pricing logs?

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mga

wandering
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we've been dropping ash trees all summer and have about close to 75 logs, each 10 inches in diameter or more and at least 12 feet long. more trees will be coming down soon and we should have over 100 when done.

the smaller diameter logs will be sold for firewood. (8" or under)

trying to sell to a local sawmill. we can load the log truck for them as well with an excavator.

not sure how to price these out...is it by board foot?

thanks for any help with this!
 
This is a tough one answer without seeing the logs. Hardwood sawlogs are generally cut 8'4"- 10'4" to get the highest grade log. Cutting sawlog to an arbitrary length just lowers grade and yield.
Were the trees dead when felled and do they have large hearts?
You may or may not get your best price from a commerial mill, but you may try to find a small sawmill owner who is willing to buy.
Without seeing the logs and knowing the local prices, 250/ thou may be ballpark.
The Doyle log rule is tip dia minus 4 divided by 4, squared x log length, which is the rule used on most hardwoods
 
ugh...don't need any more firewood...way too much as it is.

ok, thanks for the info...I
i'll see what I can do with them.
 
In the pipe, fabrication, welding trades
a rule of thumb is that anytime one
Doubles the diameter of pipe you
increase the volume by 4
.
Wondering if someone had the time....
How close this, or as a guesstimate
would hold true in the different
log scales?
 
I cut lengths of 8,10,12,14,16' everyday. They want at least 4" of trim but 6" is better and usually 8" on high grade 8s and 10s. Ash splits pretty quickly in summer so I would guess if they've been accumulating all summer you might have a bunch of firewood. Number one ash will get 600 per thousand bf. Number three is like 250. Most mills want 10" small end. Bolt mills take 7" small end if they are nice. With 100 logs I will bet you have 6-7000 bf. The question is if they are all split and checked then you might have considerably less.
 
In the pipe, fabrication, welding trades
a rule of thumb is that anytime one
Doubles the diameter of pipe you
increase the volume by 4
.
Wondering if someone had the time....
How close this, or as a guesstimate
would hold true in the different
log scales?
On a log rule the bigger it gets you get exponentially more wood since there is less waste pipe is fairly straight forward bigger hole equals bigger volume
 
We use Scribner scale. Dunno which is better, just that's what we use.
Using some different scale comparisons on a 16' log with a 12" tip:
Doyle 64
Scrib 79
Int'l 95
Double the tip dia to 24"
Doyle 400
Scrib 404
Int'l 425
What's more important than the scale used is the price per thousand, but the Doyle really beats up on smaller dia logs compared to the other scales.
 
Using some different scale comparisons on a 16' log with a 12" tip:
Doyle 64
Scrib 79
Int'l 95
Double the tip dia to 24"
Doyle 400
Scrib 404
Int'l 425
What's more important than the scale used is the price per thousand, but the Doyle really beats up on smaller dia logs compared to the other scales.

I don't do much on the lumber side of things... about the most I've done is be the guy tossing off slabs and boards off the mill or running forklift.
Tried running the mill once, getting max lumber out of logs is something that takes experience!
 
many of them were just dropped within a month...all live trees.

maybe our best bet would be to just advertise them for firewood and let some one else hassle around with them.

thanks for all the input. i'll leave logging to the pros and not bother trying to sell them to a mill.

we just have so many right now and are hard pressed to get rid of them.
 
100 10-12" dbh trees is maybe 20 cords with them trimmed to ~45ft, so a decent little pile. Around here that would sell for about 3k.
 
many of them were just dropped within a month...all live trees.

maybe our best bet would be to just advertise them for firewood and let some one else hassle around with them.

thanks for all the input. i'll leave logging to the pros and not bother trying to sell them to a mill.

we just have so many right now and are hard pressed to get rid of them.
Call a mill and have them send a log buyer. Won't hurt.
 
Be mindful of the emerald ash borer quarantine before moving these trees off-site. They are likely infested. Unfortunately, it sounds to me like you got a good load of firewood though. Those are small trees, probably green ash and you're kinda far from most of the bigger buyers. GLWTS
 
Call a mill and have them send a log buyer. Won't hurt.
That's exactly what I was going to recommend.

If the ends are checking and cracking then your are going to lose a lot. Even if your scaled them and assumed $250/1000 bdft, how much can you load on a standard log truck? You would want to know that and compare what you could get for selling log length firewood. I have a local guy that sells hardwood log length at $1000 per truck+pup and $750 per truck. People with a processor might be willing to pay slightly more and buy quantity for straight log lengths. Good luck.
 
When I cut mill logs I waxed the ends to keep the ends from drying out too fast. Other wise I had to add a foot or so the length. I learned the hard way that if you have nice mill logs sell them to the mill even if it takes more effort. Firewood is extra hard work. Thanks
 
My bush just got hit, I found one tree so far with eab damage. I have probably 30 24-30" dbh, no branches for 30-40' and strait as an arrow trees. I called a log home builder and the good news is they can build a round log house no problem. The kicker is they build with green logs. I figured I could just work at my own pace to get the trees out. I may need to fly Gypo in for a vacation.
 
We use Scribner scale. Dunno which is better, just that's what we use.
selling logs on the scribner scale usually leaves me at a slight loss! a loss that goes to the buyers and gives them a few extra board feet which seems to always put a smile on their face! a face full of smiles has always brought them back to buy another load and a feeling they got one over on me ? lol a full wallet and more sales are what keeps me in the tall firewood business ......
 
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