I'm trying to figure the best way to recoup time and trouble for stickers, when we custom saw by the BdFt. I know we could charge by the foot but stickers are so labor intensive I don't think I could make out. Does anyone just charge a sticker charge by the Mbf or a flat rate. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. :P
We just save out the cull boards and restack and strip 'em on the mill. If it's a decent amount of lumber, we just throw the stickers in for free. Good PR don'tcha know. ;D ;)
You could always set a per hour charge if our idea won't work for you.
Yep, me too. It's real good advertising. You can talk it up too. "dont' throw them away, put'em in the barn. Every sawyer won't do you this favor". :D
I charge a mbf min. for custom sawing. I try to figure what it cost me to saw a mbf including time for stickers and a small profit ;D,and that is how I arrive at my charge per mbf. In other words I keep the TIME involved figured in to the basic charge of sawing even though I saw by the foot. ::)
As far as the costumer is concerned it's a courtesy I provide. It's just something I provide for sawing their lumber.
We charge $150 per cubic meter for milling measured on the finished useable timber produced. We always cut stickers as we are cutting down to the useable stuff and generally cleaning up the log. Our invoices say so many Cu M at 150.00 stickers No Charge.
Everyone's happy.
I don't charge for stickers, either. The customer wants good lumber, and that's what he or she pays for. My board foot rate reflects all sorts of hidden costs (including the time to cut stickers) but the customer doesn't need to know that.
I can buy them from one guy for 50 cents and the main guy I buy lumber from will give them to me. I've heard of prices as high as $1 a piece, which is high, but he does it so that noone will buy them and he doesn't have to make more. On the other hand, I think the same guy will give you the material to make them for free if you ask (because he doesn't want to make any more)!!