New guy with some questions

[Joe.p]

Hey, I'm another new guy. I've been reading yalls posts for awhile now, and figured it was time to join in. I've run a mill for about three years on and off, and recently upgraded to a hydrolic mill(dont think i spelled that right). I kept getting into logs that were just to dadgum big and took too much time and effort on my other mill, so I took the plunge. anyway, I was hoping to get some insight from yall. I have a customer who claims to have enough big cedar logs to keep him busy for two years, and he wants me to saw them up on the halves. I've cut up cedar in the past, and I know what I could get into, so I told him to bring me a sample and we would go from there. My problem is that I don't need a buch of cedar lumber stacked up that i cant get rid of. I have to make money off the deal, and if i cant sell my half, whats the point. Does anyone have any ideas wher i could unload it, either lumber or cants. If the logs are as good as he says, they should cut out some pretty nice stuff, but wont know for sure till I see them, and I do't want to commit until I know I can sell my half. I cant afford to sit on it and wait for buyers, of sell a little here and a little there, and whenever i look on the internet, all i get is a headache. If anyone has any ideas, i would love to hear them. (this is eastern red cedar)

[Jasperfield]

Joe it's good to have you here.

I can't solve your dilema, but I'll comment about it.

If it was me, I'd do anything I could, within reason, to take advantage of your opportunity. Good cedar is valuable because it's rot & insect resistant. If the logs are good and you can make the time to saw, the market will repay you.

Here in the Southern Appalachians, for example, Eastern Red Cedar is all but nonexistent and it brings a pretty good price. This may give you a chance to extend your market search and marketing skills.

There is no reward without some risk, and to get what you've never had you'll have to do what you've never done.

[customsawyer]

First let me say welcome to the forum. Second I will say that you are in the same boat as most of us on here in that you can find logs and you can sawmill them it is the finding a buyer that is the hard part. When it comes to marketing all you can do is dig your heels in and do the work.

[5quarter]

Hi and welcome!

   If you saw on halves, divide the logs, not the lumber. Also, if it were me, I would pick out my half first and saw the rest for him.

best of luck,

Chet

[paul case]

welcome joe,
i am from northeast oklahoma so its good to have another okie on here. there are a few of us on already.
on the cedar deal i would feel out the deal also before commiting to anything big. serveral times a month i have folks come by my mill with talk of big logs and lots of them that for the most part never show up.
i did have a similiar deal about 1 year ago. they showed up with a picker truck,totally loaded. 12- 18' x 18'' to 20'' sed and a few shorter logs.all erc. best i ever have sawn to date.they left with a lot of 1x12's and 1x8 and 1x6 and i got to keep half the logs. still have a few of them,but i made my sawing back on the first 2 logs i sold the lumber from.
for sure divide the logs not the lumber. get the agreement made before the logs show up and make sure the other party is clear on the terms.


pc

[paul case]

 



erc makes some neat live edge paneling.   these were all small. none over 10''.  pc

[Magicman]

Welcome Joe.  As others have already stated, it's all about marketing.  If you decide to do the ½ thing, divide the logs first.  That way you can saw them on your own schedule, and produce the lumber that you have a sale for.

The customer made you the offer.  It's always your option to make a counter offer of say 60-40 since you are really the only one incurring expenses with no revenue in sight.  You have time, fuel, blades, and the capitol mill expense.

Storing  logs and lumber could also be an issue. 

I saw portable and only for money, but that's me. 

[r.man]

One thing about sawing on halves, one partner divides the logs into equal piles and the other partner chooses which pile he wants. Just like kids dividing something up. I suppose that it would work on other percentages but you would have to make more piles.

[Banjo picker]

ERC is worth a lot more in some places than it is in others...I normally would not cut on shares like the Magicman said  show me the money, but ERC of any size is hard to get in this area, and I would do it if the logs were nice...I have had dealings with the mythical 18 to 20 inch logs that only measure 10- 12 when they get to the mill...You need to see the logs...Tim

[paul case]

thats called shrink shipping tim.     pc

[Magicman]

Yup, I've had customer's describe 20" logs before.  Then when you get there they are 20" around.  :-\

[ely]

welcome to the site joe, from another se okie.
like they all have said, half the logs not the lumber. i also like the idea of one of you dividing and the other picking the pile of logs. keeps a man honest.

one thing to think about is with cedar around here, if you can at all afford to saw his half of the logs your logs will keep in the log form untill you need/know what you want to saw from them. i have tons of cedar at my mill waiting to be sawn. it never goes bad for me. after years of laying in a pile you may lose some sap wood.

also like they said have them bring you some logs to see first.

[Joe.p]

First, I want to thank everyone for the welcome.
I appreciate the input. I talked to the customer again today, and looked at some of his logs, since where he is cutting is not far from my mill. Yup, he has a bad case of the big eye. Turns out he was measuring around the tops, not across. Still afew good logs in there though, so I told him to bring me a load of the bigger stuff when he gets one together. Rate he was moving that could take awhile.

Have another question, don't want to start a bunch of new topics, so I'll add to this one.
How do yall cut hard logs. I mean logs that are green, but just hard. I've sawn post oak that didn't seem to matter what i did, I come out with wavy cuts. Its just hard. I've cut faster, slower, evrything I c an think of, but even with a new blade, some of the bigger logs still were a problem. What little pecan I've sawn made me hope I neven put another pecan log on the mill. Any ideas?

[paul case]

i didnt catch what brand mill you have?  is it spring tension or hydraulic. my thoughts are it has to be set up to track correctly. if it is then these are major factors for me to saw hard logs straight.
blade tension must be correct
a good sharp blade with a little extra set
go a little slower. its harder so a little slower will help. knots will cause problems slower will help
post oak is gummy and wants to build stuff up on the blade. a drop of diesel every 2 or 3 seconds on the blade will help.
narrower cuts can help as well.if you can rip off a cant and set it off to the side for later will help.
speed in the cut is the big thing though . my experience . yours may be different.  pc

[Joe.p]

I have a Woodmizer LT40. Its a new mill, I recently upgrded frm my LT40 manuel mill. Its trcking correctly,and I always keep an eye on my blade tension. Slowing down my feed rate helps, but the blade still seems to dive on some logs. I use woodmizers al purpose blades, and get along with them good on most logs. Should I maybe try diffent toothsets on harder logs?

[Magicman]

It may very well not be you or your mill.  Post oak (which is in the white oak family), white oak, & pecan are some of the hardest logs.  You could also add elm, & hickory.

4° blades are the "go to" blades when sawing those hard woods.  If you have the larger engines, many sawyers are have good luck with the new 7° blades.

[customsawyer]

Try turning your lube mizer on all the time not just little squirt now and then.