General mill charges

[Mac McQuinn]

I have several lengths of very straight, vertical grained, old growth Sitka Spruce in rough sawn state. Mostly 2"x8"x16' approximately. What is the general charge for a mill to thickness plane these to a clean, smooth surface and true the wood edges?
Mac

[Peter Quinn]

Depends. Some places charge per lineal foot, per pass. Some charge shop rate , generally $50-$75/hour depending on market area. Most will make it clear that if it's your wood, and they hit something ferrous, you own the knives, which can get expensive and is completely fair IMO. Not sure there is a generally accepted charge universally, best to call a few places in your area to compare.

[Myk Rian]

Where are you? Maybe someone local could offer up their shop.

[Mac McQuinn]

I have a couple local businesses I can utilize although I don't want to be blindsided and thought I'd ask here first. While the material I own has never caused an issue in the past in regards to foreign imbedded material, I'm sure a metal detector would be good insurance.
Thanks for the info,
Mac

[Myk Rian]

I have a couple local businesses I can utilize
Well then, ask them. Different locations, different charges. If you don't want to reveal where you are, we can't help much.

[Mac McQuinn]

Myk,

I will eventually although I was hoping to gather some insight through people on the site from various regions, developing an idea what to expect on average. As I stated in my OP, I didn't want to get blindsided. As far as revealing where I'm from it's not a secret, I'm from Michigan. This has been shown in some of my posts throughout the past and I've sold several items in the classifieds with this information clearly indicated. Ironically you should know this as you purchased an item from me a couple years ago and sent a check to my address and received a package from the same address.
Mac




Well then, ask them. Different locations, different charges. If you don't want to reveal where you are, we can't help much.

[Shawn Pixley]

Mac

Kinda harsh response don't you think? You're asking for assistance, and when others note properly that your location is vital to getting a good answer, you state that we should track down your history to determine where you are located?

That said, the nearest shop that could mill material, is a two hour drive from me. We don't get a lot of rough milled material here. If I did acquire some, I'd likely end up milling it myself.

[Mac McQuinn]

Shawn,
No I don't. In my OP, I was asking for prices from members throughout the different regions we live in order to average things out before I go to the nearest mill. Someone living in my area and providing me a price is redundant, I can call for this information. I was not asking for help locally in getting the materials milled therefore my location was not provided. I would mill it myself although have recently sold my thickness planer and joiner due to noise ordinances in my area.
Mac



Mac

Kinda harsh response don't you think? You're asking for assistance, and when others note properly that your location is vital to getting a good answer, you state that we should track down your history to determine where you are located?

That said, the nearest shop that could mill material, is a two hour drive from me. We don't get a lot of rough milled material here. If I did acquire some, I'd likely end up milling it myself.

[Tai Fu]

I saw it at the local grocery store for $5.99 ....

[Mac McQuinn]

I've about 144 board feet, If that's by the board foot, that works out to be $862.56.......:eek: It might be better to use it for the wood stove in rough form.
Mac



I saw it at the local grocery store for $5.99 ....

[Tai Fu]

I was just commenting on General mill pricing... as you know General Mills makes cereals.

[Mac McQuinn]

Yes, I know.........;)
Mac



I was just commenting on General mill pricing... as you know General Mills makes cereals.

[Shawn Pixley]

Shawn,
No I don't. In my OP, I was asking for prices from members throughout the different regions we live in order to average things out before I go to the nearest mill. Someone living in my area and providing me a price is redundant, I can call for this. I was not asking for help locally in getting the materials milled therefore my location was not provided. I would mill it myself although have recently sold my thickness planer and joiner due to noise ordinances in my area.
Mac

Well I think your asking for assistance may be hampered by your harshness. How does a mill charge in say Bottswana help you with mill charges in your area?

This is sorta like asking for real estate rates in Tokyo. It can be perfectly correct, but utterly meaningless in Michigan. Tokyo real estate can go 23,969 yen per Tsubo in the central wards for commercial real estate.

[Mac McQuinn]

Well, since the bulk of the SMC'ers are within the CONUSA, lets' go with that.
Mac



Well I think your asking for assistance may be hampered by your harshness. How does a mill charge in say Bottswana help you with mill charges in your area?

This is sorta like asking for real estate rates in Tokyo. It can be perfectly correct, but utterly meaningless in Michigan. Tokyo real estate can go 23,969 yen per Tsubo in the central wards for commercial real estate.

[Myk Rian]

Ironically you should know this as you purchased an item from me a couple years ago and sent a check to my address and received a package from the same address.
Mac

Hell. I'm 65 years old. I don't remember what I did last week to get my Wife pissed off.
Which means I'll probably do it again, and start the whole cycle all over again.

[Kevin Jenness]

Well, I'll take a stab at it. 144 board feet of 2x8 x 16' is 6 pieces, 96 lineal feet. in our custom shop the sequence would be two passes on the planer to clean it up, two to three passes on a long bed jointer to get a reasonably straight, smooth edge (you did state it is pretty straight to start with, and it's 16'long), one rip on the tablesaw and a final pass on edge through the planer. Given the length, it would require accurately set up roller stands at the jointer or an extra set of hands. If you appeared competent I'd let you be the extra set of hands at no upcharge. With getting the material in and out of the shop , 1-1/2-2 hours at $60 per, depending on the actual state of the material. Knife damage extra. If you can find someone with a 4-sided moulder that wants to set up for a small custom job, you would cut the time by more than half but probably pay for an hour minimum at a higher rate. Just call the local shops up, but don't expect a lineal foot rate unless they are set up for production.

[Don Huffer]

I don't know but it sounds like a good reason to purchase your own planer. I buy both rough sawn and "milled" and I still plane the milled lumber because my planer leaves a smoother finish.

If I buy rough I face it first on the jointer then plane to thickness.

[Mac McQuinn]

Kevin,
Thanks for the response. While I wish you were close enough to do the job, at least this gives me an idea what to expect. There is a possibility (2) different cabinet shops nearby might have a (4) sided moulder. I'll make a call to verify. The material is very nice and straight, always stored correctly and a pleasure to work with. A couple years ago when I still had my equipment, I was amazed how well it machined and how little I had to remove to use it for a couple projects.
Thanks
Mac



Well, I'll take a stab at it. 144 board feet of 2x8 x 16' is 6 pieces, 96 lineal feet. in our custom shop the sequence would be two passes on the planer to clean it up, two to three passes on a long bed jointer to get a reasonably straight, smooth edge (you did state it is pretty straight to start with, and it's 16'long), one rip on the tablesaw and a final pass on edge through the planer. Given the length, it would require accurately set up roller stands at the jointer or an extra set of hands. If you appeared competent I'd let you be the extra set of hands at no upcharge. With getting the material in and out of the shop , 1-1/2-2 hours at $60 per, depending on the actual state of the material. Knife damage extra. If you can find someone with a 4-sided moulder that wants to set up for a small custom job, you would cut the time by more than half but probably pay for an hour minimum at a higher rate. Just call the local shops up, but don't expect a lineal foot rate unless they are set up for production.

[Mac McQuinn]

Don,

Good advice, perhaps in the near future. Right now I'm looking for property to build a house with dedicated shop.
thanks, Mac



I don't know but it sounds like a good reason to purchase your own planer. I buy both rough sawn and "milled" and I still plane the milled lumber because my planer leaves a smoother finish.

If I buy rough I face it first on the jointer then plane to thickness.

[Mac McQuinn]

No problem, I feel your pain as I turned 60 this year and it seems like I'm forgetting everything and my wife keeps reminding me of everything I'm forgetting......:rolleyes:
Mac




Hell. I'm 65 years old. I don't remember what I did last week to get my Wife pissed off.
Which means I'll probably do it again, and start the whole cycle all over again.

[Andy Pratt]

Shop near me charges $.30-$.40-lf, they have a 4-sided moulder and that probably makes them the most competitive option so it is not unreasonable if someone in your area charges significantly more if they do not have one.

[bill tindall]

We charged 10 cents per bd ft to plane the 8/4 lumber we sold. On rare occasions we would plane something for someone that was not our wood but they had to be an exceptionally pleasant person to get the service. It simply was not worth the aggravation doing planing on lumber of unknown cleanliness for any reasonable price. One time I broke our rule for some exceptional chestnut and hit a dozen or more nails. That cured future favors. "Truing the edges" on a 16' length, whatever that in fact means, would have been a task I would not have attempted. Likely, you will need to find someone willing to do you a favor to get it done.

[johnny means]

Mr. McQuinn, I and most millwork shops have a special price for fellas with your attitude. It's the Ucant Payme enuf special.

[Moses Yoder]

The wood should be cut to rough length for the project you intend to build before jointing the edges, about 3/4" longer than finished size. A four head molder will not make a 16' board straight and will take a while to set up and will make all the board the same width and thickness, plus I think the wood has to be milled close before going into the molder. In other words I would wait to square it until you are ready to use it, then cut it to rough length. They should be at least 3 feet long so short lengths are ganged together. I can get wood planed for $0.10 per lineal foot but I hardly ever do that. You can buy a DeWalt planer for $400 at Home Depot; I had one, unfortunately broke the main aluminum casting while doing a favor for a friend so now I don't have a planer. I have been buying wood as needed for projects already planed and I have hand tools if it needs to be planed further. I live in Southern MI as anyone can tell since my location is in my profile. Your wood is probably a dream to hand plane.

[Rick Moyer]

No help here, sorry, but you might want to turn off the bold lettering. That usually conveys "shouting" which will make people think you're angry.