I have found that charging for sawing by the board foot (BDFT) is troublesome for me and my customers, so I have a basic hourly rate that includes use of the mill, my services as the sawyer, and all supplies with a 1 hr. minimum.

Blades are included in the hourly rate unless the blade hits something other than wood. I have hit spikes, pipe, concrete, insulators, barbed wire, nails, bolts, etc. Most of the time these blades can’t be sharpened once they hit these objects.

The key to keeping costs down is for the customer to have all the logs prepositioned for loading and provide help with the milling process. The more people who can help load the logs on the lift and off-load the lumber as it is cut, the faster we can go and the less time it will take.

The mill yield is highly dependent on the type of wood and the shape of the log and the amount of help provided. As a point of reference, I cut 900 BDFT of black walnut in an hour and a half with the customer bringing me logs to load. The total price was $265.00, which worked out to about $0.30 per BDFT. Such a deal! This however is the exception. Generally I am able to cut 160-175 BDFT per hour for an average price of about $0.70 per BDFT.

We accept Cash and Check.