If you could make a much money hoarding and maybe selling some wood, would you quit your day job? I simply cannot make the math work, but would be so happy if I could!!!
I am not too old yet, but not as young as I once was...My job is interesting and I am working towards my retirement pension and health insurance...Not sure I could ever do 40 + hours of wood cutting a week...nice dream though.
No I wouldn't. I cut wood in the winter months to get outside with the added benefits of heating my house and saving some money. I don't get in any hurry and don't worry about how much I'm cutting. If I were doing it for a living, time would be money and it would all be about efficiency.
i could do the cutting, its the splitting stacking selling and more than likely delivering and getting paid that makes it a nightmare. i have a lot of respect for anyone that can make that work.
No way would I ever try doing firewood for a living. I used to service cat scanners for a living and no way could I make the same money hour for hour of work. Like TurboDiesel said I like having it as a hobby and like Shack said my job has done very well for me in my retirement years. Running saws is fun though.
I would love to If I could make the same as I do at my regular job, but exactly what TurboDiesel said and for the fact that I hate temps much over 60
Even if the $ penciled out, doing it with a saw and maul like I do would be too physically demanding. Doing it with processing equipment would change the experience.
I've turned 3 hobbies into jobs in the past. It pretty much ruins everything you like about them. Maybe as some extra spending cash but I wouldn't make it something you have to rely on.
I've made a living at it for 30 years. Started out with a saw splitter and monster maul just to make some side cash . Graduated to 2 processors , skidders , log trucks, sawmill , got into mulch , animal bedding, supplied raw material to pellet makers , topsoil , coal , pallets . Got so big I started brokering firewood and not even touching it. Long story short I wouldn't do it again on a massive scale. If I had to start over knowing what I know now and if I had the right location I would however take a shot at the campfire ,kindling , and "artisinal" firewood market as some side $. It's your highest $ ROI. That being said I've made 3X the $ doing other things with a lot less blood,sweat ,and tears .
Years ago we sold a little firewood. It can put a little cash in your pocket. We seasoned many loads in the trailer on the way to the customer's house We did have a standing order for seven loads per year and he stacked it for the next year
All good points. I work 60-80 hours per week and make great money. I had not considered the stress aspect and losing my hobby. I am in my happy place in the woods, 90 degrees or -20 and cannot lose that. Good thoughts guys
I had seriously considered making a business out of it a couple times but after putting pencil and paper to work, I just could not see how we could make it pay enough.
Interesting: I faced this very question and ultimately chose to pursuit logging. My decision had more to do with farming than logging as my goal is to clear the land of forest and convert it to farmland. In that manner I am logging now, but in the near future it will be field and I will be raising more sheep. One thing I NEVER thought would happen was, I would end up making the same, or even money logging than I did at the shipyard working a lot less hours. It has to do with being able to control where my money goes instead of watching so many others take a slice of the pie. Yes I made a lot of money per hour at the shipyard, but equally a lot of people wanted some of it too. The former can be a good and bad thing. If I want to avoid paying income taxes I can invest heavily in equipment and save on that end, but that does not bode well for bankers if a loan must be employed. But with the new tax code...I don't know? I can save a lot on income tax because of the lower percentage, but with the limits on property tax deductions, I will have to pay more on that end. This all deserves it's own thread, but I am not really sure if the new tax code will help me or hurt me yet. My biggest motivator was the loss of paper and saw mills in the State of Maine. We have never really managed our forest well. We just cut a few loads of junk wood when we wanted some money and everything was very mature. Much of the forest has never been cut, probably 25% of it being old growth forest. By that I mean, NEVER been cut as proven by the iron in the soil. That just meant everything was rotten, and yet I was left with land that has incredibly high property taxes, rotted trees and no market to sell that wood. But if I make it sound all great and rosy, these last 2 years have not been that way at all. I never counted on losing my health to cancer and having no energy. Breakdowns have also been a lot higher than I thought too. I am not sure if the latter is 100% attributed to using the equipment harder and more of it, or having the time to fix things right. When I worked at the shipyard and farmed/logged too, it meant all farming logging stuff had to be done on weekends and holidays, and even Sunday mornings were dedicated to church. For that reason I cobbled things together, or passed them off entirely. Now I can afford the time to fix things right. Sorry about the lengthy reply, but there is a lot more to this question then what people first assume. I wanted to give an honest answer: both good and bad.
