[haathi]

Have any of you sold just a few green slabs before on Craigslist or similar?

I have a storm-downed red oak on my property that I would really like to have cut up by a proper sawmill. My uncle's mill can only handle up to 22" diameter, and I have 40' of log left ranging from 22" to 32" diameter to process. A local sawmill quoted around $750 after tax to come to me and cut a few 12/4 slabs, and the rest as 8/4 dimensional lumber. I probably would only have interest in one or two slabs myself, but would really like to recoup some of the cost of having them cut up the log.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for selling some of the processed wood through Craigslist or somewhere else? I left a voicemail with the company asking if they would have any interest in buying some of the slabs as they also produce quality wood furniture.

 

[haathi]

I left a voicemail with the company asking if they would have any interest in buying some of the slabs as they also produce quality wood furniture.

Update: As I assumed, they do not typically purchase slabs from customers that they cut lumber for; too difficult to know in advance if the wood will be of any interest, and they have plenty of wood already to work with. Seems like I may be left with listing the slabs on Craigslist or possibly making a Facebook Marketplace account for myself - but I am really trying to avoid that second option.

Or, a coworker has an Alaskan sawmill he has offered for my use. The Alaskan mill has a 1/2" kerf which would waste a lot of the log, but maybe I can cut a few large slabs and list those to see if they sell. If they do, use the money to hire the rest cut with a bandsaw mill.

 

[Steve Neul]

Have any of you sold just a few green slabs before on Craigslist or similar?

I have a storm-downed red oak on my property that I would really like to have cut up by a proper sawmill. My uncle's mill can only handle up to 22" diameter, and I have 40' of log left ranging from 22" to 32" diameter to process. A local sawmill quoted around $750 after tax to come to me and cut a few 12/4 slabs, and the rest as 8/4 dimensional lumber. I probably would only have interest in one or two slabs myself, but would really like to recoup some of the cost of having them cut up the log.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for selling some of the processed wood through Craigslist or somewhere else? I left a voicemail with the company asking if they would have any interest in buying some of the slabs as they also produce quality wood furniture.

View attachment 445085
View attachment 445084 View attachment 445085

I'm currently working on a log about that size. You loose quite a bit of a log making it a square log before cutting lumber out of it. I plan to get a ripping chain for my chainsaw and freehand trim the outer edges of the log to where it's square and small enough to fit my mill.

 

[haathi]

I'm currently working on a log about that size. You loose quite a bit of a log making it a square log before cutting lumber out of it. I plan to get a ripping chain for my chainsaw and freehand trim the outer edges of the log to where it's square and small enough to fit my mill.

Yes, good point, I was surprised how much wood I lost making logs square the first time I used the mill a few months ago. It was good to learn before I let my expectations get too high. I have heard good things about using a ripping chain for the chainsaw - hopefully it works well for you. One option I was thinking about was using the Alaskan mill to square the log as you are suggesting. Moving a log to the mill becomes more awkward for me as I could no longer roll the log easily for getting chains around it, but that might still be a good way to go.

I am assuming you won't make the mistake I did: I finished cutting a log and left the cutting head at the end of the track when putting a big log on the mill. When I went to bring the cutting head back to the beginning of the track to start the first cut, the blade didn't clear the log by just a few inches when fully raised up. Duh. If the head had been at the beginning of the track in the first place, I could have just made the first cut like normal to start squaring the log. Instead we removed the blade, brought the head past the log, and reinstalled the blade. It was not that hard to remove the blade, but I will not be making that mistake again.

 

[stevenjohn21]

Haul it to Georgia and I’ll mill it for you 😂
On a serious note, go on woodmizers website and they’ll have registered sawyers with mills hopefully close to your location.
If a customer asks to mill something that is of decent quality, I’ll usually do it for free for half of the slabs that I get from the tree. I will charge them $30 for every blade that gets damaged just incase it’s full of nails or other metal objects.
It’s worth calling around because you’ll get your lumber for free and the sawyer will make his/her money from selling the slabs…… everyone wins!

 

[haathi]

Haul it to Georgia and I’ll mill it for you 😂
On a serious note, go on woodmizers website and they’ll have registered sawyers with mills hopefully close to your location.
If a customer asks to mill something that is of decent quality, I’ll usually do it for free for half of the slabs that I get from the tree. I will charge them $30 for every blade that gets damaged just incase it’s full of nails or other metal objects.
It’s worth calling around because you’ll get your lumber for free and the sawyer will make his/her money from selling the slabs…… everyone wins!

Hey, thanks for the offer! Unfortunately I typically avoid drives over a few hours if I can help it - Ohio is a little too far away from Georgia last I checked. Oh, and my trailer weight limit is 1500 lbs and one of these red oak logs at 8' long and 28" diameter would be over 2000 lbs! 😲

But to your actual point, I should call around a little more. I have only contacted one place so far and I know of a couple more that I can try. I have looked at Woodmizer's call list before, but have not actually used it yet.

 

[Steve Neul]

Yes, good point, I was surprised how much wood I lost making logs square the first time I used the mill a few months ago. It was good to learn before I let my expectations get too high. I have heard good things about using a ripping chain for the chainsaw - hopefully it works well for you. One option I was thinking about was using the Alaskan mill to square the log as you are suggesting. Moving a log to the mill becomes more awkward for me as I could no longer roll the log easily for getting chains around it, but that might still be a good way to go.

I am assuming you won't make the mistake I did: I finished cutting a log and left the cutting head at the end of the track when putting a big log on the mill. When I went to bring the cutting head back to the beginning of the track to start the first cut, the blade didn't clear the log by just a few inches when fully raised up. Duh. If the head had been at the beginning of the track in the first place, I could have just made the first cut like normal to start squaring the log. Instead we removed the blade, brought the head past the log, and reinstalled the blade. It was not that hard to remove the blade, but I will not be making that mistake again.

I know what you mean about moving big logs. This one even though it was only 8' long was all my tractor could do to lift it. Once I got it up I didn't have enough rear end weight to go anywhere with it. Then I attempted to roll it to a place where the ground was drier and ended up breaking one of the forks off my tractor. I've got it welded back together now and have made some L brackets out of some 1/2" steel to add to it.

I don't have one of those chainsaw sawmills. Actually I don't even have a very good chainsaw anymore. What I have just has an 18" bar.

 

[haathi]

I know what you mean about moving big logs. This one even though it was only 8' long was all my tractor could do to lift it. Once I got it up I didn't have enough rear end weight to go anywhere with it. Then I attempted to roll it to a place where the ground was drier and ended up breaking one of the forks off my tractor. I've got it welded back together now and have made some L brackets out of some 1/2" steel to add to it.

I don't have one of those chainsaw sawmills. Actually I don't even have a very good chainsaw anymore. What I have just has an 18" bar.

Ouch. I am still working on getting a loader attached to my tractor, but it is a subcompact with a lifting limit around 800 lb. I definitely will not be able to pick up a log like this, but hopefully I would at least be comfortable moving the slabs a couple at a time with forks.

I am working with a 16" battery operated chainsaw. It works great for cleaning up limbs and small logs, but even on the ground 32" is almost beyond its capabilities. My friend's gas saw is a 48" beast that I don't really want to run myself.

 

[Steve Neul]

Ouch. I am still working on getting a loader attached to my tractor, but it is a subcompact with a lifting limit around 800 lb. I definitely will not be able to pick up a log like this, but hopefully I would at least be comfortable moving the slabs a couple at a time with forks.

I am working with a 16" battery operated chainsaw. It works great for cleaning up limbs and small logs, but even on the ground 32" is almost beyond its capabilities. My friend's gas saw is a 48" beast that I don't really want to run myself.

I think the lift capacity on mine is around 1000 lbs. What I did for forks is remove the loader bucket and fabricate a bracket for the front which is similar to a modern JD tractors where you can quickly change attachments. Then I made forks out of 2x4 tubular steel. .