Going Full Time

[Captain]

Arkansawyer's picture is great, but notice the sawmill is not at the END of the rainbow.... ;D

Captain

[pineywoods]

Please heed what Arky says about moving 7 tons of stuff every day. Equipment to move all that stuff is just as important as a sawmill. The mill won't likley wear you out and bust up your back, but moving all that stuff surely will.

[ARKANSAWYER]

  You are right Captian! but, the lumber was stacked at the ends of the rainbow and that is where the coin is.

   

  This here was just a days sawing solo.  Got a few logs yet to go and them 2x8x16' get a bet heavy after the first hundard or so.  But the next day you will be back and sawing because word of mouth is what makes or breaks you in this business and you got to finish the job to get paid.

[ErikC]

The points about moving all that material are sure true. I have all the log moving chores covered with equipment. There are few days I lay hand on a peavy or cant hook.

  But the boards still need stacked!!!!! No way around it, you do a lot of hevy lifting when you get around milling. Maybe the points made about getting equipment to support the mill need as much consideration as the mill itself. I know I worked without a tractor on site a few years. I strained my back quite a bit. Now If the backhoe doesn't go, I don't go. It's not optional because saving someone a couple dollars is not woth losing a few days work.
  Besides, it's more fun when the tactors on the job! Don't forget about the extra income the right piece of support equipment can provide. Once my backhoe is on the property, more work for it often arises. It might help in a tough season.

Good luck
Erik

[Lenny_M]

McCormack
Lot of good advice above.
I`m a bit south of you in Weare. I`ve been custom milling part time for 6 years, This year we did 8-10 Mbf per month, May - December. Lot of work with a LT40g25 manual deck mill.
The best advertising I have used in our area is the UNH County extention,Division of Forest and Lands,Division of Agr,Foods and Markets, and of course THE FORESTRY FORUM.
Are you regerstered with Division of forest and lands? If not I recomend doing so, $17 a year, For some reason I get a ckeck  from the state for $17 In sept. ;D
It would be a good idea the become a regerstered Grader (N.H. Native Lumber Law) thats the Div. of agr,Foods and markets. Good for 5 years and No charge. May be done online now, Not sure.
UNH County extention would be the State Foresters, They Keep a list of mills they pass on to landowners wanting to mill lumber.You can also advertise on their website.
  A local reliable source for blades also will help.The guy i use is in Charlestown N.H. He picks up and delivers on fridays in my area. No charge for dilivery.
  If you want I could dig up some contact #`s for you.
                                                                        Good Luck
                                                                                      Lenny

[LOGDOG]

Just wanted to mention that I was looking around on Sawmill Exchange this evening and noticed an unusually large number of new listings of sawmills and equipment for sale. I've been getting emails from IRS auctions nearly everyday for wood businesses going out of business. All the other equipment mags are full of new listings too. I think it would serve an individual well to read between the lines when all this is going on and maybe question the idea of whether this is the best time to take a leap or not. Personally I would lean towards not. Just my two cents.

LOGDOG

[ErikC]

Or take a small leap that doesn't mean payments. Then ramp up to full time and see how it goes. It's not easy being self employed, but most that are would find it hard to go back.....
Like always look before you leap though

Erik

[crowder888]

October of '07 I decided that I would try to make a go of it full time.  I had no previous experience running a mill and really didn't know anything about the lumber business at all.  Kinda stupid don't you think?  But I had spent nearly every evening for the previous 3 months reading absolutely everything I could get my hands on, talking to loggers, talking to buyers, looking for good equipment, figuring out a business plan, etc...  I finally jumped in head first and bought a used LT70, an old beat up rough terrain forklift, and a 24' flatbed truck to deliver the lumber.  I have loved every minute of it and have no regrets.  I did find out that the more I learned about the business, the more I learned I didn't know.  I was well aware of the current market conditions before I got in but decided that I had made enough contacts that I could make this work. 

I haven't had any trouble selling the wood I've sawn (knock on...well...wood) and in fact have had buyers calling me asking for more and different species.  My biggest problem right now is finding a consistent supply of quality logs at a decent price.  Although I may have solved that problem with the about 20 loggers I was on the phone with this afternoon.   I probably picked about the worst time of the year to try to start this venture as I'm finding out how the temperature can really slow down production and make everything twice as hard as it should be. 

I don't do much custom sawing...in fact I've only done one job.  It was terrible.  I got to the site and the 4 logs were in the back yard of the house at the bottom of a hill.  I figured I'd pull the mill right over to them, load em up, and be gone in an hour or so.  Well the lady of the house was so particular about her yard she didn't want any vehicles on the grass which was under 6 inches of snow.  To make a long story short I ended up dragging two of the smaller logs out of the yard by hand and had to use a 4 wheeler to get the other 2.  When I only charged an extra $50 for moving the logs they got mad and yelled at me for tearing up the yard.  Thankfully they paid and I walked away almost happy. 

Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd share a story of someone that made the jump to full time and has so far had good luck with it.  One thing that I'm glad I did was finding my markets (several of them) before I ever bought a piece of equipment.  A little bit of homework goes a long way in my opinion.

[Furby]

Welcome crowder888!  8)
Would you mind updating your profile to include a rough location.
Just a state is ok.

[dad2nine]

Reading... Learning... Great Thread

[DanG]

Crowder888, that was about the best first post from a new member I have seen on this Forum. 8) 8)  Good on ya for taking the bull by the horns and gettin' r done!  I'm glad you hooked up with us. 8)

[ljmathias]

DanG is right about a first post- and welcome.  You all know where the expression "taking the bull by the horns" comes from?  Me neither, but I do know this: once you've got him, it's tough to let go...

Lj

[Cedarman]

Great post Crowder888.
Keep letting us know how things are going, the good, the bad, the ugly.
The thing that stuck out at me was the amount of research and reading you did before jumping in.

Not all custom jobs will go that way.
Women more than men do not seem to understand that sawing and logging can be tough on the terrain.  They have unreasonable expectations.
I almost always declined when a women was in charge, except when they were heavily involved with working the farm and woods.  Now they were good to work with.

Now may be a perfectly good time to jump into the business.  Equipment may never be more plentiful and cheap.  Hit the auctions.

The timber business goes in cycles.  You don't know where the bottom is, but there is one.  Then you will be ready to ride to the crest, but you won't know the crest until you are sliding down the backside.

Study, study, study.

[cantcutter]

I am a part timer, but it is my only job. If it wasn't for tree services wanting stuff milled and selling me logs on the cheap I wouldn't be making it. I am sure glad I don't have mill payments every month.

I am a transplant to Kentucky from Lyndonville Vermont and I know that I couldn't make it up there. Too many guys running portables in that area. I know a couple of people up that way who do it full time and do well, but they have contracts keeping them busy. One mills hardwoods out for a lumber yard almost non-stop. He has a 6 month waiting list for other work because of it, but without the contract he couldn't stay busy enough.

another guy I know is stationary and does pretty well; we doesn't like to work much though so his mill sits more than anything. He buys all of his logs and does no custom work.