Author Topic: Are you busy with your mill or has the economy slowed you down? (Read 4440 times)

DR_Buck · « **on:** November 22, 2009, 08:01:45 pm »

Since the beginning of September my phone has been ringing off the hook for custom sawing jobs. I came home today to a another message that led to booking a 3500 bf sawing job.

October I did 7 different customers jobs and so far this month I've sawed 2 weekends at customer sites and 4 jobs where logs were delivered to me here at the farm. Thanksgiving weekend I plan on doing 2 customer jobs that have already been dropped off here. The kiln has a full load (2000 bf) in it and one waiting to go in.

This week I passed off a big job (big logs) to someone else because I just don't have the time.

If the economy is bad, it sure hasn't had an impact on my sawing business. My plan is to saw 1 or at most 2 weekends per month. I'm going to have to start saying no again.

Anyone else this busy?

Magicman · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2009, 08:24:38 pm »

Mine has remained steady. Looks like this will be my best year since I started sawing in '02. I don't saw on weekends unless the customer absolutely has no choice. I already have jobs booked for next year.

gemniii · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2009, 08:45:04 pm »

No full help on "business milling" but - Since you put your location as Northern Virginia I experience the same local economy when I'm local.
With the average US unemployment at 9.5% ours is under 5% (Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria).
http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&q=unemployment+rate+ch. So we are pretty well off.
However on my recent travels (Seattle, Nashville, Jackson (MS), Columbus (OH), Indianapolis, Alexandria (LA)) of trips (which were all 1 or two weeks on site) everyplace was suffering much more.

Things are picking up, but I'm not surprised you are being worked hard in a place that's barely suffering.

Captain · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2009, 08:46:30 pm »

ALMOST completetely dead ... I mean NOTHING going on here in the mill yard.

Captain

Tom · « **Reply #4 on:** November 22, 2009, 10:21:13 pm »

Nothing going on here either, but it's my fault. People keep calling and I keep declining. It's slowing down now, so maybe they are beginning to believe me.

paul case · « **Reply #5 on:** November 22, 2009, 10:37:55 pm »

here in ne ok ive got some business goin, not by any means booked up though. mine is all custom cutting and lumber orders. no cant or ties. my business is picking up from back in the summer.i think people do more with what they have when there is a slump in the economy. making lumber from your own logs saves money on many projects and anthig to save a buck helps."a penny saved is a penny earned" my butcher friend at seneca mo tells me that he has a few spots to get a beef in for me in feb of2010. he's booked and full plus deer now that gun season opened yesterday . things look good at the mill about $400 of orders waiting on me for this week. pc

bull · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:42:56 am »

last two weeks have been quite busy, everyone is coming out of the wood work finely thinking about winter......Did up a few *(homeowner)* logs from the ice storm 1000+ bf Oh what fun !!!
Will be milling today 2x12's and 2x8's for a small barn, critters need winter shelter.. Also had three nice oaks dropped off by a neighbor to be sawm 4/4 about 300bf....

backwoods sawyer · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2009, 10:06:11 am »

I hit on a new market this summer that carried me thru nicely, the horse people are still spending money. But this last month my typical customer base have been calling, fire season is over and the rains have started so the ground is going to soften up soon so they have a small window to get there milling done so I have been spending more time on the back side of the wood lots. Winter storms are starting to pick up so the yard trees are calling to.

woodmills1 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2009, 03:43:11 pm »

the last 3 months have been better than average for log pick ups and sales, thought the tree guys are all saying they are starting to slow down now

last 2 months were also better than average for sawing and quite good for me this late in the year

Bibbyman · « **Reply #9 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:28:56 pm »

We kept pretty busy from late spring to early fall. We never had much of a backlog of work and were never real sure if we had markets. Our local retail lumber sales dropped to near nothing as did custom sawing. We sawed mostly RR ties, cants, beams, and flooring lumber.

October was a bust. Record amounts of rain kept the loggers from bringing us logs that we could saw product that we had markets for. We probably only sawed a week total out of the month.

The rain stopped in early November and we had one good dry, warm week. We picked up some local custom sawing and a few good local lumber sales. But then rain came back and then deer season.

We sawed maybe a half a day last week. We sawed most all day today on one custom sawing job and one local lumber order. We’re done until we get another call.

Chuck White · « **Reply #10 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:45:15 pm »

We have been busy since the end of April through to around the 10th of Nov! We saw "mobile", and this season, we sawed just over 56,000 board feet!
Now the mill is parked in the back of my garage for the winter.
This gives me time to do some of the "preventive maintenance".

So far, other than the usual checking things over, I need to change out the engine "pivot" bushings, which means I'll have to lift the engine off it's mounting plate.
Then, little things like rewire the debarker alarm!

So far I have 5 sawjobs lined up for the Spring!

Dave Shepard · « **Reply #11 on:** November 23, 2009, 06:59:36 pm »

I'm tempted to re-wire our debarker alarm too. I'd like to use that wire somewhere other than on that alarm.

nas · « **Reply #12 on:** November 23, 2009, 08:28:08 pm »

I've been busy to very busy all year. It is my first year so I have nothing to compare it too. Most of the contractors I do work for have had steady work, and a couple of the ones I have talked to recently say things have gotten ridiculously busy the last couple of weeks. Looks like it will be a good winter

.

Nick

backwoods sawyer · « **Reply #13 on:** November 24, 2009, 10:36:15 pm »

Staying busy is easy. When I read this post my question was who is all stiff and sore from staying busy? I have the mill set up on a landing and the farmer has been bringing in a steady supply of fir and pine. He shipped out a semi fully loaded on Monday, on Tuesday he sent out a 28’ gooseneck equipment trailer load, and this morning he cleaned up the landing when he sent out another 28’ gooseneck equipment trailer load. He has a 4-man crew working so all I do is stand at the control panel. Just watching them boys work is making me all stiff and sore.

paul case · « **Reply #14 on:** November 24, 2009, 10:41:39 pm »

no four guys standing around at the case mill. im not stiff but sore maybe

the mill always seems to be gaining work. its ALL good lets make some more sawdust pc

Brucer · « **Reply #15 on:** November 25, 2009, 01:41:03 am »

Quote from: Dave Shepard on November 23, 2009, 06:59:36 pm

I'm tempted to re-wire our debarker alarm too. I'd like to use that wire somewhere other than on that alarm.

One set of insulated spade-type connectors, spliced into the red wire. Most of the time the alarm is unplugged. If there's strangers about, I plug it back in -- keeps them well back from the mill

.

davemartin88 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 25, 2009, 07:01:54 am »

Busy here lately as well, calls seem to pick up around the time school started back up and the weather cooled off a bit. Not more than I can handle yet but better!

Chuck White · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2009, 10:46:33 am »

Quote from: Brucer on November 25, 2009, 01:41:03 am

Quote from: Dave Shepard on November 23, 2009, 06:59:36 pm
I'm tempted to re-wire our debarker alarm too. I'd like to use that wire somewhere other than on that alarm.

One set of insulated spade-type connectors, spliced into the red wire. Most of the time the alarm is unplugged. If there's strangers about, I plug it back in -- keeps them well back from the mill .

When I hooked up the original debarker alarm, it didn't work, so, I went to the auto parts store and picked up a regular "back-up" alarm and mounted it on the debarker guard, hooked up the red wire to the red wire that powers the debarker and the black wire to the debarker "ground"!
Wouldn't work, so I called Wood-Mizer in Hanibal and was told that the circuitry was different than the regular debarker alarm!
The technician said that I would need to go to a better ground, so I grounded it to the bolt that holds the debarker guard on! Then the debarker alarm would only work "sometimes"!
So, now I think I'll just run the wires all the way to the derbarker power switch! That should fix it!

Magicman · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2009, 04:26:33 pm »

I've never figured out why the alarm is on the debarker.

Bibbyman · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2009, 05:07:03 pm »

Quote from: Magicman on November 25, 2009, 04:26:33 pm

I've never figured out why the alarm is on the debarker.

It's there so old about deaf and blind sawyers like me can tell it's running and shut it off when it's not needed.

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Author Topic: Are you busy with your mill or has the economy slowed you down? (Read 4440 times)