Hey all, I've just moved my saw to my house and plan to set up permanent with a shed over the machine. What's a good program for slab disposal? I don't have any connection to anyone who can saw them up so it's gonna be mine to deal with. Any suggestions? I'm sorta new at this but did just finish a 48x52 shed building and I sawed it all. You guys know how that feels I'm sure!!
Thanks
Slowsaw
Some sell them,some almost give them away. That is another reason why I got my OWB. Seem like Jim Rogers told me he put a coffee can and some slabs down by the road. Put a sign $1 each. Made more money by the piece,than by the load.
I've been trying to sell them by the load with mixed results. I've had a few takers, but not many at this time of the year. If things are slow this winter and I have too much I may try to cut them up into campfire wood. Cedar slabs I sell as kindling or give them to my dad. ;D
Edgings are a little more difficult for me to deal with. Someday I'll probably run them through the chipper.
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We sale about 90% of our slabs at $10/pu load, customer loads. Come spring I clean up the area and burn the rest as it's mostly junk the "slab hounds" don't want.
I burn them in the winter months after or during a lot of rain . If I have oak a neighbor gets it . I'm just a hobby mill so I'm not talking an enormous amount .
Gday
I am putting my ones into 3 yard bundles atm and We are planning on Chipping or Hogging them and logging waste for Boiler Fuel @$110 per ton del at under 25 to 30% M/C its almost paying better than sawing pallet material :) :D Already have one customer who will take about 5000ton per year ;)
Regards Chris
Illegal to burn them here -- except in fire pits and wood stoves.
I separate mine by length (3 different racks) and strap them up into 2' diameter bundles. 40 linear feet of bundles gives one cord. I sell them for $80 per cord if I load, $65 per cord if the customer loads.
I put everything into the rack -- slabs, edgings, thin strips, whatever. If the customer complains I point out the thin stuff makes great kindling and is also good for small fires at the beginning and end of the burning season.
I basically try to recover the cost of the strapping and the loader work needed to move them. I have a few regular customers and a few "once in a while" customers. The stockpile fluctuates but it always seems to stay under control.
Randy, it depends where you live up north here we burn them for heat or sell/give them to folks that do.If you have any campgrounds near contact them most sell campfire wood, slabs are good for that quick bright fire that goes out early. Frank C.
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I just chip them and sell the chips
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When I saw for myself, they go to the roadside with a "Free Wood" sign.
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They do not last long.
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The next day. :)
We sell ours to a mulch manufacturer for $15-20/tondepending on season. Don't make much with time hauling etc, but at least they are out of the way and make a little money off of them. We have a few known guys buy them for fire wood but not reliable for clearing out the piles. I wont put an ad on craigslist or sell them out of the driveway. Seems like it attracts a lot of problems. We try to get them out asap while they still have a little weight ;D
The only time I have a slab problem is when I don't have enough of them. It takes all I make to run the engine and have some left over to get to get up steam the next time I run. ;D
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I don't have a mill set up yet (but I should soon) so I buy slabs to heat my house.
I use ours to fire our kilns. Next, I am going to look into gasification. I also bury some into the ground and plant over them - gives you incredible results.
Since we live in a vacation paradise and we have the time we are first going to try and sell bundles as camp fire wood. If that does not work I have no idea. I just built a rack and need to get it moved and see if the wood is dry enough to burn good.
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We sort out the really small stuff and just plan on burning them in our fire pit.
matt
I also cook with them in my fire pit.
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This is $160 of Oak, plus $3.25 a loaded mile for delivery.
It's a high price, but we get by with it ;)
It all depends on how many you are going to pile up, and what kind of wood it is around here, Pine is worthless, unless they are straight and relatively uniform, then they are used by many for decorative fencing. Oak slabs go the char-coal kiln 25 bucks a bundle. Cedar goes to a single customer for fencing, Heavy butt ends get cut off on go on my pile, great for camp and house fire wood. burning the excess is about the only way to get rid of it if it begins to get out of hand if this is lawful. And chipping would be the final best case scenario if one is obtainable at a reasonable price. david
My two cents....
I would go with Jim Rogers method, and put a money box by the road next to the pile of slabs. Just have a sign that says $1 per piece. No real time spent watching the pile and if someone takes a few with out paying you still solve your problem of the having slabs.
Second to that, I would try to sell them as firewood after I trimmed them down and bundled them up. YOu probably would break even on time & expenses vs. income made, but still you're ahead because the slabs are gone.
Third, bury them into large mounds called hurgekulker (or something like that). Basically its long term organic compost that you can use to replenish the area and grow vegetables on. Also if you plan the long mounds right, you can create a natural wall around a field or property. This would option would have the most time invested with little to no monetary return.
Best of luck!
I size the slabs and split them as stove cut and with larger slabs its standard firewood, the pieces with bark are camping firewood and all the edging and other small stuff goes in the chipper/spreader and gets used as a weed barrier and soil amendment for planting areas. nothing is discarded.
If I wind up with more than I need I give it to the scouts and the church for bonfires and other events or stack it in the help your self firewood rack by the mill and burn it in a barrel stove on the cold days.It seems to balance out for me.
A little story about a slab pile from last summer. Two years ago while putting out some corn for the deer at my cabin a few pieces of corn dribbled down through the deck boards onto the ground. Came back the next day and found that a bear had torn off half the floor boards to reach the few bits of corn. So----I knew that I had some nice pieces on the bottom of the pile that a friend wanted. Too hot to dig through that big pile ---ahaa got the corn out and put a lot through the pile and a few days later the pile is spread from here to kingdom come. Got the bears to pay for ripping my deck apart. :D :D :D :D
What a clever method. :D Thanks for sharing your story.
Quote from: Barney II on July 22, 2013, 08:31:17 AM
A little story about a slab pile from last summer. Two years ago while putting out some corn for the deer at my cabin a few pieces of corn dribbled down through the deck boards onto the ground. Came back the next day and found that a bear had torn off half the floor boards to reach the few bits of corn. So----I knew that I had some nice pieces on the bottom of the pile that a friend wanted. Too hot to dig through that big pile ---ahaa got the corn out and put a lot through the pile and a few days later the pile is spread from here to kingdom come. Got the bears to pay for ripping my deck apart. :D :D :D :D
Awesome! Just ingenious ...
Quote from: Barney II on July 22, 2013, 08:31:17 AM
A little story about a slab pile from last summer. Two years ago while putting out some corn for the deer at my cabin a few pieces of corn dribbled down through the deck boards onto the ground. Came back the next day and found that a bear had torn off half the floor boards to reach the few bits of corn. So----I knew that I had some nice pieces on the bottom of the pile that a friend wanted. Too hot to dig through that big pile ---ahaa got the corn out and put a lot through the pile and a few days later the pile is spread from here to kingdom come. Got the bears to pay for ripping my deck apart. :D :D :D :D
Now that's thinking! smiley_thumbsup
That's like taking a crow bar and punching holes around a stump for a handful of corn.Let the hogs dig out the stump. Frank C.
Welcome to the forum!!!!!