Hardwood Grade/Survey/Plow Stakes

[4x4American]

What are you guys getting in your areas for these sorts of things?  1x1x4' and 2x2x4'   I've got a few people ask me to make them some when I have the time and I'm not sure what they go for.  The surveyor who was over a couple weeks ago said he used to go to a mill about 45 min south of where he lives to get the stakes, and now that guy is getting out of it.  Just got a call from a portable job I did last year (45 min south also) said he needs more hardwood plow stakes.  Not sure how to price it.  Do you guys that do this generally saw a whole log for it or just save flitches?  I imagine that you make them from pallet grade logs if you're just putting a whole log towards it, but I'm sure you also can't have too many knots cause they'll buckle.  Do you saw them from long logs and then cut them as you process, or do you saw short logs to make them?  Also trying to figure out if it's worth it to get the sharpener and if Hud-Son is the best deal on that.  Sorry for rambling.

[Jim_Rogers]

I make my grade stakes/hay bale stakes/surveyor stakes out of hardwood which I mill at 1 1/8" thick and then cut these boards to lengths wanted. Such as 3', 4' and 5' for tomato stakes. Then I stand these boards up on edge on the mill bed rails and cut them the same thickness into squares. So mine are 1 1/8" x 1 1/8".
I bought a pointer from Hud-Son and have used it for many years. I'm on my second engine as the first one broke real bad and wasn't worth repairing.
I also make a "tree stake" for a local nursery stock company. Those are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 8' long. Used for planting new saplings on landscaping jobs.

For the 3' grade stakes I get 50 cents each. for 4' stakes I get 67 cent each. for 5' stakes I get $1.32 each. I bundle in lots of 25 on all of these stakes.

For the last few years a local guy to me has wanted me to point both ends of a 4' stake so he can cut the bundle in half and make 2' ones for the "sock" used around constructions sites as a silt barrier. I last quoted he 42 cents each for these 2' lengths and I didn't make them 4' as I didn't have time to make them so I went to a local supply house and bought them and resold them to him. He didn't like that price. But I don't care to ever sell to him again. He is a customer that I would/could fire at any time due to his attitude.

I have cut whole logs into boards to do this. I works but I haven't done that for a long time.
As I'm making other planks or timbers I cut boards and save them to be made into stakes.

I don't know how my prices compare to others or your area.

Jim Rogers

[4x4American]

Thanks Jim I sure do appreciate your response.  Do you stack them in a way to let a lot of air flow for them to dry or do you not worry about it?  Also what are the main species you use?  Seems like oak is going to me my choice.

[fishfighter]

I had cut them for some family and friends last spring. Was most scrap boards. Plant stakes around here cost about 75 cents a piece for a 5' x1"x1 1/2". Most are pine that I see. In a few weeks, I will be sawing a bunch for a lumber company that will pay me .50 each for all that I can cut and I don't have to put a point on them. They will pick up and they will let me use there banding equipment to band them in 100 packs.

My plans are to just cut them out of small oak logs that will be 10' long. Cut 1" by boards, stand them up and saw them at 1 1/2", then stack, band and then chainsaw in half. I should be able to cut a couple thousand a day that way. Besides, the logs will be coming from some land I'm clearing, other wise would just be brush pile and burn. ;D

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks Jim I sure do appreciate your response.  Do you stack them in a way to let a lot of air flow for them to dry or do you not worry about it?  Also what are the main species you use?  Seems like oak is going to me my choice.

dead packed, don't worry about air flow. Normally they don't sit too long.
Any hardwood will do, but mostly it's red oak.

Jim Rogers
Pictures of my pointer, tree stakes, chop saw pointing, and bundles in my album here:
https://forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=985

[4x4American]

I can get beech pretty cheap I might use that

[Hewer of Wood]

I make a fair number of grade and plow stakes throughout the year. My pricing is fairly similar to Jim Rogers. The bulk of the stakes I make are 3' long. Most are 1/2" x 1 1/2". the balance are 1" x 1". I sell both sizes for $.55 each. 1" x 1" x 4' are $.70 each. Almost all of the stakes I make are delivered within 50 miles or so. Generally the only guys who pick them up are small outfits that only buy a couple hundred stakes per year.
     If possible I would make all my stakes from Ash. Its the perfect wood for stakes. Its lighter than oak but strong enough to drive in the ground. The very best quality though is how dry the wood is. Many of the guys who buy the stakes will get 1000 at a time then stick them in their damp basement. Use beech, maple, and to a lesser extent oak, and the bundles will get fairly moldy, fairly quick.
     As for the quality of logs, its been my experience that using a lower grade log is an exercise in futility. Sure they're cheaper but only initially. When you factor in you have to make twice as many as the order calls for due to rejects from knots or weak grain from around knots a lot of the savings go out the window. I've had loggers tell me to buy low grade logs and "cut around the knots", but its just doesn't work well. They also say that its a waste to turn good saw logs into little stakes. But its not, as long as you can make money doing it. The wood is a renewable resource, unlike my wasted time cutting poor quality material.
     For pointing stakes I have two options. For the flat stakes I have a modified little saw that will cut a two sided wedge point. For the square stakes I have a set up similar to the Hudson I got from a friend. Its two different sized heads like Hudson uses mounted to a wooden table connected to a motor to put a pencil point on the end. Both are very efficient. Generally being able to point 500-600 stakes in an hour.
    I also have a semi automatic strapping machine to bundle the stakes. One of the best investments I've made.
  Sorry for the long post. Using good quality material, I genuinely enjoy making stakes.
I'd be glad to answer any more questions about how I do stakes. It might not be the perfect way for everyone, but it works for my situation.
Shawn

[Ohio_Bill]

These stakes are what the customer calls silt fence stakes. 1 ¼  by 1 ¼  by 42 . We saw a lot of them from fitches while making ties and other timbers.  We bundle 25 with plastic wrap and palletize 600 on a pallet.  With air flow between rows don't seem to have mold problems  . 



 

[WH_Conley]

I sharpen my stakes on a table saw. Stand behind it and adjust the rip fence til you get the point you want. For grade stakes I cut a board 1 1/2", cut to length, Have a tall fence on the table saw, tilt the blade and bevel the 2 sides on the end of the board. Stand the boards on the mill and cut to thickness. I use bug killed ash. I keep lumber sawed upon sticks.

[Dave Shepard]

I make stakes and stickers from the best quality logs I can get. There is no point in using junk logs and then throwing half of them away.