Thank you for for honesty and bravery. Youre helping people more than you think.

Thank you for that, it has helped me decide that I will purchase and use a low end saw mill for my own projects and not think of trying to use it to make money.

@visitacionlucero3516

3 жыл бұрын

May God bless you for your selfles ness!

Thanks a lot for your honesty, the numbers match my first year.

Thanks for our honesty.

Really appreciate you sharing your numbers and insight on the economics side.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

sure thing, always bothers me why very few people say anything about money, even in other industries on YT. I don't have anything to hide, dunno what they're worried about...It's pretty critical info to have to start a business

Well thought out and nicely put together. Very informative.

Thanks for sharing this. Really interesting - and congratulations on the achievement.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, it's been a lot of work, but it's starting to feel comfortable...just hope it stays like this lol

Thanks for sharing, all great insights.... Just bought a LX 150 ...Like you not my fulltime job ...mainly do excavation , thus the need for the mill... We get so much timber...Up in GODS country.. Minnesota...Thanks again.. Good luck

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

That looks like a nice mill, although I'm pretty interested in the LX250....seems like they did some nice upgrades on the LX series

So you should easily make $25,000 a year from the mill now that you are more established. (Depending on available work.) PLUS, you can start eventually using some of your own wood for your handyman jobs. Thanks for honestly sharing what we can expect. REAL WORLD numbers are better than the salesman telling us that we will get rich quick.

@billwilliams9897

2 жыл бұрын

With the current inflation and lumber shortage you could easily make 25k in a month now, or even in a week in the right places and working on the right projects. I know a person who paid 50k for one kitchen table.

Thank you for providing actual numbers. Good luck with your business.

There is a corner of YT that has value and you are helping to make it better. Thank you for the transparency!

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Appreciate it, thanks for watching!

@gnomelandacres2184

4 жыл бұрын

A small part of AB appreciates this as well!

Thank you for sharing!

Interesting video! Thanks for posting! :)

Nice video / info thanks

I like your video. It seemed to me you were real and not a bs'er. I know how much hard work sawmilling is. I know also you must enjoy your work. Again thanks for the video and thanks for just telling it like it is. Good luck with your business, I think you have what it takes to build a business!

I just want to pay for the mill I bought for 7k... so this is helpful and hopeful. Thanks!

Bought some off of you down in Savannah, will be out your way in a few months, would like to pick some more up then.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Sure thing! Give me a call/text or email when it gets closer, we're in Sylva, NC. wncportablesawmilling@gmail.com or 828.560.5458. Thanks for the support

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

828.506.5458*

Helpful video but I think it's worth clarifying that in accounting an income statement which is revenue minus expense equals gross profit, does not normally include equipment purchases because those are fixed long-term assets that belong on the balance sheet. The way the bandsaw mill purchase is properly accounted for (and which is needed for taxes) is to only list the depreciation of the asset on the income statement. Now that might be approx. the same as the payments, but it might also be a lot less. In other words you might be thinking you made 8K profit, but the taxman and accountant might say no you made 12K or 16K. Just depends what the allowable depreciation per year is on this type of equipment.

@rorschacht8478

3 жыл бұрын

This guys knows what he's talking about.

Good job and Good Luck Brother

Lots of costs to cover beside the mill inself, forklifts, skidders , trailers, trucks , chainsaws, flowers to keep your wife happy . If you have a mill to make money,you will be disappointed. But the joy of sawing the lumber and doing a good job is priceless

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Not every situation is the same and so far we've been able to make enough to cover all of those costs and live a comfortable lifestyle. Sure, nothing is perfect, and there's no guarantee for work, but so far so good. Yupp, you're right that it is an enjoyable job - definitely beats a desk job for Charley. - Sarah

@gleasonsimpson3310

4 жыл бұрын

Neil Macleod do you live comfortable because the mill is not your primary source of income

subscribed and liked your video because this content is unique and realistic :)

Interesting!!

Awesome job! If you worked 300 hours on the saw mill the whole year. I want to get into this business just for fun then eventually do it full time. Could you give some advice how to start? Do you sell to lumber yards? Individuals?

Are you just taking the mill to customer sites and sawing their logs? What are you using to load the logs? Just bought a Woodlander 126 for our own use but might do some side work. Thanks, informative video.

Im in the cabinet business and walnut is like $7 a bf maple is almost 4. 20 cents seems extremely low to me

@a-k-jun-1

3 жыл бұрын

That is the cutting fee only. The customer supplies the logs.

@chrisgoodman2060

2 жыл бұрын

You’re probably calculating kiln dried wood prices and not green wood prices (which are significantly lower).

I love the idea of selling Lumber and I want to become more involved and love your videos I have a couple of quick questions and hoping you can answer. Number one do you ever sell lumber that's not kiln-dried. Number two can you give us some examples of the lumber that you cut is a two by fours two by sixes 2 by 8 and so on and how long is the typical wood. A number 3 when people order would do you deliver it or do they come to your place and pick it up? Many thanks and as always look forward to your next video

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Most of what I sell is not kiln dried, mostly b/c I don't have a kiln. I just make sure the customer understands this, and it is always priced as such. KD can add at least 50 cents, sometimes 2-4 bucks/bdft to the value for larger slabs. I tend to sell large lived edge slabs, the 1x's and 2x's don't have as much value per bdft, but are definitely easier to handle. I try to keep 8.5 ft, sometimes 10.5 or 12.5, but sometimes you get whatcha get. I don't try to compete with lumber yards, they have too much volume and just doesn't make as much sense (they can sell cheaper than it's worth it for me, especially pine/poplar, etc. Oak is hit or miss). I do not deliver, mostly because it's just not worth my time, but also you'd need some kind of DOT classification and commercial insurance since you're carrying a customer's product.

I'm making an average of $.80 per board ft. A lot of my work is custom cutting and sales of 1x. Not much 6/4 and bigger work or sales other than pine.

@kenmoule825

5 жыл бұрын

How wide does your mill cut? Are you doing live edge, lumber, private sales?? Very good info in this video. He did a nice job on this.

Have you considered a "share concept" (30% you keep/70% customer keeps)? That might raise your profit. Understand that hourly charging is cleaner, but customer may be happier with lower cost and less sawn lumber.

@rorschacht8478

3 жыл бұрын

More like keep 50%. You need to load it up, transport, dry and then resell. Also, 3-5% is waste/firewood.

Hay you all are missing one thing when you talk about where you can get the wood to lumber ask the tree and limb cutters they get trees like nothing and they have to pay to get rid of the waste or chipping's that's one way of getting the wood

Charley first I for one thank you for your honest information. After reading through the comments it seems that a lot of questions were answered in the video, so I watched it twice before writing this. Great video with a ton of information. Every trip to a customer's place to look at the job and the stop at Burger King for lunch could be recorded as expenses too but that's not what the video is about. Great job!!

What for sharpener did you buy?

Are those number with you buying the logs,going to customers or sawing your own logs from your property?

@15lesson

3 жыл бұрын

That's what I want to know

You frequently mention what sounds like “Savannah”. Are you in Savannah, Ga?

@charleyandsarah

3 жыл бұрын

We used to be with the lt15, selling lumber. Then we moved to NC and did portable sawing with an lt50

Great insight into the business. I would almost think at this point it may be more profitable to charge by the board foot, now that you have the numbers.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

well, it's funny, because when you charge by the board foot, then the customer (who said they want to help) goes slow as molasses (generally speaking). But when you charge by the hour, then it's a different story. So that's why we went to strictly hourly.

My family has 60 acres of forest in upstate NY. I wanted to buy a mill and make some money to supplement my retirement income. I was thinking if purchasing a LT 35 or 40. Should I look at a larger machine? Also where should I expect the majority of my income to come from? Will it be selling slabs or milling for people on their properties?

@charleyandsarah

3 жыл бұрын

The 40 is way more robust for full time sawing and you can get a wide head and more upgrades available. Most people with 35s end up selling and buying a 40 or larger. Selling lumber or custom sawing is all based on your market and what you can get

@jasonneugebauer5310

3 жыл бұрын

I have an LT35 Hydraulic. I use it almost full time. The benefits to an LT35 Hydraulic is you get a machine wit the same bed as the LT40 and larger. A 25 horsepower engine cuts fairly fast. The saw cuts flat. And you save a ton of money. The biggest cons in my opinion is everything on the saw is slower than a LT40 Super Hydraulic. And my biggest issue is you only have a cutting capacity of 24 inches. As far as the size of the log you can cut, with patience and a good chainsaw you can cut any log that will fit on the bed with an LT 35. I have cut up to 38" logs. You just have to raise the boom to the max and cut a groove to the 24 inch capacity of the mill then role the log and do it again, and maby again. Then it fits and you have lots of 24" wide boards. If you are not cutting wide boards the LT35 is great. I am not going to upgrade until I have property, a shop, a skid steer, an F35 or bigger pickup, a heavy duty trailer, a 25 inch 7 hp thickness planer, a long bed joiner, a molding machine... you get the point. I already have $80k worth of tools and equipment. Spending way more for a saw that does the same thing but faster and with a larger cut width is not worth it to me. I spend way less time on my mill than I do stacking and stickereing and moving to the kiln then to storage then to the shop for use, then joining and thickness plaining. The LT35 Hydraulic is the easiest part of the business, Good luck

You don't deduct your "Loan Payment" for the mill as an Expense, only the interest paid in each payment (it's a Fixed Asset). Does that make sense to you? Maybe someone below has already mentioned this to you, not sure.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

Hardly anything makes sense to me about taxes. We have them done through turbotax and it walks us through all that.

@gadiantonx8474

5 жыл бұрын

its actually a depreciating asset as is the truck he uses to pull it

Is that soft lumber sale or hardwood sale or both?

Does that number include the cost of the logs?

@rileyhiggins4753

2 жыл бұрын

He said he was doing mobile work mostly. He is cutting for people who want to keep there logs

Those numbers mean you've sold everything you cut with the mill??? Nothing stacked sitting in the yard drying waiting to be sold.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

The LT50 in the first year? Yes, sold everything we've cut with very few exceptions. We primarily do only portable milling and the customer keeps all the lumber.

Have you considered selling lap siding or quarter sawn hard wood for flooring

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

We recently bought a molder to do just that :-) But next step is to get a store front to sell out of... tired of selling from our house.

@1982MCI

5 жыл бұрын

charley and sarah what brand molder did you get charley? There is a huge demand for that type of wood sales in NC right now. Everybody in the state has to use a fella in Winston Salem and from what I’ve been told by numerous folks that use him is he has about a 2 month wait to get your wood processed, and that is with you supplying your own wood, he just converts it. I’ve been looking at possibly getting one to do the same thing but we are far enough we won’t impact each other and there are plenty of custom builders that are looking for guys with the equipment to do this stuff. Good luck to ya buddy and stay. Safe out there!! Good videos

Can you show us how paper is made from wood?

Is it 17 an hour or 70 an hour?

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

used to be $70/hr... now we're using bigger blades that have a better cut quality, but less life span and cost more so now it's $80/hr.

How are you measuring board feet, the log before you cut it or the boards after you cut them?

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

In this respect that's the stack of lumber after, but it's just an estimate. I'll look at it, and guestimate the volume. I used to measure but after so many jobs you get a good idea from looking if you cut 1500 bdft, 3000 bdft, etc. I don't charge the customer this way, it's just so I can get an idea how much volume I saw for my own records.

mill lumber for a house. build it and sell it. A house per year will be easy

That is really good board foot an hour. You should be rocking and rolling in the near future. Thanks for sharing I don't think I would share that info.

@charleyandsarah

5 жыл бұрын

I don't really have anything to hide, hope it's helpful to others. I wish I had some insight from others before I started, I just had to flat guess on what I could do. I'm pretty happy with the BF/hr, it's about half of what WM advertises, but considering this is all portable work, I feel pretty good about it, I don't see those advertised numbers as very sustainable over time.

@kenmoule825

5 жыл бұрын

Well said. TY

Your payments for the machine are not expenses.

where will you get the tree's to mill and sell. . it ain't easy folks . an entry level wood mizer is more than 5000 $ just for the mill. and that's in the box. you have to assemble it. and it needs to be put on a trailer to haul it . plus .. ok blades are extra. labor . transport fuel. time labor help. storage .your truck needs considered. it ain't easy.. his mill is an Lt50. that's what? 27 grand ? Lt 10 is 5400. $ that's the smallest one . .but if you have hundreds of acres of old growth timber then yea go for it .

@tonykrueger7483

5 жыл бұрын

LT50 runs between 44-50K depending on the bells and whistles. I started out with an old LT30 and you hit the nail on the head... It is VERY HARD to get started. Learning curve is steep, especially in areas like where I live, where logging is very prevalent (Missouri, Hardwoods like white oak and walnut). But if you can survive the first year and keep expenses low, it can be done. Just rounded my first year in business, roughly $22,000 in gross sales. Much like the video poster - this is a side business and I have a full-time job that keeps the light on and helps pay for the sawmill and the shop.