Milling rates

[Big Beech]

wow, never thought i would ask such a question

and i know its a " how long is a piece of string" type question.

 

whats the best format pricing for CSM? a day rate? or cu ft? what do others price themselves out at or how?

i have a client that has some Oaks that need dealing at some point, and i wanna be prepared

 

thanks,

 

simon

[Big J]

I did a day for £225 plus VAT and mileage the other day (which was 54 miles each way).

 

As my wife came along and helped, I felt that that was too little.

 

I reckon you need to clear £200 before any labour is taken into account. Chainsaw mills cost more to fuel than bandsaw mills for a day.

[burrell_]

if ur hard at it 10l of 2stoke in a day 6l of chain oil ur day rate and u want money for ur chains the cost of big bars are pricy

i started at 150 a day well low went to 180 day better

for milling i charge 220-280 a day now

u dont want to charge anything less than 200 a day

milling all day is hard on the body

hope that helps

[Forest2Furniture]

I agree the Big J & Burrell milling is hard work, it kills my back every time. And if you hit a nail that's the chain lost & on the big bars that's the best part of £50!

[agrimog]

£250 a day plus any damages, and depending on distance a millage charge, usually distances over 50miles of my base

[Rob D]

It depends a bit on how much milling you want to do and also how organised you are. If you can show a customer a good portfolio of what and where you have milled and demonstrate what they can get out of their wood then they are more likely to go for a higher price.

 

 

 

And it depends on the kit you have.

 

 

But I'd say a big saw 076, 088, 880 etc, with Alaskan, an 70cc -80cc saw with small log mill or mini mill to hand.

 

 

I think you should be charging £300-00+vat a day.

 

 

You should be able to produce £600+vat worth of timber (and again if you can show a customer previous jobs).

 

 

I charge £400-00+vat a day but this includes Peterson mill if needed. It's not just the day milling but I find it takes at least 2-3 hours to get the truck loaded (the day before) and saws sharp ready to go when you reach site.

 

 

[Big J]

Good point Burrell, it is extremely hard of the body. I've not ached as much as I did the day after that last chain milling day for some time. Triceps as much as anything else! I recall filling my first couple of kilns with my chainsaw mill and frankly, I've not idea how I did it. Bandsaw milling is hugely easier to do day in, day out.

 

After that last CSM job, I sat down, had a think and upped my prices to £275+VAT and mileage a day. Given that I completely dismantled the windblown tree, logged everything else up for firewood and produced 53 cubic foot of good quality Oak (about £954-1060 at £18-20 a cubic foot), I reckon it's fair enough. Fair play to you Rob for getting £400!

[Rob D]

 

After that last CSM job, I sat down, had a think and upped my prices to £275+VAT and mileage a day. Given that I completely dismantled the windblown tree, logged everything else up for firewood and produced 53 cubic foot of good quality Oak (about £954-1060 at £18-20 a cubic foot), I reckon it's fair enough. Fair play to you Rob for getting £400!

 

 

 

Ha ha! I don't always get it though but I don't really want to be a day in day out contract miller as the elbows would quickly finish their trip to arthritis!

 

 

I have just bought a remote control winch off ebay - only £90-00 - so will start having a go with attaching to a 12v jumper pack and seeing if this will pull the mill down the log.

 

 

[Forest2Furniture]

I have just bought a remote control winch off ebay - only £90-00 - so will start having a go with attaching to a 12v jumper pack and seeing if this will pull the mill down the log.

 

 

That's sounds interesting, you'll have to let us know if it works.

[Stihlben]

I have done similar with a hand winch and found it worked quite well, problem with an electric winch is you only have the one speed which ca be a bit to fast whereas with the hand winch you can pull the mill through at whatever pace you require. What I did was mount it on a fence post driven in near the end of the log so it has a solid anchor point....