rtbiss

@rtclark: An added problem is youcan't even find a good used bandsaw to mill your own. Wood Mizers (proudly North American made) are a year behind on orders and every second hobbiest is hoarding off cuts like they are an investment. Boom Bust in the forestry industry is not new. The problem for some of this goes quite a bit beyond the futures traders. Fallers are happy to take Covid Relief payments rather than constantly watch out for wido-makers dropping from the snag 30metres above their heads.And,,, the average age of log scalers is now over 60 on the West Coast. The kids can't do it because it needs the "Art" as well as those amazing hand held devices and that takes time to aquire. The lack of scalers is very real and since the companies are trying to cut everything posible, as fast as possible even with the fire ratings well into the extreme (make hay/sticks while the sun shines) there is avery real wall to the ability to ramp up wood production. No Scalers,,, the saws stop, the trucks sit and the mills cry for feedstock. Kinda like the story of - "for want of a horseshoe nail an empire fell" The traders who saw this coming make plastic money and the late arrivals get shaven.