Portable saw mill income in your area??

[Oak hound]

Yes I Know that there are sooo many variables a figure is impossible. Unfortunately that is the one thing I can't find on here. So all you senior guys out there please help a aspiring sawyer calm his nerves. So if you like chime in, and I would greatly appreciate it. So assuming you have a: Mill comparable to the LT 40 super, twin blade edger, good loader, people skills, business minded, good advertising, etc. Basically looking back if you had a good work ethic, and did most things (as all of you probably did) to the best a person could do with of course a few if not a lot of mistakes, good equipment what would your area allow a sawyer to generate for an annual income. To make it a level playing field lets say you charged an hourly rate. Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!! I live in Northwest Arkansas if anyone knows this market, but I'd love to hear about your area.

[Magicman]

Hello again Oak hound and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.  Adding your location to your profile will help with future questions.   

[Oak hound]

Ill try to get that done.

[Tom the Sawyer]

Oakhound,

I don't think you'll be able to get a reliably accurate answer to your question.  My first thought was, what is your market?  It won't make any difference how much equipment you have, or if you do everything right, if you don't have a market for the product you are producing.  Once you have a market, then you can determine whether your equipment and skills can produce for that market at a profit. 

If you want to make a decent, full-time, income, it isn't likely to come from working as a mobile milling service.  :(   

[sandsawmill14]

x 2 what tom said

[Oak hound]

That's what I'm afraid of. Making the "big money", dealing with all the headaches associated with it is what I'm trying to get away from (not that the money I make now is huge by any measure). I work oilfield and the wife and I are looking to simplify and enjoy life so we were hoping to make say 70 -80000 a year take home with a strictly portable service.

[Tom the Sawyer]

If you make .20 profit per board foot (probably not realistic), you'd only need to mill 350-400,000 bf per year.  For a strictly portable service, I don't know that there is anyone on here who is doing that.

[Oak hound]

I agree with that! I was thinking by the hour, but even then it would be hard to work it full time 40 hours a week or more as a portable service.

[customsawyer]

You will have to diversify your business more to reach those kind of numbers from sawing. I agree that I don't know of anyone making that kind of income from portable sawing.

[Ron Wenrich]

You have to figure out who has the logs and the demand.  In my area, if you have as little as a tri-axle load of logs, you can sell them to a logger or mill.  A lot depends on the quality and accessibility.  What does that leave you for a marketplace?  Small logs, low quality and small jobs.  Hard to make a living at that. 

There may be a market at other mills, especially if they can't handle big logs.  Make a few calls and see if there is any opportunity.  You'll end up being more stationary, but won't need to worry about log supply, support equipment, and possibly labor. 

[WV Sawmiller]

OH,

   Good luck but I doubt you can expect to make that kind of money milling mobile. You are at the mercy of the local market and weather much more than a stationary miller. I'd guess that those of us who do it mostly do it as a combination hobby and supplemental income and if we have a month or two with little or no work it is not a show stopper for us. An awful lot of us, from what I see on the FF profiles, are at or past retirement age and looking for something to keep us active and occupied rather than paying the mortgage, putting food on the table and sending a couple of kids to college.

   Don't give up on your dream but as mentioned you will likely need to fill an additional empty niche as well as just sawing mobile.

[terrifictimbersllc]

That's what I'm afraid of. Making the "big money", dealing with all the headaches associated with it is what I'm trying to get away from (not that the money I make now is huge by any measure). I work oilfield and the wife and I are looking to simplify and enjoy life so we were hoping to make say 70 -80000 a year take home with a strictly portable service.

$70-80K take home?  Gross revenue - (all business expenses) - (federal & state income taxes, social security) = $70-80K ?

[starmac]

Not sure what your game plan is, or how mobile you are thinking, but mill, edger and loader, while can be mobile, is not what many consider mobile.
I would imagine there are several portable mills in your area, how are they doing?

[Larry]

Mobile sawyers seem to come and go on a regular basis around here.  For most it was a costly mistake.  A current craigslist add advertises $25/hour for custom sawing but that is SW Missouri.

To keep the dream alive, there are a few who have found a way to make it here, but it wasn't dependent on custom sawing.

[plasticweld]

My two cents as someone who knows nothing about sawing lumber but does know how to make money.  I have been very fortunate with my mill, the dynamics for me are very different than most. I own a logging company so my cost for logs is in reality almost non existent.  I can bring home a load of logs  every now and then and never seem to notice it out of what we are doing. I can also select all of the types of wood that I can saw for a premium. I have worked hard at building specialized markets for customers seeking odd things. I make very good money for the types of things I sell based on my experience as a salesman and marketer, not as a sawyer

I give all of these guys here tons of credit for being able to make a dollar sawing standard lumber. The costs in this business are high, the cost of learning the business and learning what not to do can be punishing to say the least. Sawing lumber may just be one of the things I have spent more time and more energy on, than just about any other skill I have learned over the years.

I would only ask the same question just as another poster did, What are your markets who are your customers?  There is good money to be made in this business if you treat it like a business not the task of turning logs into lumber.

[drobertson]

Not seeing 70K to 80K portable milling without a pile of leg work,, meaning a good job finder and a good sawyer and crew, with markets to boot..  finding a larger mill that needs specialty type products would be about the only option I can see, It worked for me a few years ago, and works for a few I know of, but there is not that much demand on a regular basis to bring in that kind of cash flow with the normal land owner needing a shed built or having a family heirloom sawn up after a storm.  my 2 cents worth, its fun and enjoyable, just be prepared for setbacks.

[sandsawmill14]

 i am set up like ron described and have every log i can saw everyday. i do not have to edge any lumber or stack ties/cants. last year i sawed about 360-370 mbft and made less than half what your talking about. far as the equipment you will have to have a lt70 at the minimum to even get close to the production you are talking about and i doubt there is any way it could do it mobile. most mobile jobs will be 5000 ft or less and most 2000-3000 at least that how it was for me  when i was mobile. the fast mill doesnt help much when the job is less than day because you spend to much time moving and setting up. customsawyer can tell you all you want to know about the lt70s .

if you decided to go commercial you will be sawing for .20-.25 cents a ft (roughly 1/3 of the average price of all lumber all grades ) which is enough but you have to keep everything in good working order and hump it while your there because you are competing with circles mills that will saw it for anywhere from 75-125 bucks per mbdft. the only reason for them to hire a bandmill is for convenience and they will only pay so much for that. you have to remember they have already been doing something with the logs for years in most cases so you have to make your deal at least as good as what they have now or thy wont be interested

[sandsawmill14]

 i misread your location and thought it said northeast(market almost same as mine) instead of northwest but i doubt it changes that much  good luck

[WV Sawmiller]

    I find what sandsawmill14 says to be spot on as to the quantity of lumber most mobile customers want you to cut. Largest mobile job I had last year (1st year in operation) was about 5,200 bf. Most were closer to 2,000 bf. For me that is the market I'm chasing.

    I am selling more convenience than anything else. Others will cut cheaper but are not mobile. There is some novelty for the customer to be able to brag that all the lumber in his project came off his property and people are often willing to pay a little more for that.

[sandsawmill14]

WV sawmiller  i have a about 7-8 more years of this commercial mess left (good lord willing smiley_angel02_wings ) then i plan to go back to mobile milling ;D   school cost ALOT now even with all the scholarships  :-\  sawing commercial take alot of the perks of working for yourself out of it but gotta pay the bills