Do most people prefer when buying ERC to have slabs or as dimensional lumber?
I have several trees that I plan on cutting soon. I estimate the butt end to be 24". What is the best way to mill these?
I sell a lot of cedar dimensional lumber and very few slabs. Slabs seem to sit around quite awhile before they sell and 1x6/1x8s sell immediately. Also sell a lot of 4x4s and 6x6s.
Since I have no storage room I don't saw cedar until it's ordered. Same for other species also. I would think that dimensional would sell quicker though.
If we can get big cedar logs we do much better turning them into live edged slabs. $2-3 b/f for dimensional and quite a bit more for good slabs.
slabs here too,
Cedar logs I custom sawed today for a reseller. 4/4, 6/4, 8/4, and 12/4. All of it was live edge but only one side. I also sawed a bunch of 6 X 6's. No idea where its going.
I'm sitting on a stash of cedar logs I got cheap. Somebody will call and want something weird and I'll fix em right up. :)
Whatever size you don't have. ;D
Most common size by far is 1" x 6" x 8'.
Spring time is great for selling 2x8x8 and 2x8x4 for raised beds. Also 2x6. This is where you can get rid of medium grade boards that have some ingrown and a few spots of rot that would make them unsuitable for furniture.
I leave a lot of our logs tree length and buck to length as needed.
Yesterday, a call for 4 5x5 x 18', Day before 9 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 14'.
Last night 3000 sq' of 9/16 x 4" by long T&G.
Also 40 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 8' very good for rafters in a gazebo.
You never know what people will want until the phone rings.
15 S2S 3/4" x 5" x 8' and 17 square feet of clear 1" x 2" x 18", multiples of those dimensions works. I set the price to make me happy. They are happy because they can get it .
You can keep cedar lumber on stickers for quite some time without degrade. We use edging strips. Cedar does not stain even if using fresh cedar edging strips.
I sawed some really nice live edge slabs of cedar a few years ago and ended up giving them away. A few months ago I sawed a bunch of 1x6 and they sold so fast I didn't what had happened. I just brought home a great load of logs yesterday. My plan is to cut a whole lot of 1x6 to sell and from the larger logs cut some 8/4 slabs just to see if anyone wants them. I will also cut some 2x6 for personal use to replace some deck boards at my house. I imagine those would sell pretty well too.
Whole cedar logs are used for high end porch uprights around here. I'd bet 1/2 logs would also sell. I don't saw much of it but lots of times my customers want it thin like 1/2" or such. Its a crap shoot. Good luck.
sometimes folks will see a chunk on the ground, and see a duck or rabbit image in the grain. "are you going to just throw that away"? I have moved much from a quarter inch to beams.
'Slabs' [they are not slabs] here also if the logs are big enough, put on sticks for a year or more, 2" thick. If small dia. logs; 6x6 is now in demand. Sawing into boards is ok only in nice wood but because of flute and other holes I do little and on 'slabs' there is no edging and that saves a lot of work.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/DSCN0039.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1429751740)
Trailer load.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_0680.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1463794486)
Trailer overloaded.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_0654.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1463708273)
Of course I custom saw rather than sell but it is rare for a customer to ask for live edge. It's usually as wide as the cant will square.
Thanks for all the replies.