Kind-hearted pallet log buyer

[Robert R]

Stopped in to touch base with my pallet log buyer today.  Wanted to make sure he was still buying before I started hauling.  He told me that as long as diesel stayed so high, he was upping his price by 4 cents a foot to make it worthwhile for folks to bring him logs!!  I thought that was really nice.  His competitor down the road is now 6 cents below him in price and his stockpile is always far larger.  The guy I use really isn't accessible to big trucks and trailers and thus he has to woo us little guys to get logs to work on.  I rarely haul over a 1,000 feet on a load but unless my math has gone way off base, that'll pay for the fuel round trip.  I'll be visiting him a lot this winter, I hope.

[DanG]

Good deal, Robert!  Sound's like the guy is doing what he's gotta do to stay afloat.

[bottlefed89]

Robert, where are you at in Missouri??  I am in Kingsville, about 20 minutes east of Lee's Summit MO.  What are you aselling for pallet wood??

[Robert R]

I'm just down the road from you, between P.Hill and Lone Jack.  I take pinoak to one of the pallet mills in Windsor.  Need a few thousand boardfeet?

[bottlefed89]

Not to go too much into your business, but do you do this as a full time job, or hobby??  I own a tree service, but am very interested in getting a sawmill, and going a different route with my operation.  Would be interested in seeing your setup sometime. 

[Robert R]

I got no business to get into.  I'm just a yahoo playing with my horses and making some side money.  I really enjoy it and would like to do more but I am also quite grateful I don't HAVE to do it unless I feel like it.  My main interest is really only the skidding with my team.  Last season was the first time I did anything other than cut my own personal firewood.  I sold a few thousand feet of pallet logs and about 1500 of walnut.  I have a couple of walnut jobs lined up now as soon as it cools a bit more and then I will be back to cutting the pallet logs.  My plan is to turn everything under 14 inches into firewood sales and everything over as pallet logs.  I just can't justify the trip to Windsor with less than a 1,000 feet on the trailer. However something you may want to keep in mind is that if you have a job that has a sensitive area the landowner is concerned about machinery on, I be glad to hire out skidding services with my team.  We barely leave a trace--just some scuffed up grass but I try to take a different path every time to minimize that and have the ability to put the logs on the running gears of an old grain box and leave no trace of dragging if required but that does need a wider skid path.  With just the horses and skidding tongs, I can get through anything 5 feet wide with room to spare and if you can walk in upright, I can get them in and out with the logs regardless of terrain.  About 250 boardfeet is the most I can pull at once without snow on the ground.  I've never found their limit with snow or ice to skid one and I can move about 5,000 pounds at a time on the running gears if the down hills are not to steep.  Let me know if I can help--right now while I am learning, I'll work cheap for the experience of seeing how others do it.  I've done a couple of short 2 or 3 hour jobs for free just for the exposure and publicity.  I am really limited in what I can offer right now because I don't own my own log trailer.  I need to get one pronto but can't until the horse trailer is paid off.  Hoping the walnuts will do that this winter or get close and then I'll go ahead and spend the money.  I just can't finance 2 trailers at one time.  I work from home and have very flexib;e availabilities if I could be of service.  If I can help, pm me and I'll send you my e-mail addy.  I often check in here daily for several weeks and then disappear for a period if I get busy elsewhere.  If I can help or if you know of specific trees you need help getting out for your future mill, nothing would make me happier than helping with the sawing and brush clean up and then just coming back for the skidding to the loading and being done with it.  Good luck to your future proposition.  I know there is a huge demand.  I could send 3 or 4 customers to you tomorrow who are having trouble finding sawyers to do small lot jobs even with logs delivered.  The demand is huge but I just don't think I am mechanically inclined enough at this stage to conider anything beyond a decent log loading set up for the trailer and maybe a firewood processor or just a better splitter than my monster maul.