Who sells to a mill?

[Stihl MS 390]

I run a small tree removal service on the side, a couple of weekends a month as needed. I feel like there is opportunity to sell some of the trunks to a mill, but I have not had much luck getting responses from the mills or even what could be expected for payment. I'm sure that my low volume might work against me when trying to deal with a bigger mill, but I am also flexible enough with a small operation that I could spend all day moving one trunk to the mill if the money would be worthwhile (greater than $500 per 16' section at 14" + diameter).

Has anybody else had luck selling small quantities to the mill? If so, what prices are you getting? I live on the north side of Atlanta and cut a lot of pine, red oak, white oak, magnolia, hickory, and elm.

Thanks,
Webb

 

[Mike Van]

Webb, I think what will work against you is the fact you're a tree service, and most tree services do yard trees. The big mills want nothing to do with logs that may have hardware. I run my own bandmill, I've got a can full of sawed off nails, hooks, etc from trees that 'looked' clean. For me it's a 20.00 blades maybe ruined, for the big boys though, it's shutdown time.

 

[toddstreeservic]

Your best bet might be to find some guys that have portable mills that might be interested in buying from you. Or a small mill.

 

[Bigus Termitius]

I've worked with a small Amish mill in the past. I think it all depends on where you harvested.

Yard trees can be a bad idea, but you might have better luck with grove trees or wind blocks and the like. Trees that have a low probability of hardware.

I didn't get much per estimated board foot, but it covered my fuel and time, and I run down and do business with the Amish anyway.

 

[deeker]

I own a Norwood LM2000, and a big 4wheeler with a log rite arch.

I end up with quite a few yard trees.

Love them. The HUGE downside is the :censored: tramp metal that the logs are supposed to be free of. As many a land owner has told me.
They are almost always wrong.

But get some fine wood, I don't normally buy yard trees for that reason.

However with some of the local cutters that are aware of what I want (size and specie) they keep me in logs. They call me and we look at the tree and location to any young boys with a hammer and nail.

The short answer is yes, I have bought logs. But not often. And they are away from most homes and buildings.

Contact the small mill guys, like me. Find out what they want, size and stuff.

Good luck

Kevin

 

[windthrown]

Around here the mills are not buying many logs from anyone, if at all. Many are running half shifts, or shut down. Demand here is near zero for saw logs. Also even if they were in full production, they only want specific species cut to a certain size, and they want volume. One and two trucks now and then are not going to fetch much and they have enough professional logging outfits to buy from most of the time. Also log prices are really low here right now, and its about the same for saw logs as pulp logs.

Pulp logs are a different story though. You may try a pulp mill and see if they are interested. They also seem to take anything and everything. All lengths and widths, skinny stuff and slash. Not a great price from them though, even at the higher prices seen lately. Also if you are cutting good firewood tree species, you can fetch a lot more from firewood than from the mill. I have friends that are not cutting anything but firewood here these days. Fine low taper Doug firs are being bucked up and split into firewood, becasue they can get more for firewood than from the mills for saw logs here. You can also run an ad for people wanting uncut truckloads of logs to cut into firewood themselves, and that way they tend to want one or two truckloads, so you can match what you get with buyers willing to pay for logs. I know logging truck drivers that take logs that the mills reject and the crappy stuff and sell them to people that cut them into firewood. It is fairly commong in the rural areas around here.

Also if you get exotic species, or woods used in furnature and cabinet building you can get a good price. Maple, ash, alder, etc. can fetch a good price. But you have to find someone interested in that type of raw logs that can cut them into boards and such. Also what the guy said about metal in the trees is an issue for mills. One nail and they are out a lot of teeth on their saws. Not good. Firewood cutters are far less likely to care about that kind of thing though. I bucked up a tree today that had a waterski rope growing out of it. Obviously there is a nail in there someplace, fully grown over by the tree over time. I tossed it out of the woodpile to use it as a wheel chalk (handy with the rope growing out of it).

 

[ropensaddle]

16+ 14" 500.00not one of ya caught that good luck pal.
I have cut 20 ton and barely scrapped up 6 or 700 and it was
number one grade logs. 500.00 for a log is gonna be a hard sell
for ya imo it better be walnut bound for China and even then
will need to be 40" full length grade log.

 

[windthrown]

Yah got me there, Rope!

I presumed he was talking a truckload of logs for that price...

 

[ropensaddle]

Yah got me there, Rope!

I presumed he was talking a truckload of logs for that price...

I heard that and you would be lucky to see that for your efforts.
However he said move a trunk not truck and he like many customers
I get calls from feel their is gold in trees I have had calls where they want me to cut their tree down and haul it and some even ask how much they
will get:hmm3grin2orange: This is when I say I will cut your tree for X haul it
for xx and you sell your own log:monkey: It takes an awesome tree around
here to come out with 100.00 and that would be grade pine. Some of these
folks just don't get it you would think they could tell something
from lumber price

 

[windthrown]

Heh heh heh. Sounds like Craigslist here. People around here have trees next to their houses that they want removed, 'for firewood'. Like, you show up and PAY THEM to cut their tree down, buck it up and haul it off. Oh, and you need to be insured/bonded, and they want references, and well, they wonder why no one calls and cuts their trees down. Or people call and give them a bid to cut them down and they get mad. But I thought that wood is worth more than GOLD!!!!

Doug fir logs at the mill here are $630/MBF for top grade peelers, and $475 for top grade saw logs. But that is for large proper cut logs with low taper that are straight. And considering the cost of about $220-250 per MBF to cut and haul the trees, and the cost of the land and stumpage, etc., there is not much to be made at the mill.

Red cedar is more like gold here these days. Upward of 1,000 per MBF for grade one saw logs. Northern Oregon log 'pond value' prices for the major species money trees at the mill, Q3, 2008:

http://oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/TIMBER_SALES/logP308.shtml

 

[ropensaddle]

Heh heh heh. Sounds like Craigslist here. People around here have trees next to their houses that they want removed, 'for firewood'. Like, you show up and PAY THEM to cut their tree down, buck it up and haul it off. Oh, and you need to be insured/bonded, and they want references, and well, they wonder why no one calls and cuts their trees down. Or people call and give them a bid to cut them down and they get mad. But I thought that wood is worth more than GOLD!!!!

Doug fir logs at the mill here are $630/MBF for top grade peelers, and $475 for top grade saw logs. But that is for large proper cut logs with low taper that are straight. And considering the cost of about $220-250 per MBF to cut and haul the trees, and the cost of the land and stumpage, etc., there is not much to be made at the mill.

Red cedar is more like gold here these days. Upward of 1,000 per MBF for grade one saw logs. Northern Oregon log 'pond value' prices for the major species money trees at the mill, Q3, 2008:

http://oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/TIMBER_SALES/logP308.shtml

+1 rep coming soon there is an old country tune about
saw mill work

 

[Bigus Termitius]

I own a Norwood LM2000, and a big 4wheeler with a log rite arch.

I end up with quite a few yard trees.

Love them. The HUGE downside is the :censored: tramp metal that the logs are supposed to be free of. As many a land owner has told me.
They are almost always wrong.

But get some fine wood, I don't normally buy yard trees for that reason.

However with some of the local cutters that are aware of what I want (size and specie) they keep me in logs. They call me and we look at the tree and location to any young boys with a hammer and nail.

The short answer is yes, I have bought logs. But not often. And they are away from most homes and buildings.

Contact the small mill guys, like me. Find out what they want, size and stuff.

Good luck

Kevin

Have you considered using a metal detector like this to pin point the metal before you cut?


http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=60705&catID=165

 

[Mike Van]

I use one most of the time, an old Whites Coinmaster. It works good, but not 'foolproof' at all. Saved a bunch of blades with it. That said, with metal in a log you wind up with boards with holes chopped in them from digging it out - Sometimes the stain from the metal will ruin several boards.

 

[rbtree]

Webb, I think what will work against you is the fact you're a tree service, and most tree services do yard trees. The big mills want nothing to do with logs that may have hardware. I run my own bandmill, I've got a can full of sawed off nails, hooks, etc from trees that 'looked' clean. For me it's a 20.00 blades maybe ruined, for the big boys though, it's shutdown time.

I've sent 3.5 long truck loads to local sort yards, just in the last 10 days. All yard trees. All my sources have metal detectors....and I've seldom had logs culled. These are large operations. They appreciate my business......

 

[rbtree]

go to woodweb and enter the log numbers in this calculator: http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_volume

$5 a board foot? Only if you have a figured or exceptional veneer log.

For a normal log, expect 30-60 pennies per bd foot.

 

[brisawyer]

When we buy yard trees $250 per mbf no matter what size or species. We use a metal detector and still hit stuff. If we hit something we dont pay for the log. We dont dig junk out it goes straight on the firewood pile. Had a local tree co try to sell logs with 2x6's nailed on it. He fussed when I took it to the firewood pile so all the logs went back on the truck. Dont get me wrong i like helping the tree guys but standing 3 feet fom a 48" circle saw hitting trash is scary and expensive.

 

[tomtrees58]

16+ 14" 500.00not one of ya caught that good luck pal.
I have cut 20 ton and barely scrapped up 6 or 700 and it was
number one grade logs. 500.00 for a log is gonna be a hard sell
for ya imo it better be walnut bound for China and even then
will need to be 40" full length grade log.

i did more then fire wood he he tom trees