Dave Boyt
ArboristSite Guru
I always try to cut consistently for my repeat customers on my portable sawmill. Yesterday, though I had a bit of a surprise. When a regular customer stopped to pick up some lumber, he asked about another stack I had cut for another someone else, I told him that it was too thin to do him any good (7/8, while I hand always cut 9/8 for him). He informed me that he planed about half his wood down to 1/2". I have to wonder how many logs I had cut over the last eight years, just so he could convert the extra wood into planer shavings! I also learned that he uses a lot of small pieces, and would be more than willing to buy boards that I figured would be going for firewood. With a little communication, he was much happier with his lumber (he assumed that I cut everything 9/8 thickness and it hadn't occurred to him to ask for anything else), and I was actually able to make a little more money from my logs. Moral of the story... take the time to find out what your customers really want!
