iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Pricing

Started by BigBoi, November 09, 2017, 07:57:40 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

BigBoi

I'm cutting with A woodmizer LT35 and I needed some input on charging a customer when cutting a full 2 inch by 6 inch pine lumber, input needed thanks..

TKehl

Welcome!

My input on charging is I think you should.   ;)  How much?  As much as you can.   ;D

Would probably be better suited for the sawmilling thread here:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/board,7.0.html

There is also a search function on the whole board and individual boards and many discussions over hourly rate versus board foot rate.  Hobbiest covering expenses versus milling for a living.  Different pricing for different locations and different mills.  Etc.

What it eventually boils down to is what makes you and your customer both happy at the end of the day.
In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

dgdrls

Welcome,   IMHO,  do not sell your work short,  you need to cover your expenses and put a profit  in your pocket,  key is to talk to the customer. first,   then cut the best material the log will give

D

petefrom bearswamp

I guess I am a hobbyist sort of but I like to make a profit.
I am stationary and charge .30/bd ft  for most logs and $60/clock hr for ugly stuff which includes time handling logs and lumber
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

mike_belben

Price is relative to how much is in your checking account and how many bills are due.  Have a "shop rate" and an "im broke" rate.  When youre too busy, tack a "surcharge" ontop of the shop rate to slow things down.

Ive never ever published a rate for anything.  Always quoted jobs on the fly based on my need for the work or not.
Praise The Lord

Stuart Caruk

What others charge is irrelevant. You need to know your costs. Even if you are a hobbiest, your mill still has value. You need to figure out your fixed costs, and your variable expenses.

Fixed costs, are the same whether you use the mill for 1 hour a year or 1000 hours. It includes the depreciation (even if your mill is paid for, you could get a better return on your $$$ elsewhere), insurance, land lease, equipment, interest expense if you have payments, etc. add that all up and divide it by the hours that you actually use your mill in a year.

Then add the costs for every hour you run, maintanance, fuel, blades, sharpening, lube oil, hydraulic oil, pinesol, soap, fuel for your ancillary stuff etc.

Then add a fudge factor for breakdowns. If you can't make that rate, plus a wage for yourself, you may as well watch tv.

I've found the best way to improve my lot is through value added services. I can get $1 a BF for 4/4 for board and bat, maybe $1.50 BF for beams. But I get $3 a BF for beams over 21' with very little competition. Add timber framed features or tongue and groove on large beams (over 12" x 12") and you can push that to $8 - $10 BF. Best part is I've noticed that as the size of the material goes up, the return rises dramatically, and because I move to equipment for the handling, my actual physical labor goes way down.

Now if my new mill would just PLEASE show up....
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

Thank You Sponsors!