1. Your mill
2. Running costs per sawing hour
3. People and speed
4. The job
5. What you charge
Change the numbers or load the example, then click Work out the quote.
Result
| Pricing model | Revenue | Net | Net per clock hour | Break-even | Quote with margin |
|---|
Net per log at your flat per-board-foot rate, by small-end diameter
| Diameter | Sawn bf | Minutes | Cost | Revenue | Net | Break-even per bf |
|---|
How the numbers work, and what they leave out
- Ownership per hour = (price − resale) ÷ years ÷ hours a year + interest on the average value ÷ hours a year. Blade per hour = (blade price + sharpenings × sharpening cost) ÷ (hours between sharpenings × (sharpenings + 1)).
- Cost per sawing hour = ownership + fuel + blade + maintenance + (helpers × wage) + your wage target.
- Sawn board feet = true log volume (small end plus half the taper) × 12 board feet per cubic foot × recovery. Doyle = ((small end − 4) ÷ 4)² × length.
- Job hours = board feet ÷ board feet per hour + handling per log; setup and tear-down cost labor only; the trip is cash (miles × 2 × cost per mile).
- Not modelled: species and grade, the resale value of the lumber, drying, taxes, insurance and liability, blade breakage from metal in logs, and seasonal demand.
Common questions
What should I charge per board foot for custom sawing?
Whatever covers your cost per board foot plus the margin you want, not the going rate. Add machine cost per hour (ownership, fuel, blades, maintenance) to labor per hour, divide by board feet sawn per hour, then add the time you spend handling logs, setting up and driving. This tool does that for your own numbers and shows the break-even and a target quote.
Should I charge by the hour or by the board foot?
Per board foot pays more on large, straight, easy logs where you saw fast; hourly protects you on small, crooked or dirty logs and on jobs with a lot of turning. The tool works out the net for both on the same job and tells you which paid more.
Why do small logs lose money at a flat per-board-foot rate?
Loading, turning and clamping take about the same time whatever the log size, but a small log yields few board feet. At a flat rate the handling time is paid for by the board feet, so below some small-end diameter each log costs more to saw than it earns. The table shows where that line sits for your rate and a minimum charge per log fixes it.
What is the Doyle log rule and why is it different from what I saw?
Doyle estimates board feet from small-end diameter and length: ((diameter − 4) ÷ 4) squared times length in feet. It undercounts small logs badly. This tool also estimates sawn board feet from the log's true volume and your recovery percentage, so you can see the overrun.
What is recovery and what is a normal figure?
Recovery is sawn lumber as a share of the log's true volume. Kerf, slabs, edgings and sawdust take the rest. Many portable-mill operators see roughly half or somewhat better; enter what you measure on your own jobs.
Where do the numbers come from?
From you. The tool ships no lumber price, custom-sawing rate or log data. The example values are made up.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is arithmetic on numbers you enter. Check tax treatment and insurance for a sawing business with a qualified adviser.