How do you divide up free wood?

[Kurt Helgerson]

I have a chance to use my Alaskan mill to produce some slabs from a large black oak tree in my neighborhood. The chunks of the trunk are about 5 feet long. The tree was huge, and I think I may have to go down one side and then back up the other, just to cut a slab. Should I be able to successfully do this, how do you divide up the wood between the homeowner who wants some and myself? Is there a usual 60/40 division or 50/50 division? I don’t have any close-up photo but these logs have been on the ground for 2-3 years as they show up on Google Earth.

 

[J D]

Personally, in this situation I would ask for some money up front to cover actual costs (travel, fuel, equipment wear & tare, & a bit to cover time). Doing so covers you in the event you get to milling it & find half the wood is junk.
Communication is key... establish what the client wants out of it & what (if anything) the remaining wood might be worth to you. Consider how things might need to be varied if not all the wood is usable, or in the event of unexpected additional expense (hitting embedded metal, wood full of dirt or requirement to remove bark, etc)

 

[abbott295]

I'm sorry, it sounds like the first line of a joke.

How do you divide up free wood?

You split it!

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

Unless it's an incredibly valuable wood guaranteed not to have metal in it, I treat all yard wood essentially as having zero value to the homeowner, which means I don't treat it as having value. If they can't do anything with it on their own, and no one will pay them for it raw, I won't spend hundreds of dollars of my labor on providing them some value. Tree services charge them to haul it away. I'm providing the same disposal service by milling it. I will offer a slab or two maybe as a matter of courtesy, but I never will offer 50-50 splits of any yard tree work I do. Most homeowners have no clue how to dry slabs properly in any event, so any slabs you do give them will as likely as not end up warped and wasted. Better to keep a whole log stack intact and strapped and stickered together. I've had a number of homeowners talk about getting back to me to buy a slab when I've dried them, but they almost never do.

 

[sean donato]

Jd and low pro pretty much hit it right on. It's useless wood unless someone does something with it. It sitting for a coupple years doesn't bode well for it being rot free either. It should be a pay job, and see how things go once it's milled. Then go from there.

 

[rarefish383]

I agree with what was said above. I find something odd about doing real hard work for free. Then if you give him half back, you are actually paying him to let you do work he was probably too cheep to let the tree service do three years ago. Now, if it's a friend or good neighbor, I'd do it for free. Maybe, even let him see what it's like to run a hundred CC saw.

 

[Kurt Helgerson]

How it worked out: it was Black Oak and I wanted it. It was fun (!) to mill it into slabs and I got it all. Only one piece —1/4 of the standing stump—had enough rot that I left it. It was an experience. I learned that he had paid someone to fell and remove a fir tree and just take down a large red oak and leave it in place for $1,000 each, so next time I’ll be more willing to suggest some payment. So far, I have lots of Black Oak to quarter saw. It’ll be fun. That will go on a sawmill I have (HM126). Thanks for all your input.

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

That's how it should work. On the flip side, actually asking for payment to mill someone's tree and keep it for yourself is usually a non-starter, even if they still have to pay someone to get it removed. They'd rather it be quickly cut up and taken away by a tree service if they're paying for it rather than you spend a bunch of time in their yard making noise and a ton of sawdust to mill it. I had one person who like many homeowners was under the illusion their log had some great value and wanted me to make them a table or something in return for milling their tree. I laughed and said no thanks, so rather than letting me mill it for free and keep it for myself they paid my friend with the tree service who cut it down to have it removed. Just in spite because they thought I was trying to get something for free I didn't deserve lol. But normally it works out for everyone to mill it for free and keep it all for yourself. The tree service is saved a trip to the mulching yard/landfill and heavy loading of big sections, you get wood for free, and the homeowner gets rid of the largest part of the cut down tree for free. Everyone wins. (A nice neighbor did pay me to remove her 6' tall ash trunk after the rest had been removed, and let me mill it in her yard, but most folks aren't that generous. But it was still standing and I cut the stump flush to the ground for her and cleaned up nicely after myself.)

 

[StihlPotlicker]

I have a chance to use my Alaskan mill to produce some slabs from a large black oak tree in my neighborhood. The chunks of the trunk are about 5 feet long. The tree was huge, and I think I may have to go down one side and then back up the other, just to cut a slab. Should I be able to successfully do this, how do you divide up the wood between the homeowner who wants some and myself? Is there a usual 60/40 division or 50/50 division? I don’t have any close-up photo but these logs have been on the ground for 2-3 years as they show up on Google Earth.

I don't mill logs on a "I get some, homeowners get some" I have turned work away when they wanted me to slab a yard tree, and not pay my rates. I told Him I charge x amount per hr. plus if I hit metal, it is $100 a chain. then he counter offered to give me chains and he would throw in a new 3120 with 59" bar. It was not worth my time and energy to travel 3 hrs. to beat myself up and my equipment especially for a husky

 

[HumBurner]

I don't mill logs on a "I get some, homeowners get some" I have turned work away when they wanted me to slab a yard tree, and not pay my rates. I told Him I charge x amount per hr. plus if I hit metal, it is $100 a chain. then he counter offered to give me chains and he would throw in a new 3120 with 59" bar. It was not worth my time and energy to travel 3 hrs. to beat myself up and my equipment especially for a husky

So, client counter-offers (little but rude, but whatever) with materials worth more than your labor which could have been sold to recoup wages, as well as half the wood......

Okay.

 

[StihlPotlicker]

So, client counter-offers (little but rude, but whatever) with materials worth more than your labor which could have been sold to recoup wages, as well as half the wood......

Okay.

this one wasn't for half the wood, should have clarified that. this guy turns these slabs into tables and such for a living, and he is a known wheeler & dealer, so when he "didn't have the time" to do it, makes me a bit cautious. I mean the guy has down well for himself, His main headquarters is in the 17701, with show rooms in New York, Florida and Colorado.

 

[HumBurner]

this one wasn't for half the wood, should have clarified that. this guy turns these slabs into tables and such for a living, and he is a known wheeler & dealer, so when he "didn't have the time" to do it, makes me a bit cautious. I mean the guy has down well for himself, His main headquarters is in the 17701, with show rooms in New York, Florida and Colorado.

Ha, that makes waaaay more sense!