how to buy whole trees for milling

[little trees]

I'd like to buy (or otherwise obtain) a handful of ~12"+ conifers to mill. I'm cutting a handful of beams (4x8 or larger) for some gazebos and tree houses. I've done some chainsaw milling; just starting out with my new bandsaw.

I've done some searching but am clearly lacking the correct vocabulary.

• What is the correct name(s) for this product - whole fir, pine, etc trees (green OK)?
• What types of companies sell these? (regional sawmills, small loggers with leases on national forest, etc?)
• What is a reasonable minimum order size & delivery fee?
• What species or qualities should I be asking for? I'm cutting for some medium size beams, some rough-sawn lap siding, and whatever's left over into 2x4's.

If you happen to be in Idaho, anywhere on the i95/hw55 corridor Riggins~Boise, or hw21, would be ~local to me.

Thanks!

 

[northmanlogging]

Couple things to consider, you will need a way to unload and handle logs, lots of logs in a hurry, if you want a steady supply
Lot more to it then just having the mill.
That said length is key what can you mill handle reliably and what lengths can you unload regardless of diameter.
Barring all that, an add on the Facebork, Craigslisp or cofferup would go a long ways.
Dump truck/trailers are good cause they can just dump and go, but also consider reaching out to your local Self loading log trucks, they can bring you full loads (a lot of wood)
Now for species, go with whats native to your area, Douglas Fir makes excellent beams, Cedar for fence boards and decking, PIne (Ponderosa) is great for paneling or crafty type projects, Lodge Pole Pine is really better left as poles though it makes some killer tight grained boards, your market will dictate what sells.
Better off cutting them green and letting them dry after sawing, easier on the saw...
Now on to the important stuff:
call around to local big boy mills, find out what they are paying, maybe get on the email list, then pay more then them, regardless of size, not much mind but enough to make the extra hassle worth while.
As for what to expect for quantity, a self loader here can have 4000bf of raw logs, Idaho trucks are set up a little different, I'm not sure But I think they can haul much more (lighter wood and bridge restrictions here)
A dump truck load, can have upwards of 2500 bf if the driver and loader are worth a damn, maybe more if they have taller sides.
As for Self loading log trucks (don't even think about calling a straight truck if you don't have a quick method of unloading) realize that most of us west coast trucks, can't haul much under 20' and its better to haul longer logs.

 

[little trees]

Lots of information, thank you. Couple follow on questions.

That said length is key what can you mill handle reliably and what lengths can you unload regardless of diameter. [...] Dump truck/trailers are good cause they can just dump and go, but also consider reaching out to your local Self loading log trucks, they can bring you full loads (a lot of wood)

I can cut 30" diam, 16 feet long. I do have a grapple & forks ... but on a smaller tractor, so was expecting to need someone who can offload.

• I know what a self-loader is; what's a 'dump truck' look like in the 30ft log parlance?
• you mention 20ft is about the minimum a truck can carry; what's the max? 30-40' would be ideal for me, if that fits; cheaper to transport, and I can just cut in half then process as-is

Barring all that, an add on the Facebork, Craigslisp or cofferup would go a long ways. [...] call around to local big boy mills, find out what they are paying, maybe get on the email list, then pay more then them, regardless of size, not much mind but enough to make the extra hassle worth while.

good idea (and spellings ), will do

As for what to expect for quantity, a self loader here can have 4000bf of raw logs, Idaho trucks are set up a little different, I'm not sure But I think they can haul much more (lighter wood and bridge restrictions here)
A dump truck load, can have upwards of 2500 bf if the driver and loader are worth a damn, maybe more if they have taller sides.

I can calculate how many bf I'll get from a log ... but there seem to be many 'standard' ways to estimate bf. Which one(s) do you typically use? Taking the diameter as the average diameter top & bottom of log seems "fair", but the confusing thing to me is that many don't (seem to) take into account the tapering of the tree?

 

[TRTermite]

Lots of information, thank you. Couple follow on questions.


I can cut 30" diam, 16 feet long. I do have a grapple & forks ... but on a smaller tractor, so was expecting to need someone who can offload.

• I know what a self-loader is; what's a 'dump truck' look like in the 30ft log parlance?
• you mention 20ft is about the minimum a truck can carry; what's the max? 30-40' would be ideal for me, if that fits; cheaper to transport, and I can just cut in half then process as-is

good idea (and spellings ), will do


I can calculate how many bf I'll get from a log ... but there seem to be many 'standard' ways to estimate bf. Which one(s) do you typically use? Taking the diameter as the average diameter top & bottom of log seems "fair", but the confusing thing to me is that many don't (seem to) take into account the tapering of the tree?

The "tapering" is an overage you the mill tends to benefit from but it isn't free, You have to rework the free Boards(overage) so it isn't free any more, unless your labor is free and if it is I am sure someone will hire you.....

 

[little trees]

The "tapering" is an overage you the mill tends to benefit from but it isn't free, You have to rework the free Boards(overage) so it isn't free any more, unless your labor is free and if it is I am sure someone will hire you.....

Thanks, yeah it's a mental shift to "be" the sawmill, vs the retail purchaser

I called several mills. The one I could get on the phone said they use the Scribner decimal C, from the small end only.

Also, as $ figures I'm sure are interesting for folks reading, the numbers I got were paying $400~$500 per 1000 BF for logs up to 24", all in that range for doug fir, pine, lodge pole, white fir.

 

[TRTermite]

Here in the Midwest Doyle is widely used export is a bit difference but I am not familiar with it. Usually $.40 or $.50 is common for pallet Long Oak saw logs vary by needs ..
Doyle rule shortcut I came up with- Take the Diameter of the small end in Inches divide by 4 subtract 1 times that by itself(Squared) times length in feet. 10' log 20" 20 divide by 4 is 5 minus 1 is 4 times 4is 16 times 10 is 160 board feet. At $.40 /board feet that is 64.00$

 

[northmanlogging]

dump trucks generally can hual 16's maybe 18's

self loader log trucks can stretch out to bunk 40's and becable to hual 50's, pole trucks can hual upwards of 120' lengths...


though 32's and 36's make a better load on a self loader

as fer scaling logs, it always from the small end, locally its scribner dec. C, while Doyle is more for east coast short log stuff

 

[TRTermite]

dump trucks generally can hual 16's maybe 18's

self loader log trucks can stretch out to bunk 40's and becable to hual 50's, pole trucks can hual upwards of 120' lengths...


though 32's and 36's make a better load on a self loader

as fer scaling logs, it always from the small end, locally its scribner dec. C, while Doyle is more for east coast short log stuff

As I stated in my post here In the Midwest we use Doyle but we seldom bring in logs over 26 feet unless special request. Most are 8-10 and 12Foot. Different way of life and timber.

 

[little trees]

As I stated in my post here In the Midwest we use Doyle but we seldom bring in logs over 26 feet unless special request. Most are 8-10 and 12Foot. Different way of life and timber.

yep, definitely regional variation. The local mill I spoke with ONLY accepts logs near 16.5ft, or 33ft without special fees. We are talking 100% tall, generally straight conifer here, which might drive some of the difference.

 

[northmanlogging]

As I stated in my post here In the Midwest we use Doyle but we seldom bring in logs over 26 feet unless special request. Most are 8-10 and 12Foot. Different way of life and timber.

to clarify, everything west of the black hills is East Coast to me... between the rockies and the black hills is midwest (actually its about 40mi north of Casper...)

I know I'm wrong, and I don't care.