Selling to mills

[DDM]

Okay Im new to Selling logs to a Mill.A new mill opened up close by and approached me about buying all my Logs. Which is Great because we have been burning up all our Logs Pine,Oak,Sweet Gum & Poplar. How does one figure Board feet? lets say we have a 12" Dia log 8". They paying 160.00 per 1000 Board ' for pallet grade up to 375.00 per 1000 Board ' for furniture grade. Anything is better than watching them burn up!

 

[Gypo Logger]

The first thing is to find out what scale they will be paying on and who pays the trucking. With 12" logs measured on the Doyle you will really be take a beating, so insist on the International or Shriebner log rule. Plus the logs must be cut for grade first then yeild to realize your best $. If you are selling city trees to the mill they will probably not pay more than pallet grade, but if you come across some nice Walnut you may want to do some marketing before you sell. Oak is not too popular these days so don't expect much unless you can sell them as timbers. Maple is still hot, but I suppose Maple may be out of your region.
To figure volume on the Doyle: (tip dia- 4 dived by 4) squared x L. Therefore a 12" tip x8' = 32 board feet.
John

 

[DDM]

Thanks Gypo, Since I'm getting paid to haul the wood out Even Pallet Grade is Still 100% better than watching it burn up. LOL

 

[RatliffLogging]

I cut about 3 months a year. I tend to market my logs to exporters and veneer buyers. I find that on my oak and hickory I can bust it for firewood and make more money on low grade sawlogs in my area. Also Exporters tend to pay 2-3 times what local mills pay for good logs. The need all the Hard Maple, Red Oak, White Oak, Walnut you can give. I get well over $3.00 ft for most of my walnut and maple. I get tons of cherry but a local veneer buyer I have takes everything I can get a hold of. He wants saw logs, 3 sided and 4sided logs. And he picks them up after the check clears. As for marketing you logs try taking to time to call all mills in a 300 mile range of you tell them what you cut and ask them if they would like to bid on logs in your landing. Take all bids the same day having all the buyer meet and bid the same day. This is hard to do but in Good hardwood it pays for itself in cash.... I am from KY and here I have lots of buyers in a 50 mile range of me. I haul special logs on a gooseneck trailer. NEVER UNLOAD WITHOUT PAYMENT IN FULL UNLESS YOU CAN RELOAD YOURSELF....LESSON LEARNED AS A YOUNGER MAN. And always let them know that you heat with wood and you don't mind busting them for firewood if the money is not right. You got something they need and your time is high dollar.

 

[DDM]

I own a tree service and I was burning up all the logs that i brought in. I Have a couple of 40+ 20- 30" White oak jobs coming up Which would be nice to sell instead of giving away for firewood or pushing up in a pile and burning. I'd be happy to get pallet prices for them.........

 

[RatliffLogging]

Oh I thought you were logging but your a tree serice....good luck getting money for yard logs....to many stray nails....

 

[Ryan Willock]

DDM, most people here in the south use the international scale for buying logs if they buy by the bdf. A lot of mills pay by the ton. Here's how they figure a 1,000bdf of different species.....

Oak weighs 6.5 tons to the thousand
Yellow pine 5.5 tons to the thousand
and poplar falls in the middle at 6 tons to the thousand

Thats the formula the mills in my area use.

 

[John Ellison]

My experience in this area has been that you can sell yard saw logs but you have to be very careful or you will pick up a nick name like "Hardware Harry" and then they will not want your logs. It sounds good that they approached you about it, so I guess they know that you are a tree service.
I think a metal detector is a must for yard trees, they probably wont pick up something small and in the center of the log but they catch metal where you don't see an indicator at all.
A thorough visual all around the trunk before it has been fell. This is where the m. detector comes in handy, sometimes the indicators arent metal.
Also helps to be able to talk to the landowner about possible metal. By looking at some places you can tell if there is likely to be stuff in the trees.

Here is a question for the hardwood cutters.. Metal stain seems to travel pretty far in the oak that I have cut, how about other types of hardwoods? It doesnt really travel in the pine around here.

John

 

[John Ellison]

In this part of the south it is the Doyle scale. You really take a beating if you have to scale small logs, luckily most mills (pine) buy by the ton. Small pine sawlogs here it is more like 7 ton per bushel. Large high quality logs we can ship to another mill and they scale them and pay almost twice what the other mills do.

John

 

[Ryan Willock]

John, metal stain travels a fair ways up our poplar but not far! Haven't seen it at all in our white pine or yellow pine.

 

[Gypo Logger]

It appears to be the tanin in the wood that causes the staining in reaction to the metal. Butternut, Oak and Hemlock seem to be high in tanin which is basicly a preservative. Sometimes it's more the bark than the wood that has the tanin, such as Hemlock and maybe Walnut. I know the walnuts themselves are loaded with tanin.
John

 

[056kid]

Get your self a good log rule.

 

[056kid]

Ask the customer if there are any nails in the trees being cut. Then look at the log for tell tail signs. And last never tell the mill that they are yard trees. However, dont take a nailed log to the mill, you will be causing some major grief! In VA we made a killing on free logs. Any ways there are usially nails in about the first 7 feet of the butt log. We got 6 18 foot logs out of a poplar for free, the bottom 3 could be passed of as butt logs which always bumps the value up a bit. We run a tree service and get lots of extra dough from saw logs.

 

[DDM]

Mostly What I'll be Taking in is More from clearing than Yard trees Ive taken down several that looked like pin cushions They must have been making desings on then with lights for christmas........... They will be scaling the logs they dont have a weigh scale on the yard....

 

[begleytree]

Good luck with it. I've found that its only worth my time to take logs to mill if its walnut or cherry. But then, I'm a tree service, not a logger, so I don't have a lot of log moving equipment laying around. I load with a JD tractor, with front bucket/forks onto a trailer.
I've a hardwood floor and cabinet place about 5 miles from me who pays fair for everything I bring, sometimes will throw in a gum or two they cut up for pallets, just to save me time cutting up and dumping.
I remember hauling 2 white oaks to mill a few years back, buttlogs, arrow straight, and no limbs at all, one butted at 24, the other 26", both 16 ft long, paid $75 for both.
For my time, I'd have made more cutting them 5ft long, stuffing them in the chipdump, and dumping them over the hill, with payroll and time involved. Same with firewood, for me, its just trading nickels, I loose on the job due to the extra time involved, and get paid for the wood, which gives it back, but doesn't pay for my time processing it. I can think of a lot better things to do with the family than feed a splitter all day. I'm saying that, for me, its cheaper not to fool with wood and logs. I make more doing tree work, thats why I'm doing that.
-Ralph

 

[DDM]

I Have plenty of room to store Logs in my lot Plus a Bobcat S-250 and grapple rake to load with and a 16' F-750 Dump to haul them. I guess I'll load them out to the mill on rainy days A coupl of $$$ Dollars on a day i wouldnt do anything else would be nice.

 

[dave1]

Hi guys this may seem like a strange Question but is there any value in cotton wood ? can it be used for pulp wood . what can you do with it. Thanks Dave1