Aggravations of a portable sawyer

[Nomad]

     Two calls I got today that are all too common and exemplify exactly what I'm talking about.
     First guy called and asked if he and his dad could come watch me work 'cuz they're thinking about getting a hobby mill.  Sure, no problem.  Where are you?  Just outside Dallas. 
     Planning a road trip?  I'm in Jacksonville, Fl.  Huh?  NO!
     First line on my website states I'm in Jacksonville, Fl.  Ya got to get past that to get to my phone number.  I get a couple of calls a week from Texas.
     Next guy calls from a town about 120 miles away.  Says "I'm cutting down 10 pine trees.  How much to get them sawed into lumber?"
     I need a lot more info to even try to give you a W.A.G.
     You won't even give me an estimate?  Nevermind.  And the guy hung up on me like I was an idiot.
     This happens once or twice a week.  I'm gonna start telling them $1,000 per tree, if you want an estimate without more info.  That's after they're cut down and bucked to length.  At least, until I get my crystal ball back up and running.   
     Okay, rant over. :

[terrifictimbersllc]

Something to be said for having a number of repeat business customers.

[SawyerTed]

People don't read....

Most folks think it costs X to saw up a log, any log no matter the size.  They think you should be able to multiply X times the number of logs to give them a price.  Sort of like buying lumber at the big box store.

I usually try to engage in a little conversation about the job, once they talk a little while I usually can get them to text a photo of the logs.  If they are wiling to send a text, they usually are willing to send some measurements.  Then I give them my rate, plus setup and blades.

I get a call or a text every few days similar to "How much to saw a maple log 28" in diameter and 10' long?"  I give them the board foot price, plus travel/setup cost and cost of blades if I hit metal."  If I get a reply it is either "when can you some?" Or "Oh that much?"

I had a job I went to look at, scaled the logs and gave an estimate.  The guy looked at me and did a mental calculation.  He said, " That's over $70 an hour."  I told him to hire anyone else that would do it for less.  He called back when I got home and scheduled me to saw.  They don't "get it" that they are hiring both a skilled operator AND a piece of heavy equipment. 

There's lots of "tire kickers" out there.....

[WDH]

"Slab Kickers".

[Bruno of NH]

I like the calls I get about cutting down 8 or 10 big pine tree's. 
I can have them for free if I cut them out of the power lines and hall or chip the brush away.
Oh Don t forget grind the stumps too.
3 or 4 of them a month. 
Sorry not for me

[SawyerTed]

Yeah, it's against company policy for me to cut trees down......

[sealark37]

Or, the customer who rolls up at dusk on Friday with 6, 18" SYP logs, 9 feet long, on a single axle lawn mower trailer.  He needs 24 pieces of 4"x 4" timbers 12 feet long.  He will pay extra if you can do it now!    Pause, and think before you answer.   Regards, Clark 

[WV Sawmiller]

Bruno,

  You're doing good. They only offer me half the wood but still expect all the other things you listed.

Ted,

  I really like that response about company policy on cutting trees. On rates - yeah it is renting/hiring a big piece of equipment with operator. Anybody rented a backhoe with operator lately?

[SawyerTed]

My insurance agent advised me to set some "company policies" on things like doing tree service work, hauling logs, logging operations etc.  I'm insured as a portable sawmill operation. 

I don't get many questions when I say company policy won't allow me to do something.  

[WV Sawmiller]

Ted,

   Same here. I have good liability sawmill insurance but am not an arborist or insured to cut trees. When the trees are down and cut into logs bring them to me or I will come saw them on site if more economical and justified.

[GAB]

nomad:
When you find someone that can recalibrate your crystal ball please send me information as mine has needed recalibration for close to 70 years.
Gerald

[Peter Drouin]

That and a lot of other junk is why I got out of it. Don't get me wrong, When I started back in 1987. Customers knew what they wanted. Today it's more difficult. Most customers have zero commences Or want you to work like a fool.

I do wish all of you portable sawyers the best of luck and learn to say no to working like a fool, You'll be happier in the long run. And when a customer tells his friends to call you, They will know what to expect.  ;D

[Darrel]

I give a good deal to nearby neighbors that live in this mostly off grid subdivision, no travel or setup fees.  

And no!  I will not except 420!  It was a 38" butt end tree length Pondarosa pine and all he had to offer me to slice it into 1x12 was 420. 

[Southside]

Got a text the other day and the guy asked "How many boards do I need to buy for a 12' x 9' shed?"  Nothing else..... I had to wait to reply or else it may have come across wrong.  

[Percy]

"I want some of your boards that you throw away. Like free ones." I show him the slab pile and rejects pile and he says "No, they gotta be nicer than that. Im building a fence" Thats when I try real hard to break wind......

[moosehunter]

I've had all these issues and more, one that occurs on EVERY job and always makes me laugh is the log count. I mean how hard is it to count to 10. Or 14. Or 26?? I hear on the phone from the client "I have about 10 logs. About?  You can't count to 10 ? 
I stopped the other day to look at this Saturdays job because I was in the area. Client stated he had 30 logs , so I spent all of 5 or 6 seconds and counted , 26. 
mh

[terrifictimbersllc]

The phone calls that begin....

I have these beautiful oaks, straight for must be 50 feet, was thinking it would be such a shame for it to just be cut up into firewood...

and end.....

"You're doing the right thing calling sawmills, but in my case I'm a portable sawmill service.  I don't buy logs, sell lumber, cut down trees, saw on shares, or make wooden wedding cakes. "

[Magicman]

"They are 16" logs.......Oh you want me to measure across"?  :

There is a difference between diameter and circumference.   :P

On the phone she said that she wanted me to saw her logs into 2X12's.  She drove up and the tailgate on her truck was closed and there was nothing showing above the sides.    

[DPatton]

Got a text the other day and the guy asked "How many boards do I need to buy for a 12' x 9' shed?"  Nothing else..... I had to wait to reply or else it may have come across wrong.  

.... I would have replied "all of them and you should hurry before the price increases due to metal tariffs."

[DR Buck]

I don't get many of the type of calls identified in this thread.   I have lots of details on my web page to help them get answers including how to determine approximate cost before they call me.    I also have in bold red font that I do not cut down trees. 

                  www.gotlogs.biz

I do get the question about 12" wide boards from 10" logs though.   :D    That's when I explain how to do glue ups in the wood shop.   ;D

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

Wooden wedding cakes.... now theres a niche

[Jim_Rogers]

I like the calls I get about cutting down 8 or 10 big pine tree's.
I can have them for free if I cut them out of the power lines and hall or chip the brush away.
Oh Don t forget grind the stumps too.
3 or 4 of them a month.
Sorry not for me

When I get a call like that, I say: "I don't cut trees down!" "I cut them UP^"
:D
Jim Rogers

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeah, there are some aggravations when you get what are obvious, to us, really dumb calls but, in all honesty, most of my calls are from real nice, if sometime naive, questions and most of my customers are real nice people to deal with and we part as good friends.

[alanh]

I had enough of these type of calls and questions to make me quit the "portable" part of owning a sawmill before I even got a "portable " job. Its a hobby and I`ve found more than enough work without moving it. 

[SawyerTed]

On a refreshing note, today I got a call from a guy who measured both ends of his logs, used the Doyle scale to estimate his board feet, and specifically asked for 500 to 700 board feet to be quarter sawn.  He says he has 1400 bdft. He will tell me which logs he wants quarter sawn and which ones will be plain sawn.  His tractor is there to move logs.  He has the logs staged and wanted to know how soon I could come.

Monday....

[Peter Drouin]

From time to time it all works out, Sawyer Ted. 

[paul case]

I think I get as many weird calls as any of youall do but a few have worked out to be good repeat customers.

A few good repeat customers helps make it work. I probably sounded like one of those calls to a guy I have now sold several thousands of $ worth of lumber to.


PC

[Magicman]

Some calls may start out weird as Paul just said, but often it's because the potential customer really knows nothing about sawing or what it entails.  I recently sawed a very nice job because the customer said that I was the only person that would talk and explain the sawing operation to her.  That was a road trip that sawed ~5Mbf.  I was there two days and the customer provided lodging.

The lady that I laughed about in Reply #17:

On the phone she said that she wanted me to saw her logs into 2X12's. She drove up and the tailgate on her truck was closed and there was nothing showing above the sides.

called back later and said that she now had some good logs.  She really did have about a dozen very nice ERC logs and she got her 2X12's.

I'm just saying that we hear a bunch of weird stuff, but do take the time to listen before you blow them off.  It could be a good job.

[Nomad]

     MM, I agree.  Many of my customers start the conversation with "I've never done this before," and I'll help them in any way I can.  But the clowns who start off being sarcastic and hang up on me are people I'd just as soon stay away from.
     One guy called me one time and started the call with "I hear you make tooth picks out of trees."  My reply was "only if I screw up.  Most of the time I make boards."  He turned out to be a pretty good customer.

[WDH]

I just tell them, "Call Customsawyer" :D. 

[YellowHammer]

"I want some of your boards that you throw away. Like free ones." I show him the slab pile and rejects pile and he says "No, they gotta be nicer than that. Im building a fence" Thats when I try real hard to break wind......

I get ones like this a lot.  I tell them the scraps came from high quality logs so they must be high quality scraps. 
Then I tell them that they cost $20 for a pickup truck load and all of a sudden they want them.  Go figure.  :D

[SawyerTed]

I had a guy ask for two scrap pine 2x8x10, I told him there was no such thing.  :D 

He looked at a stack of 2x8s on the tractor forks and implied that I was lying.  I had to explain that 2x8x10s existed but there's no such thing as a SCRAP 2x8x10 - at least not in my yard.   :D  

He paid $12 each and left happy......

[customsawyer]

And I appreciate it WDH. 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Jake is a problem solver!

[dboyt]

A big part of my conversation goes into how the customer will use the lumber and what provisions have been made for drying it.  Cutting blocking & stickers generates a little more income, and no it is NOT scrap.  Milling for customers who don't have a good handle on drying just generates a lot of very expensive firewood.  A lot of customers want the lumber milled 1" thick, and expect 1" thick dry, planed boards.  The ones that are happy with the end product are the ones that become repeat customers.

[711ac]

Since there's a bunch of sawyers here....
I've hired a portable band mill a few times, always had my tractor or SS there for moving logs, taking away slab wood and sawn boards, basically all the "grunt work" trying to aid the sawyers efficiency. (took directions from him). Both times we were cutting 1" boards and the price was by the bd/ft.
Both times I asked about cutting some timbers and the price. They were the same bd/ft no matter what he sawed. I don't quite get that, esp with a machine there to load & remove. Now I've been in construction (lumber) all my life and realize certain things like a 1x12x12' takes 3 passes of the saw and pays him (let's say) .50 for 12 bd/ft or $6. Now we go to a 12" sq cant 12' long, 4 passes of the saw....... $72. 
What am I not considering?

[Magicman]

It's not the ribbon that you pay for, it knowing how to tie it.  (old saying but very true)

Reading the log and setting it up for sawing takes experience that you never see.  Sometimes extra trim cuts must be made to avoid wane.  Handling and turning the timbers without damaging (knocking the corners off) takes extra time and skill.  In actuality there is seldom much time difference between sawing lumber or timbers.  For me, the price is the same.

[CCCLLC]

Very well said MM.

[Peter Drouin]

It's all work, Do you pay extra when the sawer has to start his chainsaw?
The same thing if you put in rotten logs in the pile, will you pay for that too?
When I had a customer try to bring me down my already talked about price. I would just tell them, Ok, how about $100.00 an hour to start. 

[SawyerTed]

Maybe you should negotiate an hourly rate for the timbers and a board foot rate for the lumber.  It might make you feel better.

But I think you will find the cost is about equal either way.  The costs of operating are the same, no matter what formula one uses to cover costs. The rate a sawyer uses changes the impetus for efficient operations - an hourly rate places efficiency on the owner of the logs, a board foot rate places efficiency on the sawyer.  

Making a timber that will likely dry straight isn't just 4 cuts and it does take somewhat different skill, knowledge and experience than plain sawing boards.  While ideally a cant prior to cutting into square edged boards would make a timber, it isn't always the case-wane, sapwood, knots etc impact the the quality of the timber possibly more than a the same cant sawn into boards.  That's the hidden knowledge and skill Magicman is saying that the sawyer brings with him.  There's value in that knowledge and skill.

[711ac]

Thanks magicman & Ted, not being a sawyer I did not understand these points.
We all work by the hour one way or another.
Peter I think you took my question the wrong way. No big deal  

[slider]

Repeat well said MM.

[Magicman]

I recently sawed a job producing 125 timbers of various dimensions; from 12X12 down to 4X6.  I kept up with the board footage as well as the hours spent.  There was a whopping $24 difference between the two methods of billing. 

[711ac]

I recently sawed a job producing 125 timbers of various dimensions; from 12X12 down to 4X6.  I kept up with the board footage as well as the hours spent.  There was a whopping $24 difference between the two methods of billing.

I would never have imagined that, not being a sawyer. Thanks again Magicman, a somewhat "educated" customer in any business is a plus. Now can you explain lawyers fees? :D

[Magicman]

To me lawyers fall into the same category as Sweetgum. 

[WV Sawmiller]

MM,

   That's an insult to an innocent tree. :D

[Magicman]

OK, I'm sorry.....but so are lawyers and Sweetgum.  ;D

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

MM, my Mom used to say there's sorry and there's SOORREEE...

Herb

[terrifictimbersllc]

To me lawyers fall into the same category as Sweetgum.

Let me see if I understand, as I sawed some sweetgum in CT last week. The advice I received....

Nail them down while they're wet.
Customer will not be happy.
Slab them heavy.
Some of them will walk away before they're dry.
Quartersaw them.
Saw them thick.

Do I get it?  

[paul case]

Same goes for most lawyers. :-\

PC

[GAB]

To me lawyers fall into the same category as Sweetgum.

MM:
Why Sweetgum and not pawkhan?
GAB

[Magicman]

 ??  

[Weekend_Sawyer]

MM:
Why Sweetgum and not pawkhan?
GAB

GAB,
Me and google don't know what a pawkhan is.

[TKehl]

Why Sweetgum and not pawkhan?

As a Missourian, I think I can interpret when a northerner attempts to imitate a southern accent.  ;) :D

Pawkhan is one phonetic for pecan, the other beeing Pee-can.  I personally prefer pawkhan pie over peecan pie.  

[Magicman]

My Southern accent can't reach "pawkhan".   ???

And a peecan is what we put under the bed at night in case we have to go.   ;D

[WDH]

Planed some pawkhan today.  .

[Banjo picker]

I am about as souther as you can get and I had no idea what that was.  I subscribe to the ole saying " Its better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt." 
pawkhan.... really. Banjo

[Darrel]

All I could think it might be is Don't "pawkhan" the sidewalk and even that's a bit of a stretch. 

[Resonator]

I'd like to revive this thread and ask the group about tire kickers. I like to set my mill up along side a state highway and regularly get people stopping and asking about sawing lumber for them, some call back and we do business, some say they will and don't. What's your guys experience, about how many perspective customers on average should I expect to be serious? 5 out 10? 2 out of 10? 

[TimGA]

The only ones that matter, are the happy ones, and you have cash in hand. Lots of people just do not understand whats involved, educate and weed out. Just don't do it for free, costs a lot to operate today. 

[Magicman]

I would not expect any but there would be some.  Also, there are those that see you set up and sawing but don't/can't stop.  They will later ask the landowner, etc. and give you a call.  I have had some that contacted me a year(s) later.  Any/all exposure is good. 

[DR Buck]

I'd like to revive this thread and ask the group about tire kickers. I like to set my mill up along side a state highway and regularly get people stopping and asking about sawing lumber for them, some call back and we do business, some say they will and don't. What's your guys experience, about how many perspective customers on average should I expect to be serious? 5 out 10? 2 out of 10?

My experience when you are set up where a passer-by can see you and may become a customer depends on many unpredictable things.   The most common being season and weather.   I get more casual customers in the late fall and early winter than other times of the year.   But let a major storm blow through and topple trees anytime of the year and the phone goes crazy.     In fact, years ago when hurricane Isabel blew through Virginia my sawing business exploded.   That's when I expanded and purchased my log trailer and kiln.   More recently following my move to south central Virginia business only started to pick up again after hurricane Michael  passed through here.    About half the calls were from people that saw my demonstration at out county fair the month before.   Then a few of the rest were referrals from Woodmizer or found my web site.

[Resonator]

Any/all exposure is good. 

Exactly! That's why I set up next to the road, so people see the bright orange machine buzzing away and it gets their attention. (When I bought my mill one of the sales staff said if I didn't want to saw for other people, I would have to hide my mill!) 

 I get more casual customers in the late fall and early winter than other times of the year.

Where I'm live loggers count on a winter hard freeze to get back into the woods, so that they can access trees that are in soft muddy ground. I had a guy call me and said he will bring me some Pine to saw, but he's waiting until the ground is frozen hard enough to gain access. I have others I'm still waiting to hear back from, hopefully they will follow through. Just trying to find out how "irregular" the work / income is in this business.

[WV Sawmiller]

  I take a trailer load of wood products to a couple of local flea markets every summer and talk and pass out business cards. Sometimes I even sell enough tomato stakes or small craft boards or cookies to even pay the lot rent. Usually i will pick up a sawing job or two within a few weeks of my visit but I also sometimes get a job from it 6-10 months later. You have to remember most folks don't already have their trees down in log form and it will take them weeks to months to get them cut and staged. I write my trip costs off as advertising. I like to meet and talk to folks so it is generally a fun day for me.

[SawyerTed]

These are just my observations and ramblings.

I'm finding there are three groups of potential customers.  One is people who are simply curious and are fascinated by the sawmill etc.  Then there are those who are investigating the possibility because they have thought about having logs cut into lumber but not for anything specific. Finally, there are people who need logs cut into something specific.

The first group might produce 1 customer out of ten contacts.  But these people might talk to someone in group two or three.  They are worth spending some time with. 

The second group might produce as many as 3 or 4 customers for every ten contacts. Worth more time.

The third group produces maybe 6 or 8 customers out of ten contacts.  These usually know what they want so the time spent is more on cut lists and specifics. 

I sawed at a busy intersection a few weeks ago.  The slab kickers stopped, I passed out cards and answered questions.  5 hours of sawing produced about 8 direct contacts and 5 follow ups. Of the 5, three have been scheduled.  I make a heavy effort to call back or follow up with everybody that expresses and interest.  

Every call or visit is an opportunity knocking.  You don't know if the next one will be a highly profitable job.  I have to remind myself that I need to be both salesman and sawyer.  Sales, advertising and PR aren't my strong points and I suspect it isn't for most guys here.  It is frustrating to want to saw, but sawing depends upon having customers and customers come from sales, PR, advertising and a quality product.

[Magicman]

When folks stop while I am sawing I will pause, hand them a card, and tell them to call when it is convenient.  I do no talking which might interfere with my present customer's sawing.

[SawyerTed]

Oh of course, I don't stop work on a current customer's job but I will talk to potential customers when on a break, when off bearers are catching up or when tail gunners are moving logs.  Never when on an hourly job.  

[WV Sawmiller]

  Unfortunately for me most of my mobile jobs are out of sight from more traffic so I don't get that free advertising. often the customer will have a friend or two stop by and usually he, the customer, wants to show them how the process works so I give them a card, show them the safe areas and saw a log or two and ask if they have questions or point out a couple of hings to watch for, such as sawing parallel to any heart checks or such. 

  I think part of Ted's group should include the person who is interested but never realize he could actually use his trees for his own lumber. Maybe that is the 1 out of 10 he is talking about. It is fun to watch them when you actually see the little light bulb come on over their head thinking about the possibilities that just opened up. You can literally see exactly what they are thinking.

[Magicman]

Lumber from logs??   

That is kinda like finding out that meat comes from dead animals instead of the market.  :

[Resonator]

I like to meet and talk to folks so it is generally a fun day for me.

That's part of the fun of this job, that and being your own boss. 
I will plan on handing out a lot of business cards, with the hopes that at least some will produce business, even if I don't see the work until weeks or months later. I can see that getting started is the hardest part, building up a list of repeat customers that you know are serious, and can provide steady business. Starting out is tough too because you are hungry for work, and risk doing unprofitable jobs. I have already been asked by prospective customers to log their land as well as saw lumber, or buy logs from them. As far as advertising, I have found having my slabs and lumber for sale neatly stacked and stickered works good. I can point at it and say this is what my machine can produce, if you want me to saw your logs. Thanks for the feedback guys!

[Chuck White]

I like to explain to upcoming customers, the difference between a pile of logs and a stack of logs!  ;)

[WDH]

One man's pile is another man's stack . 

[Nomad]

     And sometimes (like the job I looked at day before yesterday) they're still attached to the blown down tree.  In the middle of flooded woods.  I passed on that job. :

[Crossroads]

Got a text the other day and the guy asked "How many boards do I need to buy for a 12' x 9' shed?"  Nothing else..... I had to wait to reply or else it may have come across wrong.  

Well that's really simple! All of em! 😋

[Crossroads]

Lumber from logs??    

That is kinda like finding out that meat comes from dead animals instead of the market.  :

What? I was going to get a prime rib from Safeway, so no animals would have to be harmed...🤓

[Sixacresand]

I always like the "I have a huge dead pine next to my house.  You can have it if you cut it down and clean up every thing.  Are you insured?"  Sorry, you need to call the tree service that previously gave you a quote of $400.  (and I will contact the tree service to see if he wants to dispose of any good logs at my place.  )

[rjwoelk]

My Southern accent can't reach "pawkhan".   ???

And a peecan is what we put under the bed at night in case we have to go.   ;D

Now i was all thinkin you fellers wer talkin about a what we call a peekin tom. Who does do some peecan through the window.
So MM. I was peecan at this thread and saw your reply, which i did did some peecan at.I take it that if you cut a peecan you will need to peecan around the corner to see the end of the peecan board. If that peecan cuttin drives you to drinkin, then at night you will be peecan under the bed for the peecan.

[Mad Professor]

    And sometimes (like the job I looked at day before yesterday) they're still attached to the blown down tree.  In the middle of flooded woods.  I passed on that job. :

But those logs are the easiest to move!   You set up the mill on the shore and float the logs over with a flatbottom trappers skiff as a tugboat! :D
Then ya use yure boat trailer and its winch, to beach the logs, and stage at the mill. And, the logs all been washed clean on the way!
You don't have a trappers boat  and waders handy?

And I bet those "logs" were pine?  Poor Customer was just keeping them in water to prevent blue stain. ;D

P.S. Merry Christmas everyone!

[mart]

"I want some of your boards that you throw away. Like free ones." I show him the slab pile and rejects pile and he says "No, they gotta be nicer than that. Im building a fence" Thats when I try real hard to break wind......

I get ones like this a lot.  I tell them the scraps came from high quality logs so they must be high quality scraps.
Then I tell them that they cost $20 for a pickup truck load and all of a sudden they want them.  Go figure.  :D

My best friend owned a big circle mill back east before coming to Alaska. He helps me a lot on my mill and has told the story about his slab pile. He originally had it staged near the road with a sign that said, "Free Firewood." He said the pile was rarely if ever touched. An old sawyer stopped by one day and told him he needed to charge for it. He argued that if he couldn't get people to take it for free, how could he get people to pay for it. The old guy persisted and my friend moved the pile out of sight of the road and put up a sign that said, "Slabwood/Firewood, $10 a pickup load." He said the pile went down in a hurry and they were selling a few loads every day. Go figure.

[alanh]

I have a couple guys that buy (small) amounts of hardwood from me,I believe they make cutting boards and such, one is quite regular and always pays what I ask, he gets handed a few pieces of "scraps" as freebies. The other one is inconsistant..and cheap, if he does agree to buy there`s always a catch.. "can you saw them to 5" wide by 7/8 thick so I can save on bdft?"  etc., He gets no freebies. Turns out they know each other.. he messages me the other day a little pissy that how come I give * stuff and not him? My answer was "Because your a pain in my ass and he`s not" I haven`t heard back...

[Darrel]

I was amused by this so read it to my wife. She's still laughing!  :D :D :D

[Dave Shepard]

He asked. He got an answer.  :D

[moosehunter]

alanh, your my hero of the day :D :D

mh

[YellowHammer]

 :D

[Nomad]

 :D  I'll have to keep that one in mind.

[moodnacreek]

"I want some of your boards that you throw away. Like free ones." I show him the slab pile and rejects pile and he says "No, they gotta be nicer than that. Im building a fence" Thats when I try real hard to break wind......

I get ones like this a lot.  I tell them the scraps came from high quality logs so they must be high quality scraps.
Then I tell them that they cost $20 for a pickup truck load and all of a sudden they want them.  Go figure.  :D

My best friend owned a big circle mill back east before coming to Alaska. He helps me a lot on my mill and has told the story about his slab pile. He originally had it staged near the road with a sign that said, "Free Firewood." He said the pile was rarely if ever touched. An old sawyer stopped by one day and told him he needed to charge for it. He argued that if he couldn't get people to take it for free, how could he get people to pay for it. The old guy persisted and my friend moved the pile out of sight of the road and put up a sign that said, "Slabwood/Firewood, $10 a pickup load." He said the pile went down in a hurry and they were selling a few loads every day. Go figure.
I had a pile of free slabwood, cut to length for years. Guess who had to clean it up? You can sell firewood but you can't give it away.

[Mike W]

2nd or 3rd that, similar situation, removed an old pellet stove from the home, put it out front by the drive with a big sign that read "Free, you haul" sat there for a couple weeks, decided I would haul it myself to the dump.  Just had a weird idea and put a sign on it "first $50.00 gets this stove", it was stolen that night!! 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

My dad always said 'if you really want to get rid of something bad enough, just chain it to a tree on your lawn with a for sale sign.'

[Darrel]

Lived for two years in Roy, Utah. If you wanted to get rid of something, all you had to do was put it out on the street with a sign that read, "free". I think it must be a utah thing because I've never seen it work anywhere else. 

[Mike W]

Good Dads pass on the wisdom they acquired through the years for sure.

Darrel, there is one other place that I am aware of, lived in Hawaii for 10 years, trash is part of the State taxes, you get the usual trash bin, green bin and recycle bin picked up once a week.  Once a month the first week is dedicated for trash pickup of large household items needing to be disposed of.  During this week its like watching "black Friday" sales of peeps trampling each other for the good deals (best of the free stuff on the curb)  I know a few residents that have literally furnished their entire house this way.. go figure.  You are right though, in almost every other place I've lived its been this way, the mindset of the many ??? can't figure it out.