-MattK- Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 I had a mobile sawmill come to the house today to mill some black locust logs into lumber. I ended up with 550-600 board feet of 5/4, 6/4, 8/4 and 12/4 lumber. (585 if you believe my measurements and my excel spreadsheet)I wish I'd kept more logs - I kept only the straightest, biggest logs from the tree thinking I didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of leftover bark and unusable lumber on the driveway but I was impressed how good boards came out of even the slightly bent logs I kept.It was more sentimental and educational than a great financial move - I paid for a whole day (plus mileage) and only used ~2.5 hours (to cut 7 logs). Educational because you can see a log, see how the bandsaw cuts through it, and see the resulting boards and grain patterns - something I knew conceptually but you just get a better understanding when you've see it in person. Sentimental because I couldn't bear to cut down 4 trees and not be able to make something out of them! So I'm less concerned about my cost per board foot than I would be if I was heading down to the hardwood dealer. I'm hoping to get a nice outdoor table and maybe some Adirondacks out of this.I used a sawyer from Mystic, CT (Terrific Timbers). Biggest learning of the daw was to have a plan - think about they types of things (or ideally specific projects) you'd like to make out of the lumber so you can get the best yield. I didn't have much of a plan and I'm sure I was a frustrating client for the sawyer. Second biggest learning was to buy more stickering material than you think you need - it goes pretty quick! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Locust is excellent outdoor furniture wood, it holds up to the weather better than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Wow thats awesome. How much does the guy charge per hour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted August 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Wow thats awesome. How much does the guy charge per hour?$70 / hour plus mileage. So I spent ~$700 to get <600 board feet of a wood that most people say "oh yeah, it makes awesome fence posts... and mailbox posts." (that's why I wish I'd kept more logs!)Regardless, I think the wood's pretty and I got some great boards - some as wide as 16" - drying and using my own wood will be a cool new thing to learn about! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 $70 / hour plus mileage. So I spent ~$700 to get <600 board feet of a wood that most people say "oh yeah, it makes awesome fence posts... and mailbox posts." (that's why I wish I'd kept more logs!)Regardless, I think the wood's pretty and I got some great boards - some as wide as 16" - drying and using my own wood will be a cool new thing to learn about!It is cool looking wood. I have several locusts on my property and have thought about doing the same on of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 $70 / hour plus mileage. So I spent ~$700 to get <600 board feet of a wood that most people say "oh yeah, it makes awesome fence posts... and mailbox posts." (that's why I wish I'd kept more logs!)Regardless, I think the wood's pretty and I got some great boards - some as wide as 16" - drying and using my own wood will be a cool new thing to learn about! Why did he charge you so many hours if he only worked 2.5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Why did he charge you so many hours if he only worked 2.5?He charges a minimum of one day - that's why I wish I'd had more logs.... I was looking at some of my neighbors' trees longingly.I struggled to find anyone in the area that had a portable sawmill and returned phone calls - didn't know these guys were such rare commodities! Maybe I'll go shopping on the woodmizer website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Wow. Sounds like a decent business to be in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I think he mentioned he paid for the day in his initial post Shane, so it may have worked out to be more of a flat rate. You are roughly paying just over $1 per board foot doesn't seem that bad. I have no clue what locust costs, but I doubt you would find cheaper anyplace else. In the future the price would probably be better since you would have a better idea of how long it would take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I know it was the agreement you'd pay for a full day...but I think it's outrageous he didn't offer a bit of a break since he was only there for a couple hours. $350 an hour!...that's plumber money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I know it was the agreement you'd pay for a full day...but I think it's outrageous he didn't offer a bit of a break since he was only there for a couple hours. $350 an hour!...that's plumber money! Thats what i was thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) I know it was the agreement you'd pay for a full day...but I think it's outrageous he didn't offer a bit of a break since he was only there for a couple hours. $350 an hour!...that's plumber money!I totally agree.Glad you had fun. It is a learning experience that wood will always be special to you. The two Sawyers I know both charge by the hour with a 3 hour minimum. Both are about $80/hr. One travels up to 45 miles free then a few cents a mile after that. Edited August 20, 2015 by Brendon_t 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) I have no problem paying plumber's or electrician's prices.If I wanted to, I could do it myself, but who wants to do plumbing or electrical (or other) when it's not their profession? I always charged a flat rate when I was in the maintenance business. I didn't charge a day's rate for a couple of hours, but there was a minimum price for me to come out.As long as you know up front what you're being charged when you're calling someone out to your place then it's legit. You choose if you would rather buy a sawmill and do it yourself.On the other hand...it's good to ask beforehand how many logs can be sawed in a day. Edited August 20, 2015 by davewyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 For the record, I don't feel like I got ripped off. I was sure going in that we weren't going to use the whole day. I didn't know we were going to use only ~1/3 of it (!), but I went in eyes wide open that I was paying for a whole day and probably wouldn't use a whole day.Unfortunately, I couldn't find an alternative, so this was the guy I had to go with if I wanted this done (and I sure as hell wasn't getting those logs into my pickup and taking them to the mill myself! - that's some heavy wood!). Now if anyone wants to enter the mobile sawmill business in Fairfield County, Connecticut the market can probably take some competition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjeff70 Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 lol...Did you go with mostly quartersawn? I'd think you could charge more for quartersawn because of all the strategic log turning you have to do but you're paying by the hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Matt, I think you did good. I drove 350 miles each way to bring back a walnut and cherry tree and paid $100 per hour to get it milled. It's kinda neat, knowing you were part of the process. It's a whole lot easier for me to stomach the per hour price than it is for me to check hourly/daily on the drying processWhere will you be drying it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I used a sawyer from Mystic, CT (Terrific Timbers). Biggest learning of the daw was to have a plan - think about they types of things (or ideally specific projects) you'd like to make out of the lumber so you can get the best yield. I didn't have much of a plan and I'm sure I was a frustrating client for the sawyer. Second biggest learning was to buy more stickering material than you think you need - it goes pretty quick!Full rate for a quarter-day, I doubt he minds a bit. You're going to want to dry this material nice and slow if you've got any boards from a hooked bole. Also, if you want to cheat on stickering material, you can bundle all your boards with live edges or want, edge them as a group, then keep any 1" sq runs for sticker boards. Guaranteed not to stain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Matt, I think you did good. I drove 350 miles each way to bring back a walnut and cherry tree and paid $100 per hour to get it milled. It's kinda neat, knowing you were part of the process. It's a whole lot easier for me to stomach the per hour price than it is for me to check hourly/daily on the drying processWhere will you be drying it?It's in a temporary spot on the driveway at the moment. It's a great spot while the shop's being built but terrible in the long run because it's where the plow piles all the snow! Once the shop is built (and the driveway is paved) the boards'll move to a new spot near the woodshop.I did get a really flat base built. I put some extra stickers on the top and then covered it was some 1/8" hardboard and then a tarp and then a bunch of pieces of Belgian block. (the sawyer sent me a FWW article on how to dry your own wood which I've read only 5 or 6 times now).There'll be room in the shop for storing the wood as it continues to dry - I have two loft areas on each end of the shop - about 10' x 22' with a peak of 6' 10". As I understand it, that happens once the wood hits an equilibrium point outside... So I guess I need to invest in a moisture meter - any suggestions? lol...Did you go with mostly quartersawn? I'd think you could charge more for quartersawn because of all the strategic log turning you have to do but you're paying by the hour. hi Jeff, we sawed it through-and-through. There weren't that many logs that were wide enough that we really thought quartersawn would be that great. I do have a few across the pith cuts that I can turn into quartersawn boards later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Personally I think it is totally fair for the sawyer to charge for a whole day. As a businessman, yeah...makes perfect sense. As a human being, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 As a businessman, yeah...makes perfect sense. As a human being, not so much. Exactly. He could have atleast not charged him for the traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I work in finance, I can't help myself. Opportunity cost is real. Then again, so is zip code pricing... looks like a pretty nice house you have Mr Matt... I am sure the sawyer noticed the same thing haha, yeah Mike - we're in Greenwich, CT - common place to be a victim of geographic pricing! Still waiting on the quote to build this 800 sq ft shop - that'll be another eye popper I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 I work in finance, I can't help myself. Opportunity cost is real. Then again, so is zip code pricing... looks like a pretty nice house you have Mr Matt... I am sure the sawyer noticed the same thing mike, we're in the same industry. Opportunity cost is real but so is good business practice. The opportunity cost of missed business holds no inherent value today, but snowballs in the future. I don't believe a single person here would disagree that growing a customer base by referrals is the best organic growth. Sometimes, all it takes to convert an otherwise happy client into a revolving referral source is just doing a bit more. Matt does not feel taken advantage of. And he should not. A price was agreed upon for services rendered. The terms were met on both counts. Being that he was "longingly looking at his neighbors logs" tells me there are others in the area who may ask him about his experience. As a consumer, hearing about his experience, I would not use that sawyer. The sawyer leveling with him and knocking off an hour from the ticket could have turned into much more in the future. Therein, the opportunity cost of lost future business. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted August 21, 2015 Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 Small independent contractor that actually responded to phone calls and actually showed up and actually charged what was quoted... That sounds like a damn good referral to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1 Posted August 21, 2015 Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 Mike, I've got a great plumber if you want. Unfortunately I've been seeing him a lot in the past year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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