Selling softwood to fill time?

[Big J]

We've cut well over a thousand tonnes of hardwood cord in the last year and a bit. Seeing as processors are the only quick way to convert firewood, I wouldn't want to put a good deal of what we've cut through a processor. Too bendy and knotty. If you weren't to process it though, it would just be wasted.

 

500 cubic metres is some number though. You would need to shift that though to turn a £15000 gross profit, which isn't much at the end of the day. You then have capital costs like a processor, a delivery method, vented bags. How the hell do you firewood merchants make any money?!

[firewood]

We are all as tight as a rats arse!!!!

 

http://www.kinnoirwoodfuel.co.uk

[firewood]

The serious answer is volume.

 

http://www.kinnoirwoodfuel.co.uk

[agg221]

If the softwood is up to a good standard, have you considered milling it and selling to trade? There's definitely demand in some niche areas - high quality painted exterior joinery would ideally use Douglas, but it's normally more expensive than sapele so there's a market there. There's also demand for beams etc. from some of the timber frame suppliers, as the big mills don't like handling anything outsize - doesn't fit the normal handling equipment. The former requires kilning (which you can already do), the latter doesn't.

 

Alec

[Tom D]

even making "railway" sleepers for garden centres / landscapers out of knotty edge timber that would only be firewood otherwise. You could get £10-15 per sleeper I would think.

[Alycidon]

The Scandinavians mainly burn softwood, given an equal moisture content softwood being less dense burns hotter than hardwood, just burns somewhat faster. Lob some into a stove and it bursts into flame within seconds, a real eye opener for a potential stove purchaser. Pine is what is used to test stoves for over-stoking, ie testing to withstand excess heat.

 

I am selling 'Firewood' this winter, its all softwood. Next winter I will see firewood and hardwood or maybe a mix.

 

A

[Big J]

Good ideas, all of them. Especially like the sleepers idea Tom - some quite large garden centres locally that might go for them. Squared beams like sleepers produce a lot of firewood off cuts anyway.

 

Jonathan

[Rob D]

Try a few Sleepers Jon and if the markets good perhaps look into a Peterson or Lucas mill....

 

For the money you're paying for Douglas there'd be more margins and as you said plenty of offcuts for firewood.

[northumbriaforestry]

We've cut well over a thousand tonnes of hardwood cord in the last year and a bit. Seeing as processors are the only quick way to convert firewood, I wouldn't want to put a good deal of what we've cut through a processor. Too bendy and knotty. If you weren't to process it though, it would just be wasted.

 

500 cubic metres is some number though. You would need to shift that though to turn a £15000 gross profit, which isn't much at the end of the day. You then have capital costs like a processor, a delivery method, vented bags. How the hell do you firewood merchants make any money?!

 

Ha, you're right of course,which is why we don't have loads of expensive equipment & stuff. Plus, we do this all year, not just through the winter, it's not really our job, it's our way of life & we love it!

 

Also, to ya' man that made the comment about us being careful charging less for softwood. We find that we have a far greater amount of soft& that is infact far,far quicker to turn into firewood, & we don't have a processor, so when we've built one, it should be even quicker. Hards as John says can be far twistier, knottier, heavier etc. The soft is way quicker for us to work. So if we can make it cheaper for our customers, we will. We have no interest in charging more because we can, taking advantage of the demand etc, our demand every year far exceeds the amount we can supply, we serve a loyal local customer base & provide the best service we can.

[Crazy Cutter]

Ha, you're right of course,which is why we don't have loads of expensive equipment & stuff. Plus, we do this all year, not just through the winter, it's not really our job, it's our way of life & we love it!

 

I have to agree with Natalie on this one. Wood work has never made vast sums of profit, we need to stop looking at it like agriculture and stop expecting too much. Firewood is supposely the next big thing but only if you can supply it at a price people can afford?