How do you really make a living?

[ppeterson]

To everyone:

I have posted on the FF now for a couple of weeks and feel like I have met all of you in person. It appears like you have your own way of conducting business. Only similarity is, most of you own bandmills, with the exception of a couple of circle saw mills.

I have digested comments from all who responded to my posts, with great interest I might add, but I was wondering:
How do you really make your living???

Is it with your mill, or is that a hobby?

It is not that I really care or mind, I am just trying to get to know you a little better.
Please elaborate a little, mabey some of your friends here will learn more about you as well.
I will participate as well.

Your newest admirer,
ppeterson

[steveo_1]

Hey ppete i have a full time job and only saw part time, but trying to get some more business so i can go full time sawing and maybe a part time job,i hate punching a clock :(

[Stan]

I am drawing a pension from a former life.  8) 8) 8)

[Bibbyman]

Our mill operation got to be past serious part time a couple of years ago.  Mary has taken over sawing, log buying, and about everything else except some of material handling and maintenance – I still get stuck with that.  

The mill operation IS Mary's fulltime job and provides a fulltime wage.  I still have my day job – mostly because I've got too much invested in it to walk away at this time.  It also provides insurance benefits, etc.

[EZ]

I have been at the shop for 26 years, the first 12 I was laid off more than I work, so I made my mind up years ago that I would never depend on the clock for full time. For years I did the construction thing part time, but being this is Yoder country I couldnt make it working for 12 cents an hour. :D I've been doing the band sawing for about 5 years now,part time. Really enjoy it and make more than 12 cents an hour.
EZ

[Ron Wenrich]

I sub contract out as a circle mill sawyer.  Full time.  I also have contracted out as a forester and in mill management.  30+ years of experience in hardwoods helps.

[crtreedude]

I will be using portable sawmills so that harvesting trees on our plantation in Costa Rica will not be destroying the land. I guess my real business is growing trees, and the sawmill is so that I get the processing profit.

Since I don't have to go and get trees, but have my own, it allows me more control of the processing of the lumber as well as gives me a higher profit margin on what I sell.

[Corley5]

I work for the Michigan DNR's Wildlife Div as a Wildlife Management Assistant.  Sawing's a hobby but maybe someday

[Swing_blade_Andy]

I contract sawmilling services for about 1/3 of my income. The next 1/3 is equipment and machine sales, and the remaining third is from timber sales, there was another 1/3 which was tree surgery but that adds up to be a tough working week in anyone's language. Something had to get the chop - it was tree surgery.

Anyway, the latter two are taking over the first steadily but surely. I only work with hardwoods, the higher value the better.

There's no profit in softwood in Europe.

Andrew

[Rod]

somemes I will build a house and sale it,or find a rundown house and fix it up and sale it.I bought a 300 ac of cut over timberland from a logger in the early 90's.I bought a sawmill not to long ago so I could cut some of the trees of the land to use in my building, and to cut out the middle man (Lowe's) :)I started being a builder in 1968 when I bought my first rundown overgrown farm with a rundown farm house.out in conntry.A few years ago I drove by the old farm and now the country is more like a city.,houses every were.

[Frank_Pender]

Retired educator here.  I tought 7th graders, Social Studies, English and Literature for 30 years.  Retired from teaching 4 years ago.  Oregon publice employes, up until a couple years ago had a great retirement program.  the salaries were not always that great but the benefits and retirement was pretty good.  
 Purchased my first Mobile Dimension mill about 15 years ago.  I have purchased 2 more since and recently sold the first a month ago to some fellas in California.  I married a 70 acre timber farm 25 years ago, so I have most all of the Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Oak and Maple I would want.  I cut very little of my own timber unless absolutely necessary.
 I have been in the timber and lumber industry all of my life.  My father use to purchase the total output of 23 sawemills here in Oregon and market the majority to the East Coast area.  He also operated a retail lumber company for some 25 years or so, before retireing.  
I do a great deal of consulting for people; helping with their forest lands.  I recently took on the management of 320 acres of reforested land here in the Willamette Valley.   It has been a new kind of activity for me as I have never really wanted to charge a fee for helping people and their needs with forestry issues.
With the advent of such high prices for fuel, I am beginning to change some of my habits of not charging a small fee for going over 20 miles from the farm, as I only get about 10mpg with my F450 :'(  

[dmcc]

I've been a full time career firefighter for 15 years and saw part time. You'd be surprised how much work I get just from the firemen I work with. My only "paper" advertising is business cards. My main sawmill goal (at the moment) is to make enough sawing to justify the mill, and keep me home more, until we can buy some land and build a home with our own lumber. Hopefully then I can use the mill stationary most of the time and be home with the family even more.
 The sawing ain't making me rich, but it does ok and I've become a real popular guy around the fire house!

[woodmills1]

Bought my LT 40 8 or 9 years ago and ran it part time while teaching high school math and science.  June of last year I took 26% retirement and never looked back.  The year since then has been a mix of sawing and other wood related as well as non wood related jobs.  Right now I am doing some clean up work for customers after they have trees removed.  I resided the front of a house this weekend due it had water damge from a roof leak.  Next week I am removing 6 small and 2 large trees from a side yard, and already have the wood sold as firewood.  On and off I am working for a friend who cuts trees who broke his leg and needs the help.  So, while I am not getting rich I am paying the bills and finally "self employed"

[dail_h]

   Boiler operator for  Georgia Pacific,just got a sawmill .Looking forward to the day when I'm free

[Kevin_H.]

I have been working full time as a paramedic since '91, except for a small amout of time I took off to try the sawmill thing full time. We hope to work our way back to the full time mill somewhere in the future.

[Hokiemill]

13 years working as a mechanical engineer in the nuclear service industry.  I'm trying to get all the equipment in place (cheaply) to haul, mill, dry, and sell small amounts of lumber.  I hope to get some income from lumber sales, some income from selling furniture I build, and possibly some additional income from selling other local people's crafts in addition to my furniture from a store front.  If I can make all that happen - then it's goodbye to these beige cube walls.

[Percy]

I bought my first sawmill in early 1997 after being a log truck driver for 20 years. The mill was a toy back then but over a six year period, I went from playing "Sawmill Guy" to actually doing it full time. I sold the log truck a year ago and have been fulltime milling since. Its a tuff road to hoe but its comming around and for the first time since I decided to give this a shot, things are looking positive.

Oh, I also play guitar in a weekend warrior type band(Local pubs, weddings, yadda) which is good for about 8500.00 CASH every year,(lovit :D)

[Mark M]

I'm a chemist and run the oil and coolant analysis lab for the Cat dealer in the Dakotas. Was a heavy equipment mechanic for about 15 years before I went back to school. I do part-time sawing with the hopes of being able to do much more in the future. Will probably have to wait till I retire though but maybe by then I'll know what I'm doing. Maybe someday I'll live where there are some trees. :'(

[Kedwards]

I am full time Supply Chain and IT support and P/T sawyer although I put in at least 20/hrs a week. The first pays the bills until I build my inventory to the levels necessary to give my present job the heave ho. Slowly building clientele and sales.  I do want to be full time within 2 years.

[LeeB]

my real job is digging holes in the Gulf Of Mexico. It pays the bills fairly well and give me plenty of time to enjoy my hobby. I work two weeks then I'm off two weeks. Someitmes I make a little money with the mill. Mostly about enough to buy blades and upkeep, dinner out now and then. Wish I could do more but there just ain't enough decent lumber where I'm at. LeeB

[jimbo]

  i am on fixed income , from former inside factory job

[Tome]

I am a retired trucker of 30 years and I just bought my swingblade this year.  It is more of a hobby right now but I plan on cutting my own grade lumber, drying it in a solar kiln and doing anything else I can to add value to the lumber.  I also enjoy making furniture, cedar chests and adirondack chairs are two of my favorites.

[rbarshaw]

I'm retired US Navy Nuclear Submarines which gives me a monthly income. I am also working full time as a MUZAK service manager which pays twice a month. The mill was just built on a whim, but now occupies all my free time and thoughts and hopes and desires and............

[chet]

Well Ppetersen we probably have met.  ;)  I took care of the utility line clearance duties for the Land 'O Lakes district of Wisconsin Electric for over 20 years.

[Frickman]

I manage private timberland and purchase and harvest timber, and run a conventional handset circle mill. I do a little brokering too sometimes. Also I farm 200+ acres on the side, mostly cash hay and sweet corn. Today we made hay, tommorow we'll cut logs.