Beginner-timber marketing

[Trentadavies]

Hi guys
Iv just bought an 8-30 Lucas Mill with a slabbing attachment . Iv access to gray box and red gum. I'm new to the business and and was just looking for any pointers as far as marketing the timber and putting a price on it. Is gray box very popular? Also I was wondering what the best sizes were to cut the boards etc. If anyone can help me out I'd really appreciate it cheers

[DaveTTC]

No idea on price but down the track I may be interested in getting some stuff from you pending on price. Im in Jerilderie which is only 2 or 3 hours away, You're in Hay I believe.


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

[Trentadavies]

Thanks Dave,
That's correct, I am in Hay. If you'd like to shoot me an email with your contact details and what sorta timber you're after, I'll be able to let you know when we've got something you might be interested in. Cheers

[DaveTTC]

Did you get my PM


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

[Trentadavies]

Sure did thanks Dave

[tassietimbers]

Hi there.

Grey box is very hard on the gear, especially slabbing. Suffers ring shake badly, slabs and boards can fall apart on the shakes when drying. Redgum is great to mill, but don't mill too close to the heart. A good size to mill is 200 x 50, as it can be utilised for many other products if it doesn't make furniture grade, like fence rails and sleepers. Take your time, mill for quality, not quantity. Mill good quality clean slabs, rack them properly. Use timber sealer on defects and end grain, and have a bigger garden grade size, like 200 x 75/100 if the log turns crappy and your just need to smash through it to get it done and out of the mill. Hard to make money out of low value product unless you are milling 1000 tonne a year. Know the orientations to cut birdseye and fiddleback to get maximum feature in boards.

Good luck and cheers.

James

PS If a log is massive and you feel out of your depth, ask for advice. You only have one chance to mill it and you can't afford to make mistakes on the big ones. No log is too big, they are just tricky to manage!