firewoodlogger1
ArboristSite Lurker
any help advice wood be great im a 2nd generation logger so im still learning but my buddies and i wana start our own bussiness so plz help me:greenchainsaw:
looking to start a small timber cutting and firewood bussiness plz help
- Thread starter firewoodlogger1
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forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
if you're not already on a crew, you're better off joining a crew first, learning the business by doing. go at it that way a few years and then see if you want to invest in heavy equipment and breakdowns and maintenance costs and road building and blah blah blah.
If I were to go into the firewood business, I would want machines for everything! They make "firewood processors" where logs go in one end and split firewood comes out the other end, then up a conveyor into a pile. You can see these at logging equipment shows or on the internet...
But they seem to be designed by people on the east coast where they have smaller diameter trees. I've not seen any which can handle the large diameter trees found on the west coast???
Then do some math. Where is wood available and how far would you need to truck it? If it costs $100 in gas to get a cord of wood, then not much room for profit! Add in all your equipment costs and you might be losing money.
Seems to me the only way this would work in Oregon would be if there was an endless supply of wood free or very low cost and nearby. I just looked at craigslist and mid-valley prices are around $150 for firewood. Maybe up in the Portland area you can get more?
I've read on the east coast they can get much higher. Like $400 a cord?
But they seem to be designed by people on the east coast where they have smaller diameter trees. I've not seen any which can handle the large diameter trees found on the west coast???
Then do some math. Where is wood available and how far would you need to truck it? If it costs $100 in gas to get a cord of wood, then not much room for profit! Add in all your equipment costs and you might be losing money.
Seems to me the only way this would work in Oregon would be if there was an endless supply of wood free or very low cost and nearby. I just looked at craigslist and mid-valley prices are around $150 for firewood. Maybe up in the Portland area you can get more?
I've read on the east coast they can get much higher. Like $400 a cord?
Spotted Owl
ArboristSite Guru
If you are a second gen, talk to the 1st. They should know places. Talk to some of the self loader drivers that you see on the landings, they generally have lots of crap on the side for firewood. If you haul anything out of the woods be sure you have a commercial permit if they still issue them or be damned sure you don't get caught selling off of a self use permit. Find out what the pulp mill is paying then ask around and up the pay by $5, that and a closer haul should get you into a decent amount of material to work with and happy drivers also. Last I checked and it has been a while, pulp local was less than 20 and at one point it was under 15, hell saw logs are just a hair over 100 per, maybe more now but I haven't talked to anyone on them for a month and a half or so.
Owl
Owl
