# How Much For Cherry Logs?



## ND2ELK

I was asked the other day if I knew of anyone that would be interested in buying some cherry logs. There are four of them ranging in size from 18"-20" dia X 6'-7' long. He cut the tree down last spring and wants to get rid of them. When I asked him what he had to have he said make me an offer. My question is : How much should I offer and how many board feet do you think I would get out of these logs? There is an Amish mill out where I hunt that can cut them for me.


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## roman

around here a standing log is worth around ten cents a board foot. I'm quite sure if you googled a "formula for calculating bf in timber" or something like that…...

then offer half or less. If the tree has been on the ground for too long it might have turned spaltish?


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## Julian

Here's the scale I use. Try the doyle scale. As for what they are worth, I would go over here and ask that one, and I am sure you'll get an answer.


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## Porosky

A log 18" on the small end 6' long would have about 80 bft in it, (thats scribner scale) This log is not worth a lot to a larger sawmill first off it's short and the handeling cost would wipe out any profit. A picker truck can cost min $200 to come pick this one log up and take it to a saw mill. You are also going to incure costs (getting it to the mill), having it cut, drying, and handeling. If you need to give him some money for it I would say .25 a BF so 320 x .25 = $80.00 Thats it, MAX. It's been sitting there for a whole year. No one else may want it. He may have to pay to get it cleaned up. I might offer him $50 now. Everyone thinks "Wow Big beautiful Cherry" (including you) "That's gotta be worth a few hundred bucks", but when you add up all the costs I just mentioned for you or him it's worth $50 to $80. Believe me by the time your making stuff out of it in your shop you'll have a few hundred into it.


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## Daren

Right now I am paying $0.40 delivered to the mill for nice cherry sawlogs. If I have much time/labor fetching them I won't go any more than $0.25. These are logs I can eyeball, sight unseen like you are asking is hard to price, I am just assuming they are decent for the sake of discussion.


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## grizzman

if you have a way to get them into your truck and take to the mill…i would go for it..ive done it plenty of times here..with cedar and walnut..and oak…..depending on what you want to use it for…you can cut the longer trunks down , so there easier to handle….but i think there worth the effort….let us know what you end up doing…i hope you get it…...


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## studie

Not far from my house is a Cedar tree cut down last spring 6' at the base & 80' long we want to make it into lumber but everyone is so poor that it may just go to firewood! It's rotten about 5' at the base & why it was cut down but what a lot of lumber it would make!


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## studie

The portable sawmills are the best for this size of logs & have less waste as the blades are thin.


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## thedudeabides

Here in New Hampshire you can regularly come across cherry for free, even sizes larger than this. Most homeowners realize it's laborious finding someone to cut down and haul away their unwanted tree so they give it away in exchange for you taking it away.

I put ads on the craigslist "items wanted" section asking for free cherry and maple in exchange for removal, and there is a constant demand for this. I am offered more maple than I can come and get, and I get a lot. Cherry almost as much.

Offer very little: your costs are in the transportation, milling, and properly drying. There are unaviodable expenses here, and there is always a risk of damaging the wood during its long home-drying period. I've had times where no matter how careful I was to properly sticker and paint the edges, sometimes batches just don't come out worth using at all. It's frustrating when you've spent two years cutting, milling, and drying this labor of love only to see the final "cake out of the oven" be unedible.


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## REK

After your lumber is cut, you'll have to wait a year or so before you can use it. If the logs are only 6', get about 4 or 5 strong kids, a really beat up pickup truck some large boards so you can incline the log up onto the truck, and tell the guy it'll only cost him 50 bucks for you to remove them from his property. You might be pleasently surpriseed. And if he says no way, leave him your phone # in case he changes his mind. When someone has to get rid of something…they will!!!


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## Roz

These guys are right. The drying time I for me is 3 years. I have built a shed of racks in my yard to dry lumber in and use only from the racks that have dried for the required time. The humidity here is high most of the year.

The removal cost for a few logs is considerable and Proroskywood has hit right on that point. Unless you can trailer the logs to a small mill or know a friend who can it will be expensive.

I would offer 80.00 to 100.00 bucks to start and explain the expenses involved. Sawing is usually starts at about $40.00 and goes up rapidly depending on quantity and quality of the logs. I have people give me logs just to get them moved. I got 3 Walnut logs last year from a pulp wooding operation. I would recommend making a real effort to get the logs, just don't over spend.

Dried and planed Cherry is selling for around eight dollars a foot here. I have racked several truck loads with cost around 2 to 3 dollars a foot after factoring in losses and cost and I get it quarter cuts I want. If you do this tell the miller that you want the waist. Much of the wedges and slabs from squaring the log can be used with good results.


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## OCG

Daren, that's about what we pay here in Costa Rica

they have a simple way of finding the BF of logs here
they wrap a string around the log a couple of feet from the bottom
fold the string twice maser this in inches x the yards, 25% for each yard x 10
A 40" log divided 4= 10 x four yards (100%)= 100 BF 
We try to back up to the last whole number also
the guy that dose this at the saw mills works for tips, it pays to give a good tip

when you have time jump on a plan and come on down. ill show you how we do it here.
I'm part owner of a small saw mill and i can find you a nice place to stay, for around $400.00 a month or a little more by the week. the weather is good, 65 to 85 year round in my area.

Occie


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