# sawyer prices



## jimmyjames

As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??


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## gvwp

jimmyjames said:


> As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??



Just buy my LT70. Problem solved.


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## jimmyjames

gvwp said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> 
> As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just buy my LT70. Problem solved.
Click to expand...


I wish.... theres an lt40 for sale locally for $7,000. And also a big ol 36" circular old school sawmill powered by a mopar 440 for $1500, it would be a bear to move, the flywheel probably weighs 5-8000lbs im guessing and all of the babbit bearings in it need repoured as well, it would be neat to restore, it flys through a log in no time but the cost of moving it alone makes it a deal breaker, id need a small crane and a flatbed, probably $2500 just to move it.


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## Daren

jimmyjames said:


> ... should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify?



I would, politely. 8 hours to mill 600 bft of 8/4 from 3 decent logs :question:


.


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## GaSawmiller

I don't know what his deal is but he cant be working hard and still going that slow. I wouldn't let him continue to you have come to a new agreement agreement on how the rest of the job will be priced.


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## Kevin

I don't know how a guy like that can even sleep at night. I wouldn't try to renegotiate, I'd just try to get him to justify how he can keep a straight face and charge you a $400 milling fee for 600BF of 8/4 lumber. Did he hit several nails in each log? 

I wouldn't do business with him anymore barring some unlikely scenario like hitting nails in every log, and even then after a few blades he should've called and said "we have a problem" or something.


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## DKMD

Does his mill have to be peddled?

I don't know anything about mills or milling, but I can't imagine a bandmill taking that long to process tree straight logs into 8/4 boards.


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## woodtickgreg

I would definitely ask for an explanation of the charges and state that it does not seem to work out to what the original agreement was. If he states that this is what the charges will be then I would not have him finish the job, pay him what he says you owe him, and look for another sawyer. If that's all he can mill in an 8 hr day something is wrong. I believe you said that this is a new mill for him, and he has get rich quick dollar signs in his eyes. :dunno:


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## Kevin

To give you an idea of just how little lumber that is, it's seventy five 2" x 6" x 8' boards (actual not nominal). I have less than 2 hours of sunlight left and if the logs were on the deck I believe I could get real close to knocking it out by myself. I'd be humping it for sure but with a good helper no problem as long as the logs were fairly straight and not too much taper and not very small. Give me 3 hours and just myself and I could do it while filing my nails. The ones on the ends of my fingers not the ones in the logs. 

:lolol:


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## Flacer22

My brother and I just hired a sawyer for 60 an hour we had to help cut the lumber but we have cut over 700bf an hour on large logs and the smaller stuff around 400. All 4/4 stuff that was on a lt 40 woodmizer I think. I'd say u need to find a new sawyer 8/4 should have been faster yet. Only thing I can think of is we were cutting with me and my brother doing most wood and sayer just helping out and running mill.


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## Daren

Kevin said:


> ...3 hours...



That is kinda what I was thinking... *8* hours :noway:

.


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## davduckman2010

thats a rippoff i paid 35.00 an hour last summer from my guy. me and my sons help him he just cut but he did 14 pretty decent logs in 6 hours total 300.00 and he broke a blade. look elseware duck


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## Patrude

jimmyjames said:


> As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??



 After reading the post I did some old fashioned arithmetic: I think you were charged much too high $$$$$ especially if he had any idea that you have more work for the saw. I think you should try to find a different sawyer. Ask around, check tree people, find out who might have a portable mill in your area.  local stuff and shop around; good luck with it


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## healeydays

jimmyjames said:


> gvwp said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> 
> As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just buy my LT70. Problem solved.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I wish.... theres an lt40 for sale locally for $7,000. And also a big ol 36" circular old school sawmill powered by a mopar 440 for $1500, it would be a bear to move, the flywheel probably weighs 5-8000lbs im guessing and all of the babbit bearings in it need repoured as well, it would be neat to restore, it flys through a log in no time but the cost of moving it alone makes it a deal breaker, id need a small crane and a flatbed, probably $2500 just to move it.
Click to expand...


It definately doesn't sound right, and I'd let him know about his bait and switch.

As for the Mopar 440, it might be worth it just for the motor depending on the casting numbers as some motors are highly sourced for dependant on what it came out of for restorations. (Oh right, I'm currently on a wood site, not a Motorhead site)...


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## Kevin

Hey it's no problem. A 440 Wedge is worthy of discussion as is any big block Mopar.


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## jimmyjames

Well if its ok to talk cars... its not a mopar but heres my 638ci bbc :)

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/P8070804.jpg


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## jimmyjames

And here it is before we.moved, i thought somebody was going to break into my shop so i stored it in my living room :) 

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG00084-20090130-1759.jpg


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## jimmyjames

And the car it goes in :)
http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/CIMG0146.jpg


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## Kevin

Awesome! What is a 638? A 454 bored 60?


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## jimmyjames

A 638 is a big block chevy block with a. 400" taller deck height with a 4.75" stroke and a 4.625" bore, you couldnt bore and stroke a 454 block that far, were talking a HUGE bore :) the block is the worlds products pro block designed for pro mods and will handle 3000+ horsepower, mines a measily 1142 hp..... its got 15.7:1 compression and a .900" lift cam, i built the car to someday race it at englishtown in the 10.5" tire class.


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## Kevin

Holy cow. I didn't think you could bore a 454 that far but what do I know. That's one strong engine. You're getting down in the mid to low 8s with that thing I guessing?


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## jimmyjames

Kevin said:


> Holy cow. I didn't think you could bore a 454 that far but what do I know. That's one strong engine. You're getting down in the mid to low 8s with that thing I guessing?



Well the car weighs 2865 with me in it, its setup for 1/4 mile gearing, ive ran it down the eight and got a 5.41 out of it, in the quarter it should bee right at an 8.50, i hope it doesnt go any faster because once you break 8.49 the certs are crazy, funny car cages and on and on, just to break 8.49 youll spend another $10,000 minimum..... as far as boring a stock 454 block, no you couldnt bore it even close to being that big, youd bore into the water jackets


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## Kevin

jimmyjames said:


> Kevin said:
> 
> 
> 
> Holy cow. I didn't think you could bore a 454 that far but what do I know. That's one strong engine. You're getting down in the mid to low 8s with that thing I guessing?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well the car weighs 2865 with me in it, its setup for 1/4 mile gearing, ive ran it down the eight and got a 5.41 out of it, in the quarter it should bee right at an 8.50, i hope it doesnt go any faster because once you break 8.49 the certs are crazy, funny car cages and on and on, just to break 8.49 youll spend another $10,000 minimum..... as far as boring a stock 454 block, no you couldnt bore it even close to being that big, youd bore into the water jackets
Click to expand...


I knew that I was just getting a starting point going. After I blew the 396 in my '70 Chevelle SS I dropped in a 350 4 bolt main bored 60 over. I never could get that engine tweaked to its potential and neither could any of my hotrod buddies who knew a lot more than me. It wasn't because of going 60 over with it though it was a comflict of parts. Too much air and gas and too little cam in hindsight at least in my opinion. I had a Edelbrock torker, 12:5 to 1 pistons, Holley 850 quad, but a Melling C400P cam I think it had around 290 lift. It had potential and it ran fair but not like it should have with a better parts compatibility. I didn't really know wtf I was doing that was the problem. Heck I was 18 and thought I knew it all.


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## jimmyjames

An 850 is a massive carb on a 350 :) that was probably the problem :) like you said too much fuel :) my carb is only a 1250 and its almost too much, could have went an 1150 but wanted to play it safe


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## davidgiul

As Daren had mentioned earlier, ask politely about the surcharges on the milling bill. Tell the individual that you think it should be more in line with a price of 120.00. You could also mention that you would at least like to see the caliber of the gun


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## sprucegum

I'm old and slow and I have a 24 hp manual ground mill. I just sawed 3 white pine logs for a relative, they were about the same size as your logs and I sawed them 4/4 it took 2 hours


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## brown down

sounds a little shady to me. a mill down the road from me charges $300 an hr for a circular sawmill, hydraulic, the whole nine yards and would have had that done in an hour or prob less with the equipment they have.

If he doesn't justify his prices, well i am one to get even and call him back with a log you don't really care about and take a nail gun and go to town on that thing!! let him burn a few blades up  but thats me!
but from the sounds of this guy he will charge for blades as well!!!


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## jimmyjames

Considering his mill is all hydraulic with log turner and all it should be considerably faster.....


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## Kevin

jimmyjames said:


> Considering his mill is all hydraulic with log turner and all it should be considerably faster.....



The best advice is to finish you mill, then fire him. 

:irishjig:


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## davduckman2010

brown down said:


> sounds a little shady to me. a mill down the road from me charges $300 an hr for a circular sawmill, hydraulic, the whole nine yards and would have had that done in an hour or prob less with the equipment they have.
> 
> If he doesn't justify his prices, well i am one to get even and call him back with a log you don't really care about and take a nail gun and go to town on that thing!! let him burn a few blades up  but thats me!
> but from the sounds of this guy he will charge for blades as well!!!



yea what he said


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## Kevin

Well, spiking the trees always backfires in any number of ways. I'm a firm believer that _what goes around, comes around_. Some call it karma. I have no problem with that word and I believe the philosophy 100%. You put out negative energy and dollars to donuts you are going to eventually get it back. 

Every sawyer I have ever known or whose price list I have seen, we all charge for hitting metal. That's an absolute necessity. We don't have xray vision and not all sawyers own a metal detector. The sawyer Jim talks about doesn't deserve retribution, he just deserves to go out of business and start flipping burgers. Of course, it's guys like him that makes people wait so damn long at fast food lines. Why do they call it "fast food". It isn't fast and it isn't food. It should be called "Slow Crap". 

_Hey Bobby Bob, are you in the mood for some slow crap tonight?_ Am I changing the subject again? :dash2:


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## brown down

Kevin said:


> Well, spiking the trees always backfires in any number of ways. I'm a firm believer that _what goes around, comes around_. Some call it karma. I have no problem with that word and I believe the philosophy 100%. You put out negative energy and dollars to donuts you are going to eventually get it back.
> 
> Every sawyer I have ever known or whose price list I have seen, we all charge for hitting metal. That's an absolute necessity. We don't have xray vision and not all sawyers own a metal detector. The sawyer Jim talks about doesn't deserve retribution, he just deserves to go out of business and start flipping burgers. Of course, it's guys like him that makes people wait so damn long at fast food lines. Why do they call it "fast food". It isn't fast and it isn't food. It should be called "Slow Crap".
> 
> _Hey Bobby Bob, are you in the mood for some slow crap tonight?_ Am I changing the subject again? :dash2:



 karma is a you know what, and i def believe in that 100% but just the thought is always a nice thing to have, i am kinda grinning at the frustration that guy would have with a few hundred nails in a log :lolol:
he will get his for sure prob ten fold like it always seems to work!
if he cooks burgers the way he saws, that joint would be out of business real fast


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## Treecycle Hardwoods

I have been watching this thread for a while and only wish I was closer to you so I could help. I charge .35 per BF and $55 per hour to buck logs or other wise prep the logs for milling. This is also the same rate I charge to do big logs with my CSM. Before milling I scale the logs using the scribner scale and that is what I charge the customer for if we are going on the per BF basis. They will know the cost before the logs go on the mill. I charge $15 for a blade ruined by metal and $50 for a chain on the CSM. 

The only senerio where I can't be 100% sure on my pricing is on an hourly basis. I go over the estimate with the customer before hand and give the best estimate I can. I recently did a 46" red oak, plus 3 other small logs for a guy on an hourly basis and went over my estimate by 4 hours. I estimated 10-14 hours for a combination of CSM and band milling and ended up at 17.5 hours. All together it was 1500 BF. A part of 17.5 hrs was blade/chain changing time and about 2 hours was log prep and fire wood processing. I forgot who said it but a call to the customer is in order after the 2-3 hits on metal to see if they want to continue the milling. In this case my customer wanted me to keep going. I ended up with 5 blades and a chain damaged. Even with all the blade charges and processing time he came in at .62/bf as a cost. 

The cost you outlined are so far out of wack it would be hard for me to to be polite about it. I say that because I own a woodmizer LT15 (all manual) and have done 2000-3000 (4/4) BF in a 8-10 hour day with me and a helper. I routinely have done 1000-1500 (4/4) Bf in a day all by myself (8-10 hrs) My recommendation would be to finish any business you have with him and get away. IF you can truck logs Darren is about as far south of you as I am north (if i have my geography right) At the cost you have been charged you may end up spending the same trucking the logs and have them milled by a quality sawyer but at least you know who you would be dealing with ahead of time. If you didn't want to got that far my uncle has a sawmill on the milwaukee/racine county border (only 35 min north of the state line) I am not sure what he charges for milling but I could get his number to you if you wanted to explore that route. His mill is mobile he moves it to northern wisconsin a few times a year to mill for people up there he may take it south as well.

I doubled checked my geography and I was way off. For what ever reason I thought you were in a west suburb of chicago... my bad sorry bout that.


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## Classean

jimmyjames said:


> As you all know i found a local sawyer to saw my logs, after sawing a few logs and knowing what his prices are for sawing i get charged for 8 hours @ $50 an hour for about 600 board feet of 8/4 lumber, i was expecting the $.30 per board foot, it clealy states why he would charge the hourly which would be for short/small logs and for bucking or large logs that wont fit on the mill which they are not, all 3 were 24" diameter straight 10-12' round lumber logs. Should i just count my blessings that i have a local sawyer or should i dare ask why im getting charged 2x more than his prices specify? It would be so bad if i didnt have another 15 logs on deck and more on the way. Also have a pile of crotches to be milled that i know should be the hourly rate. But when your talking 20 logs with 4000 board feet thats a huge difference in price...... and also ive had 2 more logs milled after the first 3 and have yet too see the bill, any advice??



hey there, just reading some old threads....that price is tad high for your outcome. I run a LT40 and guess where I'm located...yep Omaha/CB area. I don't disagree with his rates but the time it took to cut 600bd ft is a smidge on the high side. I average 300-400bd ft/hr on my mill but mine is fully hydraulic. If you have any more logs, look me up and I'll do my best to appease


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## ripjack13

Andy, he hasn't been around since 2013...kinda fell off the map....


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## Classean

I saw that, never know...might find his was once again.


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