# Persistence pays off



## Julian the woodnut (Nov 5, 2008)

I have been watching craigslist like a hawk lately looking for free logs. I have had a few wild goose chases that ended up with me wasting my time and not getting the logs. Well my luck has finally changed. I found a guy in the next town over who cuts trees down on the side offering free firewood. After talking to him, he was surprised to hear that I could take the logs and mill them into lumber, since there isn't any mills locally. When he goes to cut the trees down, he's offering to call me and ask whether I want it and what length I want it cut to before cutting it down( for FREE). I also have a free supply of cut limbs for firewood now. Very exciting news considering a cord sells for over $300 delivered in my neck of the woods. I grabbed a full cord worth of wood from him yesterday, so the deal is legit and I am excited. Now to hope for some curly maple!!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

As long as he knows he can count on you to take the butt logs (at least) then it will save him a lot of time. If you get too picky he'll just quit calling you. Be very liberal about the logs you take because it saves him from all that bucking/crosscutting/splitting. He gets plenty of firewood from the branches. Just tell him you'll take every decent solid sawlog, and you'll also take the first crotch. 

I wouldn't start paying him unless he insists. I know they are free now, but if he sees how much you like this deal he may smell money; remind him how much time and labor and machinery costs you have and that you are very appreciative of the situation because it saves him time and money and helps you get in at entry level, which is mandatory for you right now in order to do this. Make sure he knows you cannot pay for these things and afford to sink all your time and labor on top of it. If he still balks, ask him if $15 per delivery would cover his fuel. Also offer to mill some table flitches if he wants but be dang sure you do it as soon as you can. 

Daren has dealt with these guys much more than I but this has been my experience with them when I first started out. I soon discovered that by talking to landowners just in passing, I could get all the free hardwood I want. If you live in a rural area or know even one landowner who does live in a rural area (then you have a network to develop), you have an untapped resource like you wouldn't believe. Of course, you have to have the machinery to harvest the trees so if you do not have that then the tree service is ideal. 

Get Daren to weigh in on this he has a ton of experience with tree services.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Sounds like a sweet deal to me. Our urban forests are full of killer specimens :yes:. I have said this before I live in "corn/bean land"...there are more trees in town than in the "country". Like TT said 90% of my logs come from tree services/excavation contractors/municipalities/rural road district...10% from individual land owners.
You would be surprised what a couple boards to fix a trailer deck/case of beer/a couple $20 bills can do. They just show up dumped in the yard.


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## Kirk Allen (Nov 7, 2006)

Amen, Amen, Amen!


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