Charge for Resawing Timbers
Is there money is resawing recovered beams? September 15, 2006
Question
I have been asked to resaw truckloads of timbers, 4 x 4s, 5 x 7s, etc. Does anyone know what the going rates are for this operation? The lumber is reclaimed heart pine. Please assume that all lumber is metal-free.
Forum Responses
(Solid Wood Machining Forum)
From contributor A:
If you have that much to do for them why don't you ask them to bring some by and you will do it for free. Then you can determine how much to charge him by real world experience. But having truck loads for you I think this freebie might help you more than hurt you.
From contributor B:
I charge by the hour plus blade charges when applicable. The rate to charge would be based on your saw capabilities and the support equipment you would need to use to accomplish sawing efficiently.
From contributor C:
You should also take into account that they're probably selling it for somewhere between $7- $15 a board foot, maybe more, and I'll bet they get it for next to nothing.
From contributor B:
To Contributor C: I respectfully disagree with your logic. What the customer charges for the product should have no bearing on what the customer should be charged for the service. Secondly, I tried sawing and marketing reclaimed lumber and got out of it fast. The rough beams are not cheap. They were $400 per thousand back when I tried it 10 years ago and could only have gone up since. It took a fair amount of time and labor to scan the beams and pull the metal out. They were a pain to saw because the pitch sticks to everything. There is a huge amount of waste from skinning the beam on through to defecting out cracks and splits. There is money to be made in the product, but it is not much more than processing logs and selling lumber despite the high bd ft price tag.
