I did a free demo today

[gator gar]

Yep, I pulled my mill a pretty good distance from home, so a few people I know that have access to money and logs could lay their eyeballs on this machine while it worked it's charm. It cost me about 60 dollars in fuel, but hopefully something good will come out of it. Have ya'll ever done much in the way of demo-ing???

[nas]

I think I do a demo every time I saw
I have done some volunteer work at our church bible camp, and that has landed me lots of work.

[Magicman]

In my mind, that is absolutely the best advertising that you can do.  It has always brought me business.  Maybe even a year later.  Sometimes that demo has to "soak" in folk's mind before they decide to have something sawed.  Sometimes it's them telling a neighbor or friend about it.  You are steady building a customer base.

[bugdust]

Seems I only have enough time to take care of return customers. I do plan to demo my mill at the Twin Falls State Park - Lumberjack Festival this fall. Since I'll be retireing later this year I can hopefully find time to saw from advertisement. What I've experienced is "word of mouth" goes a long ways., as long as you keep the customer happy he, and others will return.

[gator gar]

My wife told me that I am setting up at our local" Trade days" get together in July. Should get some exposure there too.

[Magicman]

Just plan to do more talking and handing out cards and fliers than sawing.

[LorenB]

I did a demo for the Cincinnati woodworkers club about a year or two ago.  I just got a call last week from someone who wants some logs sawn.  He was at the demo, and his former sawyer is getting divorced and selling his sawmill. 

I talked my son-in-law into helping at the demo.  That freed me up to talk and explain things as Steve cut wood.  The club provided a microphone and an amplifier.  (Aside: 1,000,000 microphones = 1 phone) 

I brought two logs to cut and donated the lumber to the club.  They auctioned it off.  Unfortunately the questionable walnut log didn't yield up the good lumber I had hoped it would, but that did give me the opportunity to explain that cutting a log is like opening a Christmas present, or like a box of chocolates – you never know what you're going to get. 

Mostly though, it was just a lot of fun.  I enjoyed it and I think the woodworkers learned something. 

– Loren

[ladylake]

 I'm going to be sawing for St Johns Univericity soon, I'm expecting quite a croud there. I've heard the monks there use a lot of logs and lumber, there were hauling thier logs to the Amish with thier big circle mills at $150 a thousand. I've sawed for a couple of people that work there that must have put in a good word, hopefully with the overrun and not having to haul the logs or lumber it will come out better for them.   Steve

[trapper]

I am sawing a couple of logs for free for the tree trimmer  that brings me firewood.  He should be  arround a few pontential customers.  The last load he brought me was mostly straight cottonwood logs.  I am always in need of 4x4 for under piles of wood and boards.  Also made one of the logs into stickers.  Any problem useing cottonwood for stickers when it dries?

[tyb525]

I use poplar stickers a lot, and they are similar. I'd think they would be just about perfect, they won't stain cause they are light colored, cotton wood dries fast, and as long as they are fairly straight grained they should stay straight.

[Gary_C]

Cottonwood cannot stand being a damp place and will rot and be subject to collapse if it is rewetted after drying. Plus it stinks when wet.

All not good traits to have for stickers and bolsters. Keep cottonwood dry at all times and it will work good. Otherwise it stinks, literally.

[Magicman]

there were hauling thier logs to the Amish with thier big circle mills at $150 a thousand.  Steve 

Be sure to point out the kerf loss difference.  $150 might not be so economical.

[tyb525]

Gary, Thanks for pointing that out! I did not know that aspect of cottonwood. Now I know not to use it.

[bandmiller2]

Today we are bombarded with so much advertising and hype we  tend to ignore it,word of mouth especially from someone you know carries the mail.Any small items you give a stranger for free have great impact far more than their value. Frank C.

[paul case]

trapper ,
did that cttonwood stink?  i cut a couple o real nice cottonwood logs for a fella about a year ago and they smelled awefull. nice looking lumber but smelled almost rotten around the mill for a week after that. pc

[Jim_Wahl]

I did a job for a high school superintendent about a year ago in the parking lot of the school. He wanted his students
to see it, so they brought out 3 or 4 classes per period to watch. Some were pretty interested in how everything worked.
Some had no idea what they were looking at and did not care to find out. A few could not keep from yawning and wanted
to go back to class and get caught up on their sleep.

[trapper]

It did not stink. I remeber 40 years ago when I was running the saw in a comercial mill and cut what the boss called p--- elm. smelled worse than the manure pile at home.  Stickers seem to be drying straight.  The 4x4  are mostly to be used under piles of firewood to keep them off ground. Stickers will be used in the pole barn under cover. Today my son asked me to help him cut down a russian olive in his yard in town.  We got the branches cut away from the wires and fence.  We were left with the main trunk.  I got nervous about our abilities to cut it down safely.  He sujested we call a pro.  We called the  trimmer that has dropping off wood for firewood by me.  He came by shortly.  He dropped it easily and safely.  He wasnt going to charge us anything.  My son gave him $50 and he ground the stump for him.  While I was at my sons the trimmer dropped off a small walnut log to cut up for him and the rest of the tree for me for firewood. Just the last day or two I read on FF about using a stick to measure  where the top of a tree will land. (cant remember under what catagory)  well today the trimmer used it on my sons tree and explaned it  to us.  It is simple when someone shows you how to do it.