtu.be/Qg9xgR1a3gg

[Ljohnsaw]

Wow, that one perspective when the log hit the trailer, I thought the wheels were going to bust off!  Can't wait to see what's inside!

[Chuck White]

I could actually see that taking out the off-side of the trailer or tipping the trailer over!

Good job guys.

[kensfarm]

I believe you exceeded the trailer's max load capacity.. and then some.  Big logs are the ultimate milling challenge.. looks like you guys are having a good time too.  Great job!

[tburch]

7K lb trailer capacity, so I don't think its capacity was exceeded.  Now... the 18" drop didn't do it any favors - that's for sure! 

Its little brother, the top section of that trunk, while it took a little longer to load, settled nicely in the trailer due to it's shape.  I think they weighed about the same since the top section had more meat in it.

https://youtu.be/gzpRN1XiqPg

[thechknhwk]

Wow, that one perspective when the log hit the trailer, I thought the wheels were going to bust off!  Can't wait to see what's inside!

You shouldn't have to wait, you can see all the way through it from one end to the other, lol.

[WDH]

There should be some awesome figure in those crotches.  Are you going to be sawing any gunstock blanks?

[tburch]

I'll cut it however the client wants me to cut it.  I too think there will be some awesome figure in the top crotch section.  On a few places where the bark is off, and the sapwood has rotten off, you can see very wavy grain.   I was researching a couple weeks ago on how/where to cut for good gunstock blanks. 

Yeah, the lower section was pretty hollow.  Hollow enough for me to shimmy down into it if I wanted.  But, we'll still get some nice slabs out of it.   

Part of my payment will be a slab and some figured wood.  Can't wait to really get into cutting it.  We need a dry spell here. 

[Tom the Sawyer]

WET BLANKET ALERT

Trailers are rated by their GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating), not by their capacity.  Based on the wheel configuration, it would appear that that trailer would have a 7000 lb. GVWR. 

GVWR includes the weight of the trailer, and any attachments such as spares, ramps, winches, toolboxes, jacks, etc.  Most basic, double axle, utility trailers will weigh more than 1800 pounds empty.  It is likely that the legal cargo weight of that trailer may be less than 5000 lbs.  That limit is also based on an evenly distributed load. 

There are load ratings for all of the components of a towing system; individual axle limits, tire load limits, strap/chain/binder load limits, license tag load limits, tow vehicle load limits, coupler load limits, hitch receiver load ratings, safety chain load limits, even the shank of the hitch ball has a load limit rating.  An over load limit condition that results in a failure opens you up to negligence claims.

I have informed a family that grandma was gone because someone neglected to use safety chains and a hitch pin, and interviewed a new amputee because someone overloaded a hitch ball and also neglected to hook up the trailer brakes.  Hanging a lot of paper on risky trailers isn't a problem after that.  Its a lot better than writing them up after their trip ends abruptly.   

[tburch]

wet blanket |ˈwɛt ˈˌblæŋkət|
noun informal
a person who spoils other people's fun by failing to join in with or by disapproving of their activities.

There's always someone!   

[coppolajc10]

wet blanket |ˈwɛt ˈˌblæŋkət|
noun informal
a person who spoils other people's fun by failing to join in with or by disapproving of their activities.

There's always someone!   

Hey man, I don't think Tom was trying to spoil anybody's fun, c'mon.  You certainly had your fun.  As ex law enforcement, I think Tom's simply providing a perspective worth thinking about, I know when I tow I don't want to hurt anybody, and my amount of fun isn't driving my decision making.  Did you ever figure out how much you were towing with that pos trailer?

[tburch]

Tom said wet blanket, and that's what it means.

I appreciate Toms perspective, but I know all that already.  My reply was in jest.

I don't know for sure how much I towed, but I'm fairly certain it was under capacity.  I estimated the load at about 5500 to 6000 lbs, max.