There's no crying in logging....

[JJuday]

This is my first post on this logging forum and let me start by saying that I am not here to cry about anything.

Now that I have that out of the way here is my story.

I and three friends of mine took down 12 decent Walnuts. We managed to get 26 logs out all bucked down to no less than 8' with the smallest being 10'' and the biggest at 23'' dia.

Took some to the mill today, 3 of the biggest and got 318.00$. Took 7 of the worst and got 100.00$ even.

No, none were top grade logs. I am thankful for getting more than firewood price out of them, but disappointed was an understatement. We had a buyer come out and look at them and without even putting the tape to them offered 400.00 for them if they had to load and haul and 580.00 if we loaded onto their trailer.

So, we did better than the first offer so far and still have logs to haul to the mill yet.

To all you in the logging industry....I have much respect for you and what you do and I hope that things come back around. I think that this might be the end of my short lived logging career, at least for now! I think it's Miller Time! JJ.

 

[371groundie]

hence why we dont all chase price. we sell wood to (and buy wood from) people we know are reputable and treat us well.

not to get down on you but anyone selling just a couple logs is bound to get screwed. they are more likely to be yard trees (full of metal) and the wood buyer will usually treat his steady suppliers well and make up the difference on guys who just show up with wood every so often.

are you starting in the loggin biz?

 

[056kid]

selling firewood is not "logging", either is toting logs on a car trailer.




As far as Im concerned, you aint logging until you have a contract with the mill.

 

[tlandrum]

i usually buy tracts and sell my own timber to what ever mill pays the most and dont contract to any 1 mill. no getting my eggs in 1 basket. i will occasionally log a tract for the mill and get paid by the 1000 to get it to them from stump to yard. on poor tracts of timber you will make better by logging for the mill but on good timber i would rather sell to whoever i want under no contract. and i am most definately a logger from start to finish and from feast to famine. currently famine.....

 

[371groundie]

youre not a logger til your livelyhood depends on it. so right now that qualifies me as not. but ive been there. i rode the market to the top and when i saw the end was in sight i bailed. i didnt have wood or markets lined up for the foreseable future. there was a multitude of issues between me and my business partner. so we parted company and the skidder was his.

still looking to get back in the woods. ill get there yet.

 

[Jacob J.]

There's no crying in logging....

Tell that to those drama queens on "Axemen"...

 

[joesawer]

There is a couple of times that I would have cried but there was no one to see it, so I just went back to work. lol


P.S. It doesn't sound like you got cheated on those logs. Every body has fantastic stories about prices for Walnut logs. but I have never heard them varified except for a couple of fantastic logs.
My dad has a mill in the east and their are a lot of levels between the logger and the end consumer and a lot of people making a percentage.
Look at the price of high quality oak at Lowe's or Home Depot compared to the price a logger gets per BF.

 

[tramp bushler]

selling firewood is not "logging", either is toting logs on a car trailer.




As far as Im concerned, you aint logging until you have a contract with the mill.[/QUOTE:deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse:

 

[056kid]

####, im just sayin . .

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Tell that to those drama queens on "Axemen"...

You're not talking about little Jesse Browning are you?

 

[Jacob J.]

You're not talking about little Jesse Browning are you?

I don't know any of the names of the guys on the show. I caught about a 1/2 hr. of it while at a friend's house and there were several unnecessary temper tantrums being thrown.

I've been in the woods a long time and I'd much rather put my energy towards being productive.

 

[hammerlogging]

old mountain man Sam, first skidder driver I ever cut for, his old line was
"Loggin's just as hard as you make it"

 

[tomtrees58]

Tell that to those drama queens on "Axemen"...

:hmm3grin2orange::agree2:

 

[385XP]

As far as Im concerned, you aint logging until you have a contract with the mill.

oh boy i guess im not a logger then.oh well i guess ill start hugging trees then. you heathen. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

As far as Im concerned, you aint logging until you have a contract with the mill.

Contract with a mill means your balls are tied up when it comes to prices. A quota at a mill is a much better thing IMO. Means you have choices where to haul and can decide based on prices/distance/mill specs/etc.

 

[Burvol]

Production

I don't know any of the names of the guys on the show. I caught about a 1/2 hr. of it while at a friend's house and there were several unnecessary temper tantrums being thrown.

I've been in the woods a long time and I'd much rather put my energy towards being productive.

It's good to have pride in your work and be attatched to it like that, but not emotional in a bad way. Emotions can and will get the best of you in the woods if you let them.

 

[385XP]

Contract with a mill means your balls are tied up when it comes to prices. A quota at a mill is a much better thing IMO. Means you have choices where to haul and can decide based on prices/distance/mill specs/etc.

:agree2:

 

[JJuday]

selling firewood is not "logging", either is toting logs on a car trailer.




As far as Im concerned, you aint logging until you have a contract with the mill.

I suppose you are right about that. Maybe I should have said "my short lived logging career" with much more sarcasm! No, I don't think I am a logger. The four of us got the wood for free and decided that it was better to sell as logs than to cut it all into 16'' pieces. I think it could have been worse though, they could have just given us firewood price. Both mills had pile on top of pile of Walnut, Oak, and Cherry. I understand the mills position on it too. In the end if we make a buck I will be happy. JJ

 

[056kid]

Yea, they can pretty much give what they want for it. I helped an old drunk haul logs to a small mill that alot of his kin folk worked at. he got treated pretty good just cause the family thing. otherwise its allmost not worth it.

 

[discounthunter]

learn from this. trees mostly have little cash value till they are made into something. just because its walnut means nothing to a mill. they have to find buyers for it ,if its not eneer quality ,right off the bat your not going to get much,i suspect your was what i would call hobby quality. small market and again not worth much till its made into something.

if you really want a downer a friend of mine sold several turkey call made with walnut, got $150 a piece,care to guess how many turkey calls are in your wood?lol