New to selling wood, need advice.

[EagleScoutWood]

Hello Everyone,

I just started a firewood business to recover some of this wood nocked down by Sandy and discovered there might be a market for valuable wood.

I currently have three tree's that I'm not sure are worth selling to anyone.

I'm asking for advice on how to:

1. Identify a tree that is worth selling to someone vs. just chopping it up for fire wood.
2. Who to contact to sell wood to in the South Eastern PA area.

And alternately any advice on selling firewood would be welcome too

If anyone knows a good agent I can purchase insurance through to start felling trees, I would be more than grateful for some contact information (I don't know if I can ask for help with that on this site)

If there are any people who own any tree-removal businesses in the area I would love to work as an apprentice if you need any help at this time of year - I would work at a fair price and I have most of my own tools already.

The Three Tree's are:

1. Two Black walnut trees at least 2' at the base. Still growing, my neighbor wants me to sell them for him. I can cut them myself for the fire wood, but if they are worth something more to someone else than I would be more than willing to get them ready for you.

2. Some kind of Cherry. Half of the tree fell more than a year ago, the other half is standing. About the same size as the previous trees. Maybe smaller. I'll measure tomorrow and update this post.

I also have another tree which is very old and very dead but has some interesting ornate knots on the side of the tree and it might be valuable for furnature. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is. I can provide pictures of all these trees.

Cheers, and thanks for any advice. If this is not posted in the correct forum I apologize.
-Jeremy

 

[BobL]

Unless they are exotica like South American Snake wood Logs/trees are problematic to sell, especially if they are yard trees as some millers outright refuse to mill yard trees.
The main issue is the value of timber can be substantially more in the cost of the milling/transport/drying than the value of the log.

The other issue is competition with so many free logs available especially after storms etc. I most I have offered (and paid) for a log is to make a couple of small turned items from the wood of an Apricot tree.

 

[treemandan]

Hi, I want to sell something. I don't know anything about what I am selling other than I know its valuable. Will you please help me? Thanks in advance.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Hi, I want to sell something. I don't know anything about what I am selling other than I know its valuable. Will you please help me? Thanks in advance.

Idk what your selling, but it sounds valuable.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Post some pics of the trees. You might get lucky and get $50 a piece maybe a little more if you can drop them off at the mill.

Find a mill near you, ask them if there interested, and if they are, they will most likely stop out and look at it. Most mills around here dont want yard trees because of the good chance there is metal in it.

Make sure if your cutting logs, you ask what lengths they want. If you cut it before asking them, make sure you if you want a 8' board, cut the log to 8'-6", a 10' board cut to 10'-6" and so on.

 

[Hddnis]

I sell hardwood logs to a local family owned mill. They were not worried about nails or yard trees too much. Only log I ever saw them turn away had a concrete curb sticking out two sides of it. Even then they let the guy cut it shorter and they took the good part. Basically you have to look around, ask a lot of questions, be able to handle and move logs, and know or meet the right people. It will take time and you'll make mistakes. You might learn it isn't worth your time or you might make a bit of money at it. Start by finding small mills in your area and ask what they'll buy.




Mr. HE

 

[mikeb1079]

well i can't help with the contact info in your area but i might be able to help a little...

1. Identify a tree that is worth selling to someone vs. just chopping it up for fire wood.

typically a log worth sawing will be at least 12" diameter or above. once you get bigger than say 30" though it becomes difficult for most (not all) mills to handle so therefore decreases (not always) marketability. you want them to be straight and with as little taper as possible. no black streaks or marks on the cut ends (metal). no visible rot, minimal knots, limbs, etc. basically your looking for a straight clean trunk section.

i think one of the problems that folks run into is that it's tough to find a market for a few trees, especially yard trees which tend to be of a lower quality than a forest grown tree. the larger log buyers usually aren't interested in such low quantity/quality. this is why alot of small landowners own sawmills so that they can maximize the return on their trees by harvesting and selling lumber instead of just the log. you can certainly try to sell those logs and see how it goes, although with the storm you guys are probably knee deep in logs, or one other option would be to contact someone with a bandsaw mill and cut them for you. i don't think it would cost much to have them sawn then you could try selling the lumber. just a thought....

 

[EagleScoutWood]

Thank's so much for your advice 2treeornot2tree!

You might get lucky and get $50 a piece maybe a little more if you can drop them off at the mill.

Thank's so much for your advice 2treeornot2tree! Now, when you say $50 a piece are you talking about per 8' or 10' log or per tree?

Also, thank you so much for the advice on what lengths to cut... That extra 6 inches, is that for shrinking, or just to account for what's taken away when it's cut?

 

[EagleScoutWood]

Only log I ever saw them turn away had a concrete curb sticking out two sides of it. Even then they let the guy cut it shorter and they took the good part. Basically you have to look around, ask a lot of questions, be able to handle and move logs, and know or meet the right people. It will take time and you'll make mistakes. You might learn it isn't worth your time or you might make a bit of money at it. Start by finding small mills in your area and ask what they'll buy.

Thank you very much for your advice! I originally got into this to lose weight and to help people with their trees. And as it turns out I'm understanding more and more why people have to pay to remove yard trees. Looking around, asking questions (learning) and meeting people are all things that I enjoy!

So again, thank you for your advice - what you said makes so much sense. I'll keep asking around and pushing forward!

 

[mrnecsteve]

I am not an expert on the value of black walnut.....but you might want to do a search on ebay "back walnut"
If you want to be amazed at some asking prices...see ebay item 321033224946 (walnut slab 2500 bucks asked)

 

[Tree Bones]

I recommend contacting Sawyers in your area about your logs. You might find someone interested in the Walnut and Cherry. A good place to start is The Sawmill Finder. This is a web site for locating a sawmill service near you. Contact Sawyers in your area and tell them what you have.

Good Luck

 

[tbow388]

Black Walnut

[video=youtube;agcLlKcXp40]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agcLlKcXp40[/video]

 

[Tree Bones]

Most any time you can make a sale it is a good sale as long as you don't take a loss. Walnut is most always over rated in value. I like free logs the best but do pay for the burl that we have out here along the west coast.

 

[WadePatton]

Moving logs is the hurdle. takes big equipment and tears up ground. (We're using a D5, a big farm tractor(redneck loader), and a semi truck.)

Call every sawyer in the county. You'll find one or two who will want to look at it and may actually offer money to get it. Or they'll know somebody.

Otherwise, a few yard trees-no matter the species, have practically no value until they're AT the mill, where they can be graded and measured properly. Size is only a portion of the grading process. Damage in falling or bucking can cause big problems with the grade-and as stated above Yard trees almost always have some crap in them-which can be anything from clothesline to rocks and spikes.

The straightest logs bring highest grade, but the great grain is in the funky stuff. So also look for homies who make furniture and gun stocks...they might be more inclined to take chances with timber that no one else wants-on the chance that they can get some pretty wood out of it.

Maybe also someone with a chainsaw mill near enough to saw it where it falls.

Also, walnut and cherry split and burn nicely, mid-range on the BTU scale. Plus you can always pull that figured piece of firewood out and try to make a pistol or knife handle etc. from it.

my last walnut logs (from the woods, good sized and straight) brought from 1.85 down to .50 per bf/doyle scale. the next batch has some higher grading stuff in there. the best one so far brought 600 bucks for the whole tree- which made 3 or 4 logs. Sending a whole walnut bunk in this time, so won't know the per-tree value as the logs are now mixed. But since i can't move these logs, i get 50% of their value at the mill.

 

[kaidanrampton]

Hey, I think as you stated that you started your new business, then I think firstly try to take some beautiful pics of some trees then post it !!
I think it would definitely help you out!!

 

[rarefish383]

You started out as a new, small firewood business, then hinted at a full service tree company. Insurance for tree removal is expensive, because it's dangerous. Others will say "just tell them you are a lawn service and get cheaper insurance". That's insurance fraud. Not many people want you backing a truck across their yard to take the log and leave all the damage to the lawn and a massive pile of brush. If the customer were to call me after you dropped the tree and took the log, it would cost them as much or more because you created a more dangerous mess for me to clean up. If I took the tree down, it would be cleaned up in smaller pieces as it came down. Once on the ground, as a dropped tree, you have branches high over your head to cut, branches bent with hundreds of pounds pressure on them. Cutting up logs for friends and relatives for the wood, and they clean up the mess is one thing, actively seeking work is something very different. You could drop $100,000 dollars in the blink of an eye buying a truck big enough to haul logs, a chipper big enough to clean up the brush, etc.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but the truth is it's hard to get rid of logs. Many tree companies will give them to you for free if you give them a place to dump them. If they could sell them, they would. You are in a glut market, everyone has too many logs on hand. Mills will give you much more if you bring the logs in. Once you get equipment big enough to handle that kind of weight, you have to branch out and do other stuff just to pay for the equipment. It's a bit of a vicious cycle.

There are niche markets for interesting grained wood, or large slabs that many mills can't produce. But, that might be one log out of a thousand, not trying to produce all the logs you can find. Good luck, just wanted to be the one to say it's not easy. Again, good luck, Joe.

 

[cityslicker]

Jeez! RAREFISH, You could have charged a buck a word for that advice. I know I appreciated it, thanks for the input.