All that left over wood...

[thesawyerswife]

    My husband and I recently bought an Lt-15. We have been spending our weekends milling as many boards as we possibly can in the wee hours of daylight that we have before it gets dark. I've started to notice however that the part of our property where we mill at is becoming accumulated with "wood extras" (i'm sure there's a technical term for this, so you'll have to pardon my slang as my education is mainly in the medical feild). I am looking for some ideas on what to do with all these extra log sides etc. before our pile becomes a another a mountain in itself  ???

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

cut to 16 inches in length and sell as firewood. You can either sell it bulk, either delivered, or let them come and load it and haul it, or you can buy a firewood bundler and put a little extra effort into it and sell it as bundled firewood like we do. To date we have sold over 25,000 bundles.

What you see below is all sawmill cut-offs.

There are 800 bundles ( about 5 cords worth) on the white truck/ trailer combo
The Purple truck and trailer have a total load of 400 bundles



  

  

  

 

[Ianab]

Like the Beaver says, Firewood.

I assume you aren't burning wood yourself, otherwise the "problem" will just go away.

Is there a market locally for fire wood? Usually there is any place that gets cold. Bundled stuff like he is selling gets the best $$ because people only want small parcels for a "decorative" fireplace or campfires. Someone with a whole house wood boiler wants a truckload wood for the winter.

Family or neighbours use firewood? Tell em to just come and collect it.

If you don't want to mess with selling it, and can't find anyone wanting free firewood (unlikely), just stack it on the side of the road with a "Free Firewood" sign. Someone will soon stop and pick it up.

Ian

[slider]

Most of mine is pine so what i don't use myself or give away i just burn.

 

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, TheSawyersWife!

Lots of people around here use "slab-wood" as camp fire wood!

Most people won't burn Pine, Spruce, etc in the wood stove for home heating, but they will take it to camp.

The hard-woods are all good for the wood stove!

[customsawyer]

If you are the individual I think you are then don't worry about it, as Jamie has a plan. :D
If you are not who I think you are,  then make firewood.  ;D

[learner]

Brucer has what I think is an Excellent way of dealing with the leftovers. 
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,62424.0.html

Wellcome to the forum thesawyerswife.

[Woodsrover]

I really like the idea of bundling it and selling it.  There's a state campground a mile up the road that doesn't sell firewood.  The local general store sells it and I bet they get $5.00 a bundle or better.

I burn wood for heat and hot water in the house but have plenty of firewood.  What to do with these slabs.  I have three huge piles of slabs, two pine and one oak and other hardwoods...I could bundle it, load it in the back of the old Land Rover and drive through the campground selling it every evening.  $4.00 a bundle for pine, $6.00 a bundle for hardwood.  Hmmmm.  Already thinking about building a firewood bundler....  Just what I need, another project!   :D

[Slab Slicer]

I've been milling alot of Norway spruce lately, and ended up with the same issue. I cut all the slabs to 18" lengths, piled it at the end of the driveway, and marked it FREE. It was gone in a coulple of day. Probably 3 cords in all. There are alot of outdoor wood furnaces around here, and that's where it went. Campfires are another good use also. With the campground so close to you, you should have an easy time of disposing of it, and generating additional income to boot.

[customsawyer]

You could bundle it up and sell it out there on Hwy 17. ;D

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, thesawyerswife.   


 
I get rid of mine like this, but it is not very profitable.   ;D

[Okrafarmer]

Uh-oh, Magic, it looks like you leaned your "Free Wood" sign up against some living pine trees. I hope nobody got the wrong idea of which wood was free.  :D :D :D

[delvis]

We bundle ours 8-9 feet long x 3 feet in diameter and sell those bundles for $20.00  We lose money compared to what we could make but we have to consider the time we have and how much of it we want to spend on slabs versus making lumber.  I haven't been able to bring myself to pay what they want for a firewood bundle wrapper, but I think those are the way to go if you're going to make small bundles. 

This year time was short enough that I didn't get the usual 16 cord of firewood worked up for the winter heat and that got me to thinking as well.  An outdoor wood boiler will handle slabs just as well as it will hardwood firewood.  I could be heating my house with a lot less effort and almost no money outlay if I burned the 50-80 bundles of slabs we sell every year.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

You could expect to shell out about $2200 for a high quality firewood bundler with delivery costs and about another $400 to get your first decent shipment of plastic wrap.

But the paybacks can be big and rapid if you find the right customer who buys in volume or you have the right location where you can sell it on your own and make even more money.

We would charge about $2.85 a bundle delivered and stacked to our largest customer. What you see in the pic below is 800 bundles with a total value of $2280 headed his way. This customer then turned around and sold it for $5 a bundle making a $1720 profit per load. There were weekends alone that this customer sold over 500 bundles in a single day and over 800 in a single weekend. In a typical year he would take over 12000 bundles from us.



 

800 bundles would take us just about 8 hours to bundle with my wife running the bundler, me loading the wood trays to feed into the bundler, and a hired helper to load the trays in and stack the completed bundles on the trailer.

One word of caution though, this is a very cut throat business to be in and every changing State and Federal rules and regulations can create or destroy markets for you overnight. When we first started to sell to this state park, all firewood sold there had to be DNR certified, less than 20% moisture content, gypsy moth free, and they would not accept a stick of ash wood because of the ash bore. Being DNR certified and selling no ash and only dry, disease free wood, gave us a steady customer for over 3 years and well over 25,000 bundles sold to this one customer alone.

But alas, the state then changes rules and all of a sudden, campers could now bring in any wood they want, so long as it had no bark and had 1/2 of its sap wood removed, even ash, which had been piling up in the state for years since nobody wanted to touch it. You could not even give ash away during the time of quarentine  because nobody wanted the liability of dealing with it. Now that the state opened the flood gates, people gobbled up the free ash, took the bark off, and brought it into the parks and stopped buying the $5 a bundle wood there. Sales to this customer went down to about 1500 bundles a year as a result and he has told us he may not even offer wood for sale any more.

Likewise in bulk sales, during the ash borer epidemic, you could easily get $160 a cord for bulk, non ash firewood. Now that they can ship the ash because the state acknowledges they lost the battle in the northern part of the state of Indiana, you can find lots of tree surgeons and firewood places flooding the market with good burning ash for about $120 a cord or even less.

[drobertson]

sawyerswife, not sure just how many slabs you guys will pile up, but rest assured they do pile up pretty quick. I have some folks that use the straight uniform slabs for door fronts on chest of drawers.  It is a lil pain sorting but I just set another slab rack out for the good ones.  The bark will fall off soon enough and then it is up to the craftsman to do the rest.  As far as the rest, burn as you go if possible to keep things tidy, or as suggested, bundle and sell for any type of camp wood or fire wood.  The beauty of wmz mills and a close eye is the  heavy slabs are minimal not counting the ones that have major butt swell. One fellow out here still cooks with a wood cook stove and he and his wife pick up the smaller stuff for their use.   Good luck and welcome to the forum! Merry Christmas!  david

[thesawyerswife]

Thank you gentlemen for all the ideas. while we do burn on a woodstove here, we have more than enough firewood for a couple years and then some. drobertson, I love your ideas about incorperating it into furniture, as that is a huge part of what my husband does! I'm also amazed at the fire wood operation busy beaver has going on! As we typically get alot of out of stater campers, I can see how there'd be one heck of a market here for that in the campgrounds
   And dear uncle, you caught me ;) Jamie says he plans on throwing it into a firewood pile, but I just can't bear to see such pretty lumber go to waste... I'm going to try to find some creative ways to put it to work here around the farm. I can't get over how beautiful some of this wood is!
Thank you all again for the input! This is a wonderful resource to newbies like us!
Happy holiday!!!

[reride82]

We use the leftover slabs for wind breaks and patching corrals. I plan on using it for siding if I ever get a saw shed built...

[Peter Drouin]

all my cull and slabs go in the morbark :D

  

 

then sell them, the best part I dont pick them up no more,  john will :D :D :D :D :D

 

[thesawyerswife]

Big John always comes in handy for the heavy jobs!

[Sixacresand]

Several people said they want some slabs for rough construction or for a bonfire but so far no one has taken any.  Presently, I pile them up down in the woods and burn them on rainy days.  Do not forget to get a burning permit from the Forestry Service. 

[WDH]

I sell them on Craigslist for $10 a pick-up truck load.  They go fast. 

[redbeard]

Keep a eye out for those special knots on some of those slabs they make nice homes for our feathered friends..

  

 

[Ernie]

t it.

If you don't want to mess with selling it, and can't find anyone wanting free firewood (unlikely), just stack it on the side of the road with a "Free Firewood" sign. Someone will soon stop and pick it up.

Ian

It will disappear faster if the sign says firewood for sale it will get "stolen" overnight for sure.

[Magicman]

I am portable and seldom have to dispose of slabs.  I mostly saw um and leave um, but I have watched customers doing various things with slabs, like this;


 

[Chuck White]

I've seen that too, Lynn!

I have one particular customer that I've sawn for, for the last 5 years and the slab is still there!

Huge pile!

Problem is it's under the "high-tension" power line that feeds NY City!

When he asked me what I'd do, I suggested he get his brothers Cat dozer and push the piles out from under the power line and set fire to them in the middle of Winter when we have 3-4 feet of snow!

[Magicman]

Awww, where is your sense of adventure.  My mine immediately went a different direction.   

[eastberkshirecustoms]

Awww, where is your sense of adventure.  My mine immediately went a different direction.   

You hit the nail on the head MM! I do believe that is how most of us 'upstaters' feel about 'the city'.

BTW, welcome, thesawyerswife.

[WDH]

Don't go and burn down New York City.  That will stress them out  .

[customsawyer]

You could build goat fence. :D

[Okrafarmer]

You could build goat fence. :D

Building goat fence is kind of pointless!  ;D

[petefrom bearswamp]

I give  my Hemlock slabs to a neighbor, Hardwood I  sell with some success.
Chuck, be sure to tell him to burn on a very snowy day so the enviro police don't see it.
Open burning is now verboten in NY state.
I did my pile last winter and thought i was doing it on the sly, but a local forester (my son) passed by about 1/4 mile away and told me the smoke was very visible.
pete

[thecfarm]

Burning brush or slab is against the law in NY now????

[paul case]

If it heps smoke is harder to see after dark. I wouldnt say you should disobey the law of your state.

PC

[Okrafarmer]

If it heps smoke is harder to see after dark. I wouldnt say you should disobey the law of your state.

PC

That's why some of us move to other states.  ;)

[Chuck White]

I believe that burning wood, branches, brush, etc is ok, but no trash like cardboard, papers, etc!

Who knows, it sometimes changes without notice!

[shelbycharger400]

when Its dark with no moolight, or heavy fog days things happen  :D :D

[WH_Conley]

Ky has a no burn rule for disposing of sawmill waste. You can have a fire for a family gathering or among friends. Just drop a few soda cans around til it has burned out. Oh, get the kids a really long hot roasting stick. :D

[eastberkshirecustoms]

I believe that burning wood, branches, brush, etc is ok, but no trash like cardboard, papers, etc!

Who knows, it sometimes changes without notice!

Chuck, it has to be 3" or under in diameter and no leaves. How that equates to slabs- who knows? Celebratory bonfires are OK as long as they are monitored. Like stated above, just break out the beverages of choice and a pack of wieners, and you are golden.

[Cypress Sam]

Arkansas dept of polution control and ecology came to visit me.  After sawing slabs are considered industrial wast and cannot be burned!!

[Okrafarmer]

Arkansas dept of polution control and ecology came to visit me.  After sawing slabs are considered industrial wast and cannot be burned!!

Arkansas? I thought they would be better than that!  >:(

[paul case]

That is interesting. How can wood  such as slabs be in a different class (like being called industrial waste) just by it being cut off the log, but almost everywhere in this great land there are people who cut firewood and sell it where ever and however they want.

I guess it is all in how you cut it.

PC

[isawlogs]

  After sawing slabs are considered industrial wast and cannot be burned!!

   So its ok to burn a round or split peice of wood, but if it is a slab cut on a mill its industrial waste.. Who thought this one through   :-\ 

Paul ya beat me to it ...  :D

[Okrafarmer]

 :( Must be due to all that blade lube!

[Nomad]

Arkansas dept of polution control and ecology came to visit me.  After sawing slabs are considered industrial wast and cannot be burned!!

     Did you ask him what genius dreamed up that bright idea?

[SwampDonkey]

My neighbor has a LT40 I think and he stacks his slabs in the yard with the tractor and a couple of his close by neighbors with outdoor furnaces come get some slabs by late winter. It's white cedar, so it burns fast. Leftovers are burned in the spring. The guy with the mill uses electric heat. Now if it were me or most fellas on here, I know what I'd do. But then again these guys will skid wood down the paved road with a tractor. Any of you guys allowed to use the paved road as a skid trail? And I mean 2 miles, not just crossing the road. ;D :D

[Magicman]

 :D  I once skidded two utility poles across town behind my Ford Bronco.  Maybe the right wrong person just did not see me.   ;D  I figured that they could not come up with a law that was being broken, but I would never try that stunt now.

[SwampDonkey]

I was just up to where they have been playing with the tractor on a piece of their land, cutting wood. They have to use my cousin's road to access it. Counted the rings on the fir that were 18-20". Most logs are chalk white. The ring count was 50 years on the but. The rings from 20-40 years average 1 cm, so 3/4" a year in growth in those years. It's probably been close to 30 years since the last cut. I think  they must be going to use the Mizer on the logs because they are cutting them 8-10'. That would seriously drop their value as logs at a commercial softwood mill. We always cut logs as long as we could for the better $$bucks, in 2 foot increments after 12 foot. Meaning if the log went to 19' to the min top, it had to be cut 18'.

[petefrom bearswamp]

East Berkshire, When I read the regs my interpretation of our reg is fires need to be 3' or less in diameter excepting "ceremonial" bonfires, I guess to allow the Native Americans to have large ones.
I have 129 acres, so i guess I'll just pile the stuff I can't get rid of in various places and allow it to decompose over time.
Pete

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

or just beat them at their own game and make a burn barrel of 3' feet in diameter and about 5 feet tall, cut the flitch in half and chuck it in.

[r.man]

Ridiculous laws and rules should be ignored, or at least circumvented. There are generally loopholes that can be used to do this. Always read the actual text with this in mind and something generally pops out.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

This is an interesting thread. I am not aware of the laws in my area, pobably should be. It is raining here today so I am headed out to burn a large pile. I hope not to see any federalies!! Brian

[pineywoods]

Arkansas dept of polution control and ecology came to visit me.  After sawing slabs are considered industrial wast and cannot be burned!!

Nobody ever accused them arkansas bureaucrats of being overly bright...Just cut the slabs into shorter lengths, then they are firewood, no longer slabs... ;D

[beenthere]

A previous thread touches on some of the same problems with governing bodies of various kinds thinking they need to be involved in they offall from a sawing operation.

You may find this thread of interest.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,31036.0.html

ElectricAl's input at post #49 is one in particular.

[SwampDonkey]

The sawmills up here used to have burners that looked like an upside down ice cream cone. It was mostly for getting rid of sawdust. I don't think it was regulation on burning that ended the era of sawdust burning in mill yards. I tend to believe it was utilization standards of every spec of wood that was brought from public forests. Any commercial mill up here depends on public timber, and in the 80's the government instituted total utilization, including sawdust. It became a saviour for most of these mills actually because they had another revenue stream for the sawdust and the hog fuel. This was apparent how dependent they have become when pulp demand and pulp markets dropped from closed pulp mills. Some sawmills had to shut down because the sawdust revenues died. Some mills used or still use the hog fuel themselves and was/are selling the ashes for farms. Nothing was given away.

[captain_crunch]

The DEQ got the wigwam burners around here. Lots of rules about burning Logging slash but Ifn you call it agricutral debris (as in land clearing) they don't know what to do with you and ask you not to burn unless it is a burn day ??? ??? ???

[reride82]

Happt Birthday Captain!

Levi

[Magicman]

Happy Birthday Captain.   

[Bogue Chitto]

I make a small fire then add the slabs on the fire as I cut.  When the fire gets hot then the saw dust goes on. The saw dust will burn for days even in the rain.

[beenthere]

I don't think it was regulation on burning that ended the era of sawdust burning in mill yards.

SD
It was the smoke in the valley's and the enviros that was the demise of the teepee burners, I'm quite sure. And near everything went up the elevator to the teepee to burn.
The regulators took them down, not an overt interest in utilizing all but the squeal. ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Couldn't be that here, as with all the smoke from houses didn't change anything. We don't have EPA here. All I gotta do is look across the road... EPA. :D No as I said in the mid 80's they told the licenses they had to use it all. If you recall it was tough recession years then to. And it was also then that tree planting and thinning became more intense because of large tracts of clear cuts and jobs lost in the sector. They knew we were heading for a wood shortage, too much capacity. Kept right on as usual and over time kept increasing AAC. But the silviculture didn't start soon enough. Mechanization in the woods was beginning to take of then. Many loggers (skidder/chainsaw) or company men ended up either doing silviculture, mostly thinning, or left for other part of the country. There are still some of those old throw backs with one company here that are union men and they stuck it out even when there was no job full time. I don't know how. Wives must be teachers and nurses I guess. But anyway they called a bunch back beginning a couple years ago to go thinning under the union. They know if they quit the union they will not get back on with the company. They get all the best ground to.

[Warren]

I am looking for some ideas on what to do with all these extra log sides etc. before our pile becomes a another a mountain in itself  ???

As most folks stated, selling as firewood is the leading candidate for slab and edging disposal.  If you choose to go this route, one thing to keep in mind is how to bundle or package the slabs.  When I first started out, I cut all of my slabs into 16" sections and dumped into two 12 ft bents in my barn.  I sold the firewood by the pickup truck load with folks loading their own wood.  What I found was that given free choice, they would "high grade" and pick out all of the larger pieces.  After a while, all that were left were the smaller, less attractive, harder to sell pieces.  Now, I either sell a 1/2 cord bundle 8+ ft in length ($15 each), or, I cut 16" pieces plus odds and ends into 1 cord baskets ($50 each).  When folks pay for the "full basket", they tend to take everything in the basket, long or short, because "they payed for everything in the basket". 

Also as mentioned above, you need to be aware of the laws in your state. When the EAB originally hit N.KY, we were not allowed to move any firewood (Ash or no Ash) out of the county.  However, any non Ash wood products longer than 48" were not considered firewood.  So, precut firewood was a "no no", but, 8 ft bundles of all oak slabs were O.K.  And yes, the laws change from year to year.  Check with your local Extension Office to see if they have information on the current regs, or contact info.

[captain_crunch]

Thanks to all for BD wishes
Brian