Rate to charge per board foot with a bandmill?

[carhartt]

What or how is everyone else charging per board ft with a bandmill? Does it vary on the species of wood or the difficulty of the wood? Lets just go 18 to 20 white pine as a standard.

 

[blkcloud]

.20 per bf

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

$135/hr Can do 400-500bf an hour so at .20 roughly same cost. Just easier to track by time the mill is running vs measuring everything. Have done 10-20k bd foot orders before.

 

[carhartt]

.20 seemed like the # that I remembered. I don't have hydraulics so hrly rate wouldn't be fair. I have an 2004 LT15. Grunt work.

 

[rarefish383]

.20 seemed like the # that I remembered. I don't have hydraulics so hrly rate wouldn't be fair. I have an 2004 LT15. Grunt work.

They're not just paying for what you do, they are paying for what you know. If you are just cutting slabs, or you can pick, turn, quarter saw, and get them the best bang for the buck is a big deal. Ups paid me $34 bucks an hour. I wouldn't take my CSM out for less than that. If they want 2X4's cut, I tell them get a band mill or take them to a big mill. If someone wants "nice" big slabs cut, I'm not going to beat myself and my saws to death because I don't have the fastest mill in town. Another part of what they pay for is your portability. This may or may not apply to the OP. But if they want something made out of their yard tree and can't get it to a mill, or can't get a portable mill on site, the CSM might be the only other option, and they still have to pay for it.

I just went back and reread the OP's post. We had a similar question recently from some one in the tree business that wanted to mill logs left over from removals. So, my reply really address his post.

More to this question, milling Pine, medium sized logs. Are you making building lumber or custom slabs for counters and tables, and such. If you are just cutting lumber for building you will have to be able to crank it out to be cheaper than Home Depot. Will .20 make you any money? Do you already have your mill or are you trying to see if there is money to be made buying a new mill. I'd love a mill for myself. If I made anything on the side that would be great. But, I'm not looking for a retirement Job, Joe.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

.20 seemed like the # that I remembered. I don't have hydraulics so hrly rate wouldn't be fair. I have an 2004 LT15. Grunt work.

Oh. We use an LT40 Super Hydraulic. I can't imagine running a semi commercial setup with anything less and IMO the 40 is a bit small even.

 

[carhartt]

What I have is just a personal toy. It is just an accident when people find out you have a mill and want something cut. I do most friends and families for the "I will need a favor" also someday. But I have a cpl customers coming that I don't put in any of the other 2 categories and want to be in the ball park when I quote them a price.
Again this is a hobby mill. I know what hobbies turn into when it becomes a job.

 

[hopm]

And in the event your logs??????

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The question was,

Rate to charge per board foot with a bandmill?

I don't do a lot of milling for "others", but when I do, I charge $.30 /bd. ft. for milling.

That way, I can take a break if I want and I don't have to feel guilty...

SR

 

[bad69bird]

i recently had some cherry slabs done, cost me 75$/hr

 

[carhartt]

I have a black cherry here in Pa and it is a tough tree to get a good yield out of. Bends and the ants love to find nooks and crannies. Thanks for taking the time to make your first message here. Welcome aboard.

 

[Cedar Eater]

In my area, the price is a local thing. If you charge way too little, you will sell yourself short while you cut into some other guy's revenue stream. If you charge too much, your potential customers will look elsewhere. The guy I went to three years ago was charging fourteen cents per board foot plus an up and down charge of $75 for anything less than 1000 board feet. He would not take logs that you might bring to him because his neighbors complained if he milled too often at his site and he didn't want to deal with the slow buildup of sawdust. I have heard of guys charging as much as $.40/bdft in areas where the demand is high.

 

[Woody912]

Don't have a dog in this fight but it would seem to make a difference if you are sawing 4/4's, 9/4's , 1/4 sawing etc etc if you are charging by the board foot

 

[Dave Boyt]

I have a Norwood HD 36 manual mill, and charge $60/hr., plus transport & setup if I take the mill to the customer's location. This give me the option to pick up jobs that other mills can't afford to do by the board foot. On good logs, it averages around $.28/ bd ft, but on oddball stuff, may run over $1.50, but if the customer is willing to pay, who am I to argue? It also gives them incentive to get the logs decked up ahead of time and help offbear to save time. On a recent job, I had to quarter the logs (over 40' diameter) with the chain saw just to get them on the mill, but the customer was more than glad to have it done, and wound up with some great quartersawn sycamore for about $.90/ bd ft. My rule is simple: charge what it takes to make a decent wage, and don't worry about what others charge. I'm higher than some, but can tackle jobs no one else will touch.

 

[SeMoTony]

In my area, the price is a local thing. If you charge way too little, you will sell yourself short while you cut into some other guy's revenue stream. If you charge too much, your potential customers will look elsewhere. The guy I went to three years ago was charging fourteen cents per board foot plus an up and down charge of $75 for anything less than 1000 board feet. He would not take logs that you might bring to him because his neighbors complained if he milled too often at his site and he didn't want to deal with the slow buildup of sawdust. I have heard of guys charging as much as $.40/bdft in areas where the demand is high.

raiglistsemo; fall special 36" dia x23 feet max this guyz add says $350 1000bdft will come n look shoot **** for free. passing along what just read

 

[Marshy]

One local band mill to me gets $220/1000bdft. another one a few more miles away and Amish owned gets $125/1000bdft. Both for soft wood.

I'd say, choose a price that you can live with. If you don't need the work/money then price it a little bit over.