Market Price of Sawing

[Phillip Pardue]

I need to get my hands on some odd dimensioned walnut (2" and 3" thickness) which none of the local lumber yards carry. My options are to pay exorbitant amounts at the "specialty" lumber supplier or saw my own.

No problem, I have a large farm and can fell anything native. The question comes in getting someone to mill it.

I have some contacts for guys with portable band mills. I was curious to see what other members have found the "market price" for milling to be before I give them a call and pull the trigger. I presume the price is per the board foot. Perhaps linear foot?

The specifics are:

Walnut that I will fell and load to my trailer and deliver to the sawyer. This will all be plain sawed (unless someone can think of a compelling reason to quarter saw walnut).


Thank you all for your expertise.

[Dennis Ford]

It has been a couple of years since I took any logs to a local guy, it was ~ 30 cents /bd ft. Large straight logs cost less to saw than poor quality. You will work hard and save a lot of money, quality of the sawing will be more important than cost once you start milling it up.

[Jeremy Brant]

The guy I bought my last load of lumber from doesn't price custom sawing by the bd ft...he prices by the hour. His rate is $75/hr. I have no idea how many bd ft can be cut in an hour and it probably depends on the log dimensions and how you want it cut. I'd imagine that it's pretty high, especially if help was provided to move all the cut boards out of the way.

[Scott T Smith]

Jeremy and Dennis's posts are pretty accurate. Most small millers charge between $50 - $75 per hour for custom milling (I charge $65.00), or bd ft prices range from .25 - .40, with .30 - .35 being about average. You should also expect to be charged about $35.00 per band that strikes metal or any other object that damages/destroys the bands.

Folks in extremely rural areas that have had their mills for years may charge less.

[Danny Hamsley]

Many sawyers will come to your logs, so that might save you some hassle loading and hauling them. Also, you will need some dry stickers to stack and dry the lumber. Wet stickers will not do.

[Phillip Pardue]

Alright, that sounds good. The guy I am thinking of going with charges $.20/B.F. and delivery to his site negates a $165 setup fee. Since I have the equipment and trailer to make transport easy, that is a real winner for me.

Thanks for all your input! I will make a point to post photos when I get it done.

[Randy Gazda]

Alright, that sounds good. The guy I am thinking of going with charges $.20/B.F. and delivery to his site negates a $165 setup fee. Since I have the equipment and trailer to make transport easy, that is a real winner for me.

Thanks for all your input! I will make a point to post photos when I get it done.

I agree with the pricing. Since you are sawing 8/4 and 12/4 the per hour rate would benefit you. However, $0.20 a bd ft. is a great price in opinion. Do you need the lumber soon? If you do, you need to factor in kiln drying? Air drying is going to take several years. I have over the years had several thousand board feet of lumber sawn, The base for you stickering needs to be dead flat and consider wrapping the stack with racket staps that you can keep tightening as the wood dries. It is not as hard to keep 8/4 and 12/4 flat but the more time you take to sticker, etc to keep it flat is totally worth it.

Good luck. Oh, and post some photos of the process and end results.

[Danny Hamsley]

$.20 is very good if the sawyer cuts good quality consistent lumber. If not, it is not a good price. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

[Jim Andrew]

I can understand the setup fee for milling on site. I drag my own logs to the mill rather than take my mill to the logs. Homeowners insurance covers my mill at home, but have to buy a contractors policy to mill off my property. The down side is the mess is at my place.

[Phillip Pardue]

Well, as an update and additional question:

I have felled two walnuts and a cherry with a total of 700 B.F. estimated. This was all I intended to mill, however, I found a new mill that will come to me and charges $.165/B.F. The only stipulation is that his minimum is 1000 B.F. Needless to say, I am going to use him if for no other reason than to save moving the logs.

I need to add about 300 B.F. to the pile. I have a eastern red cedar tree that I "clipped" in bringing down one of the walnuts which will be a good candidate but will be lucky to realize 150 B.F. of heart wood.

What other species, indigenous to East Tennessee, would be good for me to use to make a 1000 B.F.? I am thinking of something I can’t get at the lumber yard that might be desirable.
Thank you for your suggestions. The mill comes Sunday so expect pictures then.

[Randy Gazda]

Not sure what tree species you have in TN. But you might think about some secondary species, that you could use for drawers, jigs, etc. I find having some secondary or less species hardwood around the shop very useful. Especially, if the cash cost is $0.165. Post some photos of the milling, stickering, etc.

[Danny Hamsley]

With the effort required to mill 1000 BF, the cost of the mill, and the time and cost of moving to your site, $.165/BF is crazy low. If it was a piece of equipment that you were buying, I would worry about it being stolen.........Hopefully, it will work out well for you.

[Jim Andrew]

If my math is correct, .165 times 1000 bf equals 165$. Have to see that to believe it.

[Dave MacArthur]

Kentucky coffeetree? I read about it now and then, seems to grow in your area, and you wouldn't find it in a store.
http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_gydi.pdf Fact sheet from USDA.

[Paul Bombardt]

Phillip,
A couple of cautions when selecting a miller. Try to see a load he has sawn previously. I hired a guy that was recommended to me- said he'd saw all day for ~$350, which seemed okay if I did the stacking. First caveat is he brought a bunch of junk blades and couldn't get through my maple trees, second caveat was that many of the boards were not sawed with parallel faces across the width. Meaning that a 2 inch thick board could vary from 2" to 1" at the other side of the board width.

As for species in East Tennessee, I'm sure you have maples of some sort, probably ash, and possibly buckeye or horse chestnut. I'd bet you also have butternut, a rare find in any lumberyard.

[Scott T Smith]

From an "educational perspective", one thing that I forgot to mention earlier regarding the differences in milling costs is if the operator is sawing for "yield" versus sawing for "grade".

When a miller saws for yield, they do not pay much attention to the defects (or grain) in the log - they simply place it on the mill and mill it as quickly as possible, and the customer ends up with a large quantity of plain sawn lumber. A lot of farm-grade wood is produced this way.

When a miller saws for grade, it can take 30% - 50% longer, and you will end up with less yield (but your lumber will be much higher quality). The time difference is spent in studying the log before it goes on the mill, spending more time to get it orientated so that the defects can be edged out (or minimized), and in some instances milling the log into portions (either thirds or quarters) and removing some of the portions while you mill each one individually (commonly done for quartersawing). In some instances, the log is positioned in order to maximize the yield of crotch or other highly figured wood. All of this requires extra time (both for observing the log as well as changing it around) and hence associated cost.

In addition to the millers expertise, you must have good quality logs if you're going to practice grade sawing.

Phillip - TN has a large number of great hardwoods from you to choose from for getting your extra bd ft. At the price quoted by your miller, he will be sawing for yield so your end products will be primarily flatsawn. Look for species that are well suited for plain sawing (such as walnut, maple, ERC, and you might want to consider some poplar for shop projects or things that you will be painting. Oak is another good choice, as a lot of folks like the look of flat sawn oak (I prefer quartersawn myself).

[Phillip Pardue]

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Here are a few shots of the process. It went down pefectly with the exception of one nail. Thanks for all your help along the way!

[sunny nic]

Not sure what tree species you have in TN. But you might think about some secondary species, that you could use for drawers, jigs, etc. I find having some secondary or less species hardwood around the shop very useful. Especially, if the cash cost is $0.165. Post some photos of the milling, stickering, etc.

$0.165? so good price?

[Jim Becker]

The sawyer I use to mill here charges about $55 an hour plus 1/2 hour travel time plus $25 a blade whacked by any metal in the logs.