Custom Firewood Processing

[Circle B MN]

Just an idea I have been kicking around. After receiving a DVD from TimberWolf showing their processor in action, I was curious what the opion would be of custom processing (similiar to custom harvesting w/ combines). Home owner buys grapple loads delivered, in comes MNGuns with the rig and processes. There are a lot of OWB owners in this area. Just not sure if I could price the service cheap enough to make it a value to the customer. Comments.....

 

[blackdogon57]

You would need to find customers who want large volumes of logs to be processed (dealers/ greenhouses etc) . By the time you move your processor,conveyor and loader to one site to process one grapple load you would have to charge big bucks to make it worth while.

 

[redprospector]

All of the firewood I process is "custom", no two pieces are alike.

I process some wood for a wood yard. When you figure a price your first concerne is to cover yourself. You have to make money over time, fuel, and wear and tear on equipment.
The guy I process for is a friend, and he was complaining that he could hire "cheap" labor to cut and split for the same money I was charging him. He wasn't figuring in workmans comp, SS, etc., or the 3 dolmar's his cheap labor rolled log's on in the month before I got there.

Andy

 

[Butch(OH)]

I have thoughts along those lines for my homemade processer. Since I will have no debt to pay I figure I need only enough per cord to make a decent wage and pay for consumables. Some loggers around here are turning to firewood as it is the high end of the market for most logs. Few consumers around here buy grapple loads of wood for firewood. They either buy processed wood or cut it out of the woods themselves, differances in area prefferances I guess? Anyway since the loggers that need to sell something to make ends meet must make it in firewood at this moment, and most are doing it manualy I am thinking there might be a market for services. Problem is firewood is darned cheap too. Need to get mine finished up and get some run time on it so i can get a handle on production and costs before I worry too much about bidding work for it.