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Are you busy with your mill or has the economy slowed you down?

Started by DR_Buck, November 22, 2009, 08:01:45 PM

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DR_Buck

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?
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Magicman

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.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

gemniii

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

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

Captain

Tom

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.  :D

paul case

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
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

bull

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

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.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

woodmills1

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
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Bibbyman

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.

Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Chuck White

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!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Dave Shepard

I'm tempted to re-wire our debarker alarm too. I'd like to use that wire somewhere other than on that alarm. 8) :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

nas

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
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

backwoods sawyer

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.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

paul case

no four guys standing around at the case mill. im not stiff but sore maybe :D :D the mill always seems to be gaining work. its ALL good lets make some more sawdust   pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

Brucer

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. 8) :D

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 ;D ;D.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

davemartin88

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

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. 8) :D

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 ;D ;D.


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!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Bibbyman

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.  smiley_old_guy
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Chuck White

I believe it's actually there to warn people on the other side of the mill that the debarker blade is turning.
I know it's easy to forget to turn it off too!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

metalspinner

QuoteI've never figured out why the alarm is on the debarker

It beeps so you look right at it to shoot your eye out.

Seriously, I need to wear hearing protection when off loading with the debarker running.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

bull


Norm

Yep duct taped mine right off the bat, with an electric mill it overpowered everything else I was trying to hear.

Magicman

I guess that my left thumb is so automatically programed to switch it on and off, that I see no need for an alarm.  BTW, the alarm was disconnected on my mill when I bought it, and I've never seen a reason to reconnect it....... :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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