# Fair price for rough sawn lumber



## watermark (Jan 29, 2013)

I was lucky enough to get into a few logs over the summer. I would love to hold on to it all for future projects but I don't have the space to store it out of the weather and away from the bugs. Recently I had to scrap a handful of logs that I had been planning to saw every next weekend since I salvaged them last summer. I don't want all the work put into this summers bounty to be a waste.

So here is the question what is a fair price for this lumber as is rough sawn and green? I have a solar kiln but can only dry small amounts at a time. Is it worth taking any of it to a kiln operator to add value?

First pics are of some Koa there is quite a bit of rot and some bug damage as the tree fell about a year before I got to it but still a lot of good wood in it. All flat sawn and the widest boards is about 18" x 8' but I have some narrower boards in better shape. Mostly sawn at 8/4 and 6/4 The last pic shows off the figure from a burl section I will definitely keep for my self.




























These are some small silver oak boards I got ranging from 8" to 14" and all fairly short in length 4' to 8' and some norfolk or cook island pine that is 14" to 16" wide mostly sawn at 6/4.



















Thanks for any advice


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

nothing wrong with sticking and air drying … If I had a log a saw and stickers …. would air dry.


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

+1 on stickering and air drying.

I think it will be difficult to find a commercial kiln interested in drying it for you. I had 2500bdft sawn by a local sawyer with a woodmizer, and when I tried to find a kiln operator willing to dry it, I found that 2500bdft was to little to be of interest. I did manage to get it dried in a kiln, but I think it was really just an annoyance for them.

In my case, it was around $6,000 to $10,000 worth of 8/4 ash, maple, and birch, and I had no air drying experience. I had read up on air drying wood, and felt like I could do it, but it was just so much wood, and it costs so little to kiln dry it, I felt like it was the conservative thing to do. I was paranoid that I'd screw up the drying somehow and end up burning the whole stack for firewood. There was also the matter of a 2 year wait for air dried lumber. Part of me still wishes I had air dried it though.

You should call any kilns within a reasonable difference to see if you can even find one willing to do it. You might find they have a $1000 minimum, in which case there would be no point.

Based on the species of wood, I'm guessing we're not living in the same neighborhood. Just the same, the price differential of wet vs dry is probably similar. For good looking green maple or cherry lumber in my area in Upstate New York, I'd be looking at $1.50 - $2.00 per bdft if I sold it on craigslist. I can double to triple that if it's dry.

That's my 2 cents anyway.

Best of Luck


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## watermark (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks Nicholas and Dan'um my concern is the climate and bugs turning it too scrap before it comes close to drying. I am on the East side of the Big Island so I get a lot of rain and the bugs are definitely friendly around here.


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## alohafromberkeley (Oct 26, 2011)

I think the Koa is worth going to a kiln. You don't have to bring it down to 7%, just enough to slow decay. I have a hunch that it's fine to sticker and tent the Norfolk. Not sure if I've ever seen flat sawn Norfolk- people usually turn the stuff for the patterns where the branches were. Maybe you should make friend with someone on leeward side! (just kidding,Brah!) Koa in Calif. is going any where from $30(plain stripe) to $70+ for extreme curly and wild colored compression wood. Talk to a few artisans to see what they pay for the wood. I think if you go to a site like KoaWoodHawaii you'll see what I'd consider a fair price (don't know them, just browsed through). You got few good independent mills on the Big Island to talk to…....Malama Pono…....Wes


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## watermark (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks Wes. Here is a shot of the Norfolk Pine slabed up still get the cool pattern from the branches like in the turnings.


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## alohafromberkeley (Oct 26, 2011)

Beautiful slab- would make a nice table…..........Wes


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## Pono (Mar 10, 2012)

I dont deal with koa any more but the others I see going for any where from 4 a bf up to 33 a bf.I sell those types green for $2 to $4 dollars a bf i poison my logs before I cut them and havent had problems with bugs.


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## watermark (Jan 29, 2013)

Mahalo Joe. What do you treat the logs with? I have been using Home defense but have still had some problems at least with Mango … will see how it does on these boards.


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