Price on power pole sawn wood?

[justallan1]

I've been sawing a bunch of WRC power poles and the local lumberyard wants everything I've sawn so far and I'll be hauling it to town today. It's going to be a trial deal to see the want for it, and he told me yesterday that there's a couple folks building home/garden projects that want it right now. So what's it worth?
He's getting a flat $2.00 a board foot for wrc, but can't get any right now.
I understand I'm not getting that for sure, but I've never sold used/resurected lumber before either.
Thanks for any help.
Allan

[red oaks lumber]

the first question,what did you pay for the poles? that number needs to be taken into concideration.
the lumberyard is getting $2.00 / ft.? if they will take all you saw i would think if your price was maybe 20% less than what the yard sells for it would work out. if your costs are less than that.

[macpower]

My thought would be for you to set your price, relative to your costs and desired margin. His retail price would be derived from what his costs are. He may be selling WRC @ $2, but if he can't get product to sell his price is moot.

[drobertson]

Allan, I'm not sure what wrc sells for as green lumber, so what to charge for reclaimed wrc would be a big?? mark as well,  I was kinda thinking it would depend on the size of the board and length as well.  What you have in the poles to start with, and any waste that might come from defects is a factor in my view.  The comment on 20% less than retail should be reasonable in my view, if this makes you money, cut their profit accordingly if need be,  after all they are just peddling it your are doing the work, if there is a demand then I would say the price should reflect this.   Hope it works out for you,  david

[beenthere]

Could very well be that your re-sawn lumber is better quality than the wrc. But I too would suggest you sell yours at 20% less than the $2 retail of the wrc (which they cannot get now). Let the yard figure out what they retail it for after that. I'd assume they want happy customers that can get wood, not be told they cannot have it. Most who want something will not walk away, but will pay the price.
Likely your supply of poles is not unlimited, and you won't want to just give it away.
Make hay while the sun shines. 8)

[dgdrls]

Looks like the right time and place for you, Supply and demand rule.
Compute your cost of purchase, sawing/BF and hauling to town.
add in some profit for yourself,  see where you land per BF

He may be selling at $2/BF because he purchased a trainload of it
That is not your consideration here,

DGDrls

[scully]

Before I got my mill my buddy got  a load of powerline poles Oregon red cedar ! The lumber he sawed was fantastic ! I used it in the ceiling of my cabin planed 1 side . Around here you just don't see that kind of lumber ! 2.00$ BF is cheap IMHO ! Maybe an add in the paper is in order ! Get all the $ ! I feel that sometimes what a BF costs is irrellavent when it's a special type of wood and there is demand ,thats not to say I am right but rather when I saw something awsome I don't wanna just give it away .....

[Al_Smith]

The guy I had saw my last load of lumber is a lineman who has worked out of Detroit for years .He and his brothers got a huge supply of the butts of 90 footers WRC sawn down to 60s' and 70's .

They made enough to more than pay for a brand new WM mill plus some from that deal plus they all ended up with a scad of nice cedar lumber .

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Maybe you could get a premium for ."heritage" WRC.  Take a few small pieces to a laser carver that has the system with a copy machine where you can put a piece of paper with all the heritage info written on it and it will carve what is written, so the purchaser has something they can display proudly.

[Kansas]

Remember that he was most likely getting was a lumberyard 2x6. In other words, 1 1/2 x 5 1/2. See if that is what the size is. If it is, Figure it that way.

[justallan1]

Thanks guys.
My main question is how much, if any, difference in price is there between green lumber and reclaimed power poles.
I get the poles for free, but there aren't so many that it will be permanent thing. The big reason that I'm taking it to town is to show what kind of work I'm doing and get the word out. Anything much less than perfect is getting donated to the school woodshop.
Allan

[Al_Smith]

The stuff my friend sawed was nice stuff .Some of it they sawed about 3/8" thick for cedar closet linings and it had that nice cedar smell about it .It came out of that mill relatively smooth .Maybe one pass through  planer is all it needed .

[justallan1]

 

 
Woo Hoo! This little bit of what I was told to burn in my shop just paid off 1/15th of my entire sawmill project.
That's a good day in my world!
Allan

[francismilker]

I'm learning here............interesting.  I've got access to loads and loads of retired utility poles but they're not very large in diameter.  They're classified as Class 5-35'.  I'd guess the small end is approximately 7-8" in diameter.  I don't have any idea what type they would be but would definately be dry enough for using off the mill.  I've heard lots of people saw them up for trailer flooring.

[justallan1]

I'm pretty darn new at this also, Francis.
I got real lucky on this deal. The small ones we will be using for corral posts and fence posts, but these larger ones were bigger than our hole auger so I turned them into lumber.
The poles that I used are 20 years old and were singed in a fire.
If it weren't for the folks here I''m not sure that I would have figured out what they were even. :D and my plan was to use the wood for a shed for my 4-wheeler and riding mower.
Allan

[ND rancher]

Nice load you got there Allan.Did you cut to full dimension,or store bought size?I have some big cedar poles from a main line I hope to build a cabin with.Also have pine/fir ones to cut as well.Most are in the18"-25" size. Good job on tour first sale!    Keith

[justallan1]

Thanks Keith. I cut everything full demension, minus kerf. It sure makes me want to get out there, but this weather is something else.
How's calving going for you? I'm doing real good.
Allan

[Al_Smith]

On those class 5 poles they probabley are creosoted southern yellow pine .WRC I've never seen one that was treated ,no need to .

WRC they seem to use for those giants ,70's ,90's .Danged things are so heavy you can't plant one with a normal line truck .It takes a big fat deep hole to plant one too .I've drilled the holes but never set one except using a crane .

[justallan1]

It's kind of funny with these poles, the best part of them is that which was underground. Anything above ground is cracked or split so you have to work a bit more, but the price is right and I'm learning with every hour that spend sawing. There's a ground wire that runs the length of the pole and takes about 10 wraps around the bottom with 4 staples per loop. Yup, I'm making steps and blocks for a retainer wall out of them.
Allan

[drobertson]

I kinda figured you would run into the weather splits, all said this wood still seems to last forever,  hang on to the grounding, this might come in handy later in the future,

[Al_Smith]

That wire is known as a butt ground .The same goes for a fencepost ,treated or not .The part below ground stays nice but the part above goes to the dogs .

Well dogs do hike their leg on the post but that doesn't cause it to go bad .

I work with a guy who  had a bunch of Amishmen saw a couple trailers full of creosoted poles into two pieces .He used them for a horse corral .

As strong as good ole Doug built it it could have held a herd of buffalo .You just gotta know Doug ,everything strong as a battle ship .