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What do you do with your slabs?

Started by cutterboy, November 04, 2010, 05:37:41 PM

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cutterboy

 

            This is what I do
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

Captain

That is what I always intend to do but never happens...

Captain

ladylake

 Bundle them up and sell for $20 a bundle and burn some.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Busy Beaver Lumber

Bundle them in .75 cu/ft bundles and sell them

Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
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Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
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Twister Firewood Bundler
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Save a tree...eat a beaver!

Magicman

Very nice cutterboy.   Here in the deep South where wood is so abundant, transportation cost too high to move it North, and our Winters mild, much of it is left for termite food or this:


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

We use to burn wood cut from slabs in our stove.  But found they turn into a lot of ash.  Our stove does not have an ash cleanout so we have to let the fire burn about out before removing the ashes.  We've since learned that wood without bark produces far less ash.  So now we save back our cull cants and old blocking and lumber to cut up into firewood for our own use. 

We've had no problem selling the slabs to others.  We've only burned the edging pile one time this summer and never built up much of a reserve of slabs.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

paul case

i cut them into firewood size with a chainsaw a fork load at a time and pile them up inside. with the front end loader of course. and load them in a 16' grain truck and deliver them  for $120 dumped out. no hand handleing except for off the mill.  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

cutterboy

  Steve, how much wood is in one of your bundles?

Ladylake, how much do you get for one of those bundles and who do you sell them to?

Magicman, If that's hard wood that's a sad sight. There's enough wood there to go a long way toward heating a house for the winter. If that's pine, well I guess it's not too bad. I give my pine slabs to a man in town who makes maple syrup. He burns the slabs in his evaporator. He gives me a gallon every year. 8)

 Ralph

To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

PineNut

Sounds like a good deal to me, a gallon of syrup for getting rid of your trash.

I burn a lot of mine in the OWF. Works good when you can bring 8 ft slabs up on the FEL, chop them off and toss in without stacking.


ElectricAl

Linda and I custom saw NHLA Grade Lumber, do retail sales, and provide Kiln Services full time.

Cedarman

Slabs, edging strips and floor sweepings, down the belt through the hog and blown into the truck.  $43.00/ton FOB mill , their truck.
We use log cutoffs for our OWB to heat the break room and lumber drying room.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Magicman

Quote from: cutterboy on November 04, 2010, 07:38:53 PM
Magicman, If that's hard wood that's a sad sight.  If that's pine, well I guess it's not too bad.

That was pine cutterboy.  Easily over 75% of my sawing is pine.  Oak slabs are gobbled up by the customers.  Anytime I can get oak slabs, I carry them to my meat smoking man, Jerry.

He burns them in his big old smoker and shows up at my home several times a year with good stuff.



Jerry's meat smoker.



Sometimes Ribs, Brisket, Turkey, this time Boston Butt.

All threads are supposed to get around to food sooner or later.    digin1
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

kelLOGg

Burn the hardwood in the woodstove and pile the pine in sinkholes in the back of the property.
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

DR_Buck

Quote from: PineNut on November 04, 2010, 08:40:32 PM
I burn a lot of mine in the OWF. Works good when you can bring 8 ft slabs up on the FEL, chop them off and toss in without stacking.


That's what I do.  If I can lift it and it fits through the door of the outdoor furnace it's small enough.    ;)    Free Heat ! 8)
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

ladylake

 I get $20 a bundle mostly white oak  about 3/4 or a cord, about all my skid loader want to lift. One customer gets most of them, sometimes all. I get quite a few calls looking for slab wood so no trouble selling the rest. Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Ron Wenrich

We used to get $20/cord 25 years ago.  That's when we stopped selling them since we made more than we could sell.  Now we chip it and get $25/ton.  Sawdust is $20/ton, and bark goes for about $40/ton.  All to wholesalers. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Okrafarmer

We sell some of the slabs at high prices for turning blanks. The pine slabs get burned in big piles like Magicman does, and the hardwood slabs we eventually cut up and either burn ourselves or sell for firewood. We had a firewood clientele for two years before we got the sawmill.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

cutterboy

  I guess it depends a lot on how many slabs you produce and wether the logs are yours or belong to somebody else as to how you get rid of them.
  I just saw part time on a manual mill(Norwood) and most of the logs come from trees I log off my own land, so I own the slabs but am able to keep up with them by burning the hardwood in my wood stoves and giving the pine away. But you full timers and commercial saw mills have way too many slabs for that so wholesale them by grinding them into mulch or cutting them up and selling by the truck load or whatever.
  I find the logging-lumber-firewood business just fascinating. I am amazed at all the different ways you all conduct your business and the things you guys have figured out and invented to keep you going, making a little money and having fun doing it.

   I am impressed.  Ralph
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

cutterboy

BTW Magicman, I think you got a good thing going with your man Jerry. I never heard of Boston butt, but it sure looks good.

  Ralph
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

Magicman

Boston Butt is the center cut of the shoulder.  I don't know where the "butt" name comes from.  Maybe someone from Boston didn't know their "butt" from third base ???   Anyway, it's a very good pork roast to smoke.

And yes, I have a very good thing going with my man Jerry.  We ate his BBQ pork ribs in Colorado last week.   food6
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

metalspinner

QuoteWe sell some of the slabs at high prices for turning blanks.

Lately, I've been requesting the initial slabbing cut be a little heavier so I can turn some natural edged bowls from it.  I would also pay the sawyer for this as he would have to leave a board or two in the slab.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

red oaks lumber

we bundle our slabs 3/4 cord, sellthem softwood $20 hardwood $30 make around 500 bundles per year. always a waiting list. we sell the sawdust $25 per pickup load always have a waiting list. on the finish mill side, sell all the shavings for $1,600 per semi load waiting list on that as well. so it really does pay to sell the waste products.
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

r.man

From what I've seen, especially lately, if you have a byproduct you can't sell you are probably not looking in the right place for a buyer.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

Okrafarmer

Quote from: metalspinner on November 05, 2010, 06:01:14 PM
QuoteWe sell some of the slabs at high prices for turning blanks.

Lately, I've been requesting the initial slabbing cut be a little heavier so I can turn some natural edged bowls from it.  I would also pay the sawyer for this as he would have to leave a board or two in the slab.

Let me know if you're coming down this way and want to stop by. Also, I do go through TN from time to time on my way to KY. Let me know if there's anything you're looking for, and I won't overcharge ya!  :D
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Carpenter

        Right now, I just pile them up and wonder what to do with them.  I plan to  make some windbreaks, a customer asked about windbreak material and I told him if he wasn't to picky about it I'd just give him all the slabs and off cuts he wanted to pick up.  I'll cut a lot into firewood, I don't care so much about the ash our stove does have a clean out tray.  We have a park in town that has some false fronted buildings that have a log look because they used slabs that had been edged for siding.  And, I have had a request for a rustic log look on an interior wall and edged slabs would fit the bill for that.  Ofcourse, most of the time I box the heart so I don't get a lot of nice even slabs but, if a guy was taper sawing he might be able to make log siding.  Just a thought.

Okrafarmer

I wonder if there is some way to make bark-on slab siding, but treat it somehow so the bark stays on and bugs don't eat it? Well, probably there is no practical way.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Magicman

Some of this will be used for deer stand siding.  The rest for a bonfire.


Cedar, cypress, and some cherry slabs.
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

Buck

Around here, Handicrafters would run you down for that load Magic.
Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.

Live....like someone left the gate open

Magicman

Actually you are right.  It's a matter of getting hooked up with the Handcrafters.  The first load actually went to a local Florist. 

This one held scraps and thicker stuff to be used as siding.
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

redbeard

I had a fellow use some for raised garden beds and he claims that he never had any slugs (snails) get into his plants this year, He claims the bark and the rough surface detours them. We have alot of slugs in this area due to wet climate and come to think of it you dont see slugs in fir trees. So before you spend a fortune on slug bait you might want to look for a local sawmill and get some slabs there cheap!   
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

r.man

My thinking is that most sawyers slab as light as possible to minimize waste but if a heavier slab is a saleable product then a decision would have to be made. Is the heavy slab worth more than the low grade, fairly undesirable board that is lost in it plus the thin slab and if it is a problem getting rid of slabs should that be considered in the equation as well. I suppose that each situation and possibly species will produce its own unique answer but I also think that considering slabs a waste product because they always have been is a mistake. Things change. The people that change with them are innovators and those that don't are......gone.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

cutterboy

Quote from: r.man on November 06, 2010, 07:29:37 PM
I also think that considering slabs a waste product because they always have been is a mistake. Things change. The people that change with them are innovators and those that don't are......gone.

Very well said r.man, I couldn't agree with you more.  Ralph
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

campy

November is garlic planting time in TN, USA.

So I laid them about 6 inches apart and planted the garlic in between.

They will keep weeds down and moisture in.

Next wood chips over the spaces in the slabs.

Sawdust could be used too.

The fungi in the wood are good for the plants.




captain_crunch

M_Man
I can ship some to you if ya need some more ;D ;D
I cut what i can for kindlineg and give away the rest and burn what don't leave but seems a waste to see all them btus go up in smoke
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

Magicman

Maybe it would be better if we just forget the darn slabs, meet at the Big Texan Steakhouse, have a steak and wonder what all of the rich folks are doing.

As I said, all good threads eventually turn to good food.   food3
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

Okrafarmer

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Magicman

Or a couple of slabs of Jerry's ribs.   


Jerry's ribs.



More of Jerry's ribs.


OK, or even more of Jerry's ribs.  My kind of "slabs".    food6
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

paul case

those were ribs cooked by jerry werent they?

slabs for slabs sounds better than cash for clunkers to me. nothing goes to the crusher that way.  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

wannasaw

 Dog hunting camps like the pine slabs here for making a short lived hot fire in a barrel or truck rim, then it's off to the hunt at sun up without leaving an all day fire in camp. That could lead up to talking about food. 8)
LT28 70something Int'l Backhoe loader  Kubota L285, Husky 55, F-250 7.3, 12'x6' single axle trailer, Kubota RTV900 w/remote hyd. Iron will...

barbender

I burn mine in our OWB when the temps are mild, they disappear pretty quick. If I sawed daily with the woodmizer I'd never keep up with the slab pile though.
Too many irons in the fire

cutterboy

Quote from: campy on November 06, 2010, 10:46:27 PM
November is garlic planting time in TN, USA.

So I laid them about 6 inches apart and planted the garlic in between.

They will keep weeds down and moisture in.

Next wood chips over the spaces in the slabs.

Sawdust could be used too.

The fungi in the wood are good for the plants.





Hey Campy, That's a very interesting idea. I've mulched with hay and grass clippings and leaves and newspaper, but never with slabs. You've got me thinking. smiley_idea
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

cutterboy

Quote from: Okrafarmer on November 07, 2010, 09:08:25 AM
Anybody for a slab of bacon?

We wouldn't have trouble getting rid of that kind of slab. :D :D ;D

We wouldn't have trouble getting rid of a slab of Jerry's ribs either. Oh my my my my, they sure look good. Oh my my my my.
To underestimate old men and old machines is the folly of youth. Frank C.

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