I never Dreamed!

[Kirk_Allen]

I never dreamed that I would have a flat bed trailer pull up to our place to pick up a load of Osage Orange bound for an upscale furniture builder in Brooklyn, NY.  Now I know its not a FULL trailer load, but I have to start somewhere.

When I got my mill it was to be for some personal use projects however as many here, it has literally taken a life of its own.  It was a great feeling seeing this load pull away today.

When I cut the Osage trees down several folks thought I was nuts.  You see, around here its junk wood and no one wants it.  I knew I wanted it for my own projects so I took all I could find. 

I posted some of it for sale in an effort to fish out a rat for a friend.  Really didn't have any intention of selling any of it.  Well, we didn't fish out the rat on that post but the buyer from NY fished us out and bought every last piece of Osage I had cut. Totaled 480 bf. 

I'm glad I didn't have the rest of my Osage logs cut because he would have taken everything if I had it.  I need some for my front and back porches this spring ;D

Thanks for the Forestry Forum and all the administrators that help make this place possible.  Its been a real blessing!

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Kirk, Why does that picture look so hazy?? What's that funny lookin stuff on the ground??  ;D

  Good show on the sale. ;)

[Kirk_Allen]

Come on, you've seen ocean mist before havent you?  That funny stuff on the ground is beutiful white sand from your area!

I WISH! 
Ice fog this morning.  It was pretty brisk.  Jim was over this morning to turn some wood and he chose to stay in the shop while I helped load the truck. 

[Gilman]

Congrats Kirk  8)

Thanks for the photos too.

[ARKANSAWYER]

  From the looks of the background you do not have the problem of logs rolling off of your log yard like I do.
 It will only get worse from here on out.  Next expansion will be on your mind and payments for a Super will be next.  I tried to warn you when you were here on the farm.  Good thing you held some back.
ARKANSAWYER

[Ga_Boy]

Kirk,

Good job.  It is real sweet when you load up that much wood for an out bound shippment.

It is even better when the check comes in for that out bound.



Mark

[Kirk_Allen]

Actually that outbound was contingent on the check clearling my bank ahaed of time ;D  After seeing so many folks getting burned I had to do it this way.  It worked out well.  I think when they buy from me again though I may let the shipment go and offer them terms.  The outfit is very reputable and the payment was prompt.  They trusted me to send it this time so next time I will trust them. 

[Kirk_Allen]

I hear you Dave.  Expansion is high on the priority list.  I need a bigger shop and a Kiln real bad. 

That super looks pretty tempting but I have decided if I cant pay for it outright I wont get it.................yet.  I am setting quarters aside daily for the upgrade! 

Once our house sells and ALL the bills paid I will see where were at and maybe take the plung for a loader, Kiln, and Super upgrade. 

[Ga_Boy]

Kirk,

I am the same way with first time customers.  I do not cut anything until I have half in cash in my hand.

[rebocardo]

That must be an awesome feeling in your heart AND wallet seeing it loaded and pulling away  :D

> You see, around here its junk wood and no one wants it.

I heard the same around here about Sweetgum. Unfortunately I learned the hard way termites/bugs like it a LOT once it is cut up, but, I have made a decent amount of change selling it as firewood.

One person's junk is another's opportunity.

[Percy]

Way to go on the sale. Sounds like you are on the right track as far as dealing with them. Building relationships is a big part of what we do. Leaving a good impression on a buyer is always a positive thing. If your wood is as described or better, you will have a good start on repeat orders, etc.

Expansion is a good thing too but be carefull. I expanded a couple of years ago(just had to have that LT70) and for the most part its been good,but, I coulda got on fine till about now with my old lt40. I did increase my production big time but everthing downstream from the mill still gets plugged from time to time(sales). Point being, I should have moved a bit more slowly and thought things through a bit better.

Anyhow its good to see things moving forward for you.
later
Percy

[Kirk_Allen]

I should hear from them sometime thursday or friday.  Im sure all will be fine, considering I only charged them for 450 bf. Kind of hard to grip if you get 30 bf for free IMHO.

I appreciate the input Percy.  I WANT stuff real bad but when I sit down and start crunching everything I always come up with WANTS that arent realy NEEDS ;D

[TomFromStLouis]

Excellent work Kirk. I have known that kind of satisfaction once or twice and it comes from being deserved.

But I want/need a few details. I have a difficult time getting any kind of grade out of osage logs. Did you trim off all of the checked sections and deliver prime stuff or was the buyer okay with what comes naturally? Did you saw all 4/4 or is there some thicker material on there (can't really tell on my monitor)?

Any idea what kind of furniture they are going to make with this stuff? I love working with osage but it is hard picturing it as furniture.

[Kirk_Allen]

As far as grade goes, I dont believe NHLA has any grade for Osage.  At least I could not find one. 

A fair amount of what I sold was what I would consider clear and would meet the Select or Better catagory.  The rest would fall into #1 or #2 common. 

I have found that to get quality Osage you need to have a tree that is at least 20" DIB and straight for at least 6' sections.

What I sold was a variety of dimensions.  Mostly 4/4, 5/4, 6/4 and lots of 16-20/4 shorts.  Most of the widths ranged from 10" to 3".  I would say the average was around 6".  The longest I had in this batch was 10" wide 10 1/2' long. 

I have sold all of mine AS IS - GREEN OFF THE MILL. I edged larger boards on the mill prior to stacking but a lot of the shorts had bark on one side.  As far as trimming off the checked sections I assume you refereing to the end checks?  I sealed the logs the day I got them and have not had ANY checking on my Osage. 

From what I understand this outfit resaws 1/8" thick peices 18" long for some type of inlay.  He was not worried about the fact that it was green because the 1/8" sections dry very quickly. 

[Faron]

Kirk, How do you intend to make your porch posts?

[Kirk_Allen]

Faron,
The plan right now is to start with the back porch first.  Only two posts their and I am going to use a 9' Osage Orange Log cut to 6x6.  I will chamfer the corners with a router to give it a better look than a plane old post. 

The railing will be standard railing from Osage and the spindles will all be hand turned Osage.  Those will take the most time.  I am working on some of those now. 

The porch floor will be T&G Osage. 

The main supports will be 1 1/2" x 8" x 6' spaced every 12 inches.  I know its overkill but the plan is to NEVER have to worry about this placing needing any maintenance for quite some time.