He risked everything to Run a Sawmill

[@ed4412]

I've been going to Matt's place quite a few times and his prices are by far the best prices and I'm really impressed with the quality of the wood this guy has....and hes always really positive and under charges...I think he should raise his prices. Going to his place is an experience of a lifetime. I will support our local sawmill guy.

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks for watching Bob and for the comments!

[@davidcorbin6489]

Great to see a small business owner succeeding, they're the backbone of our country.

[@olegk11]

And yet federal help, contracts, tax breaks goes to Amazon, GE, Walmart, etc....

[@chrise3801]

@@olegk11 makes sense eh 😑

[@DavenH]

@@olegk11 if you actually check the tax code, you'll see small business gets a much lower rate of taxation.

[@timothybetts8840]

Hey Stan. Fun video. Good luck to Ruben. I'm a remodeling contractor and cabinet maker over by Eau Claire. I've worked with sawyers many times. Ruben's rate is about right for our area. He is making the right choice by sawing, drying and selling slab wood. It takes more effort, bit the added value is tremendous. Guys, photograph your pieces and sell them individually.

[@teyroo9133]

His price is just about right for my area. Iam in the business part time for the past year; there isn't much demand for mobile milling. Slabs sell quick on marketplace and instagram. Anyone getting into the business should get the kiln first, I also did it like Ruben and bought the mill first. Where I am the market is saturated everyone has a mill and sells wood it seems but it is all green. What I am doing is cutting and stacking building inventory so when I do go fulltime I will be able to rotate my stock.

[@Joestacemazjojo]

Thanks for putting this video together. You somehow show up at every business opportunity I’ve been looking at and interested in over the years. First landscaping, then ponds, now milling. Always good stuff. I’ll definitely check out these slabs too. I’m sure that helped out his business a bit too by posting this . Definitely very encouraging what this man has done. Thanks to the both of you !

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

Great video, it's great to see someone find a way to make a living doing something they like and have a passion for. The commute on this job isn't bad either, 20 steps and your at work. LOL!

[@patrickstammeyer6368]

I am a second generation pallet manufacturer in iowa I saw stuff for people for free i always have we have several acres of lumber on hand at any given time I let people pick stuff out for projects and never charge them I always say you saved that walnut from becoming a pallet......my wife says I am an idiot for never charging I always thought I make enough from the factories on the semi loads of pallets but maybe she is right after seeing this......don't let her know I said that !

[@kevincloonan9787]

Does Frankie live in a tree house out back or something ? LOL ... Stan always walks out his back door and calls Frankie like the family dog and there he is..always LOL Frankie is the man for sure !

[@TheJttv]

You don't have a live in handyman?

[@pjdegiorgio8998]

Lives in the lil house right behind his house so yeah pretty much lol

[@kevincloonan9787]

@@pjdegiorgio8998 that explains it...I didnt know that

[@xenonram]

@@kevincloonan9787 Frankie lives with Stan during the week, and then he goes home on the weekends. He lives a couple hours away, so it doesn't make sense to commute everyday.

[@chrise3801]

@@TheJttv 😂

[@JustinJoyinglife]

"As nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs" I love the sayings you use. Thanks for the video.

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

My 3rd grade teacher used that saying and I'm now 57 years old. It's still a great saying. LOL!

[@JustinJoyinglife]

@@MrTimdtoolman1 assuming I make it that long, it's gonna be one I'll likely use now. Add to the arsenal haha

[@fredluden2298]

It’s a Minnesota thing 😂

[@WallaceRoseVincent]

Ruben's custom saw Mill kicks ass!

[@afroguy56]

I move my logs with a cant hook and a giant wedge I cut on my mill. I roll it with my cant hook and if I need to turn it I roll it up the wedge around center mass until it teeter totters then I spin it

[@dbergman23]

This is crazy. I purchased some bowl blanks from you about 2 years ago (still have yet to turn everything). Loved talking to you and was wondering what you were up to. Flipping through youtube and i was interested in this video. The front of your house made me instantly realize that you were the one i had purchased from, but it wasnt until i skipped ahead and saw your face and was sure. Awesome to see that not only were you on here, but seems like you've got a bit of success. Congrats, and thanks for all the wood!

[@Dirtmonkey]

That's awesome Daniel, thank you !!

[@ed4412]

Another thing I also wanted to add is his slabs are perfect for epoxy projects I personally made 2 ten foot epoxy tables from Matt's walnut and ash slabs. Check out his stock, guarantee he has something that fits your taste or style.

[@bfd1565]

Awesome video considering I just ordered a TimberKing 1600 two days ago. I spent $32,276.20 sitting at my kitchen table. I'm not starting a business but a hobby to pimp my home. Best of luck with your mill. God bless...

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks Joe and you too !

[@scarmenl]

Base fee is not bad, but hourly should be 30 to 50 dollars a hour more! First major repair and all profits are out the window.

[@olegk11]

our local Menards has a lot more DIY wood selection than Home Depot which is mostly for 2x4 2x6 and plywood.

[@donfrance3]

... not charging enough to actually make a profit margin. Nice of him to do for a deal tho for local area. just blades for our saw are about $30 each and stay sharp about 2-4 hours (can run a band-sawmill blade so long and use the recommended resharpening grinder; hitting steel or getting an odd blade crimp from an off track event also immediately ends the blade life). you can resharpen these types of blades about 8 times typically. $90 an hour plus costs, mileage, etc. is a fair estimate formula in our area's small lumber cutting jobs. Getting logs free or haul aways is sometimes prudent to cut into lumber for future use or resale. Also, having a tractor or type of lifting equipment to move heavy logs and transport is a consideration.

[@andrewward9345]

Hourly rate seems reasonable. Adding a fee, that is a price per bf, of milled lumber. As well as a blade fee.

[@kevincloonan9787]

I agree he should be charging more ! When I get an appliance repaired they come to my house with a bag of hand tools and charge more than that

[@MichaelJohnson-jt5cu]

You need to charge for blades when they get damaged and worn along with wear and tear on the machine. The hourly rate also needs to cover fuel usage, maintenance costs, tires, etc. etc. You need to have heavy equipment to move logs around and a trailer and truck to haul the logs your hourly fee needs to cover all of the overhead for these machines.

[@fishing4drew]

Stanley, I've built 5 log/timber combo homes in the northern Montana area and actually been contemplating my own portable mill. We don't have beautiful woods like back east, but we have a lot of larch, fir, and pine. Most portable mills around here to come to site start at $175 per hr, and I know I can get up to depending on the size of log and size of job.

[@jonathanrighetti2088]

need more success stories like this one

[@thomasjohnson6165]

125 is a very fair rate for both parties, and the owner is less apt to ask a million questions while working too. Good video man.

[@TheHonestPeanut]

$75 for your first few years isn't bad. It looks like he's ready to step up the price though, he's past the newbie stage.

[@Cake41579]

I charge by the board foot plus a blade fee if I hit something that trashes a blade. I charge more if they don’t have a helper to help offload the lumber. I charge extra if I have to supply my equipment to help move the logs around and placed beside my mill. Typically I end upo hsving to bring my front loader to move the logs. It adds up wuick but the finished product is well worth it. I have the same milk as his but mines a 40hp caterpillar powered diesel with all the super hidrsukux option. The super hilydrsukic was a 10 thousand dollar upgrade when I purchased my mill in 2016.

[@kevinstrieter4915]

For his product I would say that demand is relatively low and supply for his service is low as well. Unfortunately low demand is more important than low supply with exception in cases of oligopolies and monopolies. There fore I would say there is a niche in the low price range of 75 to 90 and hour with a guarantee of number of boards as a result.

[@ginetteboruck1624]

sick video!! helped me alot. nice of you to do that for him and well done matt!

[@Dirtmonkey]

Glad it helped you out and thanks for watching !

[@densnet]

I am also very interested in going to sawmilling business. Yet here in our country cutting trees or selling them is harder because the government is strict. I am still not sure how and when to begin.

[@HOODS]

I've found that in my area sw mo. Nobody wants to even pay 75.00 per hr. I run a hm 130 that's currently stationary I'm building a log loading trailer. And have a make shift shipping container kiln. With a small fan and a 70 qrt dehumidifier that has a pump and a hose going out the side. To a bucket. I literally just got started sold my semi truck to follow my passion. I've already got 2 loads of free logs to go get. And my trailer isn't finished yet. I will go check out Ruben

[@Dirtmonkey]

Hope it all goes well, thanks for being here

[@andrewgrob9288]

He needs to buy a log arch. My friend built me one and I can haul logs 20 ft long and 2 feet in diameter. I use my lawn mower to pull them around. I built my own chainsaw mill and I can’t imagine doing it without a log arch!

[@jeffreykammerdiener222]

3 hour minimum, at $150.00 per hour plus a saw blade charge of $50.00. Includes mileage within 30 miles. Over 30 miles away .75 per mile round trip additional.

[@theusconstitution1776]

Great video! GREAT HAND UP! giving ALL OF US another place to do business! I WOOD BE TESTING MY SUSPENSION every time I came out of his place!!

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks Pete!

[@byronmill]

Pete, did you just slip a little pun in there? < I "wood" be testing my suspension...">. 🤣

[@Pat19997]

I would think it depends on how efficient he is. As a customer I'm going to say here are the logs how much to saw it up? How many board feet per hr. can be cut? I guess that too depends on tree type and width size.

[@DustyRanch]

It’s got to be economical for the customer.

[@mikegreer1760]

In East Texas a portable saw mill comes to my property and cuts. They bring a skid loader and sawmill. $250.00 setup and $80.00 per hour and in an 8 hr day they can cut about 1000 BF I'm told by the sawyer. I decided to buy a Woodland Mills 126 instead of hire someone.

[@dbergman23]

This still comes out to less than a buck a Board Foot. If you have a ton of trees to run, then you're probably better off getting the sawmill (and potentially cary over to getting logs from elsewhere to pay for it), but in the short haul its definately worth it to pay someone to come out and cut your logs for you.

[@mikegreer1760]

@@dbergman23 - Thank you for the reply. I have about 30 trees, oak, pine and one large walnut that need to come down. Were building a barndominium this year with a wood shop. With all the high winds and tornado's we have had in East Texas lately I am sure I will have more. Two more pines hit the dirt from last nights wind. Last week a small tornado took out an oak tree that was about 150 YO ++

[@charleyandsarah]

It is under charged, but however reality even with doing portable custom work, there is still competition with stationary production mills. Someone building a house needs someone to come out to their site with equipment. Someone with trees can always just let the logs rot and buy wood if its cheaper. I run an LT50, mostly portable, and get $80/hr

[@1961dubbo]

Hey Stan,I have several portable sawmill operators around the location where I live and the standard hourly fee is $150.00/hour, and depending on the difficulty of the raw timber they can charge up to $200.00/hour plus travel time to the job site.👍

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks for the comments Garron !

[@george7021]

Can I ask, where your location is? If you don't mind.Thanks

[@jb202ater]

he is in the area where he can start asking more per hour once he gets his custumers. I can see it taking off for him though! I also use marketplace for my business.

[@williamdegnan4718]

He should consider a per day rate for on-site milling. You have to consider the loss of productivity on other work.

[@JDseller1]

Stan I had to laugh when you got a cart that had the noisy wheel. LOL I never get one that is not messed up somehow.

[@Dirtmonkey]

Lol, thank s for watching !

[@shawnengelman5029]

I had a flat coat retriever as a kid. This is the only time I've ever seen another one.

[@ruby23m]

Thats awesome, he was a great dog.

[@IndependenceIron]

80/Hr and I am high in my area. I do it only as a side job, but have lots of competition with non portable mills that charge a lot less than me.

[@SuperHurdman]

Stanley how much did he charge for the pieces in your truck

[@roynelson7613]

I tell you what he's got one hell of a business and if he's only charging 75 an hour and doing good wait until he gets that 125 an hour he's worth every bit of that if not more my best friend asked me one day we was living in Centerville Indiana he said hey can you give me a ride down to Louisville Kentucky to pick up a sawmill I just bought a brand new Ford F-150 at the time I'm like yeah man and he does stuff on the side but it's something he would love to do full time and when I was growing up I work for a farmer and later on in life I needed a job so I went back to work for him and he had a guy with a sawmill just like that and that's where I got my first taste of working with logs he was harvesting a bunch of lumber out of his Woods and they built one hell of a house it was a good experience man I hope all is good up your way brother and thanks for the cool video and God bless all y'all💪💪💪👊👊👊👍👍👍👍

[@ScooterKid659]

period, period, semicolon; period!!

[@billwestphal1421]

Gas hedge trimmer is cheaper than the wife cutting power cords buddy

[@jeffmoore2351]

In Australia we call the Aussie Shepard a Coolie just through I let you know. Aussie Jeff

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks Aussie Jeff !

[@TheducksOrg]

Er.. we call them Collies. Not Coolies

[@marcusriley7309]

I just recently had 5000 board feet mill on my property for barn siding. The going rate here rural Indiana was about 65 an hour with 100 dollar setup. I was lucky and found a older gentleman with a lt40 that was offering to mill per board foot no setup fee. He charges .23 a board foot and spent around 18 to 20 hours on this job. I ended up paying 935 because I helped him for 16 hours stacking so he dropped the price. I'm 35 and he was 70 and he still ran circles around me. I feel if I was on an hourly rate with someone else this job would have been 24 to 30 hours. I do believe he under valued his price service and could have charged .27 a board foot. So advice for someone who is looking for this service. Try to work on a board foot rate not hourly. The area I live in is deep rooted in generosity and neighborly love. Just to prove this I ask him to come back out to mill me some 4x4 post out of two logs. He came to me on a Sunday. After 1.5 hours he only asked for 20 dollars. I gave him 60. This gentleman isn't a relative and wasnt a friend before. Just a great guy doing honest work.

[@byronmill]

Marcus, what part of Indiana are you from? We are looking to have someone do some custom sawing for us. Would be interested to meet this guy.

[@chrisblinn9175]

That rate is good for a manual mill in Texas where I am. I would be at $125 with hydraulics.

[@DustyRanch]

It’s amazing to me how regional the pricing is. I’m in western NC I charge 60 for my lt35 and I’m a little more expensive than the other guys in my county I have a buddy in central NC he is charging 85 and he is cheaper than his competitors.

[@jeffreyvicks7181]

Great video, really like to see startups like this. Does he have a tractor or skid loader with a log grapple to move those big logs around?

[@darkstonedf]

I am from Wisconsin originally and I moved down to Jamaica and learned a ton from the sawmills down here if he contacts rockeller or woodcraft he could be set for a long time if he lands a contract with them

[@williamnoel8876]

I think he is charging enough. Here in canada I cut some logs and the guy was charging 60$/h For cedar. It a resonable price there a huge demand for sawmiling with the high cost of lumber in store

[@jimdomoradzki483]

I like Menards because its a lumber store that won't cut your lumber, where the associates can't carry a utility knife but have a letter opener. Can't beat the peanuts, soup or candy.

[@karsonbranham3900]

Stanley your are correct. I would charge a minimum of 200 for move in/move out, and per hour charge would be like 200-250/hour for what I cut with my mill. I charge per thousand board feet of cutting

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks Karson

[@DustyRanch]

His prices are close. It’s all about board feet per hour. I run the size smaller than his, and just ordered the size he has. I charge $60 per hour now and will increase to $80-85 which averages to about $.35 per board foot. You have to consider the client has value in there logs, and the value you add by turning it to lumber has to be economical for them. If they can buy it at the same price or cheaper at a big box store it makes more sense for them to sell the logs and save time by going to Lowe’s.

[@joncue0304]

Hourly rate also varies by location.

[@DustyRanch]

@@joncue0304 oh yeah absolutely, great point. I’ve heard of guys in bigger cities charging 300+ per hour. Just have to know your local market.

[@joncue0304]

@@DustyRanch Apparently I need to drive to a bigger city, lol. We are just getting into the business right now, so I'm doing all the research I can. I know they recommend getting a kiln first, but there's no way I'm buying material for that when I'm about to start cutting my own lumber 😆

[@DustyRanch]

@@joncue0304 right!! Me too😂. I’ve been at it for about 7 years now. I’ve never sold anything kiln dried. I do have two places within 30 minutes that I could outsource that too. I agree no reason to spend the money on a kiln until you have the demand. Call some larger mills in your area, see what they charge to dry it. Pass that cost along to the customer. One less thing to maintain!!

[@joncue0304]

@@DustyRanch Our plan right now is to take the first batch of lumber we mill and use it to build a solar kiln. That way we'll get that availability, but with a lot less cost than buying the material. Figure we'll sell some green and put a small percentage into the kiln at first, then increase that percentage as we become more profitable.

[@SOHN32]

Keep your prices a bit lower. Get more work and sell more. Get greedy and youll get less. Your experience talk for itself. When your on demand then you can raise your prices and have job after jobs.

[@DustyRanch]

Don’t be greedy but be careful not to undersell yourself. I heard an old timer says “ why would I work more for less money? “ I get that. If I can do ten jobs for the same price as six, I’m only going to do six and spend the time I would spend on the other 4 jobs with my kids.

[@JasonFiske]

He is definitely charging too little. I may be a sucker, but I paid $300 for a single 10 foot slab of walnut. It was 3 inches thick and ~ 24 inches wide. I’m in western NJ. It’s very sad to see walnut and maple trees sitting and rotting or being turned into firewood. I think the live edge trend is going to die down but the slabs are beautiful.

[@xenonram]

You got 5 ft^3 of walnut for $60/ft^3. Depending on the figuring, that's really good

[@daviddurham2773]

His prices are good! I have seen some other saw mills that charge 5 times more!

[@byronmill]

🤣

[@adamjohnson5551]

Pretty cool story behinde the buisness. I'm kinda looking around and planning on going down that road my self. We'll see wat happens.

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks Adam and best of luck to you !

[@adamjohnson5551]

I cut down about 150 trees a year by my self and normaly end up fire wood. I dont have a wood burner and end up giving away wat me dad dont burn. It olny makes sence to buy a mill.

[@detroitbob58]

I have never liked Menards, they sell too much junk, IMO. BUT,,,, two years ago I was rebuilding my deck, flooring and posts. Menards has TRUE 1 1/4" Deck boards!! Plus pre-made railing panels for a very reasonable price! The only fault was the deck boards felt very dry, but shrunk in width over 1/4", over a year. If I had known that, I would have butted them tight, side by side. The 1 1/4" boards spanned my 24" joists and have no bounce in them.

[@thomascostello5780]

So timely for me, 65yo recently retired looking to stay busy and make a few bucks. Shopping for sawmill, dump trailer to transport logs home (live in hurricane alley of NC littered w/logs) and skid steer to place on mill. No experience but not afraid of hard work - need to study up on wood species. Have had the darnedest time getting someone to spill about pricing and you hit it on the head, thankyou. Can you help me out as to a ballpark price on slabs? Does he charge by the foot? The species? Que pasta my new friend?

[@kylelundquist5032]

I charge 200 for setup and tear down, and 100 an hour for milling plus 30 per blade so around 130 an hour

[@keithmartin7831]

The biggest kilm in my area is fueled by chips and dust from their logging businesses. The do custom flooring, trim, cabinets.

[@brucewilliams2106]

solar kiln? passive?

[@kevinlowe87ify]

I just picked up a pair of 3m worktunes connect and your on the packaging

[@andyanderson6668]

I would say consider your client, there are a lot of people out there that would like the service but can't afford those prices.

[@TAKINGADIP]

The people that are buying this kind of wood have some money to spend

[@michaelc5369]

I’m a woodworker, best info./video yet.

[@rickeyburke2596]

Everyone I ve talk to, any time you see a blue stain means metal , such as screws lag bolts.

[@anthonymakley1530]

Oak tree leaves blue/purple stain from metal. Pine doesn’t

[@2kman92]

Lol west saint paul menards is way different now compared to that video

[@ericsetting3732]

$75 is about the going rate for portable sawmilling in my area I have a stationary mill and charge $50 per hr.

[@curtcmiller]

Where?

[@ericsetting3732]

@@curtcmiller Arkansas “Typo”. I charge $60 per hr

[@justinmadison1333]

Bet you his fb page has blown up after this vid

[@keithmartin7831]

Should've got the gas pole saw or hedge trimmer. Dragging cord not to mention cutting them gets old and expense fast.

[@HerrWade]

We bolted ours directly into a granite rock, never needed to align it.

[@nickaladucious]

Should be trying to get atleast 100 to 125 for sure. Plus cost for the amount of blades.

[@TT-ik3kd]

Way over $75 an hour, he should at least be getting $60 an hour for the machine and $50 an hour for himself running it at minimum

[@joevsyou]

Menards is the cooler store! And better prices. However there somethings you can't find there like the bigger name brand power tools. Shark bites, i wouldn't use no off brand ones... less concrete choices.

[@royramey5659]

What to charge a hour depends on how many board feet per hour you can saw. My mill is stationary and i don't have to deal with that.

[@DIRT-BOSS]

Nice looking stuff

[@robertg8875]

Great video !!!!

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thank you !!

[@davidzetterberg6614]

James Michael I was gonna say name that tune @2:19.

[@BillCoSmith]

Sounds like the price is right, with the transport fee. I would worry about getting in an accident with your main source of income moving from place to place. If it were a piece of common equipment (skid steer ECT.) you could rent another while waiting for an insurance replacement. Maybe not so easy with a sawmill? Cool video

[@samstheman7633]

They have sawmills out here will come for free or even pay you for wood , I’d say 85 an hour or so would be appropriate he is new

[@jimbenton7191]

I agree 75 is way too cheap, but that is what those guys charge around here too. If one guy tries to raise his rate and the others don’t…they get the work and he sits at home.

[@farmerbob139]

kind of a late reply, but the problem with one of these mills is that there is already a supply chain in place that makes 2x4, 2x6's available at box stores for less than a little guy can buy logs. there is literally zero profit to be made, in most instances, making dimensional lumber... there are already economies of scale working quite well. timber owners can often buy dimensional lumber cheaper than using their own timber and a portable mill. add to that the varying degrees of difficulty finding logs, the cost of support equipment (log handling) and the not so unusual need to bring that to the job along with the sawmill and pretty soon you end up with a scenario where you are basically transporting a sawmilling operation to a site and trying to compete with people who are not really trying to run a legitimate business. when you include the fact that these sawmills have gone through the roof in price over the last 5 years (diesel eng really is the only way to fly) then it becomes very cost prohibitive to get into this business. and of course it's goddamn hard work. :) I'm in British Columbia where most timberlands are publicly owned and if I don't have paperwork in place for the logs in the yard they are presumed to be stolen from the province and I could lose my mill and anything that could be classified as support equipment. I know it sounds harsh, but there have literally been hundreds of $billions of dollars of timber stolen and illegally milled into profit here over the years. people have taken their mills into the bush, cut up the cream and left the mess behind without paying a penny for the logs. portable sawmilling, or sawmilling in general is definitely not a business where you can simply run the numbers based on what it cost to get into and come up with rates that will definitely work in your area. in short, it's a cutthroat business. very high risk. 2 cents.

[@ksa5128]

I bet you think Hungry Man dinners are the best!

[@jeffreykammerdiener222]

Yes, but they don't sell 2-3"slabs live edge material, cedar mantles, beams etc.. There is plenty of profit to be made. Do you own a sawmill? Your like my brother who says "You cant make any money selling firewood." He has never tried to sell firewood. If you make bundle firewood then you can make over $750-$1000 per cord for premium seasoned hardwood bundles. Sawyers sell rough cut lumber. It is green to start out with and dried either by air or in a kiln. People buy it to build all sorts of things like decks, gazebos, pole barns, sheds and the like. If we were wanting to sell graded lumber we would have to have our wood inspected, graded, and stamped by someone that was certified to do so, and only after our lumber has dried to a moisture level of around 7%. Bob, just keep to your welding job and dont spit in our food! Im sure you know about welding but certainly you should keep your negative unfounded comments to your self. We have prooved that there is lots of profit in the sawyer business!

[@pierobernini5964]

Great video, how old are these videos? As in how long ago was it filmed.

[@Wolfiecolada]

good stuff stan

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks buddy

[@devinthompson7816]

It's $175 an hour in SC plus $30 for every nail you hit and ruin a blade. Think it was 2 or 3 hours minimum last time I checked.

[@DustyRanch]

Where are you at in SC?

[@TheducksOrg]

Does standing up undried wood like that cause it to warp? Seems like it would..

[@Schnot]

Not really. It takes up more space, but it’s much easier for customers to pick through what they want.

[@detroitbob58]

Not to be too critical, he should have built his kiln where he could load and unload the kiln with future forks on a tractor. or maybe he can drag the kiln out in the open some day?

[@dutchwebb6029]

While i'm not speaking from experience, it seems he is marketing convenience. If I've got the lumber, I'd pay a bit more to not having to load up all the wood, take it to the sawmill, pay to have it cut up and load it up & haul it home. Having it milled at customer's location, there is also less chance wood might "disappear". All of that is worth a bit more, a gallon of milk cost more than at a large supermarket due to the convenience.

[@axtonschmitz3829]

We have the same mill but it is a lot older then that on what we do is gest go to peoples house and mill what ever they want some times we cut demenchnal lumber and slads or we get awer buddy to check logs to us we charge 85 a hour. And 25 dollars a bald

[@sirwallygator565]

In Ontario where I am you have way to many sawmills and some have only paid $4,000 new for their cheap ass one.. So they are charging $35 and hour to $80 a hour here... Some really good sawers are only charging $35 if you provide the helpers.. These are retired guys and they just doing it for extra cash. Now some of these $80 a hour guys have no clue what they are doing and just a waste of money all the way around.. Now I have a sawmill that can cut max 40 inch logs.. I don't saw for others because the marked is crap in that part of the business.. I saw mainly for myself and some for carpenters...

[@gotjuice7160]

75/hr covers operator and operating costs. Add 25% for overhead and profit. The setup takedown charge is good :)

[@MRnounoursSQ]

Stanley around where I live people that have sawmill charge around 25$/hour up to 40$/hour (I'm in Canada, New Brunswick). It's way to low and It's bin at that price for 30 years or so, I read some of the comment and allot of guy are charging to low specially where I live lol . And if you say your charging more they say it's to expensive. And to make mater worst if you build structure larger than 215 square feet you need to use graded & stamped lumber and that's a new law here in New Brunswick . I think 75 $ / hour is way to low. I build mi self a sawmill for mi self and don't know if I would do it for business !!! Great video by the way.

[@jeffreykammerdiener222]

Come to TEXAS and do just about what you want to Do!

[@JohnyLatelyCome]

$80 to $90 per hour plus $100 for coming out is what they charge around Michigan

[@normdoty]

all these people are correct however your rate has to be in line with everyone else's to remain competitive, too low of a rate and you will be swamped with business and too high of a rate the opposite. so you seem to be doing just fine without all these other ideas, i do agree that you must charge a blade fee especially if there is damage to a blade because of buried metal or other foreign material, the blade seems to be the most expensive consumable part. best of luck to you.

[@Dirtmonkey]

Thanks for watching and for the feedback !

[@johnnyhunter4345]

competition sets your prices....never turn down work, just raise your prices as you get busier....or sub it out and manage the sub...

[@Rudevette]

I’m a contractor in South Dakota... all I have to add is menards sucks. The bigger it gets the worse it is. And it’s more expensive than z good lumber yard on projects. Okay, I’m done now.

[@Rudevette]

No doubt menards has a wide selection. Lumber is graded so whatever grade you buy at least you know what you are getting. The majority of the stuff there is low quality junk for a premium price. The big problem is you pay more there, and it takes a half a day going to pay for stuff, then act as a menards employee for free by loading and hauling your own goods. In my business I don’t have time or money for that. At my lumber yards I can email, text, or call and they make up my load, and it’s setting right at my job site ready when I get there. (Without paying more for materials then paying for delivery on top of it all). That’s where I’m coming from. It is a nice store for buying dollar store groceries if your regular dollar store is too far away.

[@bena4684]

You can get portable sawmill online for $5000 , harbor freight has one for $2100

[@stevek5988]

And,,,, you get what you pay for. Harbor freight isn't even comparable to that Wood Mizer.

[@jeffreykammerdiener222]

You cannot get a PORTABLE sawmill from harbor freight for $2,100.

[@Z-Bart]

He charges what he feels is fair.

[@mrcountry4484]

CAN WE KNOW WHAT Happend to frakies hand

[@manofinterests334]

Unfortunately there's so many portable mills around all at $60-75 per hour... if he charged $125, it'd be a hungry winter.

[@stephenfarynaz7229]

sounds like a Kawasaki motor, love those things

[@DustyRanch]

Most likely a Kohler 38 hp