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What do you charge for surfacing lumber?

Started by WoodenHead, December 04, 2012, 06:14:41 PM

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WoodenHead

I sell lumber and most of the time customers want rough material.  However, I have had demand for 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 finished 4 sides or 1 x 10 board and batten planed one side.  I was wondering what people charge for surfacing lumber one side, two sides, three sides and four sides.  Do you charge by the linear foot?  Or by the hour?  I'm thinking mainly softwood, but I'd be interested in comments on hardwood as well.

red oaks lumber

i charge by the board foot, it dosent matter if its 1 side or 4 side  the price is the same, its still only one pass thru the planer.
softwoods is .16 cents per b.f.
hardwoods is .25 cents per b.f.
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

woodmills1

I get 60 or 70 an hour for custom work

planing or joint, rip and or mold

60 for what I think will be repeat customers and 70 for one timers

nails are extra
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

learner

Specialty work is better charged by the hour I believe.  Unless you factor in the time to move the boards(loading/un-loading etc.), it's far easier by the hour than having to calculate the board footage.
The Only time I would ever consider charging by the board foot is if drying services are requested.  In that case an hourly rate isn't acceptable.
WoodMizer LT40 Super Hydraulic, MF-300 FEL, Nissan Enduro 60 forklift, 2 Monkey Wards Power Kraft Radial arm saws, Rockwell series 22-200 planer, Prentiss 210 loader

scsmith42

I typically charge by the manhour ($65.00), but my standard prices for low volume (less than 100 bd ft) are:

Joint/planing (1 pass both sides) .40 bd ft
Wide boards (2 passes both sides) .50 bd ft.

SLR - first edge:  .15
SLR both edges:  .40

Anything non-standard (such as a slab) is based upon the actual time spent and has a $20.00 minimum.


I use an Oliver Strait-o-plane that joints and planes in one pass.  Firing up the Jointer/planer or Mattison SLR requires me to run the generator and large dust collection system, and it adds about 4 minutes to the overall process.

I don't feel that my labor rate is too high; if anything it is too low, as I am covering not only labor but generator fuel and all equipment maintenance out of the hourly charge.  A typical mechanics garage charges $80.00 - $95.00 around here, and I have at least as much invested in my operation as a garage does.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

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