New to this business Long Island NY

I am looking into purchasing some used equipment, super splitter, two 30 ton hydraulic upright / horizontal splitter a mid size delivery dump truck a few chain saws and mauls. Basicly a business in a box lol. I have never done this work for a living but want to start now. Any suggestions for the new guy... Going to start part time and see where this journy takes me.

 

Add a moisture meter to your list above. If you're going to advertise dry wood, make sure that a fresh split is under 20% moisture content on the meter. If you don't have room to store wood and let is season, advertise it appropriately. Good luck!!!

 

You must have a good reliable source of wood once you get your customer base built.

It's labor intensive work but lots of us find it very rewarding....but then, we're not in the business either.

Good luck and of course welcome aboard!

 

First off welcome to FHC!

Do you split/burn yourself so you have experience or is this a completely new venture? I ask because it's not for the faint of heart.

If you split/burn already you know that, but if you don't have that experience it might be a shock as to how labor intensive it actually is.

 

I recommend full safety gear and there are several great saw operating/safety videos on youtube. It feels a little dated, but I like this one:

Tree trimming services can be a great source of firewood if you reach out and of course Craigslist has been known to produce free firewood scores. You could also use it to piece together your equipment. You might have a hard time finding someone selling everything you need.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.... with pics

 

I am on the south shore of Suffolk county, mastic beach. Starting slow with a part time business for now.

 

I've been splitting my own for years but just about walked into a great deal on some good equipment. I know what I'm in for with the work but not the business end yet

 

Thanks for the info on the safety videos. Craigslist is a good source here on Long Island from the home owners. Also from a lot of tree service crews, here on LI they have to pay to dump it in landfills or recycle yards.

 

Welcome to da club Pluke , good luck on your venture
When you do start selling wood make sure you have a system to be sure customers get every split they paid for , if you short them they won't be returning customers and future customers won't come to you.

 

Welcome Pluke , good luck with your wood business, I hope it works out well. We are here to offer any advice you may, or may not need.

 

Welcome Pluke - You're gonna like it here, I guarantee it. Plenty of experience to share around this joint. I think most importantly, establish a customer base as HDRock indicated. I know personally I got into this from repeated rip-offs, creosote lined pipe and short loads. Never sell wood you would not burn yourself and explain to customers the difference. Unless you're stocked up, the first year will be all prep and I'd balance quick dryers with longer seasoning wood. I'm sure many others will chime in. Good luck and welcome again.

 

Welcome to the FHC, Pluke. Good luck with the startup business.

 

Like what was mentioned above, you need a supply of wood that you can get some sort of control over the cost. If you are getting log lengths I would recommend a tractor with a grapple or thumb on it. I use a Timberwolf TW-P1 and a DR-28. I get my wood delivered in exchange for the Tree service parking their equipment on my lot. A good source of pallets, and a part time helper and plenty of room on your wood lot. Contact me if you want to talk. 518-368-5813, Tony

 

Really depends on how big you want this to get.
Lots of guys around here with just a saw or 2, a truck, and maybe a splitter......some with just a maul.
My guy keeps his outlay very low by cutting on family land.

 

Welcome to the mix. Best piece of advice I can give you is don't do it. Selling firewood is hard work, lots of handling, back breaking work. All for little money once you factor in the cost of your equipment and time. That being said I wish you the best.

 

first welcome Pluke ... now your question is about business. Is the seller selling the business or just the equipment? What's his/her setup? Is he retiring.. hard to do from wood alone.. what's the market?

Here's my thinking what if he is selling off his old equipment and getting a processor and he keeping his wood suppliers and customers?
Where on the Island do you have room to process wood? land there is definition ofwhat are zoning regs I am sure there are a few.. in short look before you leap with this one... not saying don't do it.. just saying some time and money spent before hand would be wise..

 

Wow this is a lot to take in in one night lol. The guy I am purchasing from is selling off the whole business, equipment, splitters, saws, truck, customer base and his wood suppliers. Who I may add delivers cut logs 16"-20". Business name and number as well. I know him and he has to much going on with other businesses that he owns. That is the reason for the sale. That as I see is the easy part thou, I know it's rough work but also the work I enjoy. I will definitely be part time to begin this probably the first year or so. Land is my biggest issue right now. I no somebody with land and they don't want rent they want a cut of the profit and I'm not sure how to work that out yet ( any ideas are helpful and wanted there ) .