Calculating the Board Footage of Lumber

[@JoseyWalesss]

People only watch this channel because Emerald does such an awesome job...i could listen to her talk all day.

[@saintracheljarodm.holy-kay2560]

Simple economics logistics, makes total sense. Take care and be safe and God bless amen

[@RoryDSmith]

It's your day, your business. No explanation is necessary for me. Thank you for the video!

[@harveylinn4523]

Mom and dad can be proud They raised some good kids

[@woodstoney]

Not to mention maintenance of all the different equipment. Cleaning, oiling & greasing, sorting, stacking, dealing with the cut offs and slab wood, Sawdust removal from the machines and the work areas, fueling the rest, sharpening blades, etc., etc. Yes, the milling looks like fun from a distance but the work that takes place behind the scenes is no doubt staggering!! Keep up the good work and great videos!

[@lutherthompson8314]

My father worked on sawmills and other jobs. The larger operations that run for 8 or 10 hours a day do that with many more people. You have a family operation. You trust each other and work well together. If you hire outside help you may get someone great, or you may not. Avoiding overworking yourselves is a value in itself.

[@jsheible3695]

Family owned business. It's your life 24-7. Great video. Keep the work up for your family tradition 💪🇺🇲

[@jerrymayhugh8774]

Em and Jade business is all about supply and demand. I think your folks do a great job with logs coming in and finished product going out. Your folks have built a fine business that meets the needs of your family and your customers. Not everyone who comments is capable and not everyone who is capable comments. Have a great day

[@tonyeden8381]

You got a real smooth operation going girl……..good work 👍

[@robintaylor-mockingeemill8223]

A lot more work goes into it than just the milling . 5 hours milling and 3 for other stuff is pretty normal . Great job pointing that out .

[@rexwoodall2179]

Emerald, thanks for the explanation for “a day in the life!” I know there is a lot you guys have to do. I enjoy watching your lumber yard productions. Your editing is very good and I look forward to more!

[@generessler6282]

Re 5 hours, it's amazing how so many people who don't do your job know how to do your job better than you. 😀Just keep on... When you started on the one per day videos I figured it wouldn't last. Just too much given all the other work to do, and the rest of life we don't see. No other channel on KZbin in my experience - except those where video production is the whole reason for being - matches this. Just remarkable. Always fresh and creative. I continue to hope for amazing success for you and your family and this channel. It's a sad comment on humanity that "influencers" yammering on inane topics have millions of subscribers while channels - like this one - with unique value and perspective, fight for every one. That fight is still worth fighting. Again, just keep on...

[@Jake12220]

There are plenty of channels that have daily updates, the difference is that they almost all pay for a professional editor to put the videos together (which tends to take way more time than filming). It's amazing that Em has managed to maintain her schedule, no doubt there is a whole lot more work to be done in her day than we see in the clips.

[@generessler6282]

@@Jake12220 That's what I said. When people are in the business of KZbin, they can and need to make daily posts. When they have a life and other work, it's rare enough that I haven't seen another.

[@Jake12220]

@@generessler6282 there are a few out there, but pretty sure they all have editors doing a lot of the work for them now. Mainly farming or gardening type channels. But it is impressive, especially if you have ever tried video production yourself. Overall l was just agreeing with you though.

[@lumbercapitallogyard]

Thanks everyone! It is a lot of work but I manage it

[@badass98kx250]

The more and more I watch you Em your personality and being taller reminds me of my wife your dad is the proudest trust me on that your a beautiful hard working women keep it up you and your family God bless

[@johncaffrey5395]

You girls do a hell of a job kudos to you all!!!!

[@stephenwilliams4118]

Have an awesome weekend. I look forward to the daily video and when there isn't one I am disappointed ;) I am a business owner and understand that there are so many aspects that occupy time that need to be done and don't necessarily contribute to the bottom line, this is where the decision to hire competent people to help the business grow comes in.

[@collinmalzer8246]

Its great to see u hard working girls! I hope u inspire many people. This is American Greatness.

[@terrydawkins9936]

Still enjoying and learning new things each time……awesome

[@bcoolson]

Don’t you just love it that you get all the advice from the guys in the Lazy boy? Have a great weekend!

[@lumbercapitallogyard]

👍👍👏👏👏

[@taylorakins5230]

@@lumbercapitallogyard Timber Tracker app on phone

[@PracticalKnow]

Very educational Emerald!👍👍👍

[@olaff4223]

It's funny that I can have zero knowledge or, really, interest, in a given subject, but I super enjoy hearing people that know what they're talking about explain things.

[@williamgibb5557]

You say " welcome back" but we never left however the video ended. With the content, the stars and the information provided, we have no reason to leave. Like others here, I would like to know your family as neighbors and see the lumber yard in person. Calculating board foot takes me back to my high-school workshop days and the time I had my own furniture making business. You girls are an inspiration to others and set an example of working for a purpose which is to provide a product or service to others. Great video. Enjoy the weekend.

[@richardlee2488]

The importance of the log and board tally can not be understated. It is essential to know if you are making money but also by running tests of improvements you have or want to make. The simplest of these could be if two people are working a machine is it actually more productive. Relocation of a machine can often reap benefits where the off bearer of the mill could be also feeding straight through the edger. The edger off bearer is feeding the trim saw and also feeding to a chipper. No double handling or days lost going back to rework part processed materials. In the big grade mills it is very common to only use the headrig to square the log and finish the processing on resaws which though often smaller can actually cut far higher volumes.

[@vk2ig]

3:50 onwards - great explanation of everything else that has to happen before and after cutting wood, thanks!

[@garbaldy9926]

GOT IT! All expenses, ALL, right down to the body wash required after a hard sweaty day of logging, subtracted from receivables = A New Pair of Shoes!

[@garbaldy9926]

I'm not calling you a Sweaty Logger Emerald, just pointing out an often overlooked expense. The Boss ,now, I'm sure, uses a lots of body wash after a day of logging? Don't tell me any lies Boss Man!

[@loucinci3922]

Pretty and smart. You explained that very well. You are awesome. Thanks for sharing

[@jjj1951]

Have you seen the videos from Working Horses with Jim? He runs a mill in upstate New York and also uses an LT40. His video on milling bass wood is very informative.

[@rdh6932]

The great thing about running your own business is you get to do a lot of different jobs and you determine how long you spend at each one. Keep up the great work and continued success.

[@vk2ig]

I've never run a small business, but I worked in one once, and also have worked in some small teams operating in remote field offices. You have to be willing to do any job any time: whether it is designing something (my principal job), helping fold up and hole-punch proposals and drawings to send to clients, troubleshooting the computer system or the printer/photocopier/fax machine, loading and unloading vehicles, doing the mail and parts run, answering the phone, or emptying the trash and sweeping the floor.

[@rdh6932]

@@vk2ig Sounds like running a small business isn't your thing.

[@woohu2u2]

Love your vids! Informative without being boring.

[@johnavonyates4105]

The board foot calculator is awesome!

[@paulc.4211]

Well done Emerald you and your family are old hands at this job and you are professional and make it look so easy with me sitting at my airconditioned desk lol Most of your viewers are no strangers to hard work either and we see your awesome effort. keep it up please

[@paulcasefarms9933]

To figure bdft of lumber without the WM sliding scale take width in inches times thickness in inches times length in feet divided by 12. Works everytime!

[@richardlee2488]

You are spot on. But you really need to think recovery. I have 30+years in high end production and we recorded every log on and every piece off and time taken. We used an access well actually two databases to record every single piece through the mill. In order of cost log value, labour content then rent and all the fixed costs. Important to remember that a sales person or office costs need to be included. Standard value from log to board cut live sawing is 25% loss. Cutting to board with wane is again 25%. This means typical conversion loss is about 50% but subject to the grading rules for the species. No sapwood is better. Heavy sap like oak can be bad. Bdft in a period is not the ideal as variable thickness will give wild swings in how well you are doing. Check out the world record set on two 10 foot Prescott mills in the late 1800s. A well organised mill stops all double handling and saves money but in many cases the only guy that gains is the bank. We recorded every piece for creditation of the product which met every requirement anyway.

[@troytreeguy]

One of my friends that mills did that the other day, guess it works.

[@fredericktownhomestead8094]

It help if you saw just one length. Our mill almost always sawed ten footers.

[@cdouglas1942]

then you need a calculator. Additioal data not useful to them I guess

[@jim9337]

Yep, milling and the other chores take no time at all on my mill, that if you say it fast. If you actually have to do the work, well that slows you down considerably. I sure do enjoy watching you ladies run your outfit, and I very much enjoy hearing from your dad from time to time. You folks have a good weekend, will check back Monday.

[@laruegeigerjr1368]

Very informative as usual. Your Parents raised all of you very well. You all have a great work ethic. Don't see that much anymore. Well done. Have a great weekend yourselves.

[@billherrick3569]

I was wondering how your home garden was doing this year? In the past you said you really liked gardening.

[@pauldaniels3733]

Everybody wants to be a lumberjack !you guys are great you also need time for your self stay happy 😃

[@richardorgan2024]

you all have a good week end as well , running a mill is not easy work not all about sawing lots of other things to see too like you said, clean up alone is a chore respect 👍

[@kevosims2012]

I am so glad i found this channel. Maybe in a future comment i will list all the reasons why, but for now..thank you and have a great weekend.

[@dennishinkle5010]

Insight into the business and how you do it. That's what it's all about. You work hard and make great videos. Thank you.👍

[@miltonallen1442]

I know you have been asked this a thousand times but here it is again. Will you please explain the different numbers and colors spray painted on the end of the logs. Do you have a video of it? Will you please explain or make a video explaining it? Thanks... Love your videos!

[@andrewupson2987]

Awesome hard work! Suggest you look into ways to streamline your operations. That would likely allow you to cut more logs with the same total working hours which means more profit. There’s folks who make a career out of streamlining manufacturing operations, and we can all learn a lot from them. E.g. what leaps out to me is rather than dead stacking on the trailer then spending 2 hours moving and restacking with stickers later set it up so, with minimum of movement, you can stack and sticker on some decking rails as it comes off the mill and then move the whole stack at once with your forks to it’s drying location. Whether you move the stacks once a day or more often will depend on the weight capacity of your forks. Out of an 8 hour work day that change alone should allow for at least 1-1.5 extra hours of time running the mill while still having the same 1.5-2 hours to do all the cleanup and prep for the next day and so on.

[@vk2ig]

Good suggestion. Your post reminded me of a process called LEAN (I cannot remember what the acronym stands for) where a team who own a process do some brainstorming on how to streamline operations. Did it a few times, and there's lots of different coloured post-it notes involved. I'm not suggesting these folks go do a LEAN session, but thinking outside-the-box about how to streamline their operations would definitely allow that saw to run for more hours per day without increasing the length of the working day.

[@donaldmckie5960]

A deck over trailer would work better for your operation since the finders wouldn’t be in the way. Also the angle u place the lumber trailer at the end of the mill should be more in line with the mill so lumber doesn’t have to make a 90 degree turn. Hope that helps

[@passerby9123]

Hi Emerald, for me your dad was right with his board foot calculations because he ran them as a form of management accounts and he could see what the income was likely to be for his efforts, and what the company profit before ancillary costs might be after deducting the cost of his materials each day. You could put your board foot calculator and the other required cost calculations into a spread sheet programme that gave you a simple answer daily from each recorded count, which could be linked to your stickering, and you would have an idea of the potential of your day. If you recorded day hours worked as costs also, then the same spread sheet programme could deduct this and any other costs that you wanted to include, (such as maintenance, depreciation, vehicles, gas, finance charges etc,) and it would be fairly easy to come up with a simple programme that told you approximately the potential profit each day. All of the costs will be within your existing yearly, monthly or weekly records, somewhere, and producing a daily form of management accounts is just as beneficial as running annual tax accounts once you link the two. It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't that much effort to set it up, and once it is set up, all you have to do each day is punch in the production and log usage numbers, assuming that the hours worked will be found on the payroll in another section of your company accounts. Later you could move this onto hours worked by the mill and so on, if you wanted to improve profit efficiency without incurring more costs, and there are several other uses that you could use it for to gain a better idea of costs versus sales.

[@vk2ig]

This is a good idea. Knowing your day-to-day inputs and outputs in terms of $$$$ is pretty important - once you have those numbers you can then look at monthly, quarterly and annual figures. Then it's easier to see (and predict) the effects of changes in input costs, introduction of new products, changes in methods, etc. When I saw that board footage calculator I thought, "Now there's an idea for a mobile app of some sort!" I wonder if there are any amateur mobile app developers out there who are either working in or associated with this industry?

[@MarioHachemer]

I hope I can raise my sons to be as level-headed, business-minded & above all hardworking as you girls turned out. I can't imagine how proud your dad must be. 👏

[@kingsammy1308]

Lol

[@labandonaldhock80]

You are doing a fabulous job!! Love this

[@fredericktownhomestead8094]

Thank you. I feel like you responded well to my comments. That wood mizer scale tool is strictly for the beginners. Once you get used to tallying the boardbfootages of the items you saw your mind will wrap around all those numbers. Also, when you stop your mind duscards that infomation just as fast.

[@viper-oy8dl]

Great vid and explanation on all the things you have to do besides running the LT40 5 hours a day.

[@woodrowsmith3400]

LMAO @ "Why don't you run the mill for eight hours?" I say invite each one of those folk to come out to the yard and 'pull the green chain' for a week of eight hour days. Dollar to a Doughnut says one out of twenty-five make it a week. You gals n guys do a LOT in a day. Been there and got the scars. 😉

[@davidhill129]

I'm excited to see your videos every day. Nice they are short so I don't watch past my important cup of coffee. Love y'all

[@free-energy-systems]

Thank You. You are the supplier. The end user (myself) finds where we meet in the middle.

[@rockinguitar101]

I wish the absolute best for this business and thanks for the weekly uploads, Have a great weekend too.

[@mikemckain6556]

Have a great weekend. Look forward to your next video Monday

[@richardcavalloro8355]

Thanks for these informational videos. I think viewers like me forget theres a lot of other things going on there besides running the mill.

[@duane20]

Have you considered a "fire wood shrink-wrap type bundler" (even a manual one since you don't have electricity on-site) in place of the bucket and mesh/net you currently use? might be quicker....

[@thedelcodave]

I run my mill as a hobby and after 3 or 4 hours of milling by yourself I am pretty tired of milling at that point. Like Emerald said cleanup and stickering takes a lot of time.

[@zenoslayer9618]

I like it that you didn't glam up your hands and nails for the close up just your work day hands

[@jefferygreer765]

Y’all are great! I love watching your videos. I wish you had videos every day. Have a great weekend!

[@jasonbone5121]

She's pretty good about posting them daily (not weekends).

[@allen8756]

How about showing us your weekend off sometime?

[@vk2ig]

@@allen8756 Maybe he's retired? I heard that retired people don't get weekends or holidays ... it's one of the reasons why I won't retire! :)

[@allen8756]

@@vk2ig What are you talking about. We are talking about a 17 years old girl!

[@fergywurst]

I really enjoy your videos. Something you might use for video fodder on a upcomming video. The bark cutter on the mill. What is it used for and why it is needed. Keep em comming, as they are interesting. 😎

[@billyshumate853]

Great video Emerald

[@oblias888]

EMERALD, YOU DID IT!! I was completely blown away by this video. You were SO professional sounding, but yet, you still retained that element of the personal touch that belongs to you. This is the very first video without, ......... well, we both know what phrase I'm referring to, yes? I was stunned by your presence, your confidence, your direct approach to answering the issue you wanted to address. You are going to do so VERY well on YT. And let's not forget the great cinematic efforts of Amber. She does quite well. You two are a team to be reckoned with. I say "Well done" to you both, and make room in your bank accounts for the revenue that's sure to come your way!! There are BIG things ahead for all of you!! 🙂

[@apburner1]

Cool your jets, she's not gonna date you.

[@bentnickel7487]

Amber? I thought her name was Jade.

[@dreadlocksoutdoors492]

Good work. Keep them videos coming!

[@beegs7746]

You're uploading consistently which is great and it helps your channel. Awesome!

[@davidmorris3138]

Honestly no. Matter how you explain your day there always be someone to disagree its just the way of it love watching your videos please keep going

[@GeeWit]

Mill run time - right - your primary limiting factor is (wo)man-hours. There's only so many and they have to be applied to the whatever jobs judged to be highest priority.

[@d.t.4523]

Have a great weekend! Good luck. 👍

[@jimcooper1886]

Glad to see u bk in charge of the camera. It just flows better. Keep it up. Nows the time for hats and shirts. Reserve the first one for me. :0)

[@weelay]

Intro shot in one take today, get it.

[@chipwhitely1490]

Yet another excellent video. My I suggest tommorrow you get wet and have fun. Looking forward to another Sunday barn meeting. Have a fantastic day off.

[@drulessman2892]

Loving the videos.. your a great teacher.

[@zamp549]

Those are honest working hands! 👍🏻💪

[@centexan]

Great little bdft pocket calculator! Your dad probably kept track to keep a schedule and/or to check for profit and efficiency.

[@308dad8]

Thanks for the board/ft calculator tip. How do timber buyers calculate their estimated board/ft for making their offer? Is that something your dad knows the answer to?

[@buckchamp9011]

Have a wonderful weekend 😊🌹👍🏼🇺🇸🙏

[@kennethdean2417]

Emerald I understand that between your sisters and everyone else that works in the yard, and mind you I’m not trying to lend money you don’t have but it would be a luxury to have more people assigned to different tasks that way you would be able to run the mill for a straight 8 hours It is defiantly a lot of work and not enough time to complete all the tasks in one day

[@jasonbreaux136]

Love all your video, I like a hard working woman. You go girl

[@18twilliams]

The things some people say! No filter! Have a nice weekend all!

[@bobknox5646]

Absolutely love your videos, just watched one where you interviewed the "boss man" on the way to a firewood drop. One of the questions was about how often you mess up on the mill and how you cover it up, would love to see a video of some of the mistakes and your attempts at a "cover up" The Boss Man seems to be a decent boss/father.

[@endall6783]

I would think he's a dad any guy can be a father.

[@jar407]

hes not going to get too mad he could not hire workers that would be better faster is not always better and wood and machines can be tepremental

[@robertcourson8002]

Emerald might be the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She is an angelic beauty

[@ron827]

Would it be possible for G-pa to make a pair of 8' carts for the sawdust with one hinged side? The chute expels the sawdust in the same place as the mill runs back and forth which would deposit in the carts. Then roll the cart out, pick it up with the tractor forks, take it too the sawdust storage area, open the hinged side and rake out the sawdust. I might also be possible to put a pair of hook on the forks to secure the cart so it could be dumped by tilting the forks.

[@mickrose9633]

Good job explaining for dummies. No need to do it again! You do you, you all are doing way more than most of these idiots who watch from their couch..... Your dad & mom raised you all right.

[@nellayema2455]

I'm pretty sure that Boss Man knows how much daily production he needs and conveys that to whoever is running the mill each day. I'll bet the girls make sure that they meet that number in 5 hours as long as they have the logs available, and there's no other SNAFU, such as equipment issues.

[@allengrantham6693]

Emerald, Have you read the book "Understanding Wood" by R Bruce Hoadley? It is putblished by Taunton Press. It is designed for serious cabinet makers, but is detailed enough that it is used in introductory forest porduct classes at the Univ of Minnesota. It is very readable. You could get a few videos out of it, talking about moisture content, warping, drying, and identifying lumber. You are producing high quality lumber, but if you don't explain the details, people will not understand that.

[@lumbercapitallogyard]

Thank you for your comment, I have not read “understanding wood”, I will have to add it to my list!

[@williamlowry1274]

It might be interesting to know the board feet measured by log scale vs the board feet you actually produce, but I think that would be a hard figure to come up with. I don't think you would have to change your procedures. After all you should also include board feet from jacket boards after they come from the edger. And it seems to me boards run through the edger aren't separated by day.

[@richardlee2488]

Spot on. Any one can cut volume if they ignore waste. Every aspect of recovery needs to be included. And the costs incurred. Plus the often forgotten loss to degrade or rejects. I don't know the board calculator from woodmizer but it seems very similar to the scales used until about 1970 when the first electronic calculators appeared. It's a balancing act of how to handle the finished product. Sort first then stack or stack and final grade and sort after???? You have to match the best method to the finished product. If it changes you want to as well. You get a real understanding if you think every minute is a dollar or evertime you touch a piece it's a dollar. Seriously brings it home.....

[@rogerhowell6230]

The most important fact is safety. Running machinery when tired is very dangerous.

[@silenceondort1314]

Portable sawmill? Well, small end average diameter times 79% equal's your square cant sides. Multiply by lenght will give you board/feet. Substract 12% for kerf. Very close figures, to which you can add lower grade board/feet off flitches.

[@stevet8121]

I think you're doing great. Your lumber scale should far exceed your log scale. It's known as over run in the sawmill world.

[@jbbrown7907]

Are we due for another members video yet?

[@jonathanmoor7035]

great video and thank you i will be with my friends tomorrow i went bowling today now can the bowling alleys be used by wood that people make or not

[@raystaugustfla31]

Any consideration for a planer mill for S2S or S4S stock? Of course this would be in the future if you decide to connect to the grid....

[@stancook4014]

How close does your log measure come to the actual B/F after it's sawn?

[@blurple8121]

Great job explaining reality to all them armchair wood-wackers~ 😆

[@allanhover5008]

Hello as good to hear from you every day very very wonderful information as always tell your father hello as well

[@Jake12220]

Thanks, this video really filled in some of the blanks. Sounds like you need to put your parents to work producing some more workers.

[@normanglussier6473]

Very good Em.

[@gregwitkamp5583]

The log scale is an approximate quality in a log / You should compare what you actually get to see how accurate the log scale is

[@googleuser6440]

If you have a good demand for the lumber would you consider hiring more staff to help out and increase your production?

[@vk2ig]

Hmmm ... an external staff member in a business totally run by family - that could be challenging for the new staff member. (I could just stop here and say "just saying" and leave it, but I won't - I'll explain what I mean.) I've seen some instances where outsiders working for a family owned business works well, and others where it's a disaster for all concerned. One of the essentials to having it work well is everyone knowing who the outsider's boss is.

[@rickfritschler3865]

I know this is out of left field, but Emerald could you please post your recipe for flat bread/tortillas? I really enjoyed your sojourn into cooking breakfast and your shop work making cutting boards. Do you have any interest in wood shop equipment? I'd be happy to donate some if your interested.

[@williamburke1882]

Who are these people? I want names! How dare they! I would love to see one of them try to keep up with you! Just kidding they know who they are and they have to live with their shame 😁. Good job

[@ericcorse]

Loading or unloading with the crane looks fun to me.

[@jorgearevalo1879]

My favorite KZbinr ❤, you look gorgeous 👍

[@scottmaclean1455]

do you have to blades for the mill sharpened and use them again or just replace them with new one's ? what size is the blade on your mill