Selling wood for profit

[livewire]

Some good discussion in this thread...


I'm really looking only to make a little bit of play money with the equipment I have. Making a living, definately not. Making my time in the woods playing with my saws a little more worth it? Thats about all Im hoping to get out of it.

If I made $1,000 I would feel plenty successful. Thats net of course. Really enough money to buy another saw (probably not, but my friend might) or put some money down on my OWB.

So to paraphrase; You want to cut a bunch of crap with your buddies in the woods, have tons of fun, get a good workout, practice some felling techniques, etc. and end up making some $$$ for all your fun????

Sounds like the same boat I'm in

 

[firebuckeye]

It is so we can justify our addiction to chainsaws, silly boy!:hmm3grin2orange: :crazy1: :greenchainsaw:

I know.... I just bought a MS361 and thats how I justify it. I enjoy cutting wood.

 

[Gologit]

I sell a little firewood every year and,honestly, my profits are minimal. I get logs at a fair price delivered to my place and I sell at the average market price for our area. One thing to bear in mind...get a wood-lot or a storage area of some kind and do as much as you can there. Every time you handle the wood it costs you money. Too much transport and handling of the same wood over and over will just completely kill your chance at any kind of profit. I applaud your ambition...go ahead and give it a try. If you don't,you'll always wish you had. And...it'll get you into some seriously good excersize

 

[stumpjumper83]

I ran a firewood business when in high school, my brother and I did a little over 125 cord per year. Now I'm starting up my own tree service. I give the wood I cut down for free to whoever will pick it up. Condition is that they pick up the whole tree, except the logs, I keep them. The thing with a firewood business is that there isnt much startup cost. Look at what you need to be in the business, a poulan "wildthing", a splitting maul, a pickup or trailer, and a phone.
What happens is that you get everyone from high schoolers to loggers that will be in it to make a buck. From my experience their are two ways to make money with firewood. One is to sell it to campers, the other is in those little 10lbs. bundles that they sell here and there.
All in all, if I was doing it to get alot of excercise and a little money, I'd consider it profitable. If I was trying to make a living, I'd do a little more thinking about what I considered a living. Then find something else to occupy my time.

 

[Gologit]

Oh Really ! Name a few "better ways" ?

1. Doctor
2. Lawyer
3. Airline pilot
4. Second assistant skimmer at the sewer works
5. Talent scout for the All Girls Massage Therapy team
6...okay,maybe not number 4

 

[GLM]

It is so we can justify our addiction to chainsaws, silly boy!:hmm3grin2orange: :crazy1: :greenchainsaw:

you hit the nail on the head!!!! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Ed Roland]

Yeah? So check this out. Im an arborist in SC. I bill my climbing work @ $65 pr/hr. I have the saws and the dump truck. I also have 3 months off in the winter when absolutely nobody is thinking about their trees. I simply give everything away that hits the ground saving me the trouble of taking it to the dump. I can make more IN the trees than killing myself and my equipment on the ground. But, lately I've been thinking about those 3 months downtime, and Northern Tool has a sale on a 22 ton splitter. Hmmm.

 

[firebuckeye]

how much for the 22 ton?

 

[derbyguy_78]

Firewood Producer

HELLO ALL, I have been selling firewood for about 4 months now with pretty good results. I made a deal with my neighbor to cut for 40 hours with his firewood,and in exchange he ponied out a brand new husky 359xp.I bought an old 1978 dodge w-150 for 300 dollars(just for a wood delivery truck)and also bought some extra chains,safety protection,etc. I plan to buy a new wood splitter within the next few weeks at tractor supply too. Anyway, with careful planning and deals made,i can pull in 25-35 dollars per hour after all other costs.I beat my competitors prices by 10% and most of my advertising is by word-of-mouth or with flyers i printed up on my PC. I am getting more and more new customers each week, and only do firewood in my spare time.(but plan to start a full time business with firewood sales,tree trimming,logging,and lawncare) So just wanted to tell my story, and give good luck to anyone who plans to do the "wood thing" .............................Scott

 

[Ed Roland]

@ the Northern Tool here in Columbia SC a 22 ton vert/horizontal splitter is on sale for $999.00. They offer 6 months same as cash financing. I would rather a 27 ton but this is a good price for a decent peice of equipment. I have not checked Farm, Lowes or the depot, though.
I have a monster dead hickory on the ground in 16" rounds ready to be split that I can sell to a local Bar-b-Q chain for a premium. There may be 4 cords of hickory that can be sold to them that will pay for most of the cost of the splitter purchase in one fell swoop. I got to get moving on this. This forum is great.

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

Thanks for some good discussion guys.

I might give this a try this summer, see how it goes.

 

[drmiller100]

the more i look at this, the more i think it boils down to how many man hours it takes to process a cord of wood.

the equipment is pretty cheap.

if it takes 5 hours per cord to cut, process, and haul a cord of wood you are losing your buns.

My goal is going to be 2 hours per cord. if I can do that, buy my logs at 50 a cord, i should make decent money.

 

[Husky137]

good luck with that, unless you have a processor.

 

[Ed Roland]

What if we cut a cord and stacked it on a pallet. I could get 2 pallets (2 cords) on my 1 ton and deliver to be slid off the dump on ramps @ the delivery location. Could even rent a forklift and place pallets on pickups at a flea market or other venue if stacked a cord to a pallet. Just need some shrinkwrap. Can 2 men lift a cord of dried, mixed hardwood stacked on a pallet? Just thinkin out loud...:deadhorse:

 

[urbanlumberinc]

husky is right, two hours per cord is a bit much for one guy, but I will tell you, three motivated guys with the right stuff can split up 15 cord in a day. If you can get $250 a cord, It aint too shabby. But good luck finding two other guys that wanna split 15 cords a day.

 

[triptester]

Wood weasel,
A full cord of wood is a stack 4 ft. high ,8 ft. long ,and 4 ft. deep. A face cord is usually 1/3 that amount.

 

[Mr. Firewood]

My goal is going to be 2 hours per cord. if I can do that, buy my logs at 50 a cord, i should make decent money.

not trying to sound like a **** but 2 hours a cord is real slow... I myself usually knock out a cord every 45 minutes by myself,with my new splitter I should be able to do 3 cords a hour with 2 people. today me and a buddy did 3 cords in 2 hours... but it was cold and I am sick but I needed the money for 2 skids of salt for tomorrows snow storm.

 

[hbbyloggr]

aprox 5000 lb per cord

What if we cut a cord and stacked it on a pallet. I could get 2 pallets (2 cords) on my 1 ton and deliver to be slid off the dump on ramps @ the delivery location. Could even rent a forklift and place pallets on pickups at a flea market or other venue if stacked a cord to a pallet. Just need some shrinkwrap. Can 2 men lift a cord of dried, mixed hardwood stacked on a pallet? Just thinkin out loud...:deadhorse:

A cord of wood weighs approximately 5000 lbs, 2-1/2 tons. Son, you better make sure the guy on the other end of the pallet doesn't let go.

 

[Husky137]

not trying to sound like a **** but 2 hours a cord is real slow... I myself usually knock out a cord every 45 minutes by myself,with my new splitter I should be able to do 3 cords a hour with 2 people. today me and a buddy did 3 cords in 2 hours... but it was cold and I am sick but I needed the money for 2 skids of salt for tomorrows snow storm.

Cut and split (and miller said hauled, I assume he meant delivered) by yourself in 45 minutes? Maybe once that day, but I really doubt it.

I think somebody needs to pull his face cord out of somewhere. A face cord I'd believe, not a full cord. Been there done that, thousands of times.

 

[Wismer]

So to paraphrase; You want to cut a bunch of crap with your buddies in the woods, have tons of fun, get a good workout, practice some felling techniques, etc. and end up making some $$$ for all your fun????

Sounds like the same boat I'm in

AMEN