Pricing for odd-shaped lumber??

[StorminN]

Hi guys,

I mostly cut for myself from my own logs, so I don't normally buy or sell lumber, but I need some advice / info...

I've got a guy I know that wants some lumber... either doug fir or hemlock, for building a little cabin. I'd like to figure out how much to charge him. He wants a couple of 4"x10" beams, 18' long... those are easy enough to figure, but I'm wondering what the going bf rate is for beams like that in the NW.

Now, the trickier ones... he wants some 8"-10" x 16' logs, with two sides flattened, with a minimum of 6" between the flats... these will be posts. He also wants some 8"-10" logs, but with a quarter cut out of them, for the outside corners of the building. I can cut these no problem on the Mobile Dimension, but I'm not sure how to charge for them... how do you guys do it? Do you charge for the whole log, or what lumber you could have made from the log?

Just wondering...

Thanks,
-N.

[WH_Conley]

Charge enough for fighting those things. More cuts to saw lumber, lot less gut busting. That is a specialty market, not gonna get this stuff at the box store. I cut beams a lot, the extra money is in the reduced BF per day. You make more money per log, because you can not do as many per day.

[KnotBB]

Your trees or his?  Your place or his?  Help with tailing and loading or not?
I charge double sawing rates for specialty cuts with my 8" swing mill, customers logs, customers fork lift,  here in Oregon.  Pond price for the fir is running about $300/m.
I think I'd charge for cutting the whole log not just the pieces he wants to take home.

Check this link for some pricing structures as to width and lengths verses prices asked.  14' and 18' lumber is not used often in building and generally comes from fall down of longer pieces. 

http://www.goldbeachlumber.com/MarketReportLumberPrices.htm

[SamB]

I have no idea what the rates would be in the NW, but if I was dealing with your scenario and supplying the logs here's how I'd handle it. Sell the guy logs at market value and charge an hourly rate for the sawing. If he doesn't want the extra pieces from the logs there's your tip.

[StorminN]

Thanks guys for the replies...

WH_Conley:
Yes, I hear you on fighting these... and I don't really have the right equipment to handle this stuff... I'm going to look at a tractor later this week...

KnotBB:
It will be my trees, at my place, he will help with loading / tailing if I want him to. Thanks for the link, that's really helpful...

SamB:
That's a good thought, too... thanks...

-Norm.

[shinnlinger]

NOrm,

Is this a buddy?  SOmeone you owe a favor to?  Do you have the time to play lumberjack AND Tom sawyer?  If not, either say you are too busy or put such a price on it that if he agrees you would be silly not to do it.  He won't be easily able to get that product anywhere else and I thought your logs were for your house.

If the first two conditions apply I suppose you will  do it, but being a buddy goes both ways and he should either pay accordingly or help out accordingly, so make sure he knows what he is asking for.  I get people thinking lumber should be free from me because I have a mill and live in the woods.  I will give an occasional plank here and there, but when they want to frame their entire barn with stuff from me I tell them to provide the logs and  will do it at $45 an hour my tractor included.  If they help, they get more value for their $.

[Brucer]

These are Canadian prices, so adjust accordingly.

Customer's logs:
- standard timbers & lumber - $0.35/BF ($350/thousand).
- specialty items - $0.55/BF ($550/thousand).

For specialty items such as tapered posts, logs flatted on 3 sides with the 4th side wild, etc. I calculate the BF based on the cross-sectional area at the BIG END, multiplied by the actual length.

If a specialty item calls for a piece to be removed (L-shaped), I calculate the BF based on the timber BEFORE the piece is removed.

I used to charge by the hour, but after a dozen or so specialty jobs, I found the cost averaged out to $0.55/BF. I began charging by the BF so I could give the customer a firm price before-hand.

My logs:
To my normal sawing charges, I add the cost of the logs delivered to my site, plus a charge for handling the logs, site cleanup, disposing of slabs, etc.

Rough sawn 4x10 FOHC, Douglas-Fir, from my logs - $1.50/BF. Customer has to pick it up and load it.

[Chuck White]

Just figure out how many cubic inches you have in each piece of lumber.
One board foot equals 144 cubic inches.
Charge whatever the going rate is in your area per board foot, or just charge by the hour.