a bit of advice needed

[Mark.a]

i recently got a small log mill with a view to making boards for my woodturning.

after i got the mill i enjoyed it so much i got a little overzealous and ended up milling over 200 board feet of elm willow and spalted beech. anyway to cut a long story short a guy who sells woodturning blanks offered to buy it off me but he works in cubic feet.

he is paying £7 per cubic foot.

200fbm = 16.67 cu ft = £ 116.69 and he wants it delivered 60 miles away at that price.

i hadn't really intended to sell any wood so i haven't looked into prices but that seems very low to me or am i just over estimating the price of milled wood ?

 

any advice on this would be apreciated

 

cheers

Mark

[agg221]

The price is low.

 

I would reckon on £15/cu.ft for most green timber, more like £20/cu.ft for oak, higher for some particularly unusual timbers such as walnut or burrs. It's not that it's harder to mill - just that there is more demand for decent oak as gateposts and other exterior use, which establishes a price, and the rarer material is more desirable. Some people, e.g. Big J, sell a bit cheaper and have increased turnover, but nonetheless there is a floor below which you are really not getting enough back to bother when you factor in raw timber, transport costs, fuel, chain and saw wear etc. At that point, you might as well limit yourself to milling things that you want to mill for your own purposes.

 

Delivery included in the price too is unrealistic. I sometimes drop things off for people when I'm going that way but a 120 mile round trip is around 3hrs of your time by the time you factor in loading and unloading, and if you use HMRC guidelines (which are not known for being generous) you could allow 41p/mile, so another £50. Just the fuel alone will be around £18.

 

I would not regard this as a decent offer.

 

Alec

[devon TWiG]

he is paying £7 per cubic foot.

200fbm = 16.67 cu ft = £ 116.69 and he wants it delivered 60 miles away at that price.

 

............................. That is a very poor offer !

[slackbladder]

Totally agree with Alec that price is low !!

[Mike Dempsey]

You are being ripped off. Get the ends waxed and dry it yourself. You could contact local woodturning clubs and offer it for sale yourself when it is dry. Make a lot more money. Would be a good idea also to ask them what their preferred sizes are and cut to those sizes in future if you want to do more milling. You could perhaps undercut him by 10 - 20% to help sales and this will help underwrite your own woodturning costs.

[Mark.a]

Hi guys.

thanks for taking the time to give me advice on this.

i am in a woodturning club but we meet in a wood mill the owner lets us use it and sells woodturning supplies to the club. iv'e never met him but from what i can make out he is a really decent guy so i wouldnt be comfortable selling blanks to club members.

i think im going to use the wood to build a few nice pieces of garden furniture and cut a load of blanks and wax and air dry them.

maybe in the future if i get a big load of wood i might talk to the mill owner and see if he is interested in buying some.

 

thanks again for the advice

 

cheers

Mark

[agrimog]

£7 a cube, and delivery, tell him you'll burn it for firewood before you let it go at that price

[slackbladder]

You could try selling to other clubs in the area

[Copford sawmill sussex]

We buy elm for starting at £3 so for us to the. Mill it like you etc for an extra £4 on top! Not really worth it u less his a very very nice man lol