What to charge, new to group

[Boon]

View attachment 294065View attachment 294066View attachment 294067

Hi all, I hope everyone forgives me if I have not followed protocols. I am new to the group and new to posting...any where. So am still trying to work out many things.

Have briefly read some of the posts and the knowledge out there seems too much to take in at a short time.

My name is Ben, I live in New South Wales...near Sydney - Australia

I am hoping someone with experience can shed some light on the following.......

Am new to milling but have landed a job to mill a 100 year old Cypress Pine and its branches.

I am running a 660 with a 48 inch bar on an Alaskan mill. Hoping for advice from those experienced on what to charge per hour. Trying to add some photos, out of the logs that are there about 15 will be left all greater than 20cms or 8 inches. Will be milling them at 1 1/2 inches thick or so.

The hard part is what to charge for this, any advice would be very helpful.

 

[tlbsg]

hi ben and welcome. what to charge ,hard to answer slabbing with a 66 and 48" bar will be slow and heavy go with the shortest bar that you can mill with at least with the smaller dia logs anyway:msp_wink:

 

[BobL]

That looks like a very challenging first up milling task and you will have a tricky time milling the smaller ones with a 48" bar.

Apart from the short trunk the rest looks small and milling them with a CSM will turn a lot of them into sawdust so I would be looking for someone with a BSM to mill these.

If this is not possible and you are limited to your 660 with the 48" bar then you will have a steep learning curve to get through these.
The 660 will easily handle this job but if possible I would get a 25" bar and lo-profile chain to reduce the kerf size - this will help the saw and make it easier to handle the whole thing

What's your timeline?
Do you have a CSM, log rails, etc? what about ways of holding the small pieces while they are being cut?
Even once you have the CSM I reckon it will take you at least 2 week full time to get fully organized and then cut these up.

One way to save time is to cut 2" slabs (save 25% cutting time). I also reckon it is better for drying - less warping and cracking. 2" can be split with a bandsaw into two x 3/4" boards and allows for squaring up and removing milling marks. If you mill 1.5" , splitting these will give less than 3/4" and then you still need to square and remove milling marks.

If you are doing these for someone and they have their eye on what you are doing then you may want to practice on something else till you get the hang of using a CSM.

What to charge? FWIW for straightforward logs up to 36" in diam I charge $60 an hour and $30 an hour for travel time.

One more thing - I would get some end sealer on the ends of those logs really quickly.

 

[Boon]

Hi thanks for the replies, advice taken. :msp_smile:

This is the setup I have atm, am trying to get things underway for practice on a radiata pine, unfortunately either ends are larger than the center, so have cut them back close as possible to the mid section height.

Drilled the bar today for the aux oiler using titanium bits...went through like butter, have heard some horror stories about bits breaking.

Am using a ladder for a guide rail and plan on supporting the middle to stop sag and flex. Any tips on setting up would be appreciated. Atm using a string line but the natural weight seems to curve...my eye appears to be better.

Some advice given by others per phone call was between 60 and 75 dollars as also stated here but will look at it and see how much is there, what customer wants in volume and budget. Am lucky to get such a job and do not want to loose this one but it is good to know a figure...thanks.

going in blind, guess I'll see it when I hit it.....bit worried here (

 

[BobL]

. . . .Am using a ladder for a guide rail and plan on supporting the middle to stop sag and flex. Any tips on setting up would be appreciated. Atm using a string line but the natural weight seems to curve...my eye appears to be better.

To stop ladder sag try this

Of course if you do this on a small log or branch you will basically ruin the whole thing. Small logs and branches need a different setup.

This is what I use for small stuff . The old Mac 10-10 is no more instead I used a 441 with lopro chain.

 

[Dave Boyt]

Ben, welcome to the forum. Even on a band saw mill, those small pieces would be tricky to cut, and I've had nothing but problems with branches warping and cracking after they'be been milled. Make sure you know exactly what the customer expects. Often they are unrealistic, and you need to be up front about what you can do and what the wood will do. Since it is 100 years old and the customer wants you to mill branches, I'm guessing that the tree had sentimental or historical value. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

[Yellowbeard]

To stop ladder sag try this

Of course if you do this on a small log or branch you will basically ruin the whole thing. Small logs and branches need a different setup.

This is what I use for small stuff . The old Mac 10-10 is no more instead I used a 441 with lopro chain.

BobL, I wish I was going to the land of Oz with my wife this fall. I would drive across the country to come see you. Every time I see something you have done I am impressed. I am totally stealing your rail setup. Thanks!

W.C.

 

[Boon]

To stop ladder sag try this

Of course if you do this on a small log or branch you will basically ruin the whole thing. Small logs and branches need a different setup.

This is what I use for small stuff . The old Mac 10-10 is no more instead I used a 441 with lopro chain.

Thanks for the post Bob.

That is an excellent idea, wish I would have seen this before buying the ladder. Am looking and I see threaded bar with wing nuts to give width gauge but can not see how you have compensated for any 'twist' in the rails. Is there a way?

Also each slot is individual for the threaded rod so there may be a difference in height, how does one compensate for this??

 

[BobL]

Thanks for the post Bob.
That is an excellent idea, wish I would have seen this before buying the ladder. Am looking and I see threaded bar with wing nuts to give width gauge but can not see how you have compensated for any 'twist' in the rails. Is there a way?

My log rails are quite stiff and I can rotate one end of these rails enough to correct for twist. I do this by adding wedges under the ends of the rails. I use my log rails for most cuts so I can correct for twist on every cut.
Look here as to how I do it.

Also each slot is individual for the threaded rod so there may be a difference in height, how does one compensate for this??

If the log is regular in shape the threaded rods don't bottom out and the rails sit on the bark. If there is a lump or two these can be knocked off with an axe.
When the log or ornery I use some thin shallow wedges to adjust the height in the slots. As I said my rails are stiff, so there is no need to adjust the height for everyone of the cross pieces, especially on short logs. Usually one or two point on each side is all that is required. After a few times you get better at judging the depths of the cross cuts needed across the log so that few wedges are needed.
After a while you get creative - check out how I did this one.

 

[Boon]

Ben, welcome to the forum. Even on a band saw mill, those small pieces would be tricky to cut, and I've had nothing but problems with branches warping and cracking after they'be been milled. Make sure you know exactly what the customer expects. Often they are unrealistic, and you need to be up front about what you can do and what the wood will do. Since it is 100 years old and the customer wants you to mill branches, I'm guessing that the tree had sentimental or historical value. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Hi Dave Boyt
thanks for the advice, yes you are correct it has sentimental and historical value. The owner could not sleep the night before it was cut down. There are bigger stumps, so I might ***** them before going to the branches. He has a few furniture ideas so once that order is filled the rest is potential.

From your experience is there anything to look out for when milling the bigger ones??

Anyone used a wall stud and nail detector with success for locating ?

 

[Boon]

My log rails are quite stiff and I can rotate one end of these rails enough to correct for twist. I do this by adding wedges under the ends of the rails. I use my log rails for most cuts so I can correct for twist on every cut.
Look here as to how I do it.


If the log is regular in shape the threaded rods don't bottom out and the rails sit on the bark. If there is a lump or two these can be knocked off with an axe.
When the log or ornery I use some thin shallow wedges to adjust the height in the slots. As I said my rails are stiff, so there is no need to adjust the height for everyone of the cross pieces, especially on short logs. Usually one or two point on each side is all that is required. After a few times you get better at judging the depths of the cross cuts needed across the log so that few wedges are needed.
After a while you get creative - check out how I did this one.

BobL, that's some serious milling there! It is always nice to see how other people have ideas on setting up :cool2:

Any one want to share their set up ? Am very interested. Had no idea this forum would be so educational...all good

 

[BobL]

BobL, that's some serious milling there! It is always nice to see how other people have ideas on setting up :cool2:

Any one want to share their set up ? Am very interested. Had no idea this forum would be so educational...all good

Have you read the Sticky at the top of the milling thread - lots of set-ups posted there.

If you haven't posted your setup it's better if you post your setup in the sticky otherwise it gets lost as setups are one of the most common things people ask about.

 

[Boon]

Not sure where to find the 'sticky'

Just having a look at the first thread post photos.

Went there last weekend and milled for one day. Informed the customer that the wood may crack, didn't really care and was happy to fill it if this goes on. Was more concerned about having memorabilia from the tree.

All went reasonably well, a sticking point was some pieces I could not level up centers on either end, so milled close as possible. Some pieces had no center at all, so we left those til next time & he decides what wants to do with the timber.

Have the big fat log left, this was a yard tree so no doubt over the past 80 years or so it has collocated a few souvenirs. Decided to leave it till I can afford a metal detector.

Added some photos, here it is winter the shadows are long and start early, best of is posted, do prefer Radiata pine in a way, Cypress is ok.

Not me the photos...

View attachment 296499View attachment 296500View attachment 296501

 

[cityslicker]

Make sure to let the customer know that you charge for hitting metal if you choose. If the damage is not real bad maybe charge a sharpening fee, if teeth are knocked off I would charge for a chain after showing them it. Also if you think you hit metal or things seem weird or different while milling you probably did hit metal and should stop the cut rather than trying to plow through it. It can save a chain.