I'm considering fixing up a portable mill and want a number for a "worst case sinario."
i am not portable. $.30 bdft and on odd stuff i get $40/hour. manual bandmill. pc
Welcome boq, to the Forestry Forum. Watch another similar thread here posted by "bigriver" about pricing.
sorry I should be more spacific. I know the custom sawing prices are 20-40 cents, but I want to know what my toughest competition will be charging, like the stationary mills around here.
The commodity price of lumber is around, only 30 cents/bf and some of that's even dried. And I've seen a log report stating under 10 cent/bf for logs.
I am not sure you are being fair to yourself comparing the bdft price as quoted by a big production mill and a portable mill. Portable mills are service oriented and appropriate for custom jobs that large production mills have little interest in. There are many threads on the true value of portable mill operations. Flat hourly rates are just as valid as strait bdft estimates when it comes to portable mill rates.
You'll find that the rate for sawing changes from one region to another.
Around here, most get $.15/bf, we refer to it as $150.00/1,000 bf.
In other areas of the states you might see rates as high as $300.00/1,000 bf.
The price range around here is from$90/m to $190/m for the mills around here. I use the $190/m mill.
Not sure what you mean by "big sawer" is in the context of portable sawmilling. Large stationary mills don't offer what a portable miller does. In charging by b.f. you're going to become very aware of the difference between what you produce by yourself vs. what you produce when the customer is providing help and/or support equipment. And on log size, quality, board sizes, job volume, and distance. Unless you have a way of controlling these variables, it's difficult to have a set b.f. price without giving away the store on some jobs and not being competitive on others.
In today's market, you can't buy logs, saw them and compete with the lumberyards selling framing lumber. The value to my customers is, in many cases, being able to use logs that the commercial mills won't take.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0808.JPG)
Beetle killed SYP that the commercial mills won't buy.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0814.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0841.JPG)
Ready to be sticker stacked in the barn.
I consider my milling somewhat unique in conparison to "big mills" because of portability and thin kerf. Around these parts there is not much competion but I still want to offer a good deal. Considering log condition and saw list I'll usually try to keep pricing around $.35/bdf for their logs. When it comes to me furnishing logs I have to consider what they cost me, or if I'm required to take logs off my property, the price will obviously increase. If the latter occures I ask for $.50 to maybe $1.50 bdf, considering species. There's a wide gap across the country, but it simply boils down to what is profitable for you.