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Help with pricing portble milling services

Started by gjgauthier, March 21, 2012, 09:53:50 PM

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gjgauthier

I'm working on my business plan for a portable milling operation and would like your advice on pricing methods and considerations.
1. Do you prefer by-the-hour or by-the-BF? Why? What is typically charged for each?
2. Is it common to have a separate setup charge or is it usually built into the cutting charge? 
3. If charging by the BF, how do you adjust for small diameter logs that are time consuming but yield low BF.
4. Do you alternate pricing methods based on the job? If so what drives the choice of the method?
5. Edging: Is this usually an included or separate charge?
6. What is the preferred method to charge for travel?
7. What is a reasonable throughput % to model assuming a one-man operation? For instance if my saw is rated at 500bf/hr I'm assuming that I'll actually mill 250bf/hr when I take into consideration loading/off-loading, etc.
8. I'm assuming there's a blade charge for metal damage. What's a typical rate for that?

Any advice on these topics or others around pricing I've neglected to ask is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
Timberking 2000, Logrite fetching arch. Woodmax chipper, Husqvarna 445, Stihl 041, Ford 335 tractor

Dan_Shade

welcome to the forestry forum!

I think sawing and offbearing yourself, you're probably looking at like 70-80 BF/hour unless you have a pretty sophisticated log deck and board removal setup.

If you are pulling boards by hand, it will take some time.

for specifics:

1.) I charge by the BF, for me its easier, and I charge based on scaled volume.  Many charge based on actual yield, for me this is a pain

2.) I have a minimum charge, and I do not have a specific setup charge.  If I have to move the mill, i include this in the estimate.

3.) Some sawyers charge a fee per large or small logs

4.) with experience you will learn if a job will take more time than another job.  I add this into my estimates.  An example of this is if the logs need moved, and how hard it will be to move them.

5.) I include edging in my estimate

6.) I charge by the mile, my rate includes vehicle costs and my time

7.) I think 250BF/hour is VERY optimistic I don't often get that when sawing with a helper

8.) I charge for damage blades, my charge includes the blade cost + time to change it

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

medic

The answer to most of your questions is - it depends on your particular circumstances.  This has come up multiple times before, you can use the search feature to see the other topics.  That said, here is how I usually do it. 
My primary niche market are the folks that only have a small number of logs to mill.  Most of them are not in the timber industry so I usually charge by the hour.  That is easier for the customer to relate to than 'X cents per bd ft'.  I do have a 2 hour minimum fee.  The rate in your area will vary.  You need to figure out what you need to charge to be able to turn a profit.  Also look at what the other sawyers in your area are charging.  You don't want to drastically undercut them.  These are the folks that can send business your way or help you out in a pinch.  Don't alienate them by using cut throat pricing.   
I don't charge a set up fee, however if I have to move and set up the mill in several different locations on the job site they do get billed my regular hourly rate for that. 
If the job site is further away than 30 miles I do charge a per mile travel fee. 
I do offer the customer a free site visit and estimate.  This gives the customer an idea of what to expect and lets me see what I'm getting into. 
I charge $10.00 for each blade damaged by foreign objects in the log and $25.00 for each blade that is broken on foreign objects in the log. 
Disregard the bd ft / hr rates that your mill manufacturer gives you.  Those are usually based on optimum conditions with an experienced sawyer.  You need to figure out about what YOUR bd ft / hr output is under normal conditions.  It will probably be significantly less than what the mill is rated at until you get a lot of experience.
Hope this helps.
scott   
Retired Paramedic, TimberKing 1400, Logrite cant hooks, old MacCullough chain saws.  Too many projects not enough hours in the day.

gjgauthier

Thanks guys for the solid advice. It's a long the lines of what I was thinking but it's good to get the confirmation from you. Also, thanks for the tip to look in the archives first. That hadn't crossed my mind.
Timberking 2000, Logrite fetching arch. Woodmax chipper, Husqvarna 445, Stihl 041, Ford 335 tractor

Magicman

There have been several threads within the past few weeks that addressed your questions rather well.  One was: "Portable Sawmill Business" Is It Worth Getting In To?
Another:     Average Bd/Ft per hour
And:         The best size syp to saw

I am not dodging your question, but there is much information in these and other threads.  Many responses are triggered by other responses and  may not be duplicated again.   
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

Brucer

Never forget the customer when you set your pricing structure. Try to put yourself in his/her shoes. What would you want to know about pricing is you were having some logs sawn?

First of all, you would probably want some kind of maximum figure -- certainly not an open-ended contract. Next, you would probably want to know if it would be cheaper just to buy lumber at the store. And you would probably want to know that you weren't getting taken to the cleaners (remember, you know you're a good, honest guy -- the customer doesn't).

Tom used to say, keep it simple. Too many calculations put the customer off. I took that to heart when I got started and kept to a simple structure (just like Tom's, only my numbers were higher) --
- $0.35 / BF
- $35 setup charge.
- $35 every time the blade hit metal.

I didn't want to charge by the hour at first because I didn't have a clue what my production rate would be. That meant at first that I was paying myself peanuts, but I figured that was just the cost of learning.

Now I charge by the hour. First thing I do is make sure we both understand the conditions -- is the customer going to help or provide a helper? What sizes does the customer expect me to saw? Does her or she plan to stand there and "make it up as I go along"? Once we're clear on that, I can give an estimate of how long the job will take.

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

customsawyer

One thing you have to remember is that there is no one set rule. You have to be flexible when dealing with new customers. They are going to have lots of questions and when you are first starting out so are you. You are lucky in that you have this site to come to with your questions. I charge by the bf for one main reason. I can make better that $100.00/hr this way but if you tell a customer that you want $100.00/hr they tend to think that you are putting it to them. My production is a bit higher but you have to keep in mind that I have lots of extra support equipment to achieve these production number. The thing that is going to help the most with higher production is experience and there is only one way to get this.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Peter Drouin

True, customsawyer if your good at it you can make a lot more money by the BF :D :D :D :D giddy-up ;D
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

gjgauthier

I want to say thanks again to everyone who pitched in with advice to my questions. There's no substitute for the many years of experience and the willingness of the members to help. I hope to return the favor some day. This is a great site.
Timberking 2000, Logrite fetching arch. Woodmax chipper, Husqvarna 445, Stihl 041, Ford 335 tractor

Misfit

Quote from: gjgauthier on March 22, 2012, 09:44:23 AM
There's no substitute for the many years of experience and the willingness of the members to help. I hope to return the favor some day. This is a great site.

gj - I can't offer up any advice because I'm a newbie like you, and mill-less at the moment. But I totally agree with your comments above. This is a true community with an incredible feeling of co-operation and helpfulness amongst the members. I too hope to return the favor some day.  8)
I am neither a Philopolemic Blatherskite nor a Bloviating, Sialoquent Blatteroon.

"Say nuthin and saw wood."

Jim_Rogers

Due to the price of gasoline going up, I recently revised my price list.
I charge more for shorter logs then 8', I charge more for small logs as they are harder to clamp, and produce low bf.
I charge by the BF unless I'm resawing salvage timbers then that's by the hour.
I charge more for logs longer than 16' which is my sawmill frame size. I bought a 6' bed extension but recently I only hook it up when I need it. This way my mill is ready to travel at an hour's notice.
If someone has long logs on site, and wants them milled up I charge extra to bring my bed extension over, set it up, and bring it back. As well as the extra long log fee.
I don't charge a set up fee.
I ask for a deposit at the end of the first day of milling. This deposit goes towards the final bill.
I usually drive over and look at the log pile first. And drop off an information package to the customer, when there.
This package evolves over time to include a sheet showing how to stack lumber. how to setup a sawmill yard pile of logs, how to measure your own logs and a sheet to write down the numbers so that I can do an estimate of lumber volume for costs.
A rate sheet and a list of questions to ask.
The questions I ask are:

Questions to ask Customers for Portable Sawmilling job:
What thickness do you want your lumber?...............................................................
What widths do you want your lumber?.....................................................................
Do you want lumber wider that twelve inches?.........................................................
All evens or odds ok?................................................................................................
What's the shortest piece of lumber do you want me to save?.................................
What's the width of the narrowest piece of lumber you want me to make?..................
Do you want the lumber quarter sawn?......................................................................
When I'm edging your lumber would you rather have a long narrow piece with no bark
on it or a shorter wider piece with some bark?.............................................................
Do you want me to scan every log for nails?..............................................................
If I hit a nail, do you want me to pull it, scan and continue? Or throw the log away?
....................................
Do you want me to make stickers for your lumber?...................................................
Do you want me to make blocks for your lumber?.....................................................
Where do you want me to put the slabs and edgings?...............................................
Where do you want me to put the sawdust?...............................................................
How are you going to haul away your lumber?..........................................................
Are there any special instructions you need to tell me?..............................................
Customer Name:............................................................Date:..........................

With these answers I get an idea what they want, and how to deal with their lumber as I make it for them.
I make sure I write down all their answers every time so that there isn't any questions while milling and they aren't there.

I charge extra for lumber wider then 12" as it takes longer to cut.
I charge extra for lumber narrower then 4" such as battens and stickers, as it takes more cuts, and therefore longer. If they want to pull some edgings out of the slab pile and cut their own stickers that's up to them to do.
I don't charge any extra for odd widths or even widths, but I explain that hardwoods usually aren't cut to even widths, like softwoods are.
I don't charge extra for the edging question, I just wanted to know what they want and with that answer I can understand how to scale the boards/planks.

I don't charge less for timbers. Moving a heavy timber off the mill on site is hard work. It takes longer then walking off a board or plank. Time is money.

I do charge extra mileage over 15 miles from the sawmill yard to pay for the time it takes to haul the mill to the site, one way the first day.
I do charge a fee for moving the mill to different locations in the same yard due to different log piles. This makes them organize their logs into a easy to process pile. If they are taking down some trees they will have to deal with moving these heavy logs somehow.

I don't try to figure a bf per hour. That's really doesn't matter to me.

I charge $35 for a damaged blade. And I have modified my rate sheet to say damaged by foreign objects and not just metal. As I had a job where I was hitting a lot of rocks and my rate sheet said metal. I didn't want someone to be able to throw that into my face when I charged them for blade damage and it didn't say rocks.
I figure that cost is enough to cover my time to change the blade, and sharpen it once myself. If it was damaged by a nail or other metal hardware in the log, and I have to spend time digging it out and rescanning it to be sure it is gone, then I charge for that time as an extra fee.
I carry a stop watch and I start it and stop it as needed to keep track of my extra time.
The day before yesterday, I sawed off a lag bolt.
I started my stop watch and then walked into the shop, got my bucket of pulling tools and my metal detector and walked back out to the log on top of the mill.
I chopped around the lag bolt until I could see it was a log bolt, clipped on my vice grips and turned it out. Scanned the log and made sure there weren't any others near it.

As I rolled the log over, and started again on a new face, I'd stop sawing, pick up the metal detector and check that side. Doing this on all four sides with pulling that lag, took 17 minutes. So I charged the customer for that time. There wasn't anything else in the log.

I know this is a long post, but I wanted to put it down for you.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Ga Mtn Man

Jim,

I think you should charge a fee for that post.   :D
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Bandmill Bandit

HI Jim

Would you mind sharing examples of the contents of your Customer information package?

Could we use the information sheets from your package for our operations?

Does any one have a simple 1 or 2 page a agreement that you use for your milling services?
 
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

red oaks lumber

heres my conversation with a customer for sawing
i say; what do you want sawed? 1" or 2" or what
customer says: i want 1" random width
i say: am i drying it or are you taking it home?
customer asks: do you dry ?
i say: yes .20 b.f.
customer says: ok dry it
i say: oh by the way if i hit metal its $25/blade
customer says:why would there be metal in that tree?
i say : its $25  and i dont know
that is all the info i need for the job i saw it and sticker as i'm sawing and from there its off to the pre dryer.
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

Jim_Rogers

red oak,
I wish my business could be that simple. But experience has told me that it can't be. I've had too many customers say "but you didn't tell me that was an extra charge, so why should I pay it.....?"
So I have put it all down on paper. If they choose to not read it that's up to them. But when they say this "but you didn't tell me that was an extra charge, so why should I pay it.....?" to me again, I can say, it's on the rate sheet and in the questions and answers page.
I hate having them push me for a deal, and then I have to chase them for my money.

The customer just left here with 900 bdft of quarter sawn red oak flooring, sawn the way he wanted it sawn, and he was happy with my service.

He used to have his own sawmill and he understands how hard work it is to do a good job. He paid me for the blade and time I spend pulling out the lag bolt he missed.

Bandmill Bandit:

Page one is a copy of my webpage first page.
I call it my promo page.
It lists all the services I provide and my contact information.

page two is the air drying sheet.
it shows a stack of lumber and has printed instructions how to make a simple base and how to put stickers in every row right over one another, over the supporting blocks and make a cover out of a sheet of corrugated metal roofing, which I don't recommend using with oak lumber. and weighing it down.

Page three is a sheet I made up a little while ago telling how to measure a log including the length and diameter so that it can be written down on page four the "customer log estimate page".

Page five is a drawing I made from looking at WM's sawmill set up info and it shows where to stack the logs, where the hitch end of the mill will be and where the lumber and slabs could be piled.

Page six is a set of questions used if I'm going to saw the logs on site.
Page seven is a similar list of questions (listed above) to use if I'm going to saw their logs here at my sawmill yard. Basically the same questions only they don't have to tell me where to stack the lumber, slabs or sawdust. But how they are going to haul it out so that I can plan on how to move it. Sometimes if I'm going to haul it with my trailer I stack it right onto the trailer off the mill.

Page eight is my rate sheet.

I have spend some time over the years developing this "customer information package" and these documents are in pdf format so that I can easily email them out to customers who find me using my web-page or woodfinder dot com.

Some of my rates are higher then other sawmills. But my rates are what I have to get.
There aren't many other sawmills close to me any more. Some burnt down, some went out of business.
If they want my service then they have to pay for it.

I used to not do any road jobs. And I would send all my road jobs to another FF member who I haven't heard from for a couple of years.

He told me about one horror story he did for a customer who contacted me as well.

It seems that this sawyer showed up with his mill without looking at the job. He didn't even bring a chain saw with him. He cut this guy's walnut logs the way he wanted them cut. This customer was a pizza cook, and he didn't know what he wanted or how his logs should be cut to get the best lumber out of them. (when I visited the site, there was some other guy there cutting up the slabs with a bow saw. This slab pile had lots of lumber in it that I would have saved and used).
This sawyer had a LT40 with remote controls. So he didn't walk with the head, he sat on a stool and ran the mill. He made the pizza cook carry away all the slab and lumber, as he was paid by the hour, and didn't care how long it took.
The pizza guy wanted the lumber stacked way in the back yard and would carry each piece cut way out back to stack it. The sawyer waited for him to return before he'd cut another piece. This continued until the sawyer finally suggested he stack them later on after he left.
Well shortly after that, there was a log in the pile that had a big branch sticking out of it and they couldn't roll it over. The pizza cook didn't have a chain saw, the sawyer didn't bring one. The cook had to go out and find someone with a chain saw and bring him back to make one cut to cut off the branch. This took 1 1/2 hours to do. The sawyer just sat there as he was paid by the hour.
Because this sawyer sawed the lumber the way the pizza cook wanted it, not the way it should have been cut, it bowed a lot from end to end. The pizza cook wanted the sawyer to replace all the bowed lumber with straight lumber cause he thought he sawed it wrong. I did see some of the lumber and a lot of it was thick and thin because the sawyer didn't roll the logs soon enough to release the stress in the log.
This pizza cook thought he was going to get rich with all this lumber and putting it in a container and shipping it back to his home land either Syria or Lebanon. He had no idea about what was going to need to be done in order to export lumber.

Well, that was with the first pile of logs this pizza cook bought.

He then bought another pile of walnut logs and wanted me to saw them up.
They were stacked downhill from his driveway and they were so huge I knew I couldn't roll them up the hill and onto my sawmill. They all showed stains from metal in them.
I passed on that job and I don't know if he ever got them sawn out or not.

As I mentioned I've tried to contact this sawyer again, to see if he's still in business or not. And I haven't been able to get a hold of him. He may have died for all I know.

But anyway, I've been doing lots of road jobs as times and tough and we have to do everything we can to stay in business. Road jobs that are one hour drive away are now nothing new to me.

I hope this helps you some.

Jim Rogers

PS another long post for sure.


Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

red oaks lumber

jim
maybe you have to many charges,after reading everything you charge for i'd be leary of having you saw for me.not knowing just what i'll be getting charged. just my opinion. :)
the thing i have learned dealing with people is this, keep it as simple as possible.
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

Jim_Rogers

red oak:
All charges are laid out in the rate sheet. there is no questions by anyone. there are no hidden charges this way.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Jim_Rogers

Ok, well I'm not going to post my rates but I will show you everything but those:

Custom Sawing Rate sheet for Sawmilling jobs:
Miscellaneous Hourly Rate is $xx per hour, examples in #3
1. The one day, one setup of mill, the rate is $xxx, minimum, for portable jobs.
The $xxx deposit is expected upon the completion of the first day of milling.
a. Moving the sawmill in same yard due to different log locations is $xx per move.
2. The rate for sawing standard lumber, such as 1" and 2", is $.xx per boardfoot of
lumber produced.
a. Lumber sawn thinner than 1" add $.xx per boardfoot.
b. Sawing narrow lumber 3" wide and less add $.xx per boardfoot.
(This includes Stickers and battens.)
c. Sawing lumber wider than 12" add $.xx per boardfoot. (This does not include 12"
wide lumber, but does 12 1/8" up to 24" wide.)
d. Minimum narrow end of log diameter is 8". Smaller logs add $.xx per boardfoot.
e. Minimum log length is 8' overall. Shorter lengths add $.xx per boardfoot.
f. Maximum log length (at mill yard) is 22'. Logs & beams longer than 16'6" add
$.xx per boardfoot. Maximum length on road jobs is 16'6".
g. Quarter sawing lumber add $.xx per boardfoot.
3. Blade Damage.
a. Damage to saw blade caused by foreign objects in logs is $35 per blade.
b. Scan fee for metal in logs by metal detector is $xx per hour.
c. Removing of metal from logs before or during sawing is $xx per hour.
d. Cutting up logs, to remove from sawmill or log pile (due to heavy concentration
of metal in logs) is $xx per hour.
e. Debarking logs to remove dirt and rocks whether frozen or not is $xx per hour.
4. Disposal of sawmill waste.
a. Disposal of log slab and board edgings is customers' responsibility.
b. Disposal of sawdust is customers' responsibility.
c. Disposal of logs with heavy concentration of hardware is customers'
responsibility.
d. Disposal of all other debris is customers' responsibility. Such as log ends, knot
trims, and barks chunks.
e. Minimum trucking charge for hauling off waste woods $xx.
5. Stacking and sticking lumber and other services.
a. Hauling lumber away from mill site for stacking is customers' responsibility.
b. Stacking and sticking lumber is customers' responsibility.
c. Additional log and lumber handling equipment is available for hire, by special
arrangement.
d. Mileage charges, $x.xx per mile after 10 miles from sawmill yard. Additional charges for overnight stays at motels due to long distance jobs will include motel fees and meals.
e. Long log milling up to 24' is available by special arrangement.
f. Storage fees for lumber in yard will begin 7 days after notice of completion of job.
g. The rate of $xx per week will be added to total job fee for storing lumber.
Prices subject to change without notice. Effective date: 2/11/12

I hope this has helped you to understand the way I operate my business. Some of you of course don't do it this way. And I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying this is the way I do it because of being burnt by customers who don't want to pay for my services and think that they should be getting some things that cost me money, for free.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Magicman

I use a Sawing Contract that is relatively simple and straightforward that works well for me.  A few items have changed slightly, but this is just an example anyway.

Sawing Contract LINK
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

Dan_Shade

I itemize things for my estimates, but I stopped providing that information to customers.  They get the bottom line now.

I think one thing that can be misunderstood on things like this is that customer expectations will change based upon your region.  In the Northeast, it is probably similar as it is here, and I do things very similar to what Jim Rogers does.  I would expect things to be done differently in the south or midwest.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Magicman

My pricing is fairly well flat.  One price per bf no matter what the thickness or length.  Sure, I make more cuts sawing 1" than 2" for the same money, but it balances out.  You just need to meet the demands of your particular sawing market.  Matter of fact, I have many customers that left other sawyers because of their complicated billing.  ERC is always sawed by hourly rate.  If they have other species to saw also, then it is all hourly rate, such as this Saturday's saw job will be.
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

Tom the Sawyer

gjgauthier,

I went through a similar process when I started a couple of years ago.  I have found a system that works in my area.  I normally charge by the board foot but do charge by the hour under certain circumstances (short, small, or special cuts).  My full fee structure is fully disclosed on my website - no surprises.  I think that having been a milling client for more than 25 years before getting my mill had something to do with that. 

You don't have to match the pricing of other sawyers in your area but you should be aware of what, and how, they charge.

Many members have their websites listed under their names on the left of the post.  My prices are on mine if you are interested in specifics.

Good luck, I've really enjoyed it and met a lot of great people!

07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

stumpy

I charge $65 per hour with a 5 hour minimum and $20 a blade if I hit metal. I don't charge a trip charge cause I don't get jobs that are more than 30 miles away. At this rate I'm not making any money.  I cover my business costs but no profit.  I basically do portable sawing as a service that hopefully drives other business. I would charge more per hour, but most of the sawing I do is discretionary.  In other words, the people don't have to have the logs sawed.  I have a few regular customers that I do what I refer to as commercial sawing, but they are in the minority.
Woodmizer LT30, NHL785 skidsteer, IH 444 tractor

pnyberg

Different strokes for different folks, and certainly for different markets.

As I've mentioned before, I charge a one way travel fee starting with the first mile (currently $1), an hourly labor charge (currently $60/hr) that starts when I begin to set up the mill and ends when the last board is off the mill, and a fee of $25 for every blade damaged by 'foreign objects'.  There are no other rules.

I am 99% mobile.

In general, I don't care if the customer provides help or not, though I have learned that it's good to ask enough questions to know if the customer is going to want slabs or beams cut, and won't be providing help.  This is not a good combination.

I visit customer sites in advance maybe 10% of the time, and always because they ask, not because I feel it necessary, and I will only do it if they are pretty close to home.  So far, I have never left a customer site without milling their logs.  I can't see how the time and cost of an extra trip to each site could be justified.

I can't imagine how someone could claim to run a portable sawmill business, and not carry a chainsaw with him on every job.  I carry two.

--Peter
No longer milling

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