Question for Alaskan Sawmillers

[ozarkgem]

I am heading your way next month and would like to pick your brains about lumber and timber prices. I am looking for some place cool for the summers. Tired of hot weather.I would like to buy some land and saw up a house. I may bring my mill or it might be better to hire it done locally. I am NOT going to start a sawmill business. I have no desire to do that. I have owned my mill for 15 yrs and sold very little lumber. People who ask me about sawing for them get sent to the Amish. I have sawed up two houses for my self and I that is about all I want to do. Any way thanks in advance for any advice.
Jim

[Kingmt]

The title made me think you was asking about a CSM. Anyhow good luck on your adventure.

[Kbeitz]

Check your location...
Some places dont let you build homes from ruff cut lumber.

[Magicman]

If I read you correctly Jim, you are starting an adventure.  Our present travel plans include Alaska next year, so maybe we can visit.   ;D

[ozarkgem]

If I read you correctly Jim, you are starting an adventure.  Our present travel plans include Alaska next year, so maybe we can visit.   ;D

That would be cool. I cannot take hot weather anymore. I like the winters here but not the summers. This is something I always wanted to do and I am not getting younger so now is the time. If Ak doesn't work then I will look at Mt or ID. Just so long as its cool in the summer.

[jimdad07]

If I read you correctly Jim, you are starting an adventure.  Our present travel plans include Alaska next year, so maybe we can visit.   ;D

That would be cool. I cannot take hot weather anymore. I like the winters here but not the summers. This is something I always wanted to do and I am not getting younger so now is the time. If Ak doesn't work then I will look at Mt or ID. Just so long as its cool in the summer.

Takes a lot of cojones to do what you're doing, best of luck to you!

[Brandon1986]

I can help you if I had a touch more info.  Alaska is massive, where abouts are you planning to go.  If you want to move to the Anchorage/Valley area I can give you some numbers of the local mill's to call for pricing.  If you plan on buying land and trying to mill whats on it, most places from south central on up north don't have much in the way of good saw logs per acre. I get by because my family owns an excavation and logging business and I can high grade the saw logs out of the stuff we run through the firewood processor, but that amounts to maybe 1 or 2 good saw logs in 10 cords of wood.  As far as cool summers you might be barking up the wrong tree too, I just about died last summer from being too hot (granted too hot for me is 65-70). Magicman, if you are in my area I would like to buy you lunch while you are up here if you would be willing to share some of your experience with a milling green horn!  Oh side note... the house I grew up in was built largely from rough cut and the bank allowed dad to take out a mortgage on it to buy our first excavator for the business I am pretty sure its still aloud.
Brandon

[Magicman]

Magicman, if you are in my area

We are still in the early planning stage, but we will definitely pass through Wasilla.  I guess that it would be kinda hard not to.   ;D

[sawguy21]

65-70 is just perfect for working. My mother was like that, I teased her that if she had to take her sweater off it was too hot. ;D
I think the op is in for a rude shock. The Alaska south east coast stays mild in summer but the winters are very wet. The interior can get get quite toasty with long days, winter with long hours of darkness and BITTER cold that has to be experienced to be believed take a special kind of stamina. Some thrive on it but it's not for everyone. After almost 30 years of -30C+ winters I have had enough.

[boscojmb]

As mentioned before, Alaska is huge.

This is where I call home
61.14.467 N
154.54.548

If you are thinking about anywhere on the "other" side of the mountains, I can offer good advise.

It does get hot in interior 907. Noon time it's 80+, hot and sunny; midnight, it's still hot and sunny.

[ozarkgem]

I can help you if I had a touch more info.  Alaska is massive, where abouts are you planning to go.  If you want to move to the Anchorage/Valley area I can give you some numbers of the local mill's to call for pricing.  If you plan on buying land and trying to mill whats on it, most places from south central on up north don't have much in the way of good saw logs per acre. I get by because my family owns an excavation and logging business and I can high grade the saw logs out of the stuff we run through the firewood processor, but that amounts to maybe 1 or 2 good saw logs in 10 cords of wood.  As far as cool summers you might be barking up the wrong tree too, I just about died last summer from being too hot (granted too hot for me is 65-70). Magicman, if you are in my area I would like to buy you lunch while you are up here if you would be willing to share some of your experience with a milling green horn!  Oh side note... the house I grew up in was built largely from rough cut and the bank allowed dad to take out a mortgage on it to buy our first excavator for the business I am pretty sure its still aloud.
Brandon

Yep trees would be a priority. 65-70 beats 95-100 any day. I don't plan on spending winters there just summers. One guy told me the west side of the Kenai has cool weather in the summer but I guess not good trees . I will be paying cash so no mortgage. So where would you suggest.

[ozarkgem]

As mentioned before, Alaska is huge.

This is where I call home
61.14.467 N
154.54.548

If you are thinking about anywhere on the "other" side of the mountains, I can offer good advise.

It does get hot in interior 907. Noon time it's 80+, hot and sunny; midnight, it's still hot and sunny.

Please expand on the other side of the mountains. weather, terrain ect. thanks  Jim

[Brandon1986]

How far away from civilization do you want to be? How many acres? Price range? South East near the capital has good timber, but its expensive to live there, and its kind of remote.  From the info you have given thus far I would lean to Houston or Willow 30-60 min north of Wasilla.  It has fair timber in places, fairly inexpensive property prices, and the average temp in the summer is low 60's to low mid 70's on a hot day.  I remember hauling hundreds of cords of saw logs out of Houston with pops when I was a pup, but that's all commercial timber sales and it MIGHT be hard to get into that area with the big wood, if even its still a viable timber sale.  I might recommend getting on google earth and street viewing a few areas to give you a rough idea of what the timber stand is in any given place.   
Brandon

[ozarkgem]

I have been looking at land around Houston. How about between Anc and Whittier?
Moose Pass? I would like to be able to drive to  the property if possible. Another option would be to buy a load of logs and buy a small piece of property.Still thinking.

[edkemper]

Check your location... Some places don't let you build homes from ruff cut lumber.

On the other hand, some locations allow rough cut lumber if it is upsized one size (2x12 instead of 2x10).

If he's talking about rural Alaska, I don't think he has to deal with building codes.

[starmac]

In this area (fairbanks) the only market for sawlogs is spruce, but our spruce is nice to work with.
I am basically new to this game, but can tell you a full load of nice logs at the mill brings a little less than 3 grand.
The only small time sawyer that I know that saws for hire, has a new manual woodmizer, and was chargeing 35 bucks an hour last spring. I mentioned he was working for less than wages, plus furnishing mill, blades and gas. lol
He is a nice kid, trying to build up a business and said he would probably go up in a year or more, depending on how much business he gets, there are others, but I haven't et them.
This link is the rough cut prices for our commercial mill, all of it is spruce and the mill at delta might even beat their prices (maybe bad) but I don't have their prices.
http://www.northlandwood.com/rgh.htm

[starmac]

I need to add, don't let the hot interior summers scare you, compared to what you are used to you will think it is wintertime.
If you get up to Fairbanks, look me up.

MM if you make it to fairbanks, I would sure spring for a meal for you and your better half.

[ozarkgem]

In this area (fairbanks) the only market for sawlogs is spruce, but our spruce is nice to work with.
I am basically new to this game, but can tell you a full load of nice logs at the mill brings a little less than 3 grand.
The only small time sawyer that I know that saws for hire, has a new manual woodmizer, and was chargeing 35 bucks an hour last spring. I mentioned he was working for less than wages, plus furnishing mill, blades and gas. lol
He is a nice kid, trying to build up a business and said he would probably go up in a year or more, depending on how much business he gets, there are others, but I haven't et them.
This link is the rough cut prices for our commercial mill, all of it is spruce and the mill at delta might even beat their prices (maybe bad) but I don't have their prices.
http://www.northlandwood.com/rgh.htm

Thank you for the price list. Not terribly different than here.

[Magicman]

MM if you make it to fairbanks, I would sure spring for a meal for you and your better half.

Thank you.  We plan to shake as many Forestry Forum hands as possible.   8)

[Brandon1986]

Between Anch and Whittier is mostly a highway with a sheer cliff on one side and the pacific ocean on the other. Moose pass is a nice small little community, I used to drive through there every week, if I recall right it has a decent timber stand. Its economy is fueled mostly by the states only Max security Prison in Seward 45 min away. Good folks down that way I spent the first 4 years of my law enforcement career working down in that prison. I think you would definatly have to buy saw logs were you to go that route however.
Brandon

[ozarkgem]

Between Anch and Whittier is mostly a highway with a sheer cliff on one side and the pacific ocean on the other. Moose pass is a nice small little community, I used to drive through there every week, if I recall right it has a decent timber stand. Its economy is fueled mostly by the states only Max security Prison in Seward 45 min away. Good folks down that way I spent the first 4 years of my law enforcement career working down in that prison. I think you would definatly have to buy saw logs were you to go that route however.
Brandon
what about the road to McCarthy? Any good timber on it? How many BF in a truck load of logs? 3 grand might be a bargain.

[Brandon1986]

Once again Alaska is a big place and I am not greatly traveled in it. I am not real sure about the timber stand up there. In my experiance the further north you go the more sparce the trees. I think Mcarthy is around the tok delta junction area, I was just up there 80 miles south of tok last week and nothing jumpped out at me. As a matter of fact it seemed more tundraish than anything else.
Our log truck holds 10 cords and thats pretty common for this area, 8-10 cords depending on how good the guy on the self loader is. Admitedly being fairly green in the milling game and logging mostly for firewood, I am not real good at converting cords to bf. By my math 1 cord is 4x4x8 so say 4x8=32bf on the face of that x48" is 1,536 per cord x 10 cord is 15,360 bf per truckload less waste whatever that ends up being I really don't know. Maybe one of the wise experianced fellas around here can tune me up.
Brandon

[starmac]

McCarthy is on the edgerton hwy the otherside of Chitna. I don't know if you can even drive to it, seems like you have to take a fourwheeler across a bridge to get to town, touristy and pricey from all I have heard, BUT there is property along the edgerton highway, and that is some kind of beautiful country. The kid that saws cheap here has a cousin that a pretty elaborate setup lt50 and edger, and makes tongue and groove logs, down in that part of the world, another youg guy that seems real decent, from what little I talked to him.

[Brandon1986]

I stand corrected! Are there any "M" towns near tok?

[starmac]

Not sure, there is an N town on the Tok cutoff and one on the Alcan south of Tok, nebesna and northway, just not sure about any M towns. lol