What to charge?

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unclemoustache

My 'stache is bigger than yours.
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My mill should be arriving in two weeks. I have had some inquiries about how much I would charge. I’m not sure. The mill is stationary, so logs would have to be brought to me. I am planning to charge $50 per hour for transportation. I think that same amount would be very reasonable. Even on the low side. Your suggestions?
 
yeah... work that out ahead of time. I'm small time, mostly yard logs, very low qty of logs for any one job. so I gotta charge more to show up.

1. Metal detect everything. will ruin a job if you destroy blades or chains. I've ended up negative.
2. I've done better buying logs in the round, then milling, then selling wet or airdried.
3. figure out your BF rate + fuel, chains, blades, wear and tear, etc.
4. for me to "show up" milling at someone place, it's $100. I figure that in to the cost of a job. Sometimes homeowners want to pay you in wood, which I used to do, but I have a yard full now.
6. I also don't want "help" of any kind for liability reasons. Many folks want to get their hands dirty but that may end in disaster. Especially around mills, saws, etc.. i just don't want the trouble.

I started charging by the job. I look at a pile of logs and know about how fast I can cut those logs. Time is $. bigger, wider logs, more time, more wear. So I look at the pile and know my entry point of costs and gotta walk away with it worth my time + expenses. I'm a hobbyist, it became too much like work to saw logs for other folks, so I gotta make $$ on it. I much prefer to buy logs I want and sell the slabbed wood.

Good luck!
 
If there's metal, it wouldn't be unreasonable to add in the cost of the blade.
 
If your just milling smaller stuff (24" or less) and you know what your doing , you can charge what local mills ( bandsaw) charge/or close to it... But anything larger , to me that is the bread and butter of an Alaskan set up. Most bandsaw mills max out at 27"ish, so for me the wider the cut equates to more $$. I can go up to 76" in width and I can probably say with confidence that there is no portable or other mill that can do , that's remotely close by. Dont get me wrong in thinking that bigger wood is more easy money...Nope, I would probably say the opposite.. your dealing with weights that are stupid, you need more specialized eq. for wood to be able to move it, most cases the wood is where it has fallen which usually is in a bad position or a steep incline......Just saying ''dont sell yourself short''--And don't be taken in by those idiots that think their tree is gold and you should take a slab and be grateful for all your hard work.
G Vavra
 
If your just milling smaller stuff (24" or less) and you know what your doing , you can charge what local mills ( bandsaw) charge/or close to it... But anything larger , to me that is the bread and butter of an Alaskan set up. Most bandsaw mills max out at 27"ish, so for me the wider the cut equates to more $$. I can go up to 76" in width and I can probably say with confidence that there is no portable or other mill that can do , that's remotely close by. Dont get me wrong in thinking that bigger wood is more easy money...Nope, I would probably say the opposite.. your dealing with weights that are stupid, you need more specialized eq. for wood to be able to move it, most cases the wood is where it has fallen which usually is in a bad position or a steep incline......Just saying ''dont sell yourself short''--And don't be taken in by those idiots that think their tree is gold and you should take a slab and be grateful for all your hard work.
G Vavra
What is the sweet ass truck in your avitar?
 
The mill is stationary, so logs would have to be brought to me. I am planning to charge $50 per hour for transportation.

What are you charging for since the mill is stationary?

Are you picking up the logs for $50 an hour? The lumber?
 
I've recently revived an old woodmizer lt40 (all manual) and have wrestled with the same questions... what to charge? The local saw mill charges .25 a board ft... but nothing out of someone's yard. As I've started ( just as a hobby/ and to pay for the mill) I've set my price at $50 per hour and $30 for blades if I hit anything. That works out to about .50 a board foot... most of tIme. I decided to charge by the hour and not by the board ft partly because I'm not running production sawing, It's custom sawing and it seems every job is different. I have people bring me their logs, and I have charged to pressure wash logs that have been covered in sand or dirt

People are happy with my price..... and happier that I will have it cut on the weekend for them. I do cut a lot of short logs and logs out of people's front yard.
 
I charge 25 per hour, ( little Timber-Tuff mill) ---you bring the logs and take ALL the waste with you. --- hit metal costs you a blade for every thing I hit. --- hit 3 pieces---cots you 3 blades---- NO exceptions. I stay way too busy cutting hobby stuff for people with a little log. 18" down to 6" ---- get some nice little boards from that small stuff.
 
My mill should be arriving in two weeks. I have had some inquiries about how much I would charge. I’m not sure. The mill is stationary, so logs would have to be brought to me. I am planning to charge $50 per hour for transportation. I think that same amount would be very reasonable. Even on the low side. Your suggestions?
Go with the 50.00 per hour and see what you think after a couple runs 75.00 may not be out of the question.
 
Finished up with my first customer today. Most local millers are charging $70/hr. I stuck with $50 since I don’t have any experience. Made $250, plus 3 slabs that I couldn’t resist. 2 blades damaged, which she paid for.
we were both happy.
give me a year and I’ll bump up my prices.
 
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