What to charge?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Not sure if you want to run your new enterprise by your homeowners insurance or not - Many of the insurance people, you say "sawmill" they think you said "meth lab"
I already did. I'm not sure what I would need insurance for. It's not an easy thing to steal, and I already have insurance to cover myself in case of accidents.
 
Not sure if you want to run your new enterprise by your homeowners insurance or not - Many of the insurance people, you say "sawmill" they think you said "meth lab"

No one I've found will touch logging, sawmill or firewood equipment here. Probably easier to insure a meth lab.
 
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.

$135/hr is what we charge. That's hr meter time in the sawmill.
 
I already did. I'm not sure what I would need insurance for. It's not an easy thing to steal, and I already have insurance to cover myself in case of accidents.
Liability of course - People are going to bring logs to your property, unloading, loading lumber - Piles of logs may as well have a sign that says "kids play here"
 
I don’t understand what your saying. Is that sarcasm?

No. I thought you were joking about charging $4/bd foot.
That's lumber prices!

We charge $1 each for slabwood if people want seperate pieces. Normally sold in a big bundle for $100. Forklift on to trailer.

People sometimes use it for siding, fencing or other "rustic" projects. I've mostly cut it up for firewood.
 
Liability of course - People are going to bring logs to your property, unloading, loading lumber - Piles of logs may as well have a sign that says "kids play here"

Fire is the big one.

Also "sawmill" makes insurance companies think of 1800s operations with belts running all over the place and people constantly losing body parts.

Some years back had logs roll and crush a customer's dog.
He apologized, asked for a rifle and dispatch the poor pup.

Probably could have sued and found a way to get $$. "Log pile was unsafe".
 
No. I thought you were joking about charging $4/bd foot.
That's lumber prices!

We charge $1 each for slabwood if people want seperate pieces. Normally sold in a big bundle for $100. Forklift on to trailer.

People sometimes use it for siding, fencing or other "rustic" projects. I've mostly cut it up for firewood.
How can u make money selling a whole slab for 1$. Seems like it would take a long time to do for not much money. I’m still confused lol. Slab wood goes for more then lumber by the bf or aim I missing something??
 
Some areas a slab refers to the first/last outermost cut( lots o bark/debris) , other areas it is the actual ''meat '' of the log (live edge either side).
 
How can u make money selling a whole slab for 1$. Seems like it would take a long time to do for not much money. I’m still confused lol. Slab wood goes for more then lumber by the bf or aim I missing something??

No. I thought you were joking about charging $4/bd foot.
That's lumber prices!

We charge $1 each for slabwood if people want seperate pieces. Normally sold in a big bundle for $100. Forklift on to trailer.

People sometimes use it for siding, fencing or other "rustic" projects. I've mostly cut it up for firewood.
You two are talking about two different things. Before "live edge" slabs became popular, slabs were just the round parts cut off the outside of the log when sawing lumber. Those are generally chipped, sold for firewood, burned or otherwise disposed of cheaply. Motolife is referring to "live edge" slabs, which are basically thick boards with the bark left on both sides.
 
You two are talking about two different things. Before "live edge" slabs became popular, slabs were just the round parts cut off the outside of the log when sawing lumber. Those are generally chipped, sold for firewood, burned or otherwise disposed of cheaply. Motolife is referring to "live edge" slabs, which are basically thick boards with the bark left on both sides.

Didn't realize there was something else people call slabs. Now that I think of it, may have been talked about before. Sorry, have hard time with memory... TBI caused
s some issues.

Live edge or waney edge boards is what we call those.
Ir in the case of house logs, 2 or 3 sided (cut on top and bottom or cut on top, bottom and back)
 
Or some people want to insist that their use of the term is the only way other people should understand it too.

It's kind of like some people are with 'clip' and 'magazine'.

I've never heard anyone familiar with gun parts refer to a magazine as anything else. Do some people call a magazine a clip?

Most of my gun training is from the military.
We had clips of 5.56. They had 10 rounds and could make quick work of loading the magazines.

Also dealt with belts of linked ammo, like 20mm.
 
I have seen that kind of discussion before in various forums where one person (or more) will object to someone else using a term in a way that they say is not the proper use, even though there is much evidence that the term has been used the 'improper' way many times before by many other people. Sometimes we just need to realize that people use different words differently than we do; doesn't make one more or less right.

The reason there are scientific names for trees is to make sure we are talking about the same thing; common names can be confusing; poplar, or cedar, for example. "Slab" has many uses not associated with wood and in many cases would refer to a rather large, rather flat piece; a slab of granite, for instance.

My father's uncle had a sawmill while I was growing up and I learned that a slab was the rounded part cut off a log on one or more sides to square it up to saw lumber from the log. And when it is squared up it is a cant. So, is there any difference between a cant hook and a log wrench? Two terms that I think name the same thing.
 
I have seen that kind of discussion before in various forums where one person (or more) will object to someone else using a term in a way that they say is not the proper use, even though there is much evidence that the term has been used the 'improper' way many times before by many other people. Sometimes we just need to realize that people use different words differently than we do; doesn't make one more or less right.

The reason there are scientific names for trees is to make sure we are talking about the same thing; common names can be confusing; poplar, or cedar, for example. "Slab" has many uses not associated with wood and in many cases would refer to a rather large, rather flat piece; a slab of granite, for instance.

My father's uncle had a sawmill while I was growing up and I learned that a slab was the rounded part cut off a log on one or more sides to square it up to saw lumber from the log. And when it is squared up it is a cant. So, is there any difference between a cant hook and a log wrench? Two terms that I think name the same thing.

Never heard of a logwrench. I've used Cant hook or peavy, depending on tip
 
I have seen that kind of discussion before in various forums where one person (or more) will object to someone else using a term in a way that they say is not the proper use, even though there is much evidence that the term has been used the 'improper' way many times before by many other people. Sometimes we just need to realize that people use different words differently than we do; doesn't make one more or less right.

The reason there are scientific names for trees is to make sure we are talking about the same thing; common names can be confusing; poplar, or cedar, for example. "Slab" has many uses not associated with wood and in many cases would refer to a rather large, rather flat piece; a slab of granite, for instance.

My father's uncle had a sawmill while I was growing up and I learned that a slab was the rounded part cut off a log on one or more sides to square it up to saw lumber from the log. And when it is squared up it is a cant. So, is there any difference between a cant hook and a log wrench? Two terms that I think name the same thing.

Slab has few colloquial uses here in Western Australia:

* Used to refer to a case / carton of beer (24 cans / bottles) as in "Can yer goin' pick up a slab of of Bush Chooks" (not joking about this).
* Descriptor for a heavy, thick lipped wave, of which we have quite a few. "Did you see the sick slab just before?"

....and also a thick, usually rough sawn live edge piece of timber.
 
Slab has few colloquial uses here in Western Australia:

* Used to refer to a case / carton of beer (24 cans / bottles) as in "Can yer goin' pick up a slab of of Bush Chooks" (not joking about this).
* Descriptor for a heavy, thick lipped wave, of which we have quite a few. "Did you see the sick slab just before?"

....and also a thick, usually rough sawn live edge piece of timber.

So what is a “think lipped wave”?
To us a wave is a hand greeting or something you find on the water on a windy day.
 
Back
Top