how do u go about start a fire wood cutting bussiness

[TJ-Bill]

This is why firewood is a great part-time job:
I can go out at 6am and work until noon. By myself, I can usually get a least 1 cord of wood cut and split in 6 hours. Each cord of wood sells for $180 if it is in 24" lengths. After the wood has been stored on my property and has properly seasoned, I will have to deliver and stack this wood at the customer's home, which can easily be done within an hour. If there is a long drive involved, I will have to charge mileage.

Just consider these numbers:
$180 per cord
-5 in chainsaw/splitter gas
-5 in mix oil and bar oil
-20 truck fuel (usually doesn't take this much)
-20 set aside for recurring equipment expenses (chains, repairs, etc)
$130 profit for 7 total hours of work is over $18/hr pay.

Well. what you say is all good and well but I have a few questions..

you say

$180 per cord
-5 in chainsaw/splitter gas
-5 in mix oil and bar oil
-20 truck fuel (usually doesn't take this much)
-20 set aside for recurring equipment expenses (chains, repairs, etc)
$130 profit for 7 total hours of work is over $18/hr pay.

where's the wood come from? do you cut it on your own property? get it dropped in length? thats not added to the Profit magin.

also.

Delivering and stacking in an hour.. HA.. maybe if it's your neighbour. And even if it's down the street you still have to have the equipment to do it. You can't haul a cord of wood in a 1/2 ton.

I thought about doing this for awhile. I hsave enough property to provide for myself for many years. I enjoy cutting wood and thought that this would be a nice/fun way to make some $$.. but after looking at the prices around my area and looking at the labour involved and the time it takes not to mention that everytime you handle a piece of wood you loose $$.. I'd rather spend time with my daughter then try and make an extra few bucks that really doesn't make a difference then to anyone else but me.

BUT keep in mind I'm speaking form a point of view from my area in Canada. Just my POV..:greenchainsaw:

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

i dont know anywhere i can deliver pizza and make over $20 an hour.

Tips. If you can't make $20 an hour delivering pizza, you're doing something wrong!


And that $20 per hour for firewood? That's typical of small business thinking... for businesses that go under. There are a lot of costs that aren't accounted for.

No doubt there are a few places where you can make better than beer money doing firewood on a small scale, but not many places.

 

[Billy_Bob]

Most of the loggers I know in Oregon have at a minimum 2 Stihl MS460 chain saws with 32 inch bars. (Or similar Husky whatever.)

You would be cutting the same trees, thus I would think you would need the same saws?

It is no fun to drive 25 miles up into the mountains with just one saw and not be able to start it... Or get one saw stuck and not have a second saw to cut it out... Or not be able to start your backup saw.

Then cutting logs on the ground will dull chains (dirt gets into the bark when they are moved around). Much quicker to switch chains, then sharpen them on a grinder when you get home.

 

[TXTreeSurgeon]

Well. what you say is all good and well but I have a few questions..

you say



where's the wood come from? do you cut it on your own property? get it dropped in length? thats not added to the Profit magin.

also.

Delivering and stacking in an hour.. HA.. maybe if it's your neighbour. And even if it's down the street you still have to have the equipment to do it. You can't haul a cord of wood in a 1/2 ton.

I thought about doing this for awhile. I hsave enough property to provide for myself for many years. I enjoy cutting wood and thought that this would be a nice/fun way to make some $$.. but after looking at the prices around my area and looking at the labour involved and the time it takes not to mention that everytime you handle a piece of wood you loose $$.. I'd rather spend time with my daughter then try and make an extra few bucks that really doesn't make a difference then to anyone else but me.

BUT keep in mind I'm speaking form a point of view from my area in Canada. Just my POV..:greenchainsaw:

Well, you have never run a firewood business. I only have a small operation, but it is profitable. As I said in my previous post, I cut the wood off of friends/aquaintances properties and I have more wood to cut that I can keep up with. Most of the trees have recently died or are dying. Some are trees that threaten to fall on homes or other buildings. Some are trees cut while doing land-clearing. I sometimes get paid for doing a tree-cutting job and then get to keep the firewood and sell it, so I make double the money. But even if I am not paid to cut the trees, I still come out well.

I guess you mean that I can't haul a cord of wood in the bed of a 1/2 ton. While this is true, my buddy who hauls the wood has 3 16 ft utility trailers, one half-ton, one 3/4 ton diesel, and a 1 ton diesel dually. But just so you know, I have towed 2 cords of seasoned live oak (very heavy, about 8,000 lbs) on a 16 ft utility trailer behind a 1/2 ton 4x4 for 70 miles up and down hills with no problem.

Now, I am not sure how much longer my buddy is going to do the firewood business with me (he seems to be allergic to work), so I will have to get my own truck and trailer at that point... but hey, I need a truck and trailer anyways! If the business ever stops being profitable, then I can just stop cutting wood to sell and cut if for my family and friends. Then I will have 2 chainsaws, a woodsplitter, a truck, and a trailer all paid for by the firewood business which I can use for my own purposes.

Lastly, I want to spend as much time with my wife and children as possible. I already have a full-time job. That is why I would rather run a part-time business on the side rather than to get a second job working the night-shift at Wal-Mart or something like that. Nothing wrong with the second part-time job, but running my own business leaves me much more time to spend with family, my hours are flexible, and I make more money.

You may not want to start a firewood business for yourself, and it may not work as well in Canada as it does in Central Texas. But there is no need to put down guys who use the tools that they already have to heat their own homes and then cut extra wood and sell it on the side for extra income. How is that any different from a guy who buys his own lawnmower and other lawn equipment to cut his own yard and then decides cuts other people's yards for a little extra income on the side? By the way, I used to do that too, but I make more money now with firewood...

 

[smokinj]

Well, you have never run a firewood business. I only have a small operation, but it is profitable. As I said in my previous post, I cut the wood off of friends/aquaintances properties and I have more wood to cut that I can keep up with. Most of the trees have recently died or are dying. Some are trees that threaten to fall on homes or other buildings. Some are trees cut while doing land-clearing. I sometimes get paid for doing a tree-cutting job and then get to keep the firewood and sell it, so I make double the money. But even if I am not paid to cut the trees, I still come out well.

I guess you mean that I can't haul a cord of wood in the bed of a 1/2 ton. While this is true, my buddy who hauls the wood has 3 16 ft utility trailers, one half-ton, one 3/4 ton diesel, and a 1 ton diesel dually. But just so you know, I have towed 2 cords of seasoned live oak (very heavy, about 8,000 lbs) on a 16 ft utility trailer behind a 1/2 ton 4x4 for 70 miles up and down hills with no problem.

Now, I am not sure how much longer my buddy is going to do the firewood business with me (he seems to be allergic to work), so I will have to get my own truck and trailer at that point... but hey, I need a truck and trailer anyways! If the business ever stops being profitable, then I can just stop cutting wood to sell and cut if for my family and friends. Then I will have 2 chainsaws, a woodsplitter, a truck, and a trailer all paid for by the firewood business which I can use for my own purposes.

Lastly, I want to spend as much time with my wife and children as possible. I already have a full-time job. That is why I would rather run a part-time business on the side rather than to get a second job working the night-shift at Wal-Mart or something like that. Nothing wrong with the second part-time job, but running my own business leaves me much more time to spend with family, my hours are flexible, and I make more money.

You may not want to start a firewood business for yourself, and it may not work as well in Canada as it does in Central Texas. But there is no need to put down guys who use the tools that they already have to heat their own homes and then cut extra wood and sell it on the side for extra income. How is that any different from a guy who buys his own lawnmower and other lawn equipment to cut his own yard and then decides cuts other people's yards for a little extra income on the side? By the way, I used to do that too, but I make more money now with firewood...

LOL Now thats the kinda of fire it takes to get it up and running, If you cant defend yourself here the world just going to spit you out anyways....YOU HAVE MY VOTE!

 

[sunfish]

Well, you have never run a firewood business. I only have a small operation, but it is profitable. As I said in my previous post, I cut the wood off of friends/aquaintances properties and I have more wood to cut that I can keep up with. Most of the trees have recently died or are dying. Some are trees that threaten to fall on homes or other buildings. Some are trees cut while doing land-clearing. I sometimes get paid for doing a tree-cutting job and then get to keep the firewood and sell it, so I make double the money. But even if I am not paid to cut the trees, I still come out well.

I guess you mean that I can't haul a cord of wood in the bed of a 1/2 ton. While this is true, my buddy who hauls the wood has 3 16 ft utility trailers, one half-ton, one 3/4 ton diesel, and a 1 ton diesel dually. But just so you know, I have towed 2 cords of seasoned live oak (very heavy, about 8,000 lbs) on a 16 ft utility trailer behind a 1/2 ton 4x4 for 70 miles up and down hills with no problem.

Now, I am not sure how much longer my buddy is going to do the firewood business with me (he seems to be allergic to work), so I will have to get my own truck and trailer at that point... but hey, I need a truck and trailer anyways! If the business ever stops being profitable, then I can just stop cutting wood to sell and cut if for my family and friends. Then I will have 2 chainsaws, a woodsplitter, a truck, and a trailer all paid for by the firewood business which I can use for my own purposes.

Lastly, I want to spend as much time with my wife and children as possible. I already have a full-time job. That is why I would rather run a part-time business on the side rather than to get a second job working the night-shift at Wal-Mart or something like that. Nothing wrong with the second part-time job, but running my own business leaves me much more time to spend with family, my hours are flexible, and I make more money.

You may not want to start a firewood business for yourself, and it may not work as well in Canada as it does in Central Texas. But there is no need to put down guys who use the tools that they already have to heat their own homes and then cut extra wood and sell it on the side for extra income. How is that any different from a guy who buys his own lawnmower and other lawn equipment to cut his own yard and then decides cuts other people's yards for a little extra income on the side? By the way, I used to do that too, but I make more money now with firewood...

Rep sent! Very well said!

 

[Doingitwell]

Well, you have never run a firewood business. I only have a small operation, but it is profitable. As I said in my previous post, I cut the wood off of friends/aquaintances properties and I have more wood to cut that I can keep up with. Most of the trees have recently died or are dying. Some are trees that threaten to fall on homes or other buildings. Some are trees cut while doing land-clearing. I sometimes get paid for doing a tree-cutting job and then get to keep the firewood and sell it, so I make double the money. But even if I am not paid to cut the trees, I still come out well.

I guess you mean that I can't haul a cord of wood in the bed of a 1/2 ton. While this is true, my buddy who hauls the wood has 3 16 ft utility trailers, one half-ton, one 3/4 ton diesel, and a 1 ton diesel dually. But just so you know, I have towed 2 cords of seasoned live oak (very heavy, about 8,000 lbs) on a 16 ft utility trailer behind a 1/2 ton 4x4 for 70 miles up and down hills with no problem.

Now, I am not sure how much longer my buddy is going to do the firewood business with me (he seems to be allergic to work), so I will have to get my own truck and trailer at that point... but hey, I need a truck and trailer anyways! If the business ever stops being profitable, then I can just stop cutting wood to sell and cut if for my family and friends. Then I will have 2 chainsaws, a woodsplitter, a truck, and a trailer all paid for by the firewood business which I can use for my own purposes.

Lastly, I want to spend as much time with my wife and children as possible. I already have a full-time job. That is why I would rather run a part-time business on the side rather than to get a second job working the night-shift at Wal-Mart or something like that. Nothing wrong with the second part-time job, but running my own business leaves me much more time to spend with family, my hours are flexible, and I make more money.

You may not want to start a firewood business for yourself, and it may not work as well in Canada as it does in Central Texas. But there is no need to put down guys who use the tools that they already have to heat their own homes and then cut extra wood and sell it on the side for extra income. How is that any different from a guy who buys his own lawnmower and other lawn equipment to cut his own yard and then decides cuts other people's yards for a little extra income on the side? By the way, I used to do that too, but I make more money now with firewood...

That's a BIG 10-4 Texassurgeon. Glad to see you got the STONES and determination to rock what it is YOU see what is best for YOU!!!

Hang tough and be safe.

 

[slowp]

There's already an explanation of "how u bid" in the other thread u started.
Most of the people on this forum are not from Oregon so I suggest u phone and talk to the agencies/companies who are offering firewood areas for bidding.

 

[banshee67]

this guys has so many versions of the same thread going i cant keep up

 

[banshee67]

i hate the word business, its too formal. how about hobby that earns money?
to make $20-30 an hour doing something you ENJOY doing (other than splitting) while getting a better workout than any of the yuppies at their $60+ a month gyms, i say its a win win
i understand most areas you cannot sell seasoned wood for $200+ a cord or $150 for green like you can here, but you can here! and i try my best to take advantage of that. if i can go make $150 cash for 6 hours of work, im all over that. now i know thats nowhere near some of these climbers salaries, and none of us are kidding ourselves thinking it is... i will certainly never get rich, but im 26 and im tryin a lot harder than most people out there. i go firewooding on days its 90+ degrees and 90% humidity.. why not? its fun.. untill you gota split lol, i do get all my wood for free though, so i could imagine that being a huge advantage VS paying for wood.
my next issue is somewhere to store dry wood, thats my one problem. i need somewhere within 5 miles that i can store a bunch of wood to season, i think THAT is the hardest part of the whole equation, and the reason i sell many green cords.
also with selling firewood, comes other opportunities, i have picked up small landscaping jobs, easy tree removals, referrals to neighbors / friends, etc. nothing bad can come from getting out there and meeting strangers. so far only good has come.