All Replies on Milling lumber near Fort Knox Kentucky - need market

I forgot, we are also going to get some tulip (yellow) poplar and sycamore.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Where are you located?

-- Praki, Aspiring Woodworker

I see you are located in Kentucky. What part of the state are you in?

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

Hello Kentucky!
I wonder if we could ship up a skid to Canada and split it up here.
We could use an assortment of FAS 16/4 down to 5/4 cherry, black walnut, and white oak.
We need matched lumber for furniture and a reasonable width.
Dont forget that turners love stumps and crotch for figure.

Everybody worries about the freight but in reality if we need it here we have to pay freight.
Get some pictures of your stuff up on the site and let’s see what we can do if we put our heads together.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Praki, we’re near E’town.

Bob #2, Canada? I don’t know. I’ll have to give that some consideration. We don’t have a grader so sorting into FAS, etc. doesn’t seem practical. We need to sell all of this rough-cut as all we have is a small planer that’s not up to jobs this size. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for good crotches and stumps. But stumps are full of rocks and also a lot of work. Our mill can only cut boards 24” wide (31” log) so we’re limited to smaller stumps and crotches at this time. I hope to remedy this next year because we have access to the biguns and a large burl that I’d like to do. We’ve been given standing trees that are 4-5’ dbh. They’re still standing and will be until we get some way to deal with them.

I was hoping to custom cut for waiting customers and load on the spot. There’s going to be leftovers – much of which will be high-grade so some pictures of that would be a good idea.

I guess what I’m saying is we need input and would prefer having the experts (customers) tell us how they want it done. You see, we’ve been at this a while but we’ve mainly been cutting lumber for barns, etc.. We’ve done a fair amount for a few local woodworkers but our capacity exceeds their demand. We’ve done some homework, and feel like we’re ready to move into the furniture market but don’t want to cut a lot of good lumber and just sit on it. Also funds are low (ok, we’re poor) so we’d like a quick turn-around.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I’d definitely be interested in checking out your operation. I’m only about a half an hour away from E-town. I don’t have a trailer, but I’ve got a 1970 GMC pick-up that hold a lot of 8’ long boards.

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

The mill is portable. We’re setting up on a farm where we’re cutting logs. We may do this in phases and move the mill to other projects inbetween. We have a few logs that a tree service has dropped off at my brother’s place. There will undoubtably be more soon. We also have several logs from a large white oak on a nearby farm. Then there’s several hunderd logs setting (decaying) on another nearby farm. We are also associated with a firewood lot and cut logs there from time to time. On top of all that we pick up some odd jobs here and there. So “our operation” is where the mill happens to be at any given time.

As soon as the mill is moved I’ll give a heads up and maybe we can get togather before the weather gets too bad. And just so I’ll know how to position the logs, what species and sizes are you interested in?

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I wish I was closer, but California is a long ways away. I am sure a lot of folks like JP and others will be looking for this wood.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I’d be interested in anything you’ve got as far as species is concerned. Size… I’d say anything from 4/4 up to 8/4, any width. Like I said I’ve only got a pick-up so I’d need to stay as close to 8’ as I can get, but if some are a little longer then I could always strap ‘em down. I’m just looking to build a nice stash of lumber so I’m not going to be too picky. Any idea how much you’re looking to sell this stuff for?

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

I am wishing, just like Bill. Sure would love to be closer to you dirtclod. I am sure I could put that entire stock of lumber to good use.

-- Guy Kroll www.thelandsathillsidefarms.org

He’s setting up the mill this weekend and, weather permitting, will be milling next weekend.

Note that we’ll cut to any size the log allows and you require. Want 3×12s or 4×10s? As usual, the bf price on heavier pieces is higher. Also specialty pieces such as spalted, crotches, burls stumps and quartersawn are priced uniquely. In the meantime I’ll get some prices togather for standard mill-run lumber. I’m also open to offers..

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Good luck DC. Be sure to take some pictures of the milling so we can see what you are doing.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Rotting=spalted if you get it dried and out of the elements. Good luck with your business. There are a fair amount of eBay lumber sellers, might be something to look into.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Yup… if you start shipping it let me know.. I live in Utah and would be interested in Cherry, walnut and maple…

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

Good luck on getting it going.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

you might want to start by listing ads on craigslist
it is free and millions of folks search the site
noticed several opportunities for lumber similar services etc

link to craigslist

-- keeping myself entertained

JP – the mill is moved and ready. Looking to get togather with you this weekend.

Here’s the prices:

Beech 1.10
Cherry 2.40
ERC 1.25
Hickory 1.25
Red oak 1.50
Sycamore 1.00
Sassafras 1.50
Walnut 2.35
White ash 1.10
White oak 1.30
Yellow Poplar 1.10

Prices are for 8’ 4/4 in random widths up to 8”. Thicker, wider and/or longer pieces cost extra. Prices are not valid for quarter sawing. Figured wood (burl, ambrosia, spalting, crotches, etc.) prices are negotiable. Basically all prices are subjective and negotiable. This price list is our first attempt so everything is subject to change depending on the mood of the sawyer, phase of the moon, log on the mill and by the board coming off the log at the moment. Prices are subject to change as soon as I figure out how bad I screwed up. So how does the prices look? (I need input lol)

The logs we currently have harvested are: spalted black gum, spalted sycamore, white oak, walnut, and hickory and cherry. Most harvested logs are 12-24” diameter and in lengths of 8’ to 16’ plus unbucked lengths. We can fetch cedar and sassafrass trees pretty quickly. Also in the vicinity of the mill are cedar, ash, yellow poplar, sycamore, beech, black gum, sassafras and red oak trees and a large cherry tree to be harvested. Most of the unharvested trees are hard to get to and too large for the tractor we were using. We have a high lift coming in sometime to fetch many of the others. There’s also some small exotics available. We also have some red oak and hickory waiting at another site, a large white oak to be quartersawn at yet another site, and others if I can think of where they’re at. There’s some red oak and white pine already cut into random widths ranging from 4-12” W x 8-10’ L 4/4 T. We can also get other species not listed…just give us some time.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Guys

I would be interested in corresponding about some green bowl blanks. This might be a good opportunity to use large limbs and burls that don’t mill into flat lumber.

Let me know if you are interested.

-- Mike, Maryland, www.thewoodenquill.com

I mean no disrespect, I am only trying to help. I have watched this thread, just because of the title “Milling lumber-Need market”...That is a tough row to hoe brother. Maybe you should find a market and mill for it ? I am speaking from experience here, asking “Does this price look right” kinda sounds bad, even if the price is good.

”We’re not marketers” (quote) Sawing good lumber is step one. If you cannot sell it you are a “lumber collector”, that gets expensive. I wish you luck. If you get in a bind, shoot me a note, maybe I can help. That is a sincere offer.

-- http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Thanks for the input Darren,
We’ve sold all the lumber we’ve milled so far with the exceptions of logs we milled for others and what we use ourselves. But now things are changing as we’re trying to limit the amount we mill for others and get around to all the logs and trees we’ve been given. We have ample storage and some local buyers. But that doesn’t mean we want to keep it indefinately. We’ve probably got somewhere between 20-45000 bf available for milling. Most of that is best suited to uses other than construction lumber. If sales don’t keep up then we’ll cut back.

““Does this price look right” kinda sounds bad, even if the price is good.” Was partially tounge-in-cheek/partially serious. I’ll take reasonable customer input to adjust for the market. I can usually tell the difference between a snow job and good advice.

mike,
I’ll discuss this with my brother. Many promising pieces get turned into firewood or are milled into deminsion limber. As we speak, I’ve got several walnut blocks that’ll be firewood if I don’t stop my brother in time. We also have a small walnut stump that has the sapwood rotted off of it. I was thinking about milling it but it’s available. I also have a small yellowwood log that may still be good.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I am intrigued. Do you offer shipping to Iowa? Where is E-town? Is that Elizabethtown, over near Fort Knox?

-- Owen Johnson - aka IowaWoodcrafter

I like the prices on your wood DC. Too bad you are not closer to me, as shipping to California would be a killer. Otherwise, I could use some of that Oak and Poplar.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I would like to make a fireplace mantle out of quartersawn Oak white or red. What would the cost be and is there a minimum bf to purchase.

-- Scott, Kentucky ----- "Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry" Mark Twain

I love cutting wood and experience has shown me that you develop a marketet by pursuing your dream with a passion. Don’t be afraide to cut cut cut and stockpile the sizes of material that people are asking for. Never stop asking questions and looking for customers. I am just now getting better at shipping. I like to mill from a cut list and have it picked up at the mill site but don’t wait for the customers, just save your best logs for the ones who really want to be there or have the ability to make a pick up. Sounds like you will do good. http://westcoastlands.net/GreenSale.html

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3 http://www.portablesawmill.info

I’m trying my hand (and patience) at posting pictures on this forum.

Spalted black gum (tupelo) and sycamore:

Another spalted black gum

14-16’+ walnut logs


White oak w/nice crotch


Big cherry w/crotch

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I apoligize to all who have sent me private messages and didn’t get a timely response. I’m still trying to get use to this board and seem to be experiencing a major delay in it telling me that new messages have been received.

Scott – as yet I haven’t cut any mantels. The big issues are checking and movement during drying. Checking can be minimized by cutting and drying methods. Movement is dealt with by cutting methods (Free-of-heart-center and quartersawing) and by resawing once it has had a chance to dry. This is a long-term project and I don’t have any dry and ready. Some people like to have some defects to add character. We have some candidate trees. What’s your preference?

Treebones – we’ve already started cutting but have been pressed for time on another project. Hopefully it will be out of the way soon and we’ll be able to turn up the volume in the next few weeks.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Some nice looking trees there. I bet there will be some nice lumber for someone soon.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I am going to make the Mantle out of 4/4 lumber. What I would like to get is quartersawn red oak or white oak. I would buy 200 to 300 bd ft.

-- Scott, Kentucky ----- "Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry" Mark Twain

We’ve milled a little bit. All is sickered on the trailer and due to be restacked or sold.

Bastard-sawn 1×6 hickory…bookmatching possible but will crook some during drying.


Some red oak 1×8s w/ low-grade white oak on top. Sorry – too lazy to tear the stack apart.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Tell Obi about the hickory!

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Yep, I’m another Californian…

Individually, it’s almost impossible to get some good lumber out our way…

If we grouped together, do you other Californians (Left Coasters), think, if we consolidated our orders into one large order… with shipping, somehow, out to us drop-shipped, or drop-shipped a chunk to certain spots where locals could then converge and get what they ordered… something like that…

Do you think it would work?

It would take a lot of work coordinating & grouping the orders to their destinations… it would seem that orders would have to be prepaid… I could volunteer to help out… Would take a lot of cooperation. Everyone would have to be willing to drive a few miles to pickup their orders.

Comments?

DirtClod, if you received orders to the Left Coast could you mark or rope-up the orders to form Drop Ship groups? Could you load a truck with said orders (paying attention to the Order Sequence of loading, for unloading)?

Do we have anyone with shipping background, trucks, etc. that could coordinate the pickup and delivery to the various Drop points? How would the Cost per order be calculated?

Anyone want to try it… if anyone is interested?

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

All good questions Joe. You are right, it is tough for the individual to get the really good prices here. The local hardwood dealers have decent prices, but I have to pick and choose my own wood. I am sure the bigger accounts get theirs pre-selected and better quality. It would be nice to order say 200 BdFt of Red Oak, and know I will get nice straight grain, 4/4 clear stock without paying an arm and a leg for it.

Any other thoughts on shipping from anyone?

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Sorry about the delayedc reply. There has been a couple of injuries (not mill related), one illness and bad weather keeping us from the mill. But we’ve made some progress the last few weekends. Hope to be milling tomorrow.

Joe, I don’t know if such a setup would work. But it sounds good provided 1- you can get enough buyers togather in your area and, 2- they have a supplier with enough selection that your buyers can get a large enough order from that single source to make it worth everone’s trouble. If the demand is high enough the vacuum created will be fillled by someone. It isn’t impossible that we could get one togather. Let’s see what happens…

We’ve gotten busy ithe last couple of weekends and milled some logs. Some of it was pretty unusual:



That’s a 8’ 6×6 spalted sassafras. A short section was wetted in the 3rd picture. We’re thinking about giving this away to the 1st customer that picks up a $100.00 worth of lumber.

Next up is what I like to call “spalted wormy maple”. 5 boards, 1×6”, 9’11” long. 2 bookmatches?:

5 more boards, 1×6, 8’6” long, 2 bookmatches:


Unwetted:

Some wetting:


Next is some unusual hickory. (You’ll find a picture of a stack of 1×6 boards from the same tree elsewhere in this thread.) My brother made some 1×6 boards a couple months back from 2 logs out of this tree. It had some interesting figure. I opened the 3rd log two weeks ago. I was stunned. Beautiful stuff. I cut two 5/4 flitches to use as an example and rolled the rest of the log off the mill until we determine how to cut it. I think flitches are the way to go but I need customer input. How thick? In addition to the remainder of this log, we’ve got two more unmilled logs from the same tree. They’re all about 14”(?) diameter and 8’ long. The pictures don’t look as stunning because it has been drying for a few weeks. But maybe a good finish will bring it back:





Wetted about 2’:

We cut a small cherry tree also. I’ll call it “pecky cherry”. A few boards are 6’, but most are 8’. They’re random widths and most boards have some sapwood. This hasn’t been drying long enough to take on cherry’s traditional darker color. I’ve wetted a section to show what it looked like when milled:

There may be 300bf of cherry buried in this stack:

Also Buried in this stack is 12(?) 8’ bookmatched sets of 5/4 spalted tupelo, and some 5/4 and 1” sasafras. I was too lazy to tear the stack apart to get pictures.

We have more lumber and pictures, but that’s enough for now.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Beautiful looking wood. I bet someone will be picking that up soon.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Dirtcold, I am always looking for a new wood supply. I am fairly familiar with E-town. How far are you from Campbellsville? I would love to take a look at what you have the next time I visit my mother. chiefk

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

ChiefK – It’s about a 1 hour drive from Camblesville.

We’ve been milling walnut. Going to be doing some more 8’ tomorrow. May also flitch some for turning blanks.

We’ve done 12 and 8’ lenghts of 1” in random widths (~4”-9”) and some wide 8’ 5/4 (~10—12”). Bear in mind this stuff is fresh off the mill and hasn’t taken on its rich dark color that’s typical of black walnut. Matter !of fact some of the boards in the shots still show wetness on their surfaces.Here’s what we’ve got so far:

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Don’t have any idea where E’Town is, but you may want to vist the following forums. There are some guys there in Kentucky and western NC that might be interested in your wood. Sorry, but I’m too far east.

http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/index.php?mforum=wwwtoolinfoforu
http://ncwoodworker.net/

Good luck. Nice looking lumber

Go

-- Go http://ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=730

Dirtclot, how do I contact you? Where exactly in Kentucky are you located? I live in Crossville, TN, but visit my mother In campbellsville fairly often. I would like to take a look at the operation. Currently I am getting my wood from a mill in Monticello. chiefk

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

That stack of walnut looks tasty!
What a erge I have for a cubberd/ one of those cabinets in the kitchen for bread and some dishis, I think.

A finished project is just a hop,skip,jump away.

Saturday afternoon’s haul (1” and 5/4” walnut, 8+’ lenghts in 3(?) to 11.25” widths):


A few boards were showing slight signs of spalting:

Atonther bookmatched set of the spalted pecky/wormy maple wetted (but not quiet enough) for your viewing enjoyment:

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I wish you guys the best. Before you start selling and shipping lumber out of the state of Kentucky it would be a good idea to check in with your Dept. of Agriculture. They can bring you up to date on all the rules, regs, and necessary legal proceedures involved.

Many states are now controlling movement of lumber due to the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. I know for a fact that there is a stiff fine issued to anyone who takes lumber over the Mackinaw Bridge.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

When you say Etown, Do you mean Englishtown NJ?

Justin

I live in E-town ( Elizabethtown, KY). Do you have a kiln to dry the lumber? Storage for air drying might be a problem for me. Give me a call to discuss this 769-3646

Hi I was wondering if you shipped any of your lumber, or if you could ship cants? I live in Idaho and it would be nice to mill something besides pine and fir! You could email me at bowelkhntr@turbonet.com John

-- John of Idaho

Hello Elkhunter,
No shipping at this time. I’m still trying to get bro. to do some shipping of small quantities.

Hello Justine,
That’s E’town Ky.

Hello cuz ,
No kiln…but it’s in our longterm plans.

Thanks 8iowa,
I think the restrictions are limited to ash. Last I heard, we’re not in the affected area. All is subject to change because they’re not that far away. Shame, our local ash is more rot resistent than common.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

[BTW – I apologize again to anyone who has not gotten a timely answer to a private message they have sent me. Please be patient. It seems as though I’m experiencing a delay at getting them. I sent one to another member who also experienced a delay at getting it..so I’m not alone. I also notice this board doesn’t have a popup feature to get your attention. ]

I was hoping for some spalting from the butt tupelo log pictured earlier in this thread. Here’s what I got instead:

Look at 10’ long 2×6(?) just above the 6×6 sassafras support beam. There’s 12 of them. you’ll see I’ve wetted it a little. This is my first tupelo and I like its rich, yet understated, tones…kinda elegant looking.

The #2 tupelo log pictured earlier I quarter-sawed, numbered and bookmatched. (Sorry, no pictures…it’s buried beneath the maple/sassafras/sycamore in the 8’ stack.

We’ll try to get this black walnut on the mill in the next few days:

Its 12.5-13’ long, ~25” at the butt and ~23” at the small end. I saw no signs of defects in the bark whatsoever. I’ll try to mill it next week. I’m thinking on flat-sawing it all and making a few 1.5” thick and as of wide boards as possible for bar tops. The #2 log I’ll include the upper crotch and turn it into flitches (slabs). Any thoughts?

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

We’ve added some 9’4”(?) long 4/4 white oak in random widths. Many clear boards, some wide/clear. It’s a mix of flat, rift and quarter sawn:

And some 10’ long 4/4 white oak in both narrow and wide 11 1/8”(?) widths, with some numbered for bookmatching. Lots of swirly grain:

And some 12’ long 4/4 red oak in wider widths. All(?) of it contains small knots:

We’ll be milling more walnut and red oak soon. I expect a lot of clear boards from the red oak.

4’ walnut butt, 8’ walnut butt log, 4’ r.oak butt and 16’ r.oak butt log:

2- 8’ r,oaks, 12’ r. oak butt log, walnut top:

I hope to haver more walnut, red and white oak coming soon.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

That sure it a pretty tree, are you going to use a backhoe for root ball?

Hello BlueStingrayBoots,

Unfortunately it was hollow. But I did have one that’s in an awkward position. I don’t know if we’ll ever get it. There are two more small ones that I will pratice on. And theres one more that I would like to dig out if the highlift ever shows up.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

I am interested in some quarter sawn white oak. What would you charge for this? I am in Southern Indiana, not far from you.

-- Daniel, Southern Indiana -- "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -- http://blackdogwoodshop.etsy.com