I contract saw for a local hardwood mill cutting oversize and special orders. Didn't do much this last year but have before. Good relationship with the owner. He also buy oak trees from me and allows me to use part of his land for storage.
He gives me leads to single trees and oversize stuff that's to few to make a load. Those leads haven't paid me anything yet but one keeps hoping.
He just gave me a lead to a monster black walnut and said he'd pay me $2.00 a foot for anything I brought in cut to 4/4. I have sold to him in the past. He's about 1 mile from my house. Really handy. Doesn't want the white wood. Says he does not have a market for it. People just doesn't want white black walnut. I can understand that but that's a loss to me of cut boards of 10 to 20%.
Went and looked at the tree and wow. About 50" on the stump and the butt cut will go 10 to 12 feet. About 750 bdf + in the but cut. Tree goes another 14 to 16 feet in major branches out to 10" or 12". As a swag (semi wild ass guess) I'd say there's 2000 bdf total.
Owner is going to dig out the stump with a backhoe. I don't think it's a burl but would have to see after it's dug up (they put a flower bed around the tree). But was looking for a home for it if it was. Frank gave me a lead so I called. Goby Walnut about 100 miles north. Thank you Frank and Art say high.
http://www.gobywalnut.com/ Says it's probably not burl wood so no real market for it (we'll see about that) but he offered me $2.50 per bdf mill run and $4.50 for 3" slabs over 40" wide in the waist. That's $450 for a 10 footer and absolutely no waste but lots of sweat moving the slabs. I should be able to get at least 3 spec slabs and maybe 4 from the butt. It will cost at least 2 days and $200 in gas to deliver. Even got a tentative offer of some contract sawing. He don't have a slabber.
So do I take $2/bdf and be loyal to my lead source and keep my customer or go with the other offer and chance loosing him? Split the difference (slabs north and boards local)? Lie and say I didn't get the tree and then go north with all the wood? Something else?
With a higher price for the wood do I increase my offer to the owner?
What would you do?
