Anybody use sawmill services

DaleK · #21 07/14/08, 07:25 PM

Inconsistent sawing, definitely a problem with the sawyer and not the saw.

The last log we did last year was a 42" red oak, we had to slab it off with a chainsaw then lift it onto the bunks with 2 100hp loader tractors and the front tires were squatted right down to the rims on both of them. After he got it squared up Jonathan was cutting 1"x26" boards off it that are as uniform as can be, 5 minutes after he switched from sawing cedar for 5 days straight. He just changed the blade and continued.

sugarbush · #22 07/14/08, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by just_sawing

My mill a Hydraulic like your running down is computer controlled by and encoder. .

Mine isn't controled by a computer....its all eye on the scale.....many sawyers end up loosing the setworks because they get sick of repairing it and this is where the inconsistancy in thickness comes in.

In my experience the setworks are not any more accuarate than manual scale on the head post.

The above post that states that after trying several Sawyers the result is the same with inconsistant board thinkness attests to the fact that setworks are unreliable.

I am pretty good at staying within an 1/8th but I have my good and bad days. My point was that it is rough sawn lumber that the person that is hiring us is paying 20-30 cents a bf for......if they want smooth finished lumber go to home depot and pay 1.18 a bf for it. 1x only measures 3/4s of an inch finished for a reason

#23 07/14/08, 07:37 PM

Maybe slower is better then? I never saw by the hour. I guess it all depends on how much $ you need to stay afloat.

sugarbush · #24 07/14/08, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Maybe slower is better then? I never saw by the hour.

I don't know what these other guys have for mills, but if I where making bets I would say yours would be the most consistant just because you have to take your time with it.

I used to charge by the bf, but because of geographic changes I had to switch to hourly, my average is still .30 a bf.

This post was supposed to be a positive promotion for sawyers in every region of the country where homesteadingtoday has members..... If some of you want to burn your own bridges have at it.

nc_mtn · #25 07/14/08, 10:23 PM

Sugar... do you saw full time or is it a part time job?

I'm curious what the geographic had to do with your pricing? Is that what others in the area are doing?
I very rarely saw for other but when I do I have to charge by the hour... I just keep getting too many small logs or they want 1" stuff... just too much time for smaller amount of $... or they are dirty logs...

sugarbush · #26 07/15/08, 01:23 AM

If you consider full time 40 hrs a week then I saw part time.....If you mean do I have a second job than the answer is no.

I am not in tree country so the majority of my sawing is small 1-5 log jobs. This means that there are alot of people who don't know a saw log from a tree and will put the entire tree on the ground to be milled

my demographic for the most part are artisans who want special small quanity wood.

I have three other "portable" mills within an hour of me that I know about. Two of them are part timmers and rarely saw, the third is a full timmer who is up in the mountains and he charges by the board foot because he is competeing with five stationary mills that do. He is portable, but only travels within a few mile radius of his location.

The biggest reason I went to hourly is because around here you can say " I will need help loading and off loading the mill" and everybody says "okay, no Problem" and 15 minutes into the job I am alone and all the help found other things to be done...... So I switched to hourly and now the help stays around.

It's hard to break old habits, but I think that the days of sawing by the BF are soon gone..... The oldtimers who have used stationary and portable mills in the past balk at the idea, but the younger generations don't even flinch.

I think just from talking to other sawyers online and at shows that the majority of full timers have made the switch..... there are the holdouts, but especially out in the northwest part of the country most are hourly now.

nc_mtn · #27 07/15/08, 06:23 AM

I agree on the charging... I go and setup at a lot of shows and everyone who DOSEN"T own a mill can't grasp the idea of charging by the hour but those who DO own a mill (of any "style") like the idea of hour charging...

Its like I told a guy last night wanting to buy one of our mills, The saw can saw up to XXX bf per hour BUT that not fair to the process if you use that as a rule... too many factors... are you cleaning the logs? are they small logs (needing to be turned sooner)? What kind or boards are being cut (2x, or 1x)? do you have help?

I'm sure you all get the idea....

I will say that now I have a mill, I don't know what I would do without access to one. It -sawdust- really does get into your blood..

sugarbush · #28 07/15/08, 08:09 AM

When I get somebody who asks if i will charge by the BF instead of the hour I tell them "sure.....you figure the board footage and then I will check it behind you". It will amaze you how many people want to pay by the BF but don't know how to calculate it. In my opinion I would rather pay for an hour and know what I am paying for than by the BF and not.

I got undercut on a job not too long ago by one of the part timers. I pulled my mill to do another job for a week and when I went back he had moved in and set up shop by the BF. Afterwards I went out to see what he had sawn and asked the owner how many board foot he did that week and the owner said 12,000..... Unfortunately for the log owner the Sawyer over estimated by about 40%.
I like people to know what they are paying for....

just_sawing · #29 07/16/08, 06:38 AM

I cut by the board foot. I have a set up with skid steer and a LT70. I will get about 400 foot and hour on average. I have cut more but that is normal when running full not putzing.
Stating about acturactcy I measured for grins on a walnut last night. 120 feet all with in a 1/32 of and inch ecept the bottom board 1/8 over. My blade is riding little high in the log but I allow that bottom to be proud for now.
I do use an accuset and remote set up

sugarbush · #30 07/16/08, 07:02 AM

400 bf an hour.....that is pretty good. I can do 200 an hr with good logs and good help, but that is working hard..... Alone I can do 100 an hour with good logs, other jobs the logs are so bad I couldn't get 100 in a day.

Are you mobile or stationary?

just_sawing · #31 07/16/08, 08:33 AM

I started with a 24 horse gas then 40 turbo diesel now a 62 horse turbo Cat. It is in the horse power. The computer means that I don't even look at a scale just hit the lever and get in to the wood. that will double your production. I average about 250 by myself but don't get me wrong. With help I wolk up to a 10 hour day by myself 1000 feet seems a fine place to quit and there are always time for a long break in between. Thank the lord for a customer that wants to ask a question.

sugarbush · #32 07/16/08, 07:04 PM

Were all your mills mizers? I have heard alot of bad things about their setworks, have you had any trouble with them? Timberking has alot of problems with theirs also.....mostly they don't work. I am looking at getting a cooks next.

fantasymaker · #33 07/17/08, 01:48 PM

It seems to me that the Owner /operater makes more difference that the type of saw.
We have one guy here is very carefull about how he sets up and runs his saw(that the onlything he seems to care about).
His lumber is nearly as smooth as planed. I used to think it was due to his bandsaw but now he has a cicular saw too that is every bit as good .
I like my lumber "wedged" meaning build tp at one end so that cuts are paralell to the center of the log not one side. It only seems fair to pay by the hour for this extra trouble ,on the other hand Im usually sawing houselogs without much cutting for the Bf's in them so maybe Im geting a good deaL?