Done it again.....

[FarmingSawyer]

I must have wood fever or something, but I've gone and gotten myself some more "free" wood......
This time I think I over shot the mark a bit though.......
I ended up getting a referral to come look at this tree to see if there was some way to lower the tree services fee. I called in an arborist friend of mine and we concocted a plan to drop the whole tree between the buildings rather than chunk it and lower it down. Good thing, some of this beast was truly rotten. BUT....there is some great spalting and some impressive grain and patterns from what I can see.

But how am I going to move it?? For once I don't quite have a plan.....yet. The ground it too soft, the tree too heavy. Once 1/2 of the butt was 48" at the top and 11ft long, or roughly 1200bf and 3 tons. The 2nd 1/2 is slightly smaller and there are some sizable interesting limbs.......

This behemoth ain't fitting in the horse trailer.... I might have to hire either a pulp truck to come get it, or a flat-bed ramp truck.....either one will be pricey for a speculative log that might end up as firewood....but I guess a couple $100s for 5+ cords of firewood ain't bad either, if it's delivered......



  

  

  

 

[drobertson]

Early on, I mean real early on I did real close to the same,  it helps in learning,  have fun ;D

[Magicman]

Wood must really be scarce there?? 

[Peter Drouin]

That be all fire wood :D

[JB Griffin]

That be all fire wood :D

x2 ;D

[Ocklawahaboy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that goes after logs no one else is interested in.  The wood I would be interested in from this tree is in the foreground of the first pic. 

It would load into the pickup easy and keep me nice and warm as I empty glass bottles on a Saturday night.

You may get something really pretty out of that but it will be a lot of work.

[hunz]

Did the owners of the tree pay you for the takedown, or did you have to fall it and remove for the wood? I bet they got a few quotes in the $2500-$4000 range to fall and remove that bad boy.

[woodjunky]

Maybe you could quarter or half the big chunks with the chainsaw? Im looking to get one of those 4 wheeler trailer log hauler. There are a few that are cool for like $700bucks.

[5quarter]

Peter...I've seen a few ugly ducklings sittin on your saw.  ;) ;D ;D FarmingSawyer...Peters about 80% right. Some lumber in there, but probably more BTUs.

[FarmingSawyer]

I'm figuring on a good deal of this being firewood. The best, clearest log in the whole tree was 16ft and straight and about 20". It was cut up by another tree service as if fell across the neighbor's patio. With tree length firewood going for $100/cord, this still could be quite a cheap supply for next winter.....

We got paid to take it down. We cut the owner a nice pile of about 4 chords of firewood logs from the top. My cut is small, because I just bucked logs and fed the chipper for a short while. We've got a small collective team of a few of us trying to get work, save wood from being thrown away and make a few bob. We trade jobs back and forth and recommend each other for work in our specialist areas.

This tree was right downtown central.....so we got a lot of exposure and business cards were flying....another reason to take a job like this sometimes. As far as wood shortages...not likely. I have a 40acre woodlot with 170 cords of wood which need to be thinned. I have no shortage of prime trees if I wanted to go logging hardwoods. And I'm up to my eyeballs extracting free cedar and some prime spruce. I have no shortage of wood..... Just can't resist a challenge I guess. Sawdust in the veins going to my brain.......

The bids on this job did range from $2900--3500 I think. We came in a bit lower. And had a plan which the owners liked. They also like the idea of saving the tree and not throwing it away....... This is more about building a reputation for this work so that others with nicer trees don't chop them up.
I was supposed to go mill some Black Locust logs from a big old tree which came down in the same storm which damaged this one. The logs were supposedly large and clear-ish. I called this week to find out more about them only to be told they were cut up for firewood. I think the tree service guy was looking for money out of them one way or another....either sell them to a sawyer or make $$ from the home owner.

One of my side jobs is making and selling wooden wares. I usually can get $40-75/bf that way from special pieces. Apple is on the upper end of the scale. This tree with spalting and mineral streaks and bug chews has the "potential" to be on the upper end too. Character boards, accent pieces and not lumber is what I'm seeing from this.
So....If even if I only get 200bf of quality character wood from this sucker, that could be $8k. Why go to the casino or track when you can bet on the mill?
And of course there will be some lumber to market as well.......

No one can accuse me of being work shy......  I wrangled 3 of these bad boys into the horse trailer, hauled em and milled em by myself and made weeks pay in 2 short days

 
So I figure, if your gonna gamble, gamble big. Betting on the mill can sometimes beat working for a livin. And it sure beats working for minimum wage or an insultingly low $ amount for years of professional skill.......

[Peter Drouin]

I'm figuring on a good deal of this being firewood. The best, clearest log in the whole tree was 16ft and straight and about 20". It was cut up by another tree service as if fell across the neighbor's patio. With tree length firewood going for $100/cord, this still could be quite a cheap supply for next winter.....

We got paid to take it down. We cut the owner a nice pile of about 4 chords of firewood logs from the top. My cut is small, because I just bucked logs and fed the chipper for a short while. We've got a small collective team of a few of us trying to get work, save wood from being thrown away and make a few bob. We trade jobs back and forth and recommend each other for work in our specialist areas.

This tree was right downtown central.....so we got a lot of exposure and business cards were flying....another reason to take a job like this sometimes. As far as wood shortages...not likely. I have a 40acre woodlot with 170 cords of wood which need to be thinned. I have no shortage of prime trees if I wanted to go logging hardwoods. And I'm up to my eyeballs extracting free cedar and some prime spruce. I have no shortage of wood..... Just can't resist a challenge I guess. Sawdust in the veins going to my brain.......

The bids on this job did range from $2900--3500 I think. We came in a bit lower. And had a plan which the owners liked. They also like the idea of saving the tree and not throwing it away....... This is more about building a reputation for this work so that others with nicer trees don't chop them up.
I was supposed to go mill some Black Locust logs from a big old tree which came down in the same storm which damaged this one. The logs were supposedly large and clear-ish. I called this week to find out more about them only to be told they were cut up for firewood. I think the tree service guy was looking for money out of them one way or another....either sell them to a sawyer or make $$ from the home owner.

One of my side jobs is making and selling wooden wares. I usually can get $40-75/bf that way from special pieces. Apple is on the upper end of the scale. This tree with spalting and mineral streaks and bug chews has the "potential" to be on the upper end too. Character boards, accent pieces and not lumber is what I'm seeing from this.
So....If even if I only get 200bf of quality character wood from this sucker, that could be $8k. Why go to the casino or track when you can bet on the mill?
And of course there will be some lumber to market as well.......

No one can accuse me of being work shy......  I wrangled 3 of these bad boys into the horse trailer, hauled em and milled em by myself and made weeks pay in 2 short days

 
So I figure, if your gonna gamble, gamble big. Betting on the mill can sometimes beat working for a livin. And it sure beats working for minimum wage or an insultingly low $ amount for years of professional skill.......

Hard work will always get you ahead 

[Magicman]

Thanks for the "rest of the story".  Good business decisions will keep you in business.   

[wolf nemeth]

OK  I'm clueless as to how you managed to get those big boys into the horse trailer....

[Chuck White]

Some nice firewood and some very nice sawlogs!

Good score.

[woodworker9]

FarmingSawyer

I'm glad you mentioned the part of passing out business cards in a busy location on a small job.  That's exactly why I take the small jobs in my business, because in 25 years, I've learned that a lot of much bigger jobs come from just being seen, even if you're just paying the gas bill and lunch on a small job.

This is no joke, but earlier this year, I was doing a small, small 45 minute concrete raising job for a customer that nobody else even wants to bid, when I guy in a truck stops and asks for a business card.  Turns out he's a project manager for a company buying up houses all over Chicagoland, and this year alone, I've done over $20K in business for this guy, with the promise of much more to come in the coming years.

This is why I take the little jobs with the big ones.....

Good work!

[FarmingSawyer]

OK  I'm clueless as to how you managed to get those big boys into the horse trailer....

Give me a lever big enough and I can move the world....... It's all smoke and mirrors.....or winch, snatch blocks and ramps. Grade school physics.....ramps and inclines day one..... And a pipe roller to reduce friction. Patience, determination and a high enough hourly wage to make it worth while, but not scare the client away. All said and done for close to 1500bf the customer only paid an average of $0.68/bf for wide, clear and quartersawn RO with an amazing ray pattern.

[4x4American]

If I were you I woulda just dropped to tree right next to the sawmill!  Save on truckin   :D

[bandmiller2]

A fella has to be real carefull and have insurance to fell trees around houses or any building for that matter. Theirs no end to the "free" trees close to buildings, one problem and the poop hits the fan fast. Be sure the owner is their helping and understands the risk. Frank C.