Need some guidance in Texas please

[jaster7890]

My family recently purchased a sawmill to help produce some lumber around our ranch with some needed land clearing.  We were hoping to get enough lumber to furnish our barn, vacation house, and workshop for our custom cabinet and furniture business we have.  I have been nominated  to see if I could find a supplier of some Texas hardwood and softwood saw logs we can mill ourselves to help finish this project and have had little success.  Can anyone give me an idea of a site online, or a company that sells small quantities for pickup or delivery in Texas?

Thanks for you help, and sorry about the ignorance on my part.

Thanks Jason

[WH_Conley]

Welcome to the forum. Just hang on, some of the Texas members will be along shortly.

[TRanger]

Probably help to know where in Texas you plan to build, and saw.  100 mile radius is about as far as most loggers will haul to a high end mill, 30 for a private mill.

[jaster7890]

Ok, well I am actually located in West Texas, (Abilene)  the No Tree Capital of the world, however, I am always willing to drive and pick up logs, we have a driver and a fairly large trailer that is full time for our construction company, so I will travel to pick up, or is this an option as far as this goes??   Like I say, we are trying to finish a couple of building projects, and basically keep a medium supply of lumber for our cabinet and furniture business that we have, without getting the trash lumber we receive from our local market. 

But if traveling to pick up is an option in this market or people (loggers) will allow you to pick up I am willing.

Again Thanks for your help

[scsmith42]

The closest place to Abilene that I can think of for sawlogs would be in the Bastrop, TX area.  There are a lot pines in that part of the state and several sawmills.

Kinda funny about your "No tree capital of the world" comment - about 17 years ago I was an inspector on a statewide microwave radio project for Texas Utilities and there is actually a town located not too far from Abilene named "Notrees"!

[LeeB]

I don't know about any logging operations in the Bastrop area. You may have to go to east Texas.

[TexasTimbers]

jaster, if y'all are wanting to do this to save money it isn't going to work out for you if you do it right. i.e. construct a kiln to dry the wood - having to haul logs with all the inherent costs of fuel, labor, time, regulations,  etc. building covered drying sheds to air dry the wood first, learning to operate the sawmill (the easiest part really) and learning to maximize the yield from the logs.

You don't say what kind of sawmill y'all have purchased and what kind of shape it is in. You are wanting to mainly keep a "medium" supply of lumber for your furniture and cabinet shop but as I said, you are going to have to process this lumber. A kiln and hign end processing equipment will set you back pretty good. And really, you need to squeeze every last board foot of lumber in a scenario like that so you need to invest in a good edger and you have to find a market for all your waste products. Slabs, sawdust, edgings, flitches, everything must bring a buck.

It sounds like to me you would be better off sending that truck to a hardwood supplier a couple times a year and spending a bunch of thousands of dollars to get the price breaks volume buying can get.

I hate to sound so discouraging I am usually the last to say don't try it but it sounds like toi me for your situation you ought to just keep buying your wood from suppliers - especially considering that you ain't got  no trees as we tend to say here in Tejas.

FYI I am in north Fannin County, north of Bonham halfway between Paris and Sherman. I have all the free hardwood trees I can cut down and if I had to pay for them I would not bother. I have been having to pay for Cedar but it sells. That might be something you could consider. There are some cedar areas closer to you in Oklahoma. You could use cedar for your general construction projects and you don't have to dry it out. So if you find a supply of cedar you could justify the mill as a viable business venture IMO.

[TRanger]

I agree with the others, haul finished lumber, or S2S at the worse.  There are a few grade hardwood mills in east Texas, one I use is in Jasper County, one over from Louisiana.  Grade wood in Texas is hard to come by at a reasonable price.  We never developed a real grade hardwood market.  For what it sounds like, you could haul the stuff from  here, enough to market some to cover your costs, and come out a little ahead. 

Forget the logs.

[Brian Beauchamp]

I have been having to pay for Cedar but it sells. That might be something you could consider. There are some cedar areas closer to you in Oklahoma. You could use cedar for your general construction projects and you don't have to dry it out. So if you find a supply of cedar you could justify the mill as a viable business venture IMO.

Yeah...I wish we had a bigger market for cedars around here...all kinds of sawtimber cedar and not many avenues of sale. 

[WDH]

Forget the logs.

I hate to agree with a Texan .