First I actually scraped the path down and the backed dragged it to get rid of any of those little bastages tire puncture saplings. Not a bad time to build a good path!
Geeesh. I had to fix lunch for myself. Then the kids said they had to eat too! Imagine. They need everything. Pulling a few around.
I think this is the last shot with all logs I have cut so far. It is tough making progress when you are only doing it on a very part time basis.
I hauled one box load of firewood out so far, and all the logs to just behind my new gate at the road. Long lunch break at camp. Wife and I are watching the kids slide out front. I improved the hill with the bucket early this morning. A little later I will go back in for more firewood. There is a good amount all bucked up and waiting and that Ash I pulled down is waiting right there also.
I even shaped the runs with the shovel a little and then back dragged down where they come off the pile. But they really need someone to push them and I'm on break. Or a bigger hill. (Next time it snows it will be made bigger.)
Well just guessing at the diameters of the logs, I have not measured them with a tape measure yet, the board feet is less than I was hoping for. According to the Doyle Log Scale, and my guessing at diameter, it looks like I have about 300-350 bd. ft. Here is my guessed diameters. I think most are larger than this though. I guess you are suppose to measure the smaller end of the log. Makes sense. 1-16' long @14" diameter. 2-16' long @ 12" diameter. 1-12' long @ 10" diameter. 1-10' long @ 6" dia (Which is too small to count I guess.) 2-8' long @ 10" dia Any of you guys in the business jump in here.
Ya. Sounds close to what I figured at 300. I do need to actually measure the diameters. I think they are bigger than that. Here is what I am thinking now. I will sell these logs to this customer. But I have to wonder if it is worth it to sell the logs like this in the future. Yes, you process them less, so less work. But you take less money for the wood because you are selling an unfinished product. If I sell it as seasoned firewood, it has been c/s/s for over six months I get 75-80 a face cord or $225-$240 a full cord.
If I'm going to continue to drag logs out I need to take my backhoe off and put the three point hitch stuff on and drag with my draw bar.
So I took one more box load of Ash rounds out after my "loooong" lunch break. That left just the other hanging Ash that I pulled down with the tractor earlier in the day. I decided then and there that I was done for the day. It will still be there on my next day of cutting. I put the tractor away and went back to camp to hang with the family. The day was great for working outside and I had a lot of fun. Hopefully the next day of cutting I can spend a full 8 hours. Today I didn't have much time by the time I took care of some other stuff and then relaxed for a while. But it was good.
Well I ended up cutting a few more logs while getting some firewood as well. My original measurements were a little off. With exact small diameter and length measurements I ended up with about 700 bd. ft. with the logs I added. I then discussed this with my Amish customer after he had a chance to look at them. I told him last years prices were about $400-$500 per thousand. Using the $400 and multiplying by .7 equaled $280. I told him if he had his friend bring a trailer I would load them on the trailer for him. $250. I decided to offer them at that price to him. Works for me and he is just getting started. He is going to build a wagon with the boards. He said that is a deal. His problem is the saw mills are closed right now. Cold and snow. So he will pay me in full within the next two weeks and I will let the logs sit there until he can bring them to the saw mill. He is thinking another month or so.
