Average Bd/Ft per hour

[cypresskayaksllc]

I havent had my mill for long but I think I get about 250 bd/ft per hour working by myself. Seems like my saws always waiting for me to work faster.  :D

[customsawyer]

This is a very loaded question. A lot depends on your set up and what you are cutting. I have 2 LT70s. The one that is set up stationary with log deck, extension, lots of dead roller tables and a diesel edger I can run better than 1500 bf per hour. On the other mill I mostly do portable work so if I am able to do 500 bf per hour I am happy.
Even though these two mills are very much the same and run by the same sawyer the bf per hour is very different.
I would not recommend anyone with a sawmill to try to compete with someone else on a bf per hour. I think that quality is much more important.

[Dan_Shade]

if I average 200 bf/hour, i'm pretty happy.  There are lots of variables that impact production.

[pnyberg]

I'm with Dan. 

With portable jobs productivity mostly depends on the customer.  What kind of milling site?  What kind of logs?  What kind of help?

When I keep track, I'm usually between 150 and 200 bdft per hour.  But I've been under 100 and well over 200 on different jobs. 

One thing I try to keep consistent, is that the customer sees that I'm working hard.

I'd say you're doing pretty well.

--Peter

[Magicman]

I have recently posted two different "road trip" saw jobs on here.  One reason was to point out the vast differences between the two jobs.  The last one took longer and I sawed half as much lumber, but both were good jobs.  Here are the links: Whack O Cypress  and More and Less Productive Jobs

Both threads got quite lengthy, but the input was informative and reflected several different sawyers viewpoints.

[cypresskayaksllc]

I dont think its a loaded question. Just an average. Not in consideration of your condition of sawing. Its not a competition ;D 

[Chuck White]

Like has already been said, depends on a lot of variables.

Type of logs, quality of help, weather, etc.

[WDH]

On my manual LT15, I am averaging a little over 100 BF/hour working mostly alone.

[customsawyer]

Cypress I wasn't trying to offend. I was stating that it is loaded with lots of variables.

[Brucer]

Over a season, 70 BF/hour.

That includes:

• Field trips to my log supplier.
• Talking to customers.
• Bucking logs to length.
• Staging logs.
• Sawing logs.
• Offloading timbers, slabs, and flitches.
• Bundling slabs.
• Feeding the edger.
• Loading customers.
• Doing maintenance on the mill, edger, and front-end-loader.
• Paperwork for Forestry.
• Dozens of other little chores that add up over the season.

[cypresskayaksllc]

I wasnt offended. I know there are a lot of variables. I was just curious what others were averaging. Really it was more of a survey

[zopi]

Log size, quality, how ell they are arranged, how many of them there are, how much help you uave...In my case...how hard I feel like working...

[ladylake]

 I like the how hard I feel like working line.    Steve

[zopi]

that log, will still be a log, manana...actually, I can really bust hump and crank out eight hundred or a thousand in four or five hours...pine or poplar...oak...f'rgeddaboudit. SLOW.   usually if I am mobile, I will not saw more than I can carry on the pickup in one go, along with all the crap that I haul with me.

[Bandmill Bandit]

There are so many variables that it is hard to put a accurate number on BF/hr.

Brucer probably has it about as close as you can get but am pretty sure his sawing time output is close to 500 or 600 an hour when you look at actual mill in the log running hours.

I know I do right around the 500 mark in 2"x6"/8" X 12'. If I am doing 1"x4"x12' flooring its at about 150 to 200bf saw in the log per hour.  I would say that ALL hours in, I average at about 50 to 60 bf and hour.   

[Okrafarmer]

When I am actually at the mill, and milling, (not maintenance), I do about 100 bf an hour with a manual mill. I could do better than that with better logs, better organization, or whatever. I like to take my time and mill stuff the best way possible, and I agonize a lot about the weird logs. If I had uniform pine logs to do, I am sure I could do over 200 bf/ hr.

[customsawyer]

Another big factor on production is the amount of support equipment you have. At the stationary mill I have a Cat 420DIT back-hoe loader and a Kawasaki 60Z front end loader. Both of these loaders have quick connect front ends, meaning that I can go from bucket to forks and never leave the seat. The logs are brought right to me and most of the time they are cut to length.
On the portable mill I always take my own tractor and if there is more than 2000 bf I will take a edger with me as well. All of these things add to production. Another big factor is what you are cutting. At the stationary mill I mostly cut big timbers, mainly 12"X12"X40'. These timbers add up fast as one of those timbers has 480 bf in it. I normally cut a little better than 2 timbers per hour. That is more than 960 bf/hr before you figure in the side lumber.  ;D
My BF numbers include start to finish of the job. This will include the moving of logs, lumber, slabs and even the time spent eating lunch.

[red oaks lumber]

for the heck of it today i kept track of my production. this morning saw 1" 10' pine i ave. 565 bf/hr
this afternoon sawing old doug fir telephone poles, 2"x6" i ave. 432 bf/hr.
i'm glad i dont have to saw full time to keep my shop busy cause, i dont like sawing.  ;)

[WDH]

Steve (Red Oaks), I sawed these this morning, so I was hot on your tail  :D.  I cut 118 ' in one hour  :-\.  I am broke and starving.  You big guys are my heroes ;D.  (Note: This was an old guy's logs that is a good friend or I would not have fooled with these logs.  The longest one was 6 feet  ).  A man has to do what a man has to do even if he is manual....  At least I was in the "pink" for a little while, so now I know what it is like to be a Cedarman  :P.  (Note to Richard:  Your business is safe, so don't worry  ).



 

[Magicman]

I have seen those logs before Danny, and that was the good pile.  I had to saw the others last week.   :-\

[cypresskayaksllc]

118 sounds real good for those logs.

[red oaks lumber]

wow danny      118/hr on those. i'm impressed
if you saw that come on up i have alot of custom jobs that look just like those (logs) :D heck if we would of had winter that would have ended up in the wood stove. ;D

[WDH]

That should have ended up in the wood stove  ;D.  But, you do what you need to do for people.

[Okrafarmer]

Unless I get my plans changed, which can happen quite easily, I'll be doing Ambrosia Red Maple today (ARM). I will try to keep track. I think there's only about 300 bf there and I bet it takes me at least 5 hours. But it's rough stuff. I may have to debark a lot of it (by hand) as the logs have been sitting around for over a year, and have gotten muddy. Hopefully spalting and growing better ambrosia.  ;D