Met a new tree service today - Woodworking Talk

**Daren** · 06-10-2008, 06:07 PM

We have had some bad storms lately. The city hired a tree service to come in and remove some damaged trees. The city guy is my buddy and he told me about this, I said give them my card. I was milling after lunch and my cell phone rings, the tree service "Hey, we are cutting down a hard maple, do you want it" I asked how big is it ? "Pretty decent sized" He said. "Sure I'll take it I just don't want anything under 16" or so"...So it shows up and get dumped in the yard while I gone running errands

50" across on the butt log, I have to 1/4 it to get it on the mill even

. I have taken plenty of big logs...never fails it is in the heat of the summer and I am out there with a chainsaw ripping it in 1/4ers, every single one I have ever had to rip it was 100 degrees outside

.

Oh well, you can see from the picture of the log in the yard and the piece on the mill Mother nature already took one perfect 1/4 out for me with lightning. I only took a few pictures, the yard is full of hard maple logs off that one tree 20"-30" diameter.

I ended up catching the guys (did not even know they were in town or where they were working until he called) and we talked. I thanked him for the log (even though it is going to work my butt off as big as it is) and asked what else he had "I have a few white oaks, a catalpa, some black locust and honeylocust butt logs I cut just last week, do you want them ?" Again I asked how big, he said 18"-26" and 7'-9' (that is more like it

) Sure I will take those too I told him. He said is working in town all week, he would load them up in his dumptruck and bring them over when he comes to town

. I will flip him a few bucks to keep in good with him if they are decent logs.

He said he hauled 10 perfect black walnut logs 24"X8' to a mill 30 miles away and the guy only gave him $.30 bft (that is pallet wood pricing around here) I said I could probably do a little better for really good ones since he was delivering

.

We'll see how this works out. I will post more picture of logs he brings me, if he does that is.

**Daren** · 06-10-2008, 07:32 PM

While cleaning/bucking the logs up this afternoon there seems to be something wrong with the grain

. Go figure.

dirtclod · 06-10-2008, 07:40 PM

There's nothing like that feeling when they pull in with something besides firewood or worse. And now you find an unexpected treasure. God is smiling on you!

That quartering job looks too good to be true. Sure will make it easier to finish the job. I have a big pin oak waiting to be cut. It split in half over a 24' section then snapped off. I will quarter and rift it. I was pestering our tree service about locust and mulhberry. Seems that it never shows up even though there's a lot of it growing around here.

Are you selling firewood/slabs?

**Daren** · 06-10-2008, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtclod

Are you selling firewood/slabs?

I give slab away. I live in town and don't have room for it, good riddance. I stack them beside the shed by the alley and people haul them off. I keep enough to heat my shop and all the fruit and nut wood I have buyers for in the BBQ world (they pay well). Giving it away works in another way too. Some guys will fell a tree and bring it by and swap for slab. I will take the logs and load them plumb up with slab, usually 2X the slab for log . Some people don't have log splitters, cutting the slab to firewood length is easy for them. When I very first started I tried the firewood selling game, it did not work out for me. The able bodied around here cut/split their own (this is going to sound terrible and selfish, but it is why I quit) I would have firewood for sale for a set price, picked up here...I would always get calls from elderly wanting firewood "Can you deliver ?", sure why not. That always turned into unloading and stacking too even though I had a 1 ton dump bed and "delivered" is dumped in a pile around here. I never even charged for stacking, just did it. I decided to get out of the firewood business, too much hassle for the money. I have too many other things going.

**Daren** · 06-10-2008, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtclod

God is smiling on you!

That quartering job looks too good to be true.

Yea that would have taken me way too long, hard maple is called "hard" maple for a reason it is tough ripping. Presto one lighting bolt did in an split second, weird eh? A guy could lay a framing square in that 1/4 and not have much wiggle room. I am good with a chainsaw...not that good

.

dirtclod · 06-10-2008, 10:21 PM

Boy does that firewood story sound familiar. And the stuff sells for max 45.00/rick around here (most want it for 25-35 a rick). Quit doing it.

We use enough firewood to dispose of the laps and high quality slabs but still I would like to sell some. I noticed a local store selling softwood cutoffs firewood bundles for I think ~5.00/bundle. It looks like it would take 30 of those bundles to equal a rick. These are being purchased by the country-living slickers for their camping trips and their rarely-used fireplaces.That got me to thinking I could put them togather from higer-grade hardwood slabs and maybe a few pieces of real firewood and sell them on a consignment basis splitting the $5.00 into $3.50 for us and $1.50 for him. Ever tried that?

We milled ~2000bf of tulip poplar for a customer last week. It had been laying for more than a year. The sapwood was punky in places. It was 15 mile from home. When we got done the customer ask us if we wanted the slabs for firewood.

**Daren** · 06-10-2008, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtclod

I noticed a local store selling softwood cutoffs firewood bundles for I think ~5.00/bundle. These are being purchased by the country-living slickers for their camping trips and their rarely-used fireplaces.

I will tell a little story. One day I was milling and a dude pulls up in a 2 ton truck with stake sides. He asked what I did with my slab, I said it is free firewood. I had a heck of a pile. I stopped and helped him load up all that truck would hold. We sat on the hill to catch our breath and he says "Know what I am going to do with that wood ?". No ? "I just got a contract with the local state campgrounds, I can sell firewood bundles at the gate. I will make $2000 on this load"

, yea after I loaded him up. I told him to never to come back again unless I saw 25%...never saw him again.
Little bundles can be a big money maker. Servicing all the resellers (even getting them) is the tough part. I cannot get into the "chain store" gas station outlets, the campgrounds and the like have been covered too by vultures like the dude I told the story on.
Just cause that local store you mentioned has it for sale for $5, doesn't mean they are buying much.

ecologito · 06-11-2008, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daren

I will tell a little story. One day I was milling and a dude pulls up in a 2 ton truck with stake sides. He asked what I did with my slab, I said it is free firewood. I had a heck of a pile. I stopped and helped him load up all that truck would hold. We sat on the hill to catch our breath and he says "Know what I am going to do with that wood ?". No ? "I just got a contract with the local state campgrounds, I can sell firewood bundles at the gate. I will make $2000 on this load"

, yea after I loaded him up. I told him to never to come back again unless I saw 25%...never saw him again.
Little bundles can be a big money maker. Servicing all the resellers (even getting them) is the tough part. I cannot get into the "chain store" gas station outlets, the campgrounds and the like have been covered too by vultures like the dude I told the story on.
Just cause that local store you mentioned has it for sale for $5, doesn't mean they are buying much.

That is a guy with no Biz. ethics. If that was me I would at least buy you a load of beer

**Daren** · 06-12-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daren

He said is working in town all week, he would load them up in his dumptruck and bring them over when he comes to town . I will flip him a few bucks to keep in good with him if they are decent logs.

We'll see how this works out. I will post more picture of logs he brings me, if he does that is.

Been down this road before

, many times, that is why I said if. The tree service left town yesterday. I got one tree, the one that was too big to split for firewood or haul too far and dump (my yard was handy, go figure) All the rest went with them. Reckon I will see any more from them ?

Oh, the life of an urban logger.

Gerry KIERNAN · 06-15-2008, 11:40 AM

Yeah, The guy should have at least left you a twofour.

Gerry

JON BELL · 06-16-2008, 08:18 PM

Oh No!I guess you'll have to wait a couple days for some more free trees

**Daren** · 06-16-2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JON BELL

Oh No!I guess you'll have to wait a couple days for some more free trees

I reckon so

. Oh well, "Mr dump a tree in my yard and leave town" at least dumped one I can get a little good from. I threw another 1/4 on the mill today (yea that is just a 1/4. Splitting a big log with wedges (pics)). It is hard to see fresh sawn, but there is curl in the boards.

**Daren** · 06-18-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daren

I give slab away. I live in town and don't have room for it, good riddance. I stack them beside the shed by the alley and people haul them off.

I was not going to do this, but what the heck we're all friends here right ? Yea I am white trash

. I got me a fancy sign and all

. Whatever, I don't have to deal with the slab and the people hauling if off get good firewood for free. You can see the pile is pretty small for a guy milling most every day now, I just go out there and some (or all of it) is gone. Not a bad deal for the people dragging it off, oak/walnut/osage/ash/maple...All good burning hardwoods already felled and cut into manageable size, just load up a trailer and go home.