Thread: How much do you reckon?

one of the local mills down here sells hardwood ob for $500 a cube so that puts the 6x6 posts at $18 each annd the 400mmx400mm at $192 each.but if you can find ironbark that big i'd at least double it for the small posts and possibly tripple it for the two bigger ones just for the fact it hard to get sizes that big. how do you go cutting the big ones anyway? it seems a lot of work with the lucas or would u use the slabber?

If it goes ahead, I'll post a thread about it. I think I can make it work, but I'll have to see? I think the slabber will be too slow, so I'm thinking I can do it with the blade.

Hi Alan, not sure on the prices but if it were me and it was my timber, I like to make about $60 per hour. I have milled some 400 x 400s before. Basicly I just squared up a log. Obviously it would need to be a timber with no rot in the heart/centre. I used blackwood as alot of our gums are prone to rot up the centre. It was fairly easy to do

goodluck John

well if you were buying from a timber yard in Brisbane you are looking at.

150 x 150 = $61.58 per meter

i don't have the price on 400 x 400 but for a building pole witch is just a log with a top end diameter of 400mm cut from any hardwood they are running upwords of $140/m

so you gotta be looking at a total of about 3 grand atleat.

if ever Ppl are chasing prices for large section material give "shiver me timbers" I'm Melb a call as they specialise in this stuff, last quote I received for 400x400 in 5+meter lengths it was around the $400/mtr

So are you all saying that $500 to cut them from his logs is a bit off the mark then...

If you can do it in less than 4 hours ..... then no, as for just straight milling you want to recover your travelling costs/time, set up time and then milling at $100 plus dollars/hour.

suppose it's a matter of how much you wanna make, is there a chance it could lead to more work ? if they think you are too expensive they might go elsewhere or use an alternative material.

Nah that's the price for volume - $100 an hour!! after expenses!!

too much, doctors do not earn that much

but doctors aint out in the hot sun all day getting covered in sawdust all day either are they.

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Nah that's the price for volume - $100 an hour!! after expenses!!

There is bloke over here quoting $180 an hour, four hour minimum with ony two of those hours being milling time, rest is travel and setup

burnsy how much work is he getting

Originally Posted by weisyboy

but doctors aint out in the hot sun all day getting covered in sawdust all day either are they.

I don't own a sawmill but I have been in business all my life and I have to say you have a lot to learn my friend.
what you can charge is not what you think you should get it is what your customer is prepaired to pay for your service and the final product.
A deal has to be a win win for both parties or one of the two will loose interest.....in the end nobody cares how many hrs you have been standing in the sun.....the customer wants to know what he pays for timber.......thats it.
By the way......a Doctor pays about $60k per year public liability per year plus spend many years earning close to nothing.
Just my 2 cents worth on the money side of things.
cheers
Reiner