Anyone ever chainsaw mill for profit?

[Brmorgan]

Not in North America, we value our labour much to highly to turn a profit from CSM. But in many parts of the world where labour is worth very little and usable products are scarce and valuable having a CSM would be a very worthwhile investment. I remember an article in the Logosol newsletter a few years ago about someone in Russia using a CSM to cut railway ties. It was a new line and they were moving down the railbed a day or so ahead of the rail laying gang and cutting and milling as they went. No way could you do that over here.

Oh good heavens, that would be slow going! But better than hewing them with an axe like they still did around here until the early '50s.

I've done a couple small milling jobs for friends and come away with a few bucks in hand, but not enough that I would consider it profitable. Cutting custom beams and timbers is the best bet if you can find a market and access to cheap timber though; big pieces carry higher prices, and the fewer cuts with a CSM the better.

 

[imagineero]

manual work of most kinds doesn't really pay that well, and work with a chainsaw seems to pay less than average. There's something about it that attracts good hardworking types with ethics but not a whole lot of sense. The types of guys who don't look into the figures far enough to see that if they were factoring all the usual benefits that full time employment paid into their hourly rate (vehicle, tax, capital outlay for startup, depreciation, fully burdened operating costs, superannuation, workers comp, insurance, sick leave, holiday pay etc etc) they would be getting slightly less than a 13 year old working at McDonalds ;-) Im guilty as charged of all the above offences, but we do the job because we love it, right? Most guys would be just at home cutting stuff up for no money if they weren't employed in tree work.

There's a joke thats been getting around for a while now, can't remember the exact wording of it, but it illustrates nicely the ironic nature of doing anything with a chainsaw for profit;

A news reporter was interviewing a tree worker who'd just one a million dollars in the lottery.

reporter : "so, now that you've won the lottery, are you planning on quitting your job?"

tree guy "no, ill probably just keep working until all the money's gone"

 

[gemniii]

work with a chainsaw seems to pay less than average. There's something about it that attracts good hardworking types with ethics but not a whole lot of sense.

So since you are writing here does that mean you "don't have a whole lot of sense"?

 

[imagineero]

So since you are writing here does that mean you "don't have a whole lot of sense"?

As mentioned above, I'm guilty on all counts. I'm blessed with far less sense than the average person I've often taken lowe paying and non paying jobs in my life because I enjoyed them and felt privileged to be doing them, despite knowing that there were better paying jobs on offer. Better paying jobs often leave me having trouble looking myself in the eye in the mirror each morning on the way to work (done a few of those too!)

Shaun

 

[billstuewe]

What is profit????
At the beginning of the year I blew the piston in my 084 into 90+ pieces and had a milling job that was suppose to bring in $500 "when it dried up enough to get to the tree". My wife (God Bless Her) said I had to get a new saw because of the upcoming job, so I ordered an 880. So far since April I have brought in $2150 milling with it (but the $500 job fell through)----So I have made a profit over the cost of the saw...?? and had some fun doing it (See the link "Chainsawmillers dream" if you have not already). A week after I got the saw a guy called me and had a 46"x 12' water oak that he wanted 4 slabs from and the rest milled into 4/4. During this time I have also sawn over 20 logs of my own, most over 24" in diameter and 8' or more long.
I run and add in Craigslist: CUSTOM SAWMILLING---Custom sawmilling of trees ou to 69" in diameter. Can be sawn on location or brought to me.

I charge $50/hr including travel time.
FUN!

 

[GLOBOTREE]

The Woodsman

Black Walnut ~ checkin the grains for a supplier~ we removed this beautiful Tree sitting beside a Garage, The nuts were dropping on the roof and driving the roots into the footings of the building(textbook). The general understanding is if a Tree is beside a garage like this was, potentially...someone, anyone...could have drove a nail or tied a hose or screwed a sign~ anything right into the precious woods. Like mentioned earlier the millman will say"if the log is inthe urban forest shes got no chance to see any of our blade, then the log value goes way down~ANYWAYS~ the wood was good once I sliced er open was plain for the eye to see! wonderful wavy purple and blacks striped Walnut woodjuglans. I telephoned my man and explained the beauty~ he agreed to look at the cross cut piece. SOLD~ i turned the log into a woodworkers dream~ a man fully equipped to manhandle this awesome slice of nature all of a sudden has this mint score when we wood have otherwise had some black firewood~ profitable? where do measure ? i blew an engine~ dulled a few teeth and had a good workout, the harvest table that sits 16 is a wonder on its own to each who sits. The Woodsman