Milling Your Own Lumber - Part 7: Grading & Pricing

In the seventh and final part of our Milling Your Own Lumber series, Dan discusses how to calculate board feet, a high-level overview of grading lumber, and resources to help price lumber competitively in the market. To view the entire series, visit: www.popularwoodworking.com/mi...

[@SuperZap12345]

This is what youtube is best for. Smart people sharing their knowledge to educate everyone else. This ultimately benefits society as a whole.

[@ironmalice93]

I truly enjoy listening to someone that really knows what they are talking about. That older fella has obviously worked hard in his industry to become the very knowledgeable person that he has become. Very informative and interesting. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. I greatly appreciate it.

[@fiction9276]

I'm currently starting my journey as a grader and I hope to be as rehersed and knowledgeable as this man here. Didn't see myself ever trying to make a career in this field hell I started with piling wood and sweeping floors. Now I have a chance to step up and learn as much as I can and make somthing of myself and possibly run my own mill one day.

[@stag6161]

Good luck with that, same here, I have potential to start milling wood, but didn't know anything about it, I got a job at a big sawmill, but they stuck me on the edger, I've learned alot talking to the guys who do the grading but nothing beats the experience of actually doing it

[@ninjapancakes9435]

What a truly awesome small series. This was spectacular. Lots of great info. Suprized it's not on TV. Thank you so much for making this!

[@slhasebroock]

PW thank you for doing this series! Well done! It's nice to hear from experts in the field. I am fairly new to milling, and this was very helpful! A follow-up series going even deeper would be awesome!

[@sethmoking]

Watching this series has helped me to understand just why lumber is so expensive.

[@DewJohnson1]

I wish I had this gentleman's knowledge, he is amazing!

[@skippylippy547]

Wow, this is a great learning experience! Thank you so much for sharing this information with us.

[@MrTrekFanDan]

Dan , thanks for taking the time to pass on knowledge. God bless.

[@matthewharvey8755]

Great series. Just binged through it all in one sitting lol. I've got a small mill coming in 9 weeks, more for personal needs, but I'm sure people will some services from it. Looking forward to seeing more of your content!

[@tomcogger2132]

Outstanding series. I have learned so much!

[@Thom4123]

Awesome series with great information.

[@hardnox6655]

Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.

[@ministersmalls6004]

excellent training. amazing. he's so knowledgeable.

[@randyrodriguez4643]

Great series, thanks!

[@cat32643]

Great Series! Thank you.

[@Loveus00]

Very knowledgeable. Thanks guys.

[@axdicaire]

very informative. Much appreciated

[@andyellem]

So helpful gents, thanks!

[@kenzubby6072]

Highly informative. I am getting schooled on timber by your videos.

[@LukeJohnsonEntertainmentUSA]

White oak is graded well at the mill I work at, 1 BTR, 2-3A R and 2-3A

[@mrslkungpowchikn1206]

Loved this helpful info, thank you for doing it. Question: How do we know what different species are worth, such as noble fir or juniper timber? Ive found we have acess to timber thst isnt sold in mass quantity in stores, but seems like we could still use it for home building, interior work, or furniture. Ive heard Juniper is even superior to cedar for lasting outdoors without treating it for things like pergolas, raised beds, etc. Ive wondered about for wood siding or roofing shingles as well. We also cut giant cottonwood but my husband said its worthless and we cant use it for anything (but he said the same thing about our black walnut trees! 😂). Is it correct cottonwood doesnt have any use for building of any kind or flooring etc? ? How do i find this information for different species? Thank you so much.

[@scottlouis7785]

I`m getting close to 80 & didn`t suspect some of that & I grew up in the hills of central Mo Don`t know if I will ever use it but interesting

[@bobbg9041]

Age is just a number.

[@samuelroberts334]

😍😍😍

[@bobbg9041]

Wow. He's learned a lot over the years, probly made some mistakes along thd way too, honestly mistakes are an opportunity to learn it may cost you money but so does school. Its just more a diy classroom. Id like to know what he thinks about the proper way to store wood inside a tempture controlled environment like a basement thats been possessed and milled on a planer . And really as a novice woodworker I dont think there is any bad lumber as it all can be used for somthing. Lol one time at the lumber yard they had a kiln dried 2x4 that was twisted and warped by feet not inches. I think you could have made a coat rack with it. I think it was Douglass fur or some kind of pine. This 2x4 was so bad it was a conversion piece. I guess its the imitation you put into it for what it is. Thats why less then perfect lumber is popular now. And lumber you've have cleaned up 40 years ago as trash fetches a good price in value now.

[@rachelgibson1858]

My family recently sold 181 trees that according to the timber guy has 51,000 board feet. I have a very bitter distant VERY distant relative who is upset we didn't go through him. He claims we're being cheated even though I've never told him the price we're getting. He says they are taking all our high value trees. Walnut, Red Oak, and I know they are taking Beech too. The timber guys we went through do their own milling. Can anyone tell me how much on average 51,000 board feet is worth? I don't know how many of each species they are taking. Also I know for a fact that they aren't taking ALL of our walnut and oak tree. A neighbor we trust walked the woods with the Forester guy and for every walnut they marked they left at least 3. They said we will have more to harvest in 10yrs.

[@oldaxehead655]

Well what price did you get? You have a variety of woods there, and valuable ones.

[@LukeJohnsonEntertainmentUSA]

And 3 common

[@pamtnman1515]

Doyle scale cheats timber sellers, because it uses a 5/16” blade kerf that no one uses today, and it greatly underestimates volume on logs that are not the giant virgin growth of 1825, when Doyle was created. The reason all the mills use Doyle is because they’re all equally cheating timber sellers. Think about this, would you rather use a measurement system invented at the beginning of the industrial revolution, or one invented almost 200 years later? Ummmm I’d rather use the International scale, please. Even International is not totally accurate, because most logs today are cut on bandsaws, which have a 1/8” kerf, literally half of the 1/4” rule used in International. That means there’s half the waste that’s figured into how much wood a log will produce. That means more wood coming from the sawmill, and more money in the mill’s pocket. The worst situation is when log buyers use Doyle for veneer logs, where there’s zero blade waste, and therefore no reduction in expected volume from sawing waste. Land owners and foresters need to push back and demand fair treatment

[@smosesa]

pamtnman pamtnman kind of like a car dealer using Kelly blue book on what he’s selling and Kelly black book on your trade. 🤣

[@jeffenglishsetter8339]

That's why you hire a competent forester to broker the deal

[@pamtnman1515]

@@jeffenglishsetter8339 yes and no. i work with several foresters. some need the bucks quick, some will sell well below market just to keep their relationship with the mill strong. depends on who it is and how his finances are at that moment

[@jeffenglishsetter8339]

@@pamtnman1515 As a landowner I was commenting on your last sentence "Land owners and foresters need to push back and demand fair treatment"

[@pamtnman1515]

@@jeffenglishsetter8339 i got ya. i do understand. timber is a blind item to all landowners except those who have gone through several management rounds, or who are actively involved in timber management year round. a forester is generally a good choice, i agree. it's just that foresters can go through ups and downs like any person, and their bidding process can easily reflect where their head and bank account are at any point

[@2pugman]

The man has a terrible shake with his right hand. What's wrong ?

[@nicholasoconnor9177]

Parkinson's disease

[@bobbg9041]

@@nicholasoconnor9177 not necessarily true could be blood pressure or other factors. Like a nervous tic. If you watch its just one arm. His right hand. He could have nerve dammage in that arm. My mom always shook on her hands it was blood pressure.

[@donaldspears6503]

What's that got to do with price of eggs in China????