# help a newbie not get shafted....log/mill prices



## woodyman666 (Jul 17, 2009)

So this is a long story of a deal. i JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IM NOT GETTING SCREWED AND ITS A FAIR DEAL. I have been cutting my kids a yard since we live in the middle of the woods, so far all going to outdoor furnace and have deciced that i want to get some of my hemlock sawed up by a mill i found two miles away. His price per boardfeet is 85cents board foot for his wood n seems like about the going rate. He is charging me 40cents a board foot for my own wood. Is that reasonable? So I bucked up all the logs 13 of them and want to make sure im not giving away extra wood and not knowing. I need 620 boardfeet to finish the mancave..... I have measured all the logs and 11 are all 14 inches trunk end and to a top diameter of 13 inches. 2 big boys are 18 inch trunk and 16 inch top end. All this wood is good at both ends and i hand picked the nicest straightest stuff so there should be liitl waste..... Is that about thre right boardfootage? So I cant get them to the mill myself (no trailer) so hes picking up. So for the 100 bucks pickup fee I want to give him a couple trees. One is a soft maple that im not real wooried about but the other is a sweet white ash. Its still living with no issues up the trunk and bone straight. Measurements are 22inch diameter at DBH and it doesnt taper much at all maybe to 16 inches about 32 feet up.....how much should that tree be worth? I called the dec guy for help but not sure if his call would come in time.... Thanks for any help you can lend.....


----------



## 380LGR (Jul 17, 2009)

You home owners have one tree and think its worth a million bucks when we are cutting 60+ trees a day just to make a living. If its that much of a problem about getting screwed blow it through a chipper and go to home depot..


----------



## clearance (Jul 17, 2009)

380LGR said:


> You home owners have one tree and think its worth a million bucks when we are cutting 60+ trees a day just to make a living. If its that much of a problem about getting screwed blow it through a chipper and go to home depot..



My thoughts entirely. "This tree is worth MONEY! "Well sir, the guy isn't going to come here for on cull, I mean nice log"


Sounds like a decent deal there Woody Satan, go for it, what ya got to lose.


----------



## bullbuck (Jul 17, 2009)

...hundred dollar pickup fee,i like that one...


----------



## woodyman666 (Jul 17, 2009)

First of all im not the guy who thinks his wood is gold the ash is just a real nice tree and i dont want to give it away. From all the reading i do it seems to me its a veneer log? yes/ no.... And its not a here come get my one tree i want to sell hes here anyway bringing slabwood for the furnace and picking the lumber. Is it so bad that i want to learn as much as possible in the logging forestry area so i can know as much as you guys someday..... As far as the amount of boardfeet in the hemlock i have gotten a few conflicting guesses as to how many boardfeet are in there... I could care less about a pickup fee of $100 just dont want to get taken. any respectful answers out there that will help a fella learn. If I can trust this mill then from here on out i can learn probably alot from them...or maybe even help him in a pinch having a nice variety of trees if he gets a special request and so close....


----------



## clearance (Jul 17, 2009)

Give him the log, you will be cutting down more, one don't matter, the guy must have self loader, it will be good to know him. You never know how things will go in the future. Good luck to you, be safe.


----------



## gink595 (Jul 17, 2009)

woodyman666 said:


> First of all im not the guy who thinks his wood is gold the ash is just a real nice tree and i dont want to give it away. From all the reading i do it seems to me its a veneer log? yes/ no.... And its not a here come get my one tree i want to sell hes here anyway bringing slabwood for the furnace and picking the lumber. Is it so bad that i want to learn as much as possible in the logging forestry area so i can know as much as you guys someday..... As far as the amount of boardfeet in the hemlock i have gotten a few conflicting guesses as to how many boardfeet are in there... I could care less about a pickup fee of $100 just dont want to get taken. any respectful answers out there that will help a fella learn. If I can trust this mill then from here on out i can learn probably alot from them...or maybe even help him in a pinch having a nice variety of trees if he gets a special request and so close....




Here is a log volume calculator, type in the dimensions and there you go.
http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_volume


----------



## bullbuck (Jul 17, 2009)

didnt mean to be a smart ars bout the fee,it just struck my funny because me and the boys at lunch time,always joke about something to the effect of "would you like a hostess cupcake?ok well that will be five dollars lol.this is how we operate,no disrespect i am sure you have some nice chunks of wood and i hope you get top dollar for them.


----------



## Mike Van (Jul 18, 2009)

I've been .35/bf for logs brought to me for a long time, so .40 is probably good with todays costs, etc. If you're unsure if the guys honest, rather than asking us, you should be asking those he's done work for before. There's no place bad news travels faster than in a small town.


----------



## hammerlogging (Jul 18, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> I've been .35/bf for logs brought to me for a long time, so .40 is probably good with todays costs, etc. If you're unsure if the guys honest, rather than asking us, you should be asking those he's done work for before. There's no place bad news travels faster than in a small town.



I think .40 bf is ok for your own wood, but agree with the above for reference. As far as the ash goes, it sounds like it may have more value to you standing, at least at present, than as part of the trade for the hauling. So just pay him the money instead. Thats normal. Lots of us work big tracts in big places, we lose site of the sentimental value of individual trees. Look out for what you want, its your deal.


----------



## woodyman666 (Jul 18, 2009)

thanks for the help. i REALLY DO WANT TO START A NICE RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS MILL BEING SO CLOSE CUZ IM SURE ILL DO UP SOME MORE PROJECTS THERES ABOUT TEN IN MY HEAD NOW..... tHE ASH HAS TO GO ANYWAY CUZ ITS IN THE WAY OF THE KIDS NEW YARD. jUST GOT A BIT LEARY ABOUT GOOD TREE PRICES , HE WAS EYEING UP MY OAKS AND CHERRY WHILE HE WAS HERE. j HATE TO COME OUT OF A DEAL UNSURE ABOUT ITS FAIRNESS....BUT NOW I FEEL OK


----------



## Mike Van (Jul 18, 2009)

Don't you hate it when you accidently hit the 'caps lock' key? :censored:


----------



## Cletuspsc (Jul 19, 2009)

what mill are ya dealing with


----------



## woodyman666 (Jul 19, 2009)

im in the fingerlakes region a local guy green mountain . He seems like a good fella. Ill be the annoying customer that wants to learn everything start to finish.  Im turning into a pure mountain man and lovin it. I just came in from filling up some stumps with milk and beer to start them decaying so its an easier grind next spring.... I think ill be spending some time at the mill with slabs for the outdoor boiler and wood to work with arround the house. Wait till i tell him next summers project is a large tree home in the back of my woods to look over nature.... The neighbors down the hill have this sweet huge tree home cedar side and shingled n its huge i am so jealous...


----------



## Cletuspsc (Jul 21, 2009)

your poring milk and beer on a stump? wow ive seen a waste of beer before but that tops it. what would posses your to do that


----------



## forestryworks (Jul 21, 2009)

woodyman666 said:


> I just came in from filling up some stumps with milk and beer to start them decaying



are you on the pipe?


----------



## redprospector (Jul 21, 2009)

I guess it's about the same thing as I've done. Drill several holes in a stump, and fill them with buttermilk, and baker's yeast. Rot's em out pretty quick.

Andy


----------



## Meadow Beaver (Jul 21, 2009)

redprospector said:


> I guess it's about the same thing as I've done. Drill several holes in a stump, and fill them with buttermilk, and baker's yeast. Rot's em out pretty quick.
> 
> Andy



How does that work?


----------



## PB (Jul 29, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> How does that work?



It attracts fungus that breaks down the tree, but dying trees attract the fungus anyways. There are better uses for beer, and from a biological standpoint it is pretty much next to useless. If you want a better result, drill a bunch of holes in the tree and put some rotting tree pieces in there. Of course this won't work until the tree is dry and mostly free of sap.

Drilling holes or cutting grooves into the stump will serve the same function. The fungus will show up eventually on its own, but will have more surface area to attack resulting in a "faster" decay rate of the stump.


----------



## PB (Jul 29, 2009)

woodyman666 said:


> turning into a pure mountain man and lovin it. I just came in from filling up some stumps with milk and beer to start them decaying so its an easier grind next spring....




You should put down the Mother Earth News for a while.


----------



## 380LGR (Jul 29, 2009)

Better yet while you are at Home Depot getting your 2x4's you can rent a stumpgrinder and be done with it!!


----------



## gemniii (Aug 3, 2009)

Your supposed to strain the beer first!


----------



## woodyman666 (Aug 4, 2009)

the days of waking up and finishing the beer i ended with the night before are over. Would never waste a good beer. And whats wrong with being on a pipe? Captain sarcastic 380lgr sure thinks im on one. From what i see it actually looks like the combo ive tossed at the stumps so far looks to be making a difference. I am just looking for a good rot out to make it easier come spring when I rent a stump grinder. With good rotted stumps I should be able to rent a small one and blast thru the new area pretty quickly. Ive even been ripping holes outward thru the big roots to get them decaying. Would wood chips over the stumps be worth the time?


----------



## PB (Aug 4, 2009)

woodyman666 said:


> the days of waking up and finishing the beer i ended with the night before are over. Would never waste a good beer. And whats wrong with being on a pipe? Captain sarcastic 380lgr sure thinks im on one. From what i see it actually looks like the combo ive tossed at the stumps so far looks to be making a difference. I am just looking for a good rot out to make it easier come spring when I rent a stump grinder. With good rotted stumps I should be able to rent a small one and blast thru the new area pretty quickly. Ive even been ripping holes outward thru the big roots to get them decaying. Would wood chips over the stumps be worth the time?



I am betting the affects of the buttermilk are psychological, the rate of decay by fungus is not any greater with the buttermilk than without. Wood chips over the stump will not help the decay other than keeping it warm. Would you rather eat pizza or peas? Now think of the wood chips as pizza and the stump as peas, fungus will be attracted to the high surface area of the chips but again won't increase the rate of decay. 

Cut some deep grooves in the stump and put something on it that will hold moisture, just not sphagnum or peat moss. If there is still sap in the stump, don't count on it rotting any time soon.


----------



## woodyman666 (Aug 4, 2009)

Thanks ill just make sure to keep them moist with the summer we are having that wont be hard at all


----------



## panhead9 (Aug 9, 2009)

woodyman666 said:


> im in the fingerlakes region a local guy green mountain . He seems like a good fella. Ill be the annoying customer that wants to learn everything start to finish. Im turning into a pure mountain man and lovin it. I just came in from filling up some stumps with milk and beer to start them decaying so its an easier grind next spring.... I think ill be spending some time at the mill with slabs for the outdoor boiler and wood to work with arround the house. Wait till i tell him next summers project is a large tree home in the back of my woods to look over nature.... The neighbors down the hill have this sweet huge tree home cedar side and shingled n its huge i am so jealous...



Im screaming ALCOHOL ABUSE. You sir need to get this problem taken care of rehab perhaps? Just kidding good luck with your endeavor


----------



## Gologit (Aug 9, 2009)

PlantBiologist said:


> I am betting the affects of the buttermilk are psychological, the rate of decay by fungus is not any greater with the buttermilk than without. Wood chips over the stump will not help the decay other than keeping it warm. Would you rather eat pizza or peas? Now think of the wood chips as pizza and the stump as peas, fungus will be attracted to the high surface area of the chips but again won't increase the rate of decay.
> 
> Cut some deep grooves in the stump and put something on it that will hold moisture, just not sphagnum or peat moss. If there is still sap in the stump, don't count on it rotting any time soon.



Or...just pour gas on the stump and light it. Drink the beer or the buttermilk.


----------



## 380LGR (Aug 9, 2009)

Green stumps grind way faster than rotten ones.....


----------



## PB (Aug 9, 2009)

Gologit said:


> Or...just pour gas on the stump and light it. Drink the beer or the buttermilk.



I have had pretty good luck with an auger bit and some "explosive persuasion".


----------



## bullbuck (Aug 9, 2009)

when my chain is stretched out of adjustment or filed where the teeth are about to start breaking off i save that chain for cuts like a stump cut,chains already cashed but still cutting,clear the debris and maybe even some dirt,cut it low and put the debris back over the top of the stump


----------



## Gologit (Aug 9, 2009)

PlantBiologist said:


> I have had pretty good luck with an auger bit and some "explosive persuasion".



We talking ANFO here?


----------



## PB (Aug 9, 2009)

Gologit said:


> We talking ANFO here?



Are you with the ATF?


----------



## Gologit (Aug 10, 2009)

PlantBiologist said:


> Are you with the ATF?



Nope. But maybe we better quit talking about ANFO.


----------



## hammerlogging (Aug 10, 2009)

PlantBiologist said:


> I am betting the affects of the buttermilk are psychological, the rate of decay by fungus is not any greater with the buttermilk than without. Wood chips over the stump will not help the decay other than keeping it warm. Would you rather eat pizza or peas? Now think of the wood chips as pizza and the stump as peas, fungus will be attracted to the high surface area of the chips but again won't increase the rate of decay. .



Darned science always getting in the way.


----------



## BlackenedTimber (Aug 14, 2009)

A dozer or excavtor makes pretty quick work of stumps too... and leaves more beer for me.


----------

