Portable Sawmills Are Better Than Gold

You've probably heard of treasure hunters searching for gold.  In fact, many people went west for the California Gold Rush years ago.  There's something to be said for a good treasure hunt.  However, if you really want to make money, portable sawmills are better than gold.

Why?  It's simple.  Trees that you can see are much better than possible gold that you can't see and may not even have on your property.  In fact, with a good portable sawmill and a piece of property full of trees you can have a much more reliable "gold mine".

What would it be like to look at your property and see lumps of gold lying around right on the ground?  Well, now you can, except the "lumps of gold" are trees.  Of course, different trees and different lumber types have different values.  However, no matter what region you live in, you can easily get $.50 to $.75 per board foot for lumber.

An average Southern Yellow Pine that is 16 inches in diameter and 32 feet long can yield 416 board feet.  That's just one tree.  Multiply that by however many trees are on your property and all of a sudden it will be easy to see your "gold mine".

Also, remember that there are many things that you can do with lumber.  You could simply cut lumber and sell it.  However, you might also choose to use some of the lumber to make and sell log homes.  You could also opt to cut crossties out of certain types of trees.  Crossties are currently selling for over $20 each and a single tree can yield 3 or 4 of them.

So, do you want to learn more about portable sawmills and how to be a sawyer?  If so, click here to learn how to build a portable sawmill business.

How To Increase Your Portable Sawmill Efficiency

If you're a new sawyer, you'd probably like to know how to increase your efficiency with your portable sawmill.  After all, the point is to make a profit.  So, how can you increase your profits to the maximum level by increasing how much wood you cut?

First of all, as with anything new, it's going to take you time to learn.  Even if you are an experienced sawyer, but the portable sawmill itself is new, there will still be an adjustment period.  So, you need to remember that you should speed up with time and you shouldn't have high expectations early on or get frustrated when you are first adjusting to the process.

Second, consider how your sawmill area is laid out.  The great thing about a portable sawmill is that you can take it to the logs or bring the logs to it.  In either case, you shouldn't start cutting until your log pile is in close proximity.  When what you need is right there handy, you should be able to saw much more lumber in a given day.

Another thing to think about is how much help you need.  It's usually recommended that logs be sawn with at least two people present.  That can help to speed things along.  Depending on the size of your operation, you may even want a third person.  So, spending the extra money to hire some help may increase both your efficiency and your profits in the long run.

How much money can you expect to spend hiring help and how much will that increase your portable sawmill profit?  Visit www.cookssaw.com for some sawing statistics.

How Much Can You Profit From Your Portable Sawmill?

That's one of the biggest questions that new sawyers ask.  Exactly how much profit can be made.  Well, first it should be made clear that you will have certain expenses.  You'll have to replace your blades occasionally and you'll need fuel.  You may even want to hire an extra person or two to assist you.  However, even with those expenses, owning a portable sawmill can be a very profitable business venture.

You may have already heard a lot of grand stories about how much money you can make as a sawyer, but here are some simple facts using the the Accu-Trac 3651D 51hp Diesel portable sawmill as an example.

First of all, you can expect to only pay about $100 a day if you hire one helper at $12.50 per hour for 8 hours.  If you want to pay more than that then you'll have to factor that in.  Next, expect that you will be paying daily for gas and occasionally for new saw blades.  Prices will vary based on the region and the time.

As far as profits go, assume that you and your helper cut 2,500 board feet in an 8-hour day, which is not really a lot.  Also, assume that you can get $175.00 per thousand board feet for 1" boards or $150.00 per thousand board feet for 2" boards.  That means that, in a worst case scenario, you'd be making $375 a day and probably spending about $160 to $175 of that.  So, that's a pretty decent profit for one day.

If you'd like more information on how to make your portable sawmill experience more efficient, please visit us online at www.cookssaw.com.

What Expenses To Expect When You Use A Portable Sawmill

Using a portable sawmill can be a fun pastime.  It can also be a great way to earn a living.  However, there are certain expenses that you may not think about.

For example, your sawmill is going to need fuel.  As an example, if you're using the Accu-Trac 3651D 51hp Diesel portable sawmill, you'll need to use about 10 gallons of fuel for it per day.  That's assuming that you run it for 8 hours a day.  Fuel costs vary from place to place, but 10 gallons of fuel a day at $2.50 each would be $25 spent for just one day.

You also have to think about blade expense.  After all, your blade will wear out over time.  For every board foot that you cut, you should expect to pay about 1.5 cents.  So, if you were to cut 2,500 board feet you could expect to pay roughly $37.50 in blade expenses.

Another thing to consider is the fact that you may need or want to hire help.  Depending on how many people you hire and how many hours you have them work in a day, your expense will vary.  For example, if you paid someone $12.50 an hour for an 8-hour day, that would be a $100 expense.

Nevertheless, even with expenses, portable sawmills can be a great way to make an extra income or to earn your entire living.  Your expenses may add up, but so will your profits.  Exactly what kind of profit can you make from a portable sawmill?  Please be sure to visit us at www.cookssaw.com.

How Much Can You Cut With A Portable Sawmill?

If you're thinking of buying a portable sawmill, here's a quick portable sawmill story for you.

Let's say that an average sawyer says that he cut 2,500 board feet in an 8-hour day.  Would you believe him?  Well, what if he said 5,000 the next day?  What if he even said something like 7,500 and the number kept getting bigger and bigger each day?  Where would your cutoff point for believability be?

As a new sawyer, you may not know the answer to that yet.  In fact, there are many veteran sawyers who are still scratching their head trying to figure out the mystery of how much wood is really sawn in a certain time period.

There are a few reasons for that.  One reason is that there are a lot of different types of portable sawmills on the market.  Not only that, but they each have their own features and their own top speeds.  When you add to that the fact that different people set up their wood differently and move at a different pace, it's easy to see where some of the portable sawmill confusion comes from.

The other side of the equation is human error.  More to the point, it's human exaggeration.  Everyone wants to be the best at what they do.  So, they might have cut ten board feet, a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand.  However, you can bet that, whatever they cut, they're going to embellish a bit on the final number.

So, how much wood can you realistically cut in a day with a portable sawmill?  Visit www.cookssaw.com for more details!

Reflections on 2010

Reflections on the Year
by Stephen Cook

Well it happened again. Another year has passed and here we are looking at a fresh New Year. My, how time flies when you’re having fun.

New Years’ give us reason to pause and evaluate. It is the time of new beginnings and often New Years’ resolutions. It is a time for us in the South to know there is not a lot of winter left and we begin to start looking towards spring and the early tree blooms, and even more anticipation of being able to get outside and work and enjoy the great outdoors.

That is a good thing about saw-milling. We get to be outside in God’s creation enjoying the world and nature that he created. We may see deer or turkey on our way to work or late in the afternoon when we are finishing the day. Even though I don’t get to hunt much, I always get excited and want to show my family the deer whenever we see one.

At this time of year we can’t help but look back and think of how blessed we have been both at home and in our families. At home we have good families that are healthy and we are blessed enough that there are still enough freedoms in our country to be able to home school our children. We hope and pray that your families and businesses are doing well and that you can count your blessings and look forward to a new and exciting 2011.

And while there are always some hard things that happen as well, we have known for years that a few problems are just ways to make us become better and stronger. We find that when we can keep our heads and not become too upset that we usually solve the problem and have a better machine or better technique and as a consequence actually have a better life. Sometimes we get caught up in the problems of life, but we need to remember and focus on the good things and count our many blessing and keep moving forward. This mind set will help us get through the tough times whether business or personal and we can look back at the end of the year and often realize that we have become better and grown from the experience.

At Cook’s Saw, this is our philosophy - Never quit. Always be moving forward and do everything with integrity while striving for excellence. We believe that this is the reason we have been blessed with success. It is a formula that works and we believe that it is a “law” that God has put in place. We have to keep working at it and encouraging each other and even using kind criticisms to critique our plans and goals, but this helps us make the best decisions.

All these ideas are not what we as people typically want to do; it is not what the flesh wants. The flesh mostly wants to take it easy, rest, and relax. We have to fight against this and keep working and moving forward. It is one way we know we are alive. This “fight” is what keeps us young and active and most often will extend and fulfill our lives.

This is what I really want to write about today and hopefully encourage our fellow sawmillers and customers to not become overly weary with the cares of life. I have done that and still often do, but I am learning to take one day at a time and just keep moving forward and sometimes falling forward. Usually after a few weeks have passed I come to see that most of my problems often weren’t so big (although some are). And when I get a new one that I am dealing with it usually makes the last one seem like nothing.
Once we get past a problem or hurdle we can usually at least take a breath and relax a little. We definitely need to keep a balance and take a day off now and again to help keep a clear perspective and even come up with new and fresh ideas and be ready to saw again.

When it comes to sawmilling we really do enjoy helping our customers make more money. We try to remember that when you have problems and if we can help you solve them you will be happy and we will be rewarded with kind words and payment for our hard work and efforts so we can move forward and come up with more innovative ideas that will help you more. We certainly have made many friends over the years and are thankful for these relationships.

Our Super Sharp™ blades have made many new and excited customers. Just last week we had an older gentleman who finally tried the new Super Sharp™ blades tell us that we just wouldn’t believe how great the blade made his mill saw. He went on and even said that he couldn’t even bear the thought of opening the box of normal blades he also had because he didn’t want to use them anymore. And this is from a man who was adamant that he “Would not use the Super Sharps.”  So yes we actually do believe and know how well you can saw and we want to help you have this same exciting and exhilarating experience. New experiences like this are what make us feel young and keep a desire in us for sawing. Let us help you make more money and have fun in the process.

One thing that we sometimes find in ourselves and in our customers is that we just don’t want to do a lot of the little and sometimes big things that will cause us to make more money. We are working on our attitudes so that we will “just do it”, “get it done” and move past the issue and back to work. We want to get on to bigger and better things. This reminds me of when I was a child and needed to take out the garbage. Sometimes I would procrastinate and even complain until Mother would say “You have spent more time whining and complaining than it would have taken to get the job done.” I bet most of us have heard this or something similar in our lifetime. And it is so true.

Which is better - get down and depressed over the fact that we have to adjust our mills, fix something (that shouldn't have broken), or just fix it and get back to making money and providing for ourselves and our families. Undoubtedly there is some type of satisfaction in the complaining and becoming irritable and blaming someone else, but it is not what helps us make money. Just fixing the problem and moving on is by far the easiest and expends much less time and emotional energy as well as helps us to do what we are out there to do and that is make money.

With that said it is always best to evaluate a machine, blade (or anything else for that matter) and get the best value for your money. Once that is done then move forward from there and make the best decision again and again. If you have an old machine or even a newer machine that just won’t produce enough, do the math, put it on paper and see if a little faster, more productive machine will make you more money. If it can, then make the change. It could be one of the best business decisions you have ever made.

Try something new once in a while even though many times you will find what you did bring you very little if anything. You’re bound to try something that is beneficial. Just don’t get caught up in too many ads that guarantee us to feel better, lose weight, and solve every problem.  Learn to sort through them but try some once in a while. Just don’t “break the bank” or your wallet.

There are a lot of things that could improve life and work that we don’t try because we doubt it or just don’t like change.  If there is a guarantee with it that will keep you from losing too much or maybe nothing more than a little time, then we should try a few things to help improve our situation.

Super Sharp™ is one such thing. We have proven it over and over. Do some people have problems with it? Yes. We often can help them adjust their machines so they run better in the process and they love them. Occasionally, we can’t solve their problem and sometimes we don’t know why that is. We are sure that if we were there and could work on their machine we could solve their problems. I often think it revolves around attitude; maybe to prove someone wrong or just to feel smarter. Then there are the times when someone just has a poorly built machine with no adjustment. Whatever it is we know that it is not what will make our customer more money and that is the sad part. Pride is a problem that is universal (we struggle with it too) and it keeps many people from making a better living. We all have it, but realizing it and trying not to let it keep us from making good decisions is very important. The good book says that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Our goal at Cook’s Saw is to help you make more money so you and your families can have better lives. This New Years has made me think of this and re-commit to it again. We have the sawmill machinery and support, with knowledge based on years of experience out sawing in the field, just like you.  And always remember the support after the sale. We have been serving the sawmill industry for 40 years; since Tim and I were boys. We grew up in it, we know the struggles and can understand the pain.

If you are reasonable and want to improve your saw milling performance we have the people here to help you do that and we enjoy doing that. We have a great group of people that work with us and although it is impossible for Tim and me to talk to every customer we will be there doing our best, making sure that you receive the best service, advice and machinery so that your needs are met and exceeded wherever possible.

We did have a good 2010 and look forward to building more machinery and providing the best blades for you in 2011.

Now let’s get our Super Sharp™ blades and go make some sawdust out of those frozen logs. Spring will be here soon.

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