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  • From: Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Weather disaster, weather windfall
  • Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 17:07:48 -0700

I know a guy in Houston that was on welfare for a long time. Houston has a lot of tree-knocking-down storms and a lot of tree-knocking-down contractors, both a rich source of trees because nobody really wants to spend money sawing them up and hauling them to the dump.

The welfare guy had a bright idea---why not make money turning the trees into lumber, and even better, getting paid something for getting them out of the building contractor's way. The same building contractor will buy the limber back for construction purposes if you sell it below the lumberyard price.

When I moved from Houston he had fourteen full-time employees and was making money hand over fist. Most of them were relatives, which I supposed made them less likely looking for handouts.

Oh, yeah, he gradually accumulated other tools like a rubber-tired forklift, but he started with a Woodmizer bandsaw---that too was quickly upgraded to having all the bells and whistles, hydraulic log-lifter, hydraulic log-roller etc. Got many kinds of trees, one that intrigued me was what is mis-identified here as Red Cedar, actually is Juniper Virginiensis, used for moth-repellant lining of closets and manufacture of hope chests. Most of his free trees of course were some species of pine.

I presume he went to solar kilns after I left, when I lived there he was simply separating lumber by same-wood stickers, and covering the pile with black builder's plastic.

Judging from the increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes hitting the East Coast, you could set up a Woodmizer shop almost anywhere---make a building contractor customer list.




  • [Homestead] Weather disaster, weather windfall, Tvoivozhd, 09/02/2004

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