Sawmill butt logs

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docmagnum357

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eastern ky
Lots of hardwood timber in my area. Lots of sawmills. Most of them grind their " butt cuts", slabs, junk. Almost all have some way to get rid of sawdust. I am kind of interested in the big butt cuts. Lots of firewood in them. It is easier to get rid of them than to grind them. I have been getting all i can haul on my 1 ton for free, loaded with a forwarder. I have a small tractor( Kubota compact, 1200 lbs capacity FEL) and a 6600 magnum, 310, 170 Stihl. I can cut the really big stuff. I am in the process of turning the vertical / horizontal splitter into a dedicated vertical only, set up like a Powersplit. Table at waist height. Foot pedal. I have three hoop houses. 2 14'x 50' and one 16'x50'.
There are also lots of campgrounds in my area. My thoughts are to build up a year's inventory, then try to wholesale to a few campgrounds to start. Make sure I can keep one supplied, not let them run out of bagged, seasoned hardwood. Then, go to two customers, then three. Quit selling when I run out of capacity, whether it be my old, grouchy, backside says " ENOUGH!" , or I can't get wood, or I just don't want to do any more. My wife has several medical conditions that require me to stay close to home. But i can make a few deliveries, and I can saw and split wood.
I have been around long enough to know nothing is free. When I get these "free" logs, some 8 feet, some two feet, they are usually too big to handle by hand, terrible hard to split, dirty, not what 99% of wood burners are looking for. Heck, you can't get any of them on the splitter without a tractor. That's why I turned my splitter up vertical and raised it up to table height. Some of them big 'uns would kill a man if they rolled off on him. But I can get a lot of bark free oak and hickory and some other hardwood without the up front cash of buying hardwood "pulp" logs, or going into the woods and cutting tops.
Does anyone else here run a one man show with bagged or bundle wood? I think I can make a go of it if I stay small and take really good care of a few campgrounds, bait stores . Will I be able to make it work with the higher sale price and lower ( zero) cash outlay if my production is slow? I can probably get a cord a day cut, split and bagged, stacked in the hoop house.
Another question. Can I put the wood in the hoop house in bags, as long as it is on pallets? I think it will season O.K. and if I understand correctly UV light, i.e. sunlight is the hardest thing on bags. Will they be O.K. for a year, seasoning under a hoop house? Just hoping someone here has " been there, done that". looking for pointers. Thanks. Doc
 
I admire your enthusiasm about this. You sound like the kind of person who will make it work one way or another. I've never approached anything of this magnitude. My only concern - If the wood is green, I don't think you want to bag it, unless there is plenty of air circulation in and out of the bag. May develop mold or attract insects. Without know the type of material, hard to say if they will hold up for a year. I do wish you success.
 
Merry Christmas to everyone.
Sounds like a good plan.
Get set up and go for it.
You will find challenges moving more and more wood, but that is all part of the process, tackling bottlenecks as they come up.
Bottlenecks in the process never disappear, they just move...
I think your approach is a good one, to use what you have, start with minimal investment and discover how to improve, what is needed as you go.
I have no idea how wood reacts in poly houses, but would think if the ends are open for cross ventilation it would work well.
And also give you a place to work during poor, wet weather.
I enjoy doing firewood, and part of that is, that I can do it here, at home.
Check with the camp grounds to see what they are presently doing, and what they would expect on volume and pricing.
Ask if you can set a small amount of your product out next to what they have and see how campers react to your bundles vs theirs. The pricing doesn't even have to be the same. Bump it up a bit if they have soft wood and your doing hardwoods, and see what happens. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or fail. That's how we learn, if we assess, adjust, maybe start over in a different direction.
Campgrounds may be doing their own bundles and find it is a lot of time they would rather be doing other things, more profitable thing or routine maintenance that need done.
You may find they are happy with their set up, their present supplier, or they too are looking to improve on it.
Camp grounds often sell some pretty crappy wood, soft woods, or wet wood that smokes terribly, times thirty campfires makes for a haze.
Some may be completely unrealistic, considering your time producing and delivering.
I had that with a tree service supplying logs.
Don't be the cheapest, be the best at what you do.
The best to you and your wife....
 
I admire your enthusiasm about this. You sound like the kind of person who will make it work one way or another. I've never approached anything of this magnitude. My only concern - If the wood is green, I don't think you want to bag it, unless there is plenty of air circulation in and out of the bag. May develop mold or attract insects. Without know the type of material, hard to say if they will hold up for a year. I do wish you success.
Yep, that is my concern. It woud be nice to go on and bag it, but I wonder how good the bags would look after a year seasoning. Hoping someone here would know. I can easily leave the ends of the houses open, and even roll up the sides.
 
I've had ups and downs. I've started 2 successful businesses, one the economic downturn following Obama's election caused us to shutter, and My wife's health wouldn't allow me to continue the one that replaced that. I have to be here to help with her meds. She has some memory and concentration/ cognitive issues, probably due to diabetes, cancer, or immunotherapy cancer treatment. I can work, I just cant be gone too long.

Now success is taking good care of my wife. We wanted to "homestead" here, anyway. Big garden, some small livestock, wood heat, you know, the good life! It is still there for us, we just have to make some adjustments, and a lot of Dr. visits. I don't want the hassles of a bunch of help, debt, or deadlines. For many people selling seasoned wood would be a nightmare. The year long wait to have a good finished product, and a limited amount of it would make things hard. I couldn't do it if I had to buy materials. A year or longer is a long time to wait on a paycheck. It would actually help me because I never know WHEN I will have day or two, or a few hours to work. I guess I am at the " you don't know 'til you go" point. We'll see what happens and where it takes us.

I've always been a junk man. I have already made a few mods and built some equipment. I'll try to post pictures as I get things finished. It has really helped me seeing how others do what they do, and why they do it the way they do it. What they use to get it done. Maybe some of my ways of doing will help folks in a similar situation, with similar materials, or similar resources to work with.
thanks, Doc
 
My brother got several dumptruck loads of butt wood like you talk about.

It was a ton more work than dealing with standard logs. To the point he only did it once. He did pay for it though it was fairly cheap. Was charged by the ton.
 
My cousin in Wyoming retired from a coal mine and supplies a few campgrounds and convenience stores with bundled wood. He has a wood processor to cut/split the wood. He's found that getting a few enclosed trailers (single axle) for a low cost, and dropping them off at the campground/convenience stores has helped him be more efficient. The bundles are inside, the campground/convenience store has a key to the lock on the trailer. When the trailer is getting empty they call him for another load, he brings another trailer, drops it off and takes the empty one back to refill. Doesn't have to handle the wood at the customers place that way. He looks on Craigslist or local auctions for the enclosed trailers.
 
Yep, that is my concern. It woud be nice to go on and bag it, but I wonder how good the bags would look after a year seasoning. Hoping someone here would know. I can easily leave the ends of the houses open, and even roll up the sides.
Go to the eastonmade website and watch andrews video on bagging
 
My cousin in Wyoming retired from a coal mine and supplies a few campgrounds and convenience stores with bundled wood. He has a wood processor to cut/split the wood. He's found that getting a few enclosed trailers (single axle) for a low cost, and dropping them off at the campground/convenience stores has helped him be more efficient. The bundles are inside, the campground/convenience store has a key to the lock on the trailer. When the trailer is getting empty they call him for another load, he brings another trailer, drops it off and takes the empty one back to refill. Doesn't have to handle the wood at the customers place that way. He looks on Craigslist or local auctions for the enclosed trailers.
That's a darn good idea! Goes right along with one of the constraints I am working with; I have time, but not always at the right time. I could fill the trailers when I had time, taking one where it was needed when it was needed wouldn't be a huge deal. Just the kind of advice I need.
 
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