Sawdust and Splinters Feb 09

T-Shirt Contest
Design and Win
As you probley already know Saw Bucks is
celebrating the New Year with a Design Contest
to develop an official Saw Bucks T-Shirt. We
have several designs to see. Check them out
here . The winning entry will be decided by a
vote of our members and become the official
Saw Bucks T- Shirt for 2009. The winning
designer will receive a pair of free shirts.
Everyone is encouraged to participate.

Welcome, January New Members - Rank
djhoover                   Sun Jan 04,          New Member
pasbuild                   Sun Jan 04           New Member
woodfirst                  Sun Jan 04           New Member
najumcju                   Tue Jan 06           New Member
Stephen_Smith       Sun Jan 11           Buckaroo
Rancher                   Sun Jan 11           Buccaneer
lakeman                   Mon Jan 19          New Member
Linsannot                 Fri Jan 23             New Member
MambaLeylaChka Wed Jan 28         New Member

Stand up and be counted!       Current Poll Results
What kind of mill do you own?                            Timber King = 41%
Best Performance Blades                                   Wood-Mizer = 40%
How many employees do you have?                  None, except myself = 100%
Best Chainsaws Overall                                       Husqvarna = 55%
Weekend Warriors or Full Timers?                     Full time for profit = 85%

Note: Not all members have placed a vote. Stand up and be counted!
                                           See all Polls

Small Sawmills Grow During Hard Times
2009 has brought small sawmill operators the
opportunity to grow as a new service trade and expand
business by taking advantage of the challenging times to
come. The new U.S. Administration has brought high
expectations to bring change, prosperity, accountability
and a new direction back to the business world and
mainstream society. Focus on developing renewable
energy and moving towards green environmentally
friendly products are high on the priority list opening up
new frontiers for small sawmill operators.
In the years to come portable and small stationary
sawmills are expected to make a big impact on
communities large and small by taping into the huge
resource of urban logs and salvage timber that has not
been available in the past or was overlooked because it
was not cost effective to process. Thin kerf technology
and the advancement in quality portable sawmills will
prove to be a completive advantage with the demand for
change in the way timber is harvested and processed.
Logging companies accustomed to buying large timber
sales that ended up at big mills are faced with low or no
demand for there logs and are closing there doors or
turning to smaller jobs that encompass salvage harvest
such as removing power line hazard trees or lot clearing
for development, here they are compensated for these
services and have saw logs available at a reasonable
cost to small mills. A great many of these trees are ideal
for small sawmill operations and fill a unique market to
cabinet shops and custom wood workers and
homeowners.
Education and public awareness will play a big part
when it comes to contractors and homeowners who will
be looking to get the most out of their efforts and
resources. Armed with the knowledge that urban trees
are of great value to a project, thus promoting salvage
where they will be utilized instead of being viewed as an
added expense of development. Small and portable
sawmills around the world will be on the rise and become
a regular part of the timber and construction industry.

Ten mistakes to avoid during tough times

Panicking as leaders, and allowing customers to witness indecision, dissension and uncertainty when it
comes to the status of your business strength and stability or the difficulty of a particular job.

Cutbacks and downsizing so severe that being positioned strongly when the upturn arrives it will put you
at a disadvantage.

Sacrificing productivity with seemingly arbitrary changes to lower operating costs.

Failure to spread cutbacks in an even and equal basis or eliminating complete sections of your
services that contribute to cash flow..

Poor planing of short and long term business plans and goals.

Failure to manage public relations with a positive outlook on your business and a lack of media
advertising to reinforce this.

Be careful not to use Follow-the-leader mentality instead of carving out a nitch and unique approach to
the conditions as they affect your individual business and geographical location.

Failure to provide incentives to maintain client loyalty and keep new customers coming in, such as
sales and specials.

Cutbacks in the wrong areas, like reducing stock on hand or removing services you provide.

Poor use of existing credit and financial reserves.

Use these hard times to grow stronger and be prepared to surge ahead when the time is right !

"Today I spent with the local tree serve while
they took down three walnut trees" says
Harvey at Backwoods Custom Milling who regularly
makes lumber from urban salvage trees. The walnut
logs shown above will surely go to some fine
furniture or cabinet work. Keeping trees like these
from the landfill or burn pile is a win win situation.
With a little effort from tree service providers,
homeowners and sawmills this kind of salvage will
add to the financial strength of business owners
and lower the environmental impact from our
demand to have quality lumber. Another plus is the
unmatched gratification homeowners receive with
the bragging rites that cant be found from lumber
purchased at the big box stores.
Extra care needs to be taken when trees come
from back yards and urban streets. Common
problems are nails and spikes left by the phone
company and aspiring young builders.
Remembering one log Steve of Brideck Enterprises
notes "It was loaded with nails, so I told the
customer I would cut the tree for him but I
would need to get a different blade, and
would he mind paying the $25 to fix the poor
blade that just cut through ten nails. He said
OK". Most sawyers have a damaged blade charge
when they run into hidden problems. The bottom
line is the end product is well worth whatever effort
is needed to process urban logs. More