The Forestry Forum

what're your yearly production numbers?  im around the 20mbf mark myself being a weekend warrior.

I answered in the 20 to 50 mbf range. We don't run the mii except for custom orders or for somthing we need at the farm. Three years ago we sawed over 100 mbf for several horse stables and a lot of fencing. This year so far haven't cut but once for less than 5000 ft.

Weekly production is in the 50-65 Mbf.  Annual is right around 2.75 MMbf.  But, I'm running a automatic circle mill.   Cutting hardwood grade.

Up until I quit/retired, I was sawing non-averaging weeks that produced about 275,000 to 325,000 BF a year in a portable, custom sawing operation.

I did a little over 1.8 mmbf last year and I might even break the 2 mmbf this year but I have the a mager advantage over most folks in that for the most part I get to cut the best cuts from the best logs and don't have to fool around with alot of the junk logs that folks talk about. Next year my numbers might go down a bit as we are sawing alot of cypress timbers for some timber frame home builders and that market seems to be picking up as the folks that have the money for a timber frame home like these companies build don't know that money is getting tight for most folks. These type orders take me a bit longer as they bring me the logs in full tree length and I have to cut to length and all the different sizes so it slows down the production a good bit but I get paid more for it so money wise I come out about the same.

10,500 cube, (or in American talk, 126,000bf)  from our own forest,since the end of march. From other sources incuding mobile sawing, I would guesstimate about 17 to 18mbf.

If the 'cube' you mention is cubic ft of logs, then more like 65,000 bd ft.   :)

Aiy. There is a certain ambiguous content in my above statement.   Our logs are measured in cubes (cubic feet), metres cubed and even by the hoppus foot in some 'old school' circles.   My customers tend to be of the older fraternity and prefer to buy their sawn timbers by the more familliar cubic foot.  We say cube, whether it's sawn or log form.  Maybe a local colloquial!!

If you'll agree, my 126mbf still stands. :) 

 I will have sawn,kiln dried, straight line rip one edge and planed to 13/16th over 12mbf this year. Not to many hours on saw but alot of moving wood(Each piece of wood is handled a minimun of six times). Also about 3mbf custom sawing for others. I sure would like to trade those numbers around. :)

  last year I sawed 90mbf,...This year probably half that.I got tired ::)

I checked 20-50. That is sawing a very random schedule. Might work 25 hours one week, and be off on another project for two weeks. I have made many changes in the way material moves around the mill, and will be there full time when the weather starts getting bad. I plan on sawing 50mbf this winter, or 'til the log yard is bare. ;)


Dave

In the good old days of Cedarworks buying unlimited amount of cedar, we would pump out 1.25mm per year, now we are down to about 600,000 bf.  And thats out of an average of 7 to 8" by 8' logs.  Our margins are a lot higher. It's not how big your lumber stack is at the end of the day, its how much you can take to the bank the next morning.

Quote from: Cedarman on October 26, 2007, 07:33:06 AM
..... It's not how big your lumber stack is at the end of the day, its how much you can take to the bank the next morning.

;D ;D ;D ;D  8) 8) 8) 8)   ;D ;D ;D ;D

I second what Cedarman is saying.

The numbers (so far) make for an interesting statistical distribution. It appears there are two groups reporting -- a small production group averaging around 10,000 BF and a large production group averaging around 250,000 BF. I seem to be right in between the two at around 84,000 BF per year. I guess I just can't figure out whether I'm a large small-production outfit, or a small large-production outfit :D.

My production rate was increasing this year, but then it flattened off when I started managing my customer's log lot. Less sawing time, but I get paid by the hour for those lost hours. Bottom line -- a little more money in the bank this year ;D.

We are averaging around 30-40mbf daily depending on spieces. Yearly is 7mmbf plus.

Running a McDonough band head rig with inovec setworks,McDonough line bar resaw,Crosby edger with Silvertech optimaztion.

that's  a lot of wood.

Tom

Yes it is!  ;D Doesn't seem like we cut that much some days. It can get pretty slow on the grading chain but than there are those days when I get my behind kicked!  :D

Bringing this one back up. Lots of new sawyers on board. :)


Dave

I said 5-20...but that is based on what I have sawn so far since i got the mill..I've got around 5 in stickers
and probably 10 or so in logs..

I'm a thinning contractor and sold most of my saw logs to local mills before they folded.
I said 5 to 20 since I usually save out 7 to 10 in clear Pine and Juniper logs to mill, but............ I have plans, :D have to see how they work out as the year goes on.

Andy

Quote from: Brucer on October 27, 2007, 01:32:21 AM
The numbers (so far) make for an interesting statistical distribution. It appears there are two groups reporting -- a small production group averaging around 10,000 BF and a large production group averaging around 250,000 BF. I seem to be right in between the two at around 84,000 BF per year. I guess I just can't figure out whether I'm a large small-production outfit, or a small large-production outfit

Brucer,  I just found this link.  I am not so surprised by the distribution.    10 years ago when my daughter was in FFA, she brought a paper home that pointed out that the majority of future farms in KY would either be under 50 acres (hobby/specialty) or 300+ acres (commercial farms).   The point was that unless a farm had a specialty niche, the economies of scale would require expansion.  Basically the 100 to 200 acres family farm was on the way out. Unfortunately, 10 years later, that was a pretty fair assessment.

In the wood biz, I think the distribution shows the same situation.  There are the part time folks, the hobbyists, and the folks cutting specialty woods.  And then there are the folks cutting full on.  Last year when I was sawing full time, I was in the 60 to 70mbf range.  Staying busy.  But not busy enough to have a lot of jingle left over at the end of the day.  One wise sage over in Indiana told me if I wanted to make a go of it, I needed to go big.  That was not what I wanted to hear at the time. As a result, my year of sawing turned into a nice sabatical from the computer biz, not an up and coming wood biz.

Just my $0.02....

Warren