Received this in an email today. I've already responded but I'm interested in just how would you quote this job? ;D
.....interested in having these milled into as much usable 4/4 and 5/4 lumber as possible for use in future projects,
... a 24-year old cherry (Prunus serrulata, cultivar Kanzan) tree that was in the backyard of my town home
......Many of the smaller pieces (2 to 4 inches in diameter) were cut into firewood which I expect I'll be able to use next year; the "smallest" pieces (branches less than 2-inch diameter) were disposed-of.
........What remains are 11 logs of varying sizes, ranging from 3 to 6 feet in length , and 6 to 24 inches in diameter
I think you should definitely bid the job on a board foot basis at your normal rate. I would quote on an hourly rate and take my time sawing. ;)
24 year old tree... 24 inch diameter... I think not.
:D :D :D I can imagine your quote, but I won't quote you on that ;D.
smiley_furious3
Sure, I will just fire up the old pocket knife mizer and run right on over...
I would not take this job.
I like sawing the 3', 6" logs :D.
Youre going to need a mini cant hook for those logs
We call them hay hooks around here ;D
I'd bid that one on the weight of the finished saw dust.
$50 Bucks a pound. (may be that should be by the ounce 8)
oh and wouldn't use the saw mill either.
Quote from: hackberry jake on October 19, 2011, 08:58:39 PM
24 year old tree... 24 inch diameter... I think not.
if it is growing that fast, maybe you can get some seeds while your widdling out some lumber, i figure there is some money to be made growing trees that grow that fast.
It's only going to take 7 or 8 cuts. Tell him to throw the logs in the back of his mini van and bring em over. Tell him you'll saw them for free if he passes out 10 of your business cards to people with land/farms.
Quote from: hackberry jake on October 19, 2011, 08:58:39 PM
24 year old tree... 24 inch diameter... I think not.
7.64" diameter I betcha...
Publik skool germetry edgamujiggy....
that sounds like the job i did a couple weeks back. still limping from it ;D
I would reply back that you could finish turning those LOGS into firewood in about 20 minutes and only charge by the hour. plus moving & setup fees.
OR you could say you can move in you 30,000lb log skidder and semi truck & wood pricing equipment & that you will need a good acre of clear space to load transport and cut them charging by hr plus moving fees for each piece of equipment ;)
include in your quote a picture of you by a very LARGE log perhaps one of those single log loads to show them what a LOG is...
mark
Might go llok at the log tho' might grade veneer... lol
Saw the lumber and then you can sticker stack it in Dave Shepard's model Dutch barn :D.
Here is the mill for the job
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79wPV5ny93o
:D
Ian
Verify that he knows what "diameter" means and is familiar with inches. This takes diplomacy to avoid embarrassment either way. Then apply your usual mileage and hourly rate. Most of my customers have never had wood sawn for them before. Make sure to emphasize the importance of Anchorsealing short logs or boards.
p.s. switch to 0.035 blades
Tell him you'll bring your big tech, low kerf, circle saw for an added fee. Show up with your table saw and make him some boards.
That model sawmill is neat...would like to see that up close..looked like a green chain and edger or planer off this end...
I knew I put my Lumber Smith suburban assault mill away to soon... ::) I could even do it in his back yard to reduce the skidding. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21788/LS_Loaded_1.JPG)
I see garbage ads like that on craigslist all the time. "Valuable walnut pieces! Cut into 16" lengths, 12" diameter, $10 each." "
"Black walnut tree cut down in September, clean no nails. The size very from 18" down to 4" in diameter cut in about 6' length. $125"
My favorite has to be this one though.
"Oak Log for carving measuring approximately 20 inches in diameter and 30 inches in height. The tree was cut down about 1 month ago. Asking $100 obo. "
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/mat/2612957180.html
I thought about emailing to see if they'd take $75. :D
I always cringe when someone walks into the office and tells me he wants a few logs cut up. Then I go outside and discover he's driving a mini van. And its not even squatting.
I had the reverse happen a couple weeks ago. Guy calls and says he's got a couple short oak logs he'd like cut. I say,"how short?" he says about 5-6'. I say, "sounds like a walk in the park...bring em over". He shows up a couple hours later with a 28' gooseneck trailer, an AT forklift and two of the biggest Bur Oak butt logs you ever saw. They were almost as wide as they were long! I thought to myself, "what the #@$%$! am I going to do with those!" After he unloads them on the bunks He says, "take your time...I'm in no hurry." Leaves his name and # and drives off. I have been avoiding them since they came in, but I'll have to do something with them soon. Moral of the story...Get ALL the measurements beforehand.
5quarter
Another is to not let anything be unloaded that you don't want to saw. ;D
The suspense is killing me. What did you tell him?
This is where I would do what Pigman said . :)
Here's the rest of the story. I have cut for this fellow before. he brings great logs, lets me decide what the yield will be and thinks that at $65. an hr, I'm a good value. plus he does all his own unloading. nevertheless, when he got out of his truck we had a little chat. I explained that those logswon't even remotely fit on the mill. He pats me on the shoulder and says that he's confident that I'll figure something out. We talk some more while he's unchaining the ATF and I tell him that the wood is not worth the amount of work involved. He asks if I can get some wide (and I mean wide) Qsawn out of them. "Of course..." I tell him. "Well then I'm not worried about the price", he says.
So there I am, one minute thinking he had a couple short little logs that I could knock out in an hour; and the next minute I was slack-jawed trying to imagine all the extra work. In the meantime, his ATF is straining against these logs, and it's a big machine. he normally uses it to load sod bales. He gets the logs onto some log bunks, loads my log deck for me with a bunch of Douglas fir I have to cut and after he loads back up, he's gone. This weekend I'll be breaking them down with a chainsaw and sawing them next week.
In hindsight, I should have known that these would not be small logs. nearly ALL his logs have been 30"+. the smallest was a walnut with a 26" top, so I don't know what I was thinking.
Better borrow a Lucas!
Quote from: logboy on October 20, 2011, 10:36:26 PM
Better borrow a Lucas!
That is what I was thinking...
Its a 440 miles one way. Might be a bit too far for me to justify swinging down.
Make him buy the food and beer...that ought ta break ya even...heck...it sounds like all you would need to do is fire up the slabber and pare and quarter...
Like it is ever that easy. lol
Briefly, the end of the story...
I finally finished the two huge bur oaks last Saturday. I like cutting big wood, but I'm simply not equipped to handle logs that large. I measured them. Smaller one was 42" small end inside the bark and the bigger one measured 46" large end and flaired to roughly 70" at the crotch. I also learned that these were not butt logs, but 2nds from his timber sale. They only wanted the first 12' and the remainder landed in my logyard. He sold 22 logs, all for the veneer mills. prices per log ranged from $1800. to $5800. for oak and walnut. Anyway, I had 33hrs in this job and knew I could not bill all those hours for two logs (in my defense, that includes all the chainsawing handling and quartersawing). I called him up and told himwhat had happened. I said that I had figured 10 hrs and grossly underestimated my time. I told him that I capped his cost at $650. I said that the upside is that you'l be getting some truly great lumber. well, he said he appreciated that and would be over Sunday to pick lup his load. Sunday morning comes and I'm having coffee, looking out the kitchen window when I see Ron Pulling past the mill into the logyard. He's got his goosneck with the loader and a load of logs. I put on my coat and go down to the mill to meet him. He has brought 9 big, beautiful logs. 7 walnut, 2 oak. 2 of the walnuts are his he tells me, and the rest he simply gives to me. I start to explain to him that he only owes me the amt on the bill, but he shrugs it off and asks me to help unbind the logs and loader so he can unload.
After he's unloaded, he brings his rig around to load his lumber.We load it together and he is beaming. in the end, he writes me a check for $700. and tells me to call when his walnut is ready. If I had it to do again , I don't think I would, but I have to say that I feel a whole lot better now than I did while I was up to my "you know what" in sawdust.
And that's the end of that story.
Your customer is a good man. He found a way to balance out the scale rather than take advantage of your good nature. Not many would do that. They would just take their great deal and move on.
Sounds like a good deal for both of you. Nice to hear he was fair with you. :)
A good customer is worth the extra trouble on occasion...a dollar passes but once, a customer is a renewable resource!
Good job!
Sounds like you got a good repeat customer on your hands. ;) Keep him if you can. Set down with him and tell him completely what you are up against with huge logs like that.... Sounds like he'll understand. Did you get any pics?
Here's is the response I sent 2 weeks ago to the quote request at the beginning of this thread. I've heard nothing since. ::)
"From your description, the recoverable lumber will be small and low grade. Any "logs" cut from limbs will not yield usable lumber. Limbs grow with large amounts of stress and tension build up that hold the limbs out. Boards cut from limbs will curl and twist when drying.
Logs shorter than 42" or having a diameter less than 8" cannot be easily milled on my mill. This is due to the size and spacing of the mill bunks, backstops and clamps.
If this tree is only 24 years old and was 24" diameter, that means the growth rings are ½" apart. This is evidence of a very fast growing tree. Although milling is possible, if the logs meet minimum sizes as stated above, the recovered lumber will not be high grade.
If the usable logs are brought to my location the charge is $65 per hour with a one hour minimum charge. Any blade damage caused by non-wood objects (nails, rocks, screws, etc) in the log is a $35 blade damage charge. I do not do air drying. My kiln drying cost is .60 per board foot. Drying is done when I have a sufficient amount to justify running the kiln. Your boards would be marked and mixed with other lumber for drying. Drying can take up to 4 weeks depending on the going-in moisture content.
If you are interested in pursuing this, logs can be dropped off most any evening beginning after 25 october."
Coon, I think there a couple pictures of them in the yard. I took no pictures of the milling as I was mostly occupied with How I was going to break these two down and get them loaded on the deck and down to the mill with no real support equipment. That and I would just as soon forget that particular job.
Dr. Buck, Why is it people bring branches to a sawmill hoping for lumber? A couple months ago, a guy drives 30+ miles to my place with a trailerload of "logs". In fact they were branches from 2 ash and 1 elm tree out of his yard. not a stick over 10". I had him buck the "logs" in firewood lengths and throw them in the firewood pile. gave him enough ash and elm lumber for a couple small projects and sent him on his way.