Shingle pricing

[jason.weir]

Now that I've got the shingle mill running people are coming out of the woodwork wanting shingles sawn.

If I charge what my time is worth I'd be asking $160 a square.  Seems kinda steep to me. 

I enjoy running the mill and I'm not trying to make a living at this but don't want to give them away either.....

Any idea what a fair price for pine shingles would be..  I don't separate them by grade they are just mill run but I try to keep knots out of the bottom 4".

Thanks!
-Jason

BTW - anyone in the NH area - my mill will be at the Deerfield fair Sept 25th-28th.  Right now the plan is to run it for an hour or so every couple hours..

[beenthere]

Are you supplying the pine logs for these shingle orders?

Would think you should get what your time is worth .. as a minimum.

[Robert Long]

Hello Jason

I too have a shingle/lab sider, haven't used it this year at all because the big box store up here has western red cedar shingles on sale for $60 a square.

Robert

[bandmiller2]

Jason ,are you going to be at the fair all days or just the weekend??What are you using to power your mill now?Frank C.

[jason.weir]

beenthere - Right now I have a bunch of  pine I need to get rid of or it goes into the furnace - so I am supplying the pine.  I wouldn't mind giving the shingles away if I didn't have to get the logs out, work up the bolts and deal with the slabs & sawdust...  The sawing and edging I enjoy...

I don't plan on advertising shingles for sale as I have a 9-5 and this is just a weekend hobby, but I will saw for family, friends and friends of friends.  I just need to come up with a reasonable price.  Maybe diesel + beer money will work...

Frank..

I will be at the fair Thu - Sat, I can't make it Sunday...  Not sure whats going to power the mill.  I'm going as a guest of the East Coast Antique Tractor Club - they are supplying the power.  I just got the blade back from the saw shop and I can saw all day long without even working my 25HP JD.  The saw doc had never done a shingle blade so I gave him your advice - increase the hook angle and about half a tooth set - boy does the thing cut nice.  It will take a couple more sharpenings to get to the optimum hook angle you described but the way it cuts I don't need to mess with it much..

Yesterday I built this shingle packer.

24"x20" - 25 layers deep = 4 bundles to a square



It uses screen door hinges to hold it closed - and they hold themselves open as well



My first bundle..  a $30 poly strapping kit and its just like you buy at the store...



-J

[Jeff]

Jason, right now I am in big time Cedar shingle country. The eastern U.P.  The other night I ran into the owner of the Cedar Mill, Larry Lucy. (thats the name of the Business). I was asking him how things were going.  He has a circle mill, woodmizer, makes barns and log siding and lumber, paneling and other products.  A couple years ago he put in an olfd vintage commercial grade shingle mill obtained from an old mill in Cedarville.  When I asked him how that was going.  He shook his head wearily and said he hopes that end of the business stays slow as its Sooooo Labor intensive.  Not the sawing of the shingles, but the sorting and grading and trimming and sizing and packing and handling.

[jason.weir]

Thanks Jeff,

Definitely not something I'd want to have to rely on for a living but its a fun hobby. 

I think all said and done if I had the logs I could saw half a square an hour.  That would be everything from cutting the bolt to cleaning up the mess and packing the shingles.  Thats me alone and not working real hard.  I don't sort, grade or size them, just mill run right into the bundle.  None of this counts logging or maintenance costs - again just a hobby..

I saw clear cedar shingles at HD getting $200 a square - thats the time and labor you talked about showing up.  I think it has become a high end product, with all the labor to produce and that much again to install your seeing it more and more on just the high end houses.  Funny how things change - use to be that the poor folks had shingles because they were cheap...

-J

[Robert Long]

Jason

Nice looking bundle of shingles ;)

You don't get them at a big box store!!

Robert

[bandmiller2]

Jason,glad things worked out,I'am planning to come up to the fair you won't be hard to find.Years ago I had high hopes of turning a buck with the shingle mill,it didn't take long I made more money bailing hay and less work.I had a friend in a foundry make me some spare ratchet wheels ground off every outher notch.That made a thick butt 3/4"had a real pleasing effect on a building.Waiting to hear from your friend Paul,blade is a little over 34" I haven't measured it in 20 yrs.Shingle making works out well with logging the tops have about 16" between the nodes and are usally too small for logs.I've probibly said it before but I would let the shingle chunks [pine]dry out ,when the pitch turns white is about right.You don't want pitch all over your feed setup.Frank C.

[bandmiller2]

Jason, the real spoiler is when you can cut a cant on the sawmill and cut off nice square blocks production will peak.F.C.

[Captain]

Frank, do you still have your shingle mill??  I have been wanting a way to produce pine shingles for the small outbuildings I build for years.  A froe is too slow for me 

Captain

[bandmiller2]

Cappy,still have the mill and we can do that ,right now I'am real busy and will have to drag it out of the back of the shed.Last time it ran a steam turbine and 80# of steam were driving it.What saves much time and labor are cants cut into 16" chunks.Frank C.

[Captain]

Great!  No hurry Frank, just another thing to see on my tour of the sawmill build upcoming soon I hope....

Captain

[jason.weir]

Frank,

Do you know which day you plan to be there?  I'll send you my cell #...  Gimme a call if I'm not near the mill.

-J

[bandmiller2]

Jason got your message,probibly friday. thanks Frank C.

[bandmiller2]

Jason ,due to the impending rain will probibly be up to the fair thursday. Talked with Paul hes one of us,said he will stop by on one of his jaunts to NH. Frank C.

[jason.weir]

Frank,

I got to spend a couple hours with Paul a couple weeks back - definitely fits in around here..  Plus he's an engineer on the Mt Washington Cog Railway - how cool is that...

I should be at the fair till noon on Thursday hopefully I won't miss you..

-J