Both are time consuming, I’d say neither.
Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
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Profit? what's that?
Last year when lumber prices were all Brandon-ized, we sold a lot of lumber for a decent price.
In theory lumber should be more profitable, but it depends on what people want in your area.
Reminds me of my time working as an 18th century tradesman… post vice, slab work bench, tools hanging on the wall from wooden shelves with holes and slots. Cool stuff!Just puttering in the garage huh?
Not in the business, but I would guess there's a more limited market for lumber than firewood. If you can save mill logs from the firewood pile and do both, that's great.
I never saved money reloading because I shot a lot. It’s been 49 years since I started reloading metallic and maybe 10-12 since I started shot shells. My sons were worn out before the ammo ran out… figure a good 1,500 lbs of birdshot went down range from 410, 28, and 20 gauge shotguns. Got to be 100,000+ rounds of metallic… mostly handgun.
Kodiak Kid
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I never saved money reloading because I shot a lot. It’s been 49 years since I started reloading metallic and maybe 10-12 since I started shot shells. My sons were worn out before the ammo ran out… figure a good 1,500 lbs of birdshot went down range from 410, 28, and 20 gauge shotguns. Got to be 100,000+ rounds of metallic… mostly handgun.
Ok, let me rephrase. What would you do with the timber you remove on tree removal job if the costumer dosent want it. Im talking merchantable saw logs lumber grade. Also, when land scaping and tree service is slow, and you have access to both saw logs and firewood logs. What do you feel is most profitable? I guess it all probably depends on what part of the country a guys in?
Kodiak Kid
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Sorry Griz that reply was meant for @Sawdust Man and @ElevatorGuyI never saved money reloading because I shot a lot. It’s been 49 years since I started reloading metallic and maybe 10-12 since I started shot shells. My sons were worn out before the ammo ran out… figure a good 1,500 lbs of birdshot went down range from 410, 28, and 20 gauge shotguns. Got to be 100,000+ rounds of metallic… mostly handgun.
Kodiak Kid
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What kind of mill do you have?
Kodiak Kid
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So here's the thing. Trying to decide on a towable Woodmiser LT15 or a production splitter.
It does depend on location.
I'm sure you have a unique economy on Kodiak.
Down here in the Ozarks most rural areas don't require permits and have no zoning or codes to hinder people from using rough cut lumber.
Back in western Oregon you can't spit without a permit, so it's a lot more difficult to sell lumber there, and all their structural lumber is required to be stamped with a gov certified grade stamp, and the big mills have the monopoly on the grading.
Siding, fencing, finish lumber, and such aren't usually required to be graded, so a lot of sawmill guys focus on those types of lumber.
Down here cut and split firewood is going for $150 a cord, plus whatever for delivery...... so I don't bother with it much, and only sell what we make as a bi product of our sawmill activities.
Woodmizer LT-40 non hydraulic with a 25hp Kohler.
KK, in answer to your question, there is more profit to be made in lumber if you have the right equipment, but firewood is easier and there is ALWAYS a market for it. But cutting, splitting, storing to season, and delivering ... it is a lot of work. If you are not doing it because you like doing it, you aren't doing it!
To sell logs they have to be from the woods (not from yards) because they don't want any metal (etc) in the wood. You also need a grapple truck so you can transport a decent amount to them, and you need to know what type of wood (and what length) they are currently processing. Generally, veneer quality logs are worth the most (the must be straight and free from knots). Sometimes they want Maple, sometimes Cherry, sometimes Oak, etc., it all depends on what is in demand. No one wants to store stuff.
If you mill hardwood (like I do with the saw) you had better have a kiln in which to dry it, or you will wait 2 years for it to dry. It would also be real nice to have indoor storage (which I do not). Selling built furniture is easier (few folks who like nice wood know what to do with it), but it is a lot of work to get it right. A few people want your boards, but no one wants to pay you for them.
Almost everything I mill I use for myself, family members, or good friends and I build the benches, tables and gun cabinets. It becomes very time consuming. (Benches are easiest, gun cabinets are the worst).
Then there are some neighbors who see you building things who think you should build them one for free! I told them if they wanted to do the work, I would give them the wood and tell them what to do, and they disappeared!
Then there is the cost of the epoxy, and urethane ... and none of it lasts if left outside!
To sell logs they have to be from the woods (not from yards) because they don't want any metal (etc) in the wood. You also need a grapple truck so you can transport a decent amount to them, and you need to know what type of wood (and what length) they are currently processing. Generally, veneer quality logs are worth the most (the must be straight and free from knots). Sometimes they want Maple, sometimes Cherry, sometimes Oak, etc., it all depends on what is in demand. No one wants to store stuff.
If you mill hardwood (like I do with the saw) you had better have a kiln in which to dry it, or you will wait 2 years for it to dry. It would also be real nice to have indoor storage (which I do not). Selling built furniture is easier (few folks who like nice wood know what to do with it), but it is a lot of work to get it right. A few people want your boards, but no one wants to pay you for them.
Almost everything I mill I use for myself, family members, or good friends and I build the benches, tables and gun cabinets. It becomes very time consuming. (Benches are easiest, gun cabinets are the worst).
Then there are some neighbors who see you building things who think you should build them one for free! I told them if they wanted to do the work, I would give them the wood and tell them what to do, and they disappeared!
Then there is the cost of the epoxy, and urethane ... and none of it lasts if left outside!
Well, they said it would be cold, and when I let the dog out at 11:00 pm it was 2 below 0 F, but it was also snowing, which they did not predict!
Then that means they’re not allowed as pets either, they could get away and breed on their own?
That might explain the one drilled hole but what’s with the grinding ? Looks like a 2” cut-off wheel was used on both sides.
A firewood business is a lot simpler, than a sawmill biz.... plus more people buy firewood than lumber.....That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
The reasons I have a sawmill are.....
First off I like to eat, so I gotta do something for a living, and I've been a sawmill guy since the late 80's
Also.....
I like lumber... I'm always building stuff... firewood's too cheap around here....and I hate to see good sawlogs chopped up into firewood.
For me, I really like to do both firewood and lumber because I can maximize the value in the logs, and I enjoy not wasting stuff. And because I'm a builder I can take a tree and turn it into a finished product, which is downright good fun in my estimation.
Sierra_rider
Piss revver
I'd say that it depends on your local wood and what people are using it for. Like Sawdust said, building lumber has to be graded and stamped, so I don't know anyone selling dimensional lumber that they milled. Most of the profit seems to be in selling hardwood lumber to woodworkers and softwood slabs to hobbyists. Selling slabs isn't a business for me, but I've made good profit selling cedar and redwood slabs off from time to time. These were just some slabs I did with an Alaskan, so definitely not high-volume.
I have the opportunity to harvest a bunch of walnut, but the logistics of it, is putting a damper on my enthusiasm.
Here's an example of what I was saying about taking trees and making something outta em.
I cut and logged these cedars on my sister's place....
Then we sawed em into lumber...
And built their deck outta em.
I cut and logged these cedars on my sister's place....
Then we sawed em into lumber...
And built their deck outta em.
Except me..... people here can build with un graded lumber all day long.
But for most places you are right.
My son and I got back from Oklahoma yesterday with this, it’s 12’ and I can‘t see a brand name.
It uses this style mount.
I found a picture of the mount I would have to build, the sockets with pins wouldn’t be difficult to make. The back side would need to be holes for the loader arm bushings.
It only has one hose per cylinder, the previous pictures I found were two hoses per cylinder. I can understand how the two hoses per cylinder works, but not the one hose per cylinder. I want to use the same diverter valve that runs my grapple.
