Advise for Sawmill for the Tropics?

[crtreedude]

There is no requirement on buying land in Costa Rica (except money!).  For tax purchases it is better to have a Costa Rican company (very easy to do and not expensive).  The constitution in Costa Rica gives you the same rights as the locals.  It is nothing like trying to buy land or do business in Mexico.

Costa Rica's economy is actually quite good.  A stable government helps a lot.  The people are very well educated, in fact, their literacy rate is higher than ours.

It is not all peaches and cream, but if you do your homework you can make it work quite well.

Then of course there is the benefits of writing off you trips to Costa Rica as a business expense. 8)

[Wes]

 NICE  8)

[Ron Wenrich]

A number of years ago, I was in on a chat with a forestry student from Mexico.  We asked how forest management was in her country.

She told us that the local strongmen basically just came in and took the timber.  The govt. did nothing about it, and then there were the drug lords.

Do you have any problems like that in CR?

[crtreedude]

Nope,  no strongmen.  A formal president of Costa Rica, Arias, won a noble peace prize for working to reduce the conflicts in Latin America.  Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 in favor of national health care ( 5th best in the world ).

Even without an Army, Costa Rica fought off Nicarauga a few times already.  It doesn't happen much anymore, Nicarauga is too poor to do anything.

Costa Rica is a very peaceful place.  Yes, there can be problems - but not from strongmen.  The biggest problem is leaving your property unsupervised.  Leave your property fallow and it can be divided among squatters.  Costa Rica does not like the idea of a few wealth people ( locals or foriegnors, it doesn't matter) owning most of the land.  The poverty level in Costa Rica is ~ 18%, where as in Nicarauga it is 70%.

One reason for the large middle class in Costa Rica is that there never was much use of slaves by the Spanish - there were hardly any people when they arrived.  Therefore a land aristrocracy never developed.

Costa Rica's laws are pretty good and their #1 or #2 "export" is Ecoturism.  They understand if they get the reputation of being dangerous, they will lose the view of being a great place to go for a vacation.  I have never heard of a drug lord in Costa Rica.  The Government does enforce the laws and they seem to be getting more serious about it every year.  

This is not to say it is not a challenge to do business in a foreign country.  Understanding the people and the laws can be fun as long as you don't get too frustrated.  Their sense of time is a little different than ours, but, trees usually keep growing no matter what.  The people are hard working, but the infrastructure is not super reliable which means you learn that schedules have to be flexible.

All in all our experiences have been very good, but we know a lot of people in the country.

  

[Fla._Deadheader]

I would like to add a couple of things to what Treedude said. About 70% of the population lives in the Central Plateau, which is San Jose and it's suburbs. The rest of the country is fairly remote. The occasional village is where you find most of the rural people, except those that actually live on the farms.

  I have never felt threatened by anyone, although, you will have yer pocket picked, if you stay long enough.

  We travel into the edges of the jungle, in the southern part of the country, and most men carry machetes. You can never tell a bandito from an upstanding citizen, and, being as how we carry expensive metal detectors and search for gold, we always pack some "heat". Not entirely legal, but, entirely necessary.

  There is a growing drug running trade in the south and they leave NO prisoners.  Snakes are nasty also.

  Not trying to persuade anyone to stay home, just be aware that there are several ways to get "hurt".

   I nearly submitted my paperwork to become a "residentia", but, had to stay in the states. I am seriously considering submitting it next time I go down, in the coming spring.  There are several ways to establish residentia, but, that is another story. ;D

[crtreedude]

You are correct for sure about the south.  I always assume the closer I get to Columbia, the worse off I will be.  I happen to be in the Northern section of the country which tends to be far less dangerous.

My experiences are among the campesinos (farmers), yours seems to be among the "outback", the area where you have squatters and tree poachers.  Not nice neighbors.  

Yes, Costa Rica has a developing issue with drug running, however, I will take almost anywhere in Costa Rica over Newark NJ!

The probablity of getting bit by a snake in Costa Rica is actually pretty low.  Most of the time it is from someone picking coffee.  Or, some young boy trying to catch a fer-de-lance.  (Truth, our partner had some boys catch one in his front yard).

I totally agree with Fla_Deadheader, there are bunches of ways to get hurt - especially if you think it is paradise.  The Ticos don't believe in protecting anyone from their own stupidity.  A couple of years ago a tourist was eaten by a croc because he thought it would be cool to swim with one.  He swam in an area where the locals throw the dead chickens into the river to attract crocs for the tourist.  I suspect the crocs just thought he was a big chicken.

By the way, if you are a resident, it is legal to carry a gun, and fairly easy to get the permit.

Fred

[Fla._Deadheader]

Right on, Fred. I agree with everything you have said. I even agree with the "Newark" statement. I was born and raised in Lakewood, about 50 miles south of Newark.

  One thing ya never mentioned about CR was the traffic. ;D :D
  First place I ever been, where the Tico's make a 4 lane highway outta 2 lanes.  :D :D

  My buddy in San Pedro, south of San Jose, says he FINALLY discovered the secret to why the vehicle horns always blow. He says they are hooked up to the wheels, and when the wheels stop turning, it trips the horns ??? :D :D :D

[Wes]

 I was there during the communist rule of nicarauga, worked in honduras, CR, and panama,also worked jointly with their militaries, CR was definately the most frendly and stable. We wernt allowed to show any signs of weapons but the CR government supplied us with guards at our camp, work sites and convoys, they were part of the CR civil guard, all volinteers,Good people but kind of lax.

 Unlike the military of honduras where they would go on recruting raids and take boys as yong as about 14 rite off the street. I worked with some, and those people are very serious about their structure, training, and dicipline.
 
 My experiences in those other countries were just as enjoyable as CR

  Dead header, your statement about the traffic made me laugh,Ive driven alot down there, I lived near panama city for 18 mo. I allways thought their gas pedals were hooked to their horns. And how about those chiva  busses, with all the decorations, brite paint and loud music.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Ya talkin about the ones that run the Pan Am Highway, passin on the curves, uphill, and on the return trip, passin on the curves doin 200 MPH Downhill??? :D :D :D :D

  Oh Yeah, CR is DEFINITELY Paradise, if ya survive. :D :D :D

  I 'speshully like the "vendors" that appear along the hwy, sellin juice, fruit, chips and god knows what else, as soon as the traffic gets blocked and yer 400 miles out in the middle of nowhere???  WHERE do they come from, Spider holes ??? :D :D :D :D

  I STILL wanna move there, someday ;) ;D

[Wes]

 Ya mean the juce in sandwich bags, then you see baggies for miles down the road, I also remember a dead cow laying partway in the road just outside a village, it must have been hit by a truck or something, on our return trip several weeks later it was still there and boy did it stink.

 You move there and I'll visit

[crtreedude]

Traffic? What traffic?  You have to remember I live in NJ now and drive almost to NYC for work during the week.  Honestly, I go to Costa Rica to relax  :D and drive.  Nope, nothing like traveling at 80 miles an hour with nearly bumper to bumper traffic and then have some fool pass me at 100+.  Usually it is either a Mercedes or a Police chasing Mercedes.

By the way, it only seems like they are suicidal on the hills.  The trucks have CB radios and they call ahead to other trucks and findout if it is okay to pass.  It does get a little close sometimes...

The biggest problem is the difference in abilities in Costa Rica.  You have the truckers who drive all the time and then the Campesinos who only drive to the a poplulated town once or twice in their life.  They don't know what gears 3 and 4 are for - if they still work.

Fred

P.S. I was noticing that the swing blades only will cut a maximum of 10" without switching sides.  Is this normally enough?

[Ianab]

re the 10" cut
The swingblade cuts dimensioned lumber off the log. Imagine the small end of the log with all the boards you want drawn on the end, any size up to 10" x 10". Then just cut them out. Flat or quarter sawn or a combo depending on the log.
The log can be up to 60"?.. you just take it apart board at a time.
You can double cut one board on each layer up to 20" if you need wider boards, but 8 or 10" is a sensible max size for finished lumber

If you need really wide boards look at the slabbing attachment

Ian

BTW.. just when you think you are living in a developed country... a street sign like this appears at the end of your street.. no kidding  

[Fla._Deadheader]

Fred, have you done a search on the forum under "Swing Blade Mills"??? There are many pics and some excellent write-ups from Swing Blade owners and Kiwi Jake has many excellent pics posted.

  I would prefer a Petersen over a Lucas, (THIS otter start sumpin) mainly because of the ability to saw a 20" board without manually turning the saw carriage around. Lucas is a very capable machine, also.  Petersen has just hit the market with a fully automatic mill, which will eliminate MUCH walking , and increase production.