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My first job

Started by Kingcha, January 09, 2013, 02:44:18 PM

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Kingcha

Well I was not planning on sawing for others my first year.    But an acquaintance/friend has 40+ acres of mixed hardwoods and wants at least 2000+bf milled to random width 1" thick.   He does not mind that I will be new to it all.(I am sure a reduced rate will be in order).
He has the means to bring the logs to me.

Oh yeah, I don't even have a mill yet.   I would say that is a good start.   
I hope to order and receive my mill by mid April. 

Any idea's on about how much it cost per hour to run a small mill?   A 10hp diesel including maintenance and blades.   

I figure for him I will either charge by bf or a very low hourly rate of labor+cost.   
I have already decided that if the sawdust bug bites me and I can find jobs I will charge hourly after I have learned to mill.   I will not be portable.

Thanks in advance
a Wood-mizer LT15 10hp Electric, 45hp Kioti tractor, electric smoker, wood-fired brick oven & yes a custom built Solar Kiln

beenthere

Kingcha
I wouldn't make any deals until AFTER you get your mill and do some sawing with it. THEN you will have the info to put together some fees that fit your time frame and pocketbook. Just sayin... why paint yourself into a possible corner?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Kingcha

The only thing I told him was a range.  If I go by BF I know he is willing to pay .30 per(mixed hard & soft wood).   I am not worried about giving him a good deal on my labor.  I will cut some of my own first but I do not think I will get that much experience before I saw his lumber as far as blades and maintenance.  I would think I might have a good idea on diesel by the time I get to his.   Just hoping to get some numbers from those with experience.
a Wood-mizer LT15 10hp Electric, 45hp Kioti tractor, electric smoker, wood-fired brick oven & yes a custom built Solar Kiln

Leigh Family Farm

There are a couple of threads on here about the costs per day to run a mill, gas consumption, and other things.  If he was willing to bring you logs and doesn't mind the inexperience, I would just charge him $12 per blade used, $5 per gallon of gas used, and maybe a few bucks for every hour you actually saw to cover your time. Also, if I was going this route, I would mention to him from the beginning that this reduced rate is a one time deal so he doesn't get the idea its your regular prices.
There are no problems; only solutions we haven't found yet.

isawlogs

 Blades is fairly easy to acount for, basickly the cost of them and what ever it is to get them sharpened. I would use the woodmizer resharp as you would always have really good blades to saw with. the cost of diesel for such a small motor would be about ten bucks a day at the most. With a manual mill you might be using two to three blades per day, if you use that, depending also on what you saw and how clean the bark is on the logs. You will learn quickly how  a little dirt dulls a blade fast, having clean logs is so much more fun to work with.  ;) You will also be using some lube for the blade, some use diesel, some use windsheild washer... Depends where your stand on the issue  ;D  I use windsheild washer it don't freeze and it has detergent to help get the sap off the blade. ( I also like the fact that you don't have to change in the garage before walking into the house)   ;D
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Kingcha

Thanks Kilgrosh.  I tried finding those threads with no luck.   I already told him It that I would not charge full rates "This Time" and he understands.   He also is interested in something more in the future where he fronts me logs if I can find a local market for the wood.  I have plenty of Pine but my hardwood will would be harder to get to with my tractor so I like the idea where we go 50/50 with him supplying the wood and I saw it.   As I type that I have no idea if that breakdown would work.  Time will tell when I learn cost and time frames in milling lumber.   He is like me in the sense that we are both retired and love to build things.   He wants lumber to build and I want a hobby to fill time and that generates some income.
a Wood-mizer LT15 10hp Electric, 45hp Kioti tractor, electric smoker, wood-fired brick oven & yes a custom built Solar Kiln

John Bartley

About 5 years ago I did a cost analysis on owning a mill, and included everything from basic maintenance and repairs, and depreciation of the mill and replacement of the motor once in the life of the mill. I was pretty brutal in my costing, figuring that if any surprises were coming I'd like them to be nice ones. My mill is pretty basic, a 25hp Kohler powered Champion manual mill. I calc'd that the hourly cost to run , repair and then replace the mill is about $25/hour. I added $35/hour to that cost figure as the income I'd like to get, and ended up with a billing amount of $60/hour.

Yes, I know that there are mills out there with probably twice the hours that I've budgeted for, but budgets should never be made based on hoping for good luck.

John
Kioti DK35HSE w/loader & forks
Champion 25hp band mill, 20' bed
Stihl MS361
Stihl 026

Kingcha

John what do your figures say for just  Blades, fuel, lube & maintenance per hour?

A breakdown for each would be nice if you have it.   

My reading suggest a blade last 2-4 hours for hardwoods and 4-8 hour soft woods.   Is that close.
a Wood-mizer LT15 10hp Electric, 45hp Kioti tractor, electric smoker, wood-fired brick oven & yes a custom built Solar Kiln

drobertson

the only thread now is getting your mill, and fighting the good fight, then you can stand on solid ground.
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

John Bartley

I don't have the spreadsheet any more. It was five years ago that I made it up. One of the things that I included in my spreadsheet was replacement cost of the mill broken down over 4000 hours, less an amount for depreciation recovery based on a sale of ??? (I forget how much) at the time of replacement. I also included an estimated income tax liability for the depreciation recovery - CRA always wants their share! I also included a motor replacement at 2000 hours. Yes, very conservative figures, but as I said .... better a happy surprise than the alternative. I also estimated a band sharpening every two hours for hardwood (50%) and 4 hours for softwood (50%) and then a replacement band after 5 sharpenings, for each one of the box of 10 bands that I started with. I estimated oil and filter changes at every 25 hours, with new air filters every 100 hours. I estimated band rollers at 500 hours, and head frame rollers at 1000 hours. I used suggested retail pricing as was current in 2008 for all the budget pricing, knowing that I can often get sales or discounts (a happy surprise) on repair parts.

John
Kioti DK35HSE w/loader & forks
Champion 25hp band mill, 20' bed
Stihl MS361
Stihl 026

mikeb1079

Quote2-4 hours for hardwoods

in my experience that's about right, at least for my mill.   :)
that's why you must play di drum...to blow the big guys mind!
homebuilt 16hp mill
99 wm superhydraulic w/42hp kubota

taylorsmissbeehaven

As long as there isnt a lag bolt from a hammick in the first log you cut >:( That will crush a blades life quick! Unfortunatley youll find out soon enough,Brian
Opportunity is missed by most because it shows up wearing bib overalls and looks like work.

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