Curious where some of you are with prices for custom kilnwork? 1.75$ a board foot a friend was quoted seemed steep to me.
Was that for something thick and or otherwise difficult to dry?
Depends on species, thickness and moisture content.
I won't dry 8/4 white oak from green for only $1.75 a bd ft....
2" SYP would be less than that though, as would 4/4 anything.
It was 8/4 material, guessing Black Walnut. It was quoted higher than i thought it would be by a quarter, but I don't know the market at all.....of course I know both parties involved in the :) deal as both have livestock.
I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached.
Quote from: bushhog920 on September 25, 2023, 01:12:08 PM
I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached.
How many bdft of 1" is a kiln load for you?
GAB
At one of the commercial kilns its 30 cents. The kicker is you must have enough lumber for 24 layers. No matter the species, it will be dried on a oak schedule. They only dry 4/4 and all lumber must be 8'. Doesn't matter the MC as it will sit in the yard for 3 or 4 months air drying. And when its done their is always a chance it will get lost.
The local I-Dry was at $3.00 a couple years ago. I heard he is higher now. He will dry anything but specializes in live edge slabs.....drying defects add character.
I try to avoid custom drying as most folks are unreliable as to what MC their lumber is at and only want a small quality dried. When I do get talked into it, I charge $600 minimum and it all must fit in my L-53 chamber. It must be air dried first and I'll check it before it gets unloaded. I have done it with a daily charge on higher MC but that is sort of iffy at times for the customer. What if the load of walnut stalls?
Quote from: GAB on September 25, 2023, 01:31:03 PM
Quote from: bushhog920 on September 25, 2023, 01:12:08 PM
I don't understand how you can charge by the bdft. To many variables for drying time and it costs me $10 day in electricity so if get it wrong can go in the hole fast.. I charge by the day until final mc is reached.
How many bdft of 1" is a kiln load for you?
GAB
L200/40' reefer so 2-4k bdft.
Quote from: Nebraska on September 24, 2023, 10:20:24 PM
It was 8/4 material, guessing Black Walnut. It was quoted higher than i thought it would be by a quarter, but I don't know the market at all.....of course I know both parties involved in the :) deal as both have livestock.
$1.75 for 8/4 BW is very fair IMO. That's around a 60 day kiln run in a Nyle L200 - give or take.
At $25 per day per 1K bd ft, that works out to be $1.75 bd ft for a 4K bd ft load and 60 day kiln run.
This is a subject that confuses me. If I want to dry 4/4 material that is already air dried, and I load the kiln with 2100 BF. It's going to take 2-4 weeks, somewhere in there. If I don't max the kiln out with say 2600 BF, I think the 2100 BF will be done a little sooner.
lF I put 11/4 air dried slabs in the kiln, they'll be in there for 2-3 months likely.
So charging by the BF is confusing because 1) it's difficult to be accurate when it comes to slabs. and the time varies so much. I would think time in the kiln would be better to charge? Or maybe broken up charges that include kiln loading and unloading labor, a daily charge. Not sure if any other charge should be in there. It just seems like it makes more sense to charge by time in the kiln. I understand that if you only have a partial load, it makes it more difficult, but I think you could figure out a percentage split.
What is the best way to charge? Is it too difficult to charge any way other than BF?
If I do any custom drying, I charge $.10/BF/day. Takes care of any size, species or starting moisture questions. I'm very clear with the customer as to what we're starting with and try to give them a fair expectation, but as we all know, wood can sometimes have a mind of its own. Done a good amount of custom drying with no issues and happy customers.
Quote from: boonesyard on September 28, 2023, 09:07:46 AM
If I do any custom drying, I charge $.10/BF/day. Takes care of any size, species or starting moisture questions. I'm very clear with the customer as to what we're starting with and try to give them a fair expectation, but as we all know, wood can sometimes have a mind of its own. Done a good amount of custom drying with no issues and happy customers.
How many board feet does you kiln hold? Do you require at least an X amount of board feet per load?
The specs say the capacity is 2,000 bf but 1,500 is more in line with reality. I have a 500 BF minimum and if they have less than that, they're lumber will wait until I have enough of the same or a compatible species to make the minimum. Customers also understand that full loads have priority, which includes our own lumber. If they're willing to wait, I'll eventually get it in.
Nothing over 30% and ideally down to 20%- $1.25 per bf and $100 minimum. We stay pretty busy drying our own slabs but do a load or two worth every year for customers.
I custom dry at .18 cents a day per "kiln bd ft" I will do 1 piece but have a minimum charge of $175. I moisture test the wood when it arrives and will quote how long it will take down to 6-8%. I only put wood in the kiln when it is %25 or less. If it is done in less time I only charge for the days in the kiln. If it takes longer then I eat the cost. Fair to both of us, and I am getting pretty good at outing the time in the kiln. I was only once wrong last year on a bundle of 4/4 Hickory, it took 2 more days to get it down. Next time I will AD them longer.
I can dry cookies as soon as I saw them, I like them to go in the kiln that day or at least the next day and I get very little cracking when I do that. I like putting cookies in with customers AD wood as some wood comes AD wrong, maybe to fast, and I like to think having that extra moisture from the cookies helps soften the outer shell of the customers slabs.