Pricing a custom slab

[BigOakAdot]

I have a guy I work with on occasion who is looking for a custom slab of oak for his mantle. I gave him some firewood in the past in exchange for lasagne lol. I don't think he has a lasagne pan that would be able to cover this slab though .

He wants a 9" thick by 84" long by 19" wide piece. I believe the oak I have is red oak but not 100% sure. He will be taking this piece to a kiln to get dried on his own.

What kind of money should I be asking for a piece like this? I'm not looking to charge him what a normal mill would, just want to make it worth my while, and still save him a little money. Appreciate any help or info.

Andrew

 

[agrams]

I think a lot depends on your availability of a log to make it from. Do you have enough logs on hand that this won't really hurt you, or if you are like me, still looking for a consistent supply of logs, its a bigger issue/cost. Is he providing a log?

If a log is on hand and easy to mill up, I would maybe just charge him $50 or or so per hour of milling, this helps cover my tools/gas/time

 

[BigOakAdot]

I think a lot depends on your availability of a log to make it from. Do you have enough logs on hand that this won't really hurt you, or if you are like me, still looking for a consistent supply of logs, its a bigger issue/cost. Is he providing a log?

If a log is on hand and easy to mill up, I would maybe just charge him $50 or or so per hour of milling, this helps cover my tools/gas/time

I have enough big oak logs where I currently live that it's not an issue at all. Just the one tree is 31" diameter and almost 30' before the first crotch. On the same hand I don't want to be doing charity work. Chainsaw milling is pretty brutal definitely want to make a little more than gas money and a little pocket change.

I currently rent this property but I think my landlord is going to build a custom home in place of the one we're currently living in. So I won't always have a ton of trees at my disposal, unfortunately. Not sure how long it will take me but I'm thinking a few hundred is fair. I'm sure a piece like that on my neck of the woods would fetch a lot of money.

 

[agrams]

i would say a few hundred is fair, the lower price to cover tools/gas/time is all dependent on how much of a friend this guy is, or just a co-worker. Dried mantles range 400-500+ around here for oak/mesquite.

 

[BigOakAdot]

i would say a few hundred is fair, the lower price to cover tools/gas/time is all dependent on how much of a friend this guy is, or just a co-worker. Dried mantles range 400-500+ around here for oak/mesquite.

Yeah I just feel like I've done enough favors for him up to this point. He's really not a friend I only hear from him when he needs wood. Probably gonna charge 2 to 3 for it...

 

[Philbo]

Those dimensions are around 100 board feet for that mantle. Rough cut, dimensional oak lumber (4/4 for example) goes for around $0.80-$1.20 bd/ft around here. When you start talking about custom sawing, especially something that big, the price goes up considerably, in my opinion. I'd want to get my money's worth for at least the log and my labor and time handling it. Prime or grade 1 red oak is going for $400-750 per mbf around here at the sawmill.

Is the log already down and bucked or is tree still standing? That would make a big difference.

9x19 is a helluva mantle. How are you gonna move it? Are you gonna try and box the heart of the log within the mantle? Even still to get a wane-free 9x19, you're gonna need at the least a very straight 24"+ red oak on the small end, maybe more so you don't have to stress too much while sawing it. Those types of logs could bring near top dollar at the sawmill, just for comparison.

Also, he can take it to the kiln but with those dimensions and being oak, it will never really get as dry as dimensional lumber will. It will take quite a while in a kiln to get to a reasonable level, but I suppose it's quicker than air drying.

I wouldn't take any less than $400 for anything in that range. Charge what it's truly worth, imo. No reason to go out of your way to work your butt off chainsaw milling a ridiculously huge cant if you're not gonna get paid well for it….unless it's for family.

My 2 cents.

 

[Dave Boyt]

"I would say a few hundred is fair, the lower price to cover tools/gas/time is all dependent on how much of a friend this guy is, or just a co-worker. Dried mantles range 400-500+ around here for oak/mesquite."

Sounds about right to me. There is a big difference between a dried mantle and one fresh off the mill. That mantle will be nearly impossible to dry without serious cracking. I know that's not your problem, but he needs to have a better handle on what is in store. No conventional kiln will dry it for two reasons-- it would take months to dry, and you can't just put it in a corner of the kiln and be drying other lumber, and no kiln operator is going to risk ruining a $200 mantle piece.

 

[BigOakAdot]

"I would say a few hundred is fair, the lower price to cover tools/gas/time is all dependent on how much of a friend this guy is, or just a co-worker. Dried mantles range 400-500+ around here for oak/mesquite."

Sounds about right to me. There is a big difference between a dried mantle and one fresh off the mill. That mantle will be nearly impossible to dry without serious cracking. I know that's not your problem, but he needs to have a better handle on what is in store. No conventional kiln will dry it for two reasons-- it would take months to dry, and you can't just put it in a corner of the kiln and be drying other lumber, and no kiln operator is going to risk ruining a $200 mantle piece.

Makes sense. So really, I need to tell him there's not much of a point to me milling him this slab....

 

[Ryan Hanzlick]

I agree, huge difference between fresh and dried. Mill it for him, but he will need to know that it needs to air dry for years.

 

[Dave Boyt]

As long as his expectations are realistic, if he wants it, then go for it! Another option would be to box the log in such a way as to build the mantle out of 1-1/2" to 2" thick pieces, dry them, then build either a hollow or laminated mantle.