A good friend/client of mine very recently purchased a cottage property near Toronto. Along with the property came half a dozen logs. One of the logs is a Birdseye maple, a consistent 18″ in diameter and a straight 13′ long. He has done some research, and all signs indicate it is probably quite well figured throughout. He has cut the ends of and coated them with a wax emulsion. The log appears to be in excellent shape. It has some consistent mineral staining along one side which may indicate it has spent some time in the water. It is presently in cold storage (ie Canadian winter). He wants to sell this one log, as he has heard that it may be worth something. He would like to maximize his return, while minimizing the effort required to realize this return. He has no idea where to start. Of course, finding a buyer is not a problem. The problem is finding a buyer who is willing to pay what the log/lumber is truly worth. His present plan is to have a sawyer cut it into 1″ boards as soon as it thaws, and have it proffesionally kiln dried. Then he will see what he has, and try to sell it. Obviously, ( because of international wood disputes, parasite concern, shipping difficulties, etc..) he expects that he will have to sell it somewhere near Toronto. What is a log/lumber like this worth ? How can he maximize his return on the sale ? Is his plan for cutting/drying/selling a good one ? Are there any obstacles/problems that he may be unaware of ?
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Replies
At best it is 250bd ft. Not worth more than $500 flitch sawn.
Have it sawn with a band mill you will get more wood less sawdust.
Find a buyer before he saws it so he knows what thickness to saw it to.
My lack of knowledge in this area is profound, however, I was under the impression that birdseye off the saw was worth more than $2/bf. Its hard to find it anywhere (kiln dried) for less than $20/US/bf. I'm sure you are correct. I'll treat this as an oportunity to educate myself. Why the apparent discrepancy ? Why is the value of this log so low, when I see birdseye selling for so much in the market ?
Antone,
I am not an expert on this, but your friend should talk to a professional log buyer, an exceptionally fine log would be worth far more sold for veneer than it would be worth as lumber.
It may be that a veneer cutter wouldn't be interested because the log's history isn't known, they can't take the risk that they might strike hardware buried in the log.
John W.
What is a proffesional log buyer, and where does one find such an animal near the toronto area ?
try http://www.oliverlumber.com/profile.htm
they are located in Etobicoke, and would most likely be a very good source of information
Regards
R2
Your friend has about 230 bd ft,at current prices in To. about $ 12.00 bd ft ,that is 2700.00.His biggest problem will be finding someone to klin dry that small amount.Try a guy ,is name is wayne sell,I think he is in kingston,1-613-376-3719,charges around .50cts a bd ft.
Everyone has been very helpful. I now have some idea of the value of the wood. I understand that it varies greatly with the quality/type of processing of the wood (eg veneer or boards). However, I still have no idea how my friend would go about actually selling the wood. Does he just put an add in the paper ? Does he cruise the specialty lumber yards ? Someone mentioned a "log buyer" , are there people/agencies that would be intrested in buying this wood? How does one contact such people/agencies ? Any particulars would be helpful.
your wellcome,give these guys a call,Ontario wood lot assoc,1-888-797-1103.They may be able to help.
Sorry Spiff, I didn't mean to sound like I was taking your assistance for granted. It certainly is appreciated.
Antone, your coming up against the retail/wholesale conundrum - - if you have to go and purchase figured maple to do a project, you will pay dearly for KD stock in the appropriate dimensions for your project - - if you are selling a relatively small tree, unless you connect with the right person, it isn't worth much...
the right person in this case would be a hobbiest/instrument maker - a retail consumer - and if you can get that person to give you $500 (US $) for the log where it sets, grab it and run - -
Timber buyers buy maple (@.50/bd ft or so)- - the sawmill sorts it out - - I've a friend who works for a good size mill, he sorts maple all year and figured stuff goes into different catagories, with the best stuff going to Gibson guitars once a year - another lot to furniture makers, etc, etc - - he isn't interested in your log...
pros will be leary (justifiably so) of a log that they do not know the history of - saws are expensive - - if you hire a bandsaw mill, you'll be out the price of the blade and the set-up charge and will left with firewood if he hits metal...
if it were mine, here's how I'd attack it (actually, if it were mine, I'd saw it up and use it, but...) - - find the agricultural weekly newspaper that's published in your area - there will be adds for 'timber wanted' - call and concisely explain yourself, ask if they are interested (in all likelyhood, no) then ask if they would have a suggestion - they might turn you on to that retail buyer - be curteous and don't take a lot of their time, and don't be offended if they blow you off - just call the next one - - if you get no satisfaction, then you get to advertise - weekly advertizers would be my first choice - bulletin boards - - and seriously consider e-bay - -
last choice is to saw it up on speculation - - how it's done and dimensions limit your market - there is labor and overhead - I'd be inclined to saw it up into thicker cants and let the buyer resaw into what they need - gonna cost you cash, and then more if you opt to KD - labor, it weighs plenty and you get to move it several times - - then you still have to find that retail buyer -
I get the impression you see $$$ - - if you get it, you'll earn it - - good luck, DOUD
Hey Dave:
I live near Owen Sound, have a saw mill , and do a little carpentry on the side. I know just enough about you buddies situation to tell you that there's no big money out there for him. Ther are a number of factors that cause this , but if he can get someone out there to pay him $500 cdn. for that log, he'd be smart to take it.
hey knobby. if I were to bring up a few logs to you would you saw them into boards for me? do you do that sort of thing? how much would you charge? if you don't do this do you know anyone who does?
Custom Cabinetry and Furniture
http://www.BartlettWoodworking.com
Sorry for the delay in responce time,but I'm working nights.I don't saw for other people but If you live in Guelph, you should'nt have any trouble finding someone with a portable saw-mill that would come right to your house and saw for you, providing you have the tools to load the logs or he might have a self-loading mill(hydraulic loader). Around Owen Sound there are numerous portable mills and stationary mills that would help you out. You could load your logs on to a trailer and drop them off, tell him what you want for boards and pick them up later. Some guys would rather you stay and help him saw. Thats where the price difference comes in. Some people charge between $40. cdn/hr up to $70/hr depending on what you require etc. This 13 ft. log can be sawed in 1/2 hr. or less. but thats a lot of set-up for that amount of money.
Thanks DD
It is becoming clear to me that, if my buddy is just looking for economic gain, he's probably barking up the wrong log. I am treating this more as an intresting exercise, and one that is very educational. My wife doesn't understand how something like this can be fun. I think I'll get it properly cut and dried into 1" boards. Then I'll see what I end up with. My buddy will probably give me half the boards for my efforts/expense. Then, we'll see if we can find a buyer easily. If not, I'll use it myself (although I probably already have enough hardwood to last me into retirement). I know I risk finding a buyer who doesn't want 1" boards but at least then I'll have something real to sell or use, as opposed to a labour intensive "meybe".
it sounds like you've got perspective on it - - If you saw, make sure that you saw 4/4 vs 1 inch - - as I learned the hard way with my first wood-mizer experience many years ago, if you ask for 1 inch boards the operator is likely to make a cut every inch - so you end up with app 7/8" which then shrinks as it dries to where you're lucky to get 5/8" after you S2S - -
with figured stock, there may be a strategy of cutting to maximize figure - similar to quarter-sawing to get the rays in white oak - I don't know, but someone here might - -
I pay $25/foot retail for birdseye dried in guelph Ontario.
I would be very interested in possably purchasing it.
my email address is [email protected]
Custom Cabinetry and Furniture
http://www.BartlettWoodworking.com
Edited 12/13/2003 1:05:08 PM ET by gecko
I will be in touch regarding this particular log. Probably the best way to deal with this would be to have the log properly cut and dried. Then you can look at the finished product. Every indication is that it is well figured birdseye, but I guess we won't know for sure until the log is processed.
In relation to your message to Knobby, you can look up Sawmills in the yellow pages, or contact the Woodmizer company. They can actually refer you to a sawyer that runs a portable sawmill in your area. The Woodmizer is a band saw (as opposed to a chain mill) which will minimize waste. I had some oak cut off my property last year by a Woodmizer sawyer and I was very pleased. He charged me $40/hr (cdn) including set up and take down (about 45 minutes). For this price he just cut, I had to take the lumber off the saw, which was a bit of a workout (about 600 bdft). The cutting job cost me $200. I know that a lot of sawyers have different rates, but none lower. Some charge a minimum daily fee. This sawyer is out of Lakefield (north of peterborough). I believe you can contact Woodmizer at http://www.woodmizer.com. They also have a 1-800 number you can find in most yellow pages. Of course the hard part is getting the wood properly dried, if you intend to use the wood for custom woodworking. If you are getting the cutting done by a portable sawmill, get someone reputable, or you could end up with a lot of firewood. eg. you may want to make sure the blades are sharp and that it is cut to a consistent thickness to minimize warping during drying.
I was looking for a wood supplier this week and I ran across an Ontario sawmill that listed prices for logs. The best grade of maple log was listed at $.70CN.
I also ran across a flooring company. For $15US/sqft they sell some real nice maple flooring.
I was thinking I might cut flooring from your log and match it when I milled and laid it. I might get 200sqft from your log more if I had it finished at 1/2". If I had a 12' room, I would be tempted to purchase your log but ...
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