You guys that saw for the public, charging by the board foot or hourly, what do you figure your personal hourly wage is?
Do you pay your self for just the time your cutting, or all time involved, maintenance, band sharpening,travel time, etc?
After having my current mill(Lt70) for 14 years, I kinda know how much money it takes to run it. I have an edger and a large all wheel steer Bobcat(A300) and a 966c wheel loader and a plethora of other stuff. Without a grunt, I charge 125.00 an hour if asked. With a grunt, 155.00 cause any decent grunt is 30.00 an hour after all the payroll, Work safe, and pain in the keester surcharges. Most opt for the bdft (40 cents)but those jobs are becoming rare. I cut mainly for brokers and a few retail outlets and drill pad, logging bridge contractors. Most mobile guys charge around 60-75 around here. once the ink dries, Im makinabout 30 bucks an hour for me.
Quote from: Percy on November 21, 2017, 11:39:21 PM
After having my current mill(Lt70) for 14 years, I kinda know how much money it takes to run it. I have an edger and a large all wheel steer Bobcat(A300) and a 966c wheel loader and a plethora of other stuff. Without a grunt, I charge 125.00 an hour if asked. With a grunt, 155.00 cause any decent grunt is 30.00 an hour after all the payroll, Work safe, and pain in the keester surcharges. Most opt for the bdft (40 cents)but those jobs are becoming rare. I cut mainly for brokers and a few retail outlets and drill pad, logging bridge contractors. Most mobile guys charge around 60-75 around here. once the ink dries, Im makinabout 30 bucks an hour for me.
Yup that sounds about right - quarter million bucks worth of gear and the same or more in land and improvements to make almost as much as the hired help. Its a disease I tell ya :D
Serious answer is that -about the same as Percy- I pretty much make about the same take home pay as an experienced sawmill hand. What I don't make is what id be making somewhere else as an experienced mill manager.
But not counted in my pay is the asset value of the business which includes debt service on a mortgage and the asset value of the whole shebang as a going concern. Plus a few tax advantages as well.
I've said this here before but the guys I've known who made serious money in the timber industry never made it cutting boards, they made it out of the real estate.
Quote from: longtime lurker on November 22, 2017, 05:05:34 AM
I've said this here before but the guys I've known who made serious money in the timber industry never made it cutting boards, they made it out of the real estate.
There is a lot of truth to that.
Personally, I treat the sawmill operation as a business and factor in the equipment costs, depreciation, overhead, direct operating costs, maintenance, downtime, time spent with customers, etc. I look at the overall profitability of the business - not my individual paycheck. A business has to make enough $ to include not only depreciation but expansion.
From what I have seen, many folks - if they look at milling as a paycheck - tend to not charge enough for it to be a sustainable, viable business. Let's say that a new mill owner was making 20 bucks an hour in a previous job. That works out to be around 44K per year. So they think that if they are charging $75.00 per hour they are making a killing ( or feel bad for "screwing their friends by charging too much so they discount their prices). A few years later they are out of business and don't understand why.
One of the most innovative millers that I have ever known (and a highly respected former member of this forum) was the Arkansawyer. An incredibly sharp guy, yet he still ended up going out of business because he either could - or would not charge enough to keep his business going and build up adequate funds for contingencies.
If I did I wouldn't make any money ! :)
OLd "related to topic" joke I have told before.
Magicman wins mega lottery. On the evening news he is being interviewed.
Interviewer: So Mr Magic man. What are you going to with all that money?
Magicman: Pay a few bills.
Interviewer: What about the rest?
Magicman: They'll just have to wait
;D ;D ;D
Once you realize that your first mill, truck, and maybe the guy in the mirror are going to need replacing it helps with perspective on charging.