urban sourced logs

[TravisMVL]

$14.00 per blade? where are you ordering from?
My blades cost $22.50 or so from Timberwolf, but I charge $50.00 per blade when I hit something in a customers log plus my time in digging out the metal. You really have to consider that once you put a fresh blade on a mill it should cut cut 600-800 board feet with it before taking it off (I run 13' 9" x 1-1/4" x 3/4 pitch x .045 with is small but thick for its size) and if it has to come off prematurely that is a loss on top of the damaged blade, and my time dealing with the issue must be charged to the customer because it's their material you are processing for them, it's not for your own good.
Once I pull out the metal I always return it to the client weither they request it or not so they cannot tell me that I'm making it up for an extra charge.

[woodmills1]

what I cut is urban

all tree service trees              unless they are my own woods trees....but not many of those since buying the blue OX

used to scan all with a detector, back in the lean days



but then what   discard the tree     hack the metal out   and find more with the blade



now I look at them real close for the telltale signs   then  have at em with a blade


win some   lose some

but sure get many many many nice sweet boards from the reject trees

[jayves922]

That's a decently huge wood you got there. And you've most probably learned quite a huge life lesson with your sawyer too. It is right that you must have been informed about it beforehand. What would be the best way to have done this better if you were in the same scenario twice?

[tomb]

Here is everything but the walnut, it is still in the kiln.  All totalled up I should wind up with 1250 board feet.
I am currently in the process of building more racks to hold everything.  Once those are finished I will treat all the lumber with Timbor before it goes into the racks.  Anything to help keep those darn bugs from getting into my lumber!

To sum up the whole experience with my five logs and my sawyer.
I need to ask the important questions before I deliver the logs to him. 
Questions like, how long before he can get to my logs?  Will he personally be milling my lumber?  Will he call me about delays or problems?

This is new territory for me, and I need to keep in mind that problems WILL happen while milling urban sourced lumber.   I also need to keep a open communication line while the whole process is happening, making a couple calls a month to keep updated.
So another lesson learned in the continuing growth of my woodworking business!

Thanks to everyone for your help along the way.  The roads been bumpy but I eventually got there.

[Okrafarmer]

$14.00 per blade? where are you ordering from?
My blades cost $22.50 or so from Timberwolf, but I charge $50.00 per blade when I hit something in a customers log plus my time in digging out the metal. You really have to consider that once you put a fresh blade on a mill it should cut cut 600-800 board feet with it before taking it off (I run 13' 9" x 1-1/4" x 3/4 pitch x .045 with is small but thick for its size) and if it has to come off prematurely that is a loss on top of the damaged blade, and my time dealing with the issue must be charged to the customer because it's their material you are processing for them, it's not for your own good.
Once I pull out the metal I always return it to the client weither they request it or not so they cannot tell me that I'm making it up for an extra charge.

I charge $10 for hitting a nail. It only costs $7 to sharpen a blade, and I can have it changed out in ten minutes. (they're still paying hourly for my time). I've never yet broken a blade. That would be $25. I've never hit metal in a custom log, either, only ones we saved to mill up.

[Okrafarmer]

     Years ago, I saw someone had written a book on milling urban trees, like that was a new idea.  Bandsaw blades are roughly 14.00 a blade, and worth the risk of hitting hardware.

Blue, do you know what the name of the book is?

And where do you get $14 blades?

I also risk hardware for a good log. Especially walnut.

[nomad]

     Okra, I think the book you're talking about is "Harvesting Urban Timber" by Sam Sherrill.  He's also got a website.

[Dave Tarheels]

Tomb == do you put the Timbor on wood that will sit for a period of time ? Is this precaution step you take ?  I'm curious the reason you use this product . I'm curious I haven't been sawing that long , just curious .

[tomb]

Hi Dave,
             I decided to start using this product when I made myself an entertainment center and wound up with powder post beetles.   Thankfully it was mine and not a customers project!
I do not kiln dry all my lumber so bugs were a concern.  I looked at a lot of products and found that Timbor was the most economical for me.  I usually buy it off of "Feebay" when I need it.  I have figured it out to cost me about .05 cents a board foot.
I started coating just my air dried lumber with it, but then decided to coat all my lumber.  Powder post and other critters can reinfest the lumber once its kiln dried.  I would rather air on the side of caution then have another project get chewed up by powder post.
Happy milling!
Tom

[Dave Tarheels]

I have a brother i law who is a bug guy and he said he's familiar with disodium octoborate tetrahydrate , and he also has a Bora-Care for direct wood anti-fungal termite preventative,  is this something your familiar with .  I just spoke with him in online chat for a minute so the details of these products I'm not familiar with. or the method .  thanks for the info Tom

[tomb]

Anything That contains borate will work for you.  The boracare was just more expensive for me, so I went with the Timbor.  Im not sure how you apply the boracare but the timbor is pretty easy.
You mix it in warm water and then spray it on all the surfaces of the wood.  Let it dry and stack and sticker the wood.
I like that it doesnt discolor the wood in any way.

[Ironwood]

Folks you can also buy straight Borate from your local farm store by the 80 lb bag. My local Agway ordered some bags in for me. Borate is a naturally ocuring salt mined (I think in California) , it is the "taste bad" part of both Timbor and Boracare. If you dont want to spend the money on the anti fungal, or the trade name just use the salt. Same deal, dilute and keep wetted as long as possible for better penetrtation, that is perhaps one of the only "other" things in those trade named products. Anti freeze in diluted amounts will also help in your home brew (although keep pets away when drying as it poison). FYI, YMMV (tour mileage may vary)

Ironwood

[WDH]

Reid,

I buy Solubor from the farm chemical supply place.  It is a fertilizer additive to supply boron, an important micro-nutrient.  If you Google Timbor and Solubor and read the label, they have the same active ingredient that supplies 20.5% boron.  However, Timbor is labeled for pesticide use while Solubor is labeled for Ag use.  There is no difference in their ability to deliver boron, but Timbor costs over 3 times more than Solubor. 

Is it Solubor that you are using, too?

[Ironwood]

WDH,

 No, it just says borate on the bag, think it is in a orange and brown bag.

Ironwood

[tomb]

Thanks Ironwood, I will check into it.
Tom

[WDH]

There is another Ag product called Beau-Ron.  I have used it before, too. 

I pay $48 for a 50# bag of Solubor.