% Wastage from milling Sawlogs

[Richard 1234]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you use to point your fence posts?

 

 

 

Oli

 

 

Probably a table saw that's how they do it at my local place

[arboriculturist]

I went thru a similar thought process, figuring out if I could make a profitable business out of sawing logs.

 

I started in early 2013 with is Logosol M8 chainsaw mill for regular use up to 500kg, with an alaskan mill for occasional heavier/loger logs.

 

I was keen to prove whether upgrading to a hydraulic mobile bandsawmill would be a risk.

 

I kept a record of top dia and length of each log (hardly a noticeable expense of time considering the slowness of manual log handling and chainsaw milling), and the amount and quality of timber produced. I worked out what this cost, and what the end product was worth, and factored in other costs to see what the profit really was.

 

I did 100 tonne of oak this way between early 2014 and mid 2015. In May I ordered a hydraulic, mobile woodmizer Lt40, which arrived at the start of september. I haven't looked back since!

 

Milling oak beams and sleepers i often get no more than about 50% to 60% out of each log into the beams specified by the order. To be safe I always count on wasting 50% when doing beams and bigger timbers. BUT, the other 50% isn't waste. I mill the rest to 1",2", 3" and sometimes even 4" slabs, which I re saw on the mill into other products. The trick is finding a market for them, but if you can it's the difference between getting by and doing a little better.

 

Then you get some logs that are no good for anything, but look ok. I had one day when the timber I milled cost more than the value of the beams produced because of various defects.

 

Making feather edge boarding "wastes" 70% of log. Again, if you have other things you can use the "waste" for, then you doing well.

 

The biggest caution I would say is finding a market at all. For main products or waste. That's one of the many reasons I started on a CSM before making a hefty financial commitment. There's no reason why you shouldn't start with a £30k machine. Just consider what market exists and what price you will need to charge per cubic meter (or whatever measurement you prefer) to get your piece of it.

 

Oli

 

Sound advice - Thanks