Wood mizer LT15

[Secondchance]

My husband and I just purchased the Wood mizer LT15 and are extremely happy with it. We are hoping to be a dumping site for local tree services that will not cost them anything to bring their logs. Is this a good starting point for getting logs? Any suggestions?

[doc henderson]

Welcome folks.  More info would be helpful, in a thread and or on your profile.  Might be someone local or near you.  Or knowing your info we all may have ideas to put forth.  

[RichTired]

Welcome to the forum and the Woodmizer family!    smiley_clapping

Beware of 'yard' trees from tree services as they can be full of metal.

And a quote from this forum, "Free logs are not free".

Happy sawing.  8)

[A-z farmer]

Welcome to the forum 
I agree with rich on free trees having a cost .
I got a mill last year to saw our own trees from our farm .I also bought a metal detector and bark spud etc.A another farmer friend brought a few oak trees for me to mill up for him for free .and even with metal detectors and scraping off the bark I still used 4 blades and destroyed 2 blades .He said they were not line trees or yard trees but I have a hard time believing that .
Milling up free trees can be rewarding as long as you are prepared for the obstacles.
Zeke 

[red]

There is nothing Free about Free Logs,  just my two cents

[firefighter ontheside]

I looked into this too, but decided against it.  They will want to dump everything.  Leaves, branches, twigs, limbs and the saw logs.  You will have a mess.  Also, they tend to cut the logs into more manageable size, like 3 or 4 feet.  Although, you may find someone who is willing to work with you and get you only the parts you want.

[offrink]

I contacted my local road commission. I was put on a very long list of people. I don't expect to ever get a call. 

[doc henderson]

i have a relationship with about 4 tree guys.  they know what I want but I only get about 1 every 3 months.  i get more from friends and by word of mouth.  If I drive along and see a tree trimming truck I stop and look and ask.  it is not a true barter but they give me trees, and if every in the future they need some milling, I will do it.  i had a cedar tree have 16 nails all pounded into the same quarter sized area.  

[Bruno of NH]

I get logs from one of the biggest tree companies in the country .
You get more than saw logs and a lot off mess.
It's free but not free it can be some work.
I think I worked out a deal with a guy that makes mulch yesterday . He will bring rolloffs in for me to put the waste in.

[Kindlinmaker]

It depends on your demand and location. As extreme hobbyists, we have great luck with tree services from heavy suburban areas. Suburban tree services make good money cutting trees in affluent areas but pay high wages and deal with hauling and storage problems as well; every cut costs money and time spent dealing with chips is lost opportunity and expensive.  You will see small log trucks all over major suburban areas in the northeast. We could be buried in 10 years worth of logs in just a few weeks if we turned them loose. The services like a close disposal site so they are very selective about what they bring, are very careful about our property and will sort to our storage configuration. We even have guys that will bring big equipment on a weekend to help rearrange/move piles to help us out. We get some problematic logs but we just move them to the firewood pile and go to the next. We hit a lot less metal in tree service trees than we do in farm trees. 

Sawing lumber for our shops and feeding our boilers has been a voyage of discovery. Growing up in Northern Appalachia and commuting hours to live in semi-rural areas, I never expected suburban logging and milling to be such a viable opportunity. There is a learning curve but it can be very rewarding. 

[OffGrid973]

 

  If you have the ability, start marketing your services to them so they can ask clients if they woud like a memory of the tree they are losing.  Once they can make a few extra $$$ by having you mill a single section, then you become the go to person and over time it will grow.

If you have the ability to pickup the logs at the site they are working even better...get a logging trailer and let them drop the sticks right when they fall and drive away.

This maple came down a few weeks back and one small machine and the trailer and it was gone in 2 min.

[YellowHammer]

My experience is that if the log is worth selling, and the tree cutters have been in business more than a short time, they know how to make money off them.  For example, they will simply carry it to the nearest mega mill, firewood splitter, or mulcher, and sell it.   

They will however, work with me for free if I become their dump.  Then they save $15 per ton, which is what they pay the local landfill.  

By the way, in this area, if a nail log is brought carelessly, or knowingly, to a mega mill, the tree guy or loggers are banned from that mill for one full month.  A pretty severe penalty that gets their attentions.  So I do the same, unless we talk about it before hand on a real nice log.  

Basically, the tree companies around here work with me, knowing I will pay good money for good logs, but there are penalties for bringing trash logs.  The door swings both ways.

In my experience, the best way to get good logs is from a professional logger.  That is what they do.  They sell logs. 

[WV Adam]

Usually if you get something for free, you have to also be providing a benefit to the provider, so if you get good logs for free you may have to be willing to take chips, chunks of wood etc. along with them. If you have a close location and its easy to get to, then maybe you can be selective, and still get logs. The smartest guy I know on stuff like that, farms, and is close to a suburban area, he has plenty of room, all the licenses etc. they have a wood grinder and firewood processor and trommel screen. They accept anything from tree guys except literal trash / garbage. They charge a reasonable tipping fee to dump, then they separate chips, leaves etc. and mix them with there animal manure. Stumps, branches and screened root balls all get double ground for mulch, then logs and pieces get worked up for fire wood. They sell screened finished compost, screened topsoil off root balls, aged mulch, and firewood, a mill would even add another profit source. So they make money on the way in and out. They are always busy. One mans trash is another's treasure, or raw material supply. 

 I live to remote to get any tree services to bring stuff. You may want to check around your area, and find a logger with a 10 wheeler type truck that can unload itself. They are not the easiest to find, most don't advertise or have a web presence. look for a big load of full length junkier logs in peoples yards that buy them to cut there own firewood, stop and ask who they buy from, also find the best Stihl or Husqvarna private business dealer in your area, they also know who the loggers are. Once you find one that is used to delivering "hard wood pulp, or tree tops" talk to them and get prices. The guy we use will sell good hardwood saw logs, pine saw logs, whatever they are cutting. If you dont need clear perfect stuff, I have found in a load of firewood logs, about 1/2 to 1/3 are saw-able and you can get some good usable stuff, and still get 5 or 6 cords of firewood to use or sell. The best deal is if you can get bigger pine pulp logs, 12"-16", bigger mills want 18'+ white pine, we can buy clean native pine pulp logs 12"-16" diameter, 20 foot long, for pretty cheap, less than 1/2price of pine saw logs. They are a good deal if you have a smaller mill and plenty of time. 

[mtmeatpole]

Everyone here is making valid points. I have been milling tree service logs for the past three years. I have just recently started buying from a forester and his logs are more efficient to mill as they are straight and fewer limbs. I have countless hours helping the tree service guys and taking their junk to save them a trip. I have found a few peices of metal but I have been lucky there. I would haul the logs to save them time and fuel so not free. In my area pine and hemlock has gone crazy. Just paid $1600 for tri axle load but my customer was willing to pay and the tree service guys couldn't get me enough logs. I have many hours running the lt15 and would be happy to give you a few pointers on being more efficient with it if you would like. It's gonna come down to if you can struggle through twisted yard logs with a few good ones in there or pay more and get nice logs. Good luck with the new venture!