Osage Lumber Value

[John Scifres]

I have an opportunity to get some really big osage trees milled into boards.  I have never done this before so I am just curious if anyone can get me a starting point on how much milling like this generally costs.  The guy I am working with is clearing a parcel with a bunch of osage on it.  Some of it is way too big for me to work with.  He has a small manual mill himself and may have access to a woodmizer.  I want to be fair in what I offer him but I don't use a whole lot of osage lumber and will likely sell or trade most of it.  Any help is appreciated.

[kennym]

John, I think .25 per bd ft is what I paid an Amish bandmill to saw the last. Make it thicker than you want to end up with, a little wavy sometimes and it will surface check while drying.

Also paint the ends to prevent checking.

IMO 12-15" trees make the best lumber for my usage! Less cracks  and bad spots. Also better grain for lams.

[PEARL DRUMS]

My buddy has a Mizer and charges $50 an hour no matter what. The more organized the logs are when he arrives the better deal you get, or the more help you have the better deal you get. A Woodmizer can make a TON of boards in an hour. He was my plan for that osage I told you about John. I was going to drive down and get logs and let my buddy make boards for me.

[DVSHUNTER]

john, I've been wondering this myself. Ikk be watching

[DVSHUNTER]

john, I've been wondering this myself. Ikk be watching

[macbow]

I have a guy cutting up a hickory log. Cutting quarter sawn. .50 cents a BF, his log and I believe it includes kiln drying.
Ron

[kennym]

That is a heck of a deal Ron!!

[Jeremy]

The last logs my brother had sawn before he left state were .25 per bd ft.  

I was buying dried rough lumber from the guy for 1.25-1.50 a bd ft - my brother nabbed some of the most amazing tiger maple for that price too, the bum!

[NYArrow]

I stopped at a mill today and paid $36.00 for 6 boards. They were 1x12x84 (2) maples (2) hickory and (2) ash. I thought it was a pretty good deal.

[okie64]

The sawmill I go to charges 75cents a board foot for osage, hickory, and black locust. All other woods I've taken them were 50 cents a board foot. They told me they charge more for harder woods due to the wear and tear on their blades. That price includes sawing and planing them down to size. Looking at what some others have posted I might be getting ripped off.

[Pat B]

John, Timo had some milled up a few years ago. Send him an email.

[Dean Marlow]

The last big osage log I had sawed they charged .60 cents a board foot. That was quarter sawed. No planning. Dean

[Shaun]

My local sawyer charges 30 cents / bf to saw and the same to kiln dry for logs at his mill. There is generally a show up charge for Woodmiser at my site. Also, most sawyers hate osage because it is heck on their blades. I usually pay the $35 blade charge on top of bf price.

[Don Stokes]

I inquired at a local planing mill some years back, and the owner wouldn't mess with Osage. Seems a guy brought in some dry boards to be planed, and it ripped the cutting heads right out of his planer!