# Different Approaches to Cutting & Hauling Firewood



## Eric Johnson (Oct 12, 2012)

I burn about 10 full cords of good northern hardwoods annually, so that's about how much I have to cut, haul, split and stack in the yard. I need really dry wood for my gasification boiler, so I have to work at least one year ahead. I typically start cutting in the spring, and like to keep going until I've cut my goal for the summer. And then I always find a reason to cut some more. My record may be around 30 cords one year from early spring to late fall. Wife accused me of being crazy. "And the neighbors all think so, too," she helpfully added. (I don't care).

Anyway, I do this three days a week, on average. I work an office job about 50 miles from my home, so I hit the office three days a week. After work, I head out to the woodlot where I cut some wood and load the truck up to haul home. Makes for a nice workout and gets me out into the woods on a regular basis. On the days I work at home, I split and stack. I've found that this clears my mind and generally makes me a happier, healthier individual.

In past years, I would run a tank of gas through my saw, a Husky 346XP, and then haul a load in a Ford Ranger. This always resulted in a lot more wood being cut than I could haul. So, I'd have a bunch lying on the ground in the woods come winter. I found that by the next spring, this wood was a lot drier and thus lighter, so I could haul more in my little pickup, and get a head start on the drying. The downside is that it also had a chance to begin the rotting process. It would usually be OK to burn the following winter, but after that, rot started to become an issue. I should point out that I cut and burn mostly beech, which seems to rot more easily than, say, hard maple.

Let's just say it makes me madder than hell to do all that work, etc. only to have the stuff rot in the pile.

So this year, I cut, hauled, split and stacked green wood. Sure, I had to haul less per load, but not that much less. My office is up in the mountains, while I live down in the valley, so it's mostly downhill all the way home. I also don't lose any wood, which is inevitable when you cut it and then don't recover it for nearly a year, and I'm also spending less time wading around in slash, since I can cut a tree, load it, then cut the next one that would have fallen on top of it and caused logistical problems. I have a more integrated, efficient approach, in other words.

Works for me. I still like the idea of just cutting the blocks and letting them start to dry without any further intervention, but the rot issue is a big one.


----------



## steeltowninwv (Oct 12, 2012)

if i can haul it home the day i cut it i do.....i always fill the yard first then the farmer lets me make a pile in his field just down the road from the house..it just seems when i dont cut split and stack all at the same time things seem to come up or it gets too muddy and my wood just sits there and takes on moisture from the ground....i dont always parctice the cut split stack all in the same day, but if have time this is what i prefer to do.


----------



## JP11 (Oct 12, 2012)

I find myself wanting to do small "batches"  maybe a cord at a time.  Then I'm not stuck doing any one task for too long.

Felling, twitching, cutting to log length, bucking, splitting, building my pallets. 

I find it easier to keep myself motivated.. and I clean up my processing area between batches.

A lot of people are constrained by lot size, time to work, and abilities.

I too treat it as therapy.  It's easier to explain it to my wife that way.  I like to say.....

Would you rather I was a golfer?  and disappeared every saturday and sunday?


----------



## TimJ (Oct 12, 2012)

I've got big rounds all over my woods...........alot
My goal is to get them all split and out of there because if I wait until spring with all  the heavy rains, it is harder to get a truck in there.


----------



## jeff_t (Oct 12, 2012)

I find splitting and stacking to be busy work, but I really enjoy running my saws. I always end up with a big pile of rounds, and go mad for a few days after I get tired of looking at it. 

I tried splitting as I unload it. It works until I run into a big scrounge. Then the object is to get it home before somebody else does. It snowballs from there until I end up with a big pile of work.


----------



## bogydave (Oct 12, 2012)

I have a similar wood gathering  process.
Go to the cutting area , Fell, limb, buck to get a load of rounds.
I get as much as I can of rounds until the weather stops the cutting, then go to splitting.
Trying to get  ahead & fill my permit before snow/ice shut down the wood area access road.
I figure I  have until Spring to get it split & stacked.


----------



## smokinj (Oct 12, 2012)

Iam in this same boat, but closer to 12 cords hoping the new epa will really help on the shoulder season. I run an s-10 with 4x8 trailer and can run 3/4 to a cord. I have an extra hitch on the trailer to pull the splitter behind that after loaded. I will only take on a job if my trailer set with in pitcing distance to the splitter. One cord from the time I leave the house to haveing it stack on the slab 4 hours. If I cant do that I walk away. My saws of choice is the 460 back up by more 460 If I need anything els its 192t time.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Oct 12, 2012)

Thankfully we do not have to cut as much wood as we once did. But, most times still do! So we sell some and give some away.

Big difference is that when spring comes, the saw basically gets put away and the splitter comes out. We cut off and on during the winter months and just haul it all to one spot. Then the splitter gets set in that spot in the spring. Stacking comes immediately after the splitting is finished.

One thing I really enjoy is that by doing this at the time of year we do, there are no bugs to contend with. We also are not disturbing birds and animals with their spring nesting. Another thing is that I have many more things I like to do with my time during the warmer months.


----------



## Thistle (Oct 12, 2012)

As a general rule I'm cutting year round-3-4 days per month in spare time when weather & work schedule allows it.That's 10 degrees to 90 above,rain or shine.When there's heavy rain,lightning/strong winds,snow cover over 4"-5" deep or temps above 90 degrees I stay out of the woods though.Start cleaning up any deadfall that's decent in a given area,when that's done & its easier to walk or move around,then I start dropping any snags.


I normally dont do much splitting 'in the field',only if logs are too heavy to carry to trailer or truck,then I'll half or quarter them to lighten the load.To save time & get as much hauled in before any deep snows occur,I'll keep bringing it all in up to processing/stacking area,then once the snow is several inches deep concentrate on bucking the smaller logs to length on sawbuck,splitting larger ones to final size if needed & stacking it all together.Once that melts off & ground either refreezes or dries up some,then I go back out in the woods to start the procedure all over again.Heavy spring rains can keep me out of the woods for a couple weeks sometimes because of the steep slopes on the 10 acres I normally cut on.


----------



## quads (Oct 13, 2012)

I cut the tree down, block it, split all the rounds where they lay, then haul the splits home and stack until the tree is finished.  I do this for every tree, every time.  Then onto the next tree.  On average 25 full cord per year.


----------



## Realstone (Oct 13, 2012)

Take a few pallets with you to keep the rounds of the ground? That might buy you an extra year to process. You could also buck and split it right there and stack on the skids. 2 years after that, the splits will weigh 40% less and will be ready to burn.


----------



## Seasoned Oak (Oct 13, 2012)

Get yourself a diesel 3/4 ton truck ,you will get the same mpg as the ranger and can haul way more wood. with what your saving on heat will probably pay for the truck.


----------



## onetracker (Oct 13, 2012)

i'm gonna experiment with something a bit different this year since its my first full year with a splitter.

i spent the summer leisurely scrounging from the logging yard and now i have about 6-7 cords of big rounds sitting in a pile for 2014/15. i'm gonna break out the splitter after deer season and try to get it all split and covered with a billboard tarp. http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/advertising-billboard-vinyl-tarp.php

then in the spring, after a winter of burning, i'll have the space near the house to stack the partially dried splits. then i'll scrounge next spring and summer and maybe get it split before deer season next year.

if that seems inefficient i'll try something else. sittin' pretty either way


----------



## weatherguy (Oct 13, 2012)

Maybe cut some saplings and stack the rounds on the saplings til you have time to go back and get them.


----------



## Lumber-Jack (Oct 13, 2012)

I find it interesting reading these threads where people describe how they go about getting their firewood. It makes me realize a few things about my own method. 

First; I've got it pretty good. I have the help of a couple teenage sons (and sometimes even the wife), so my own workload is fairly reduced.
Second; I only go through about 4 cords a year to heat both my house and shop. Compared to Eric's 10 cords this is peanuts. Also the trees I cut are very dry and seasoning time is unnecessary, so trying to stay a year or two ahead is also unnecessary and significantly simplifies the whole process. It means I cut the wood, split it and stack it directly into the shed (or load the stove) right away, and skip one step that a lot of other people often have to go through. Having a larger truck also means that when we do go get wood I'm able to bring back a full cord at a time, and since I only need about 4 cords a year that means we only need to do this 4 times a year,,,
Which brings me to the third point I have come to realize..... I'm missing out on a lot of fun.


----------



## Realstone (Oct 13, 2012)

Well CL, considering the best part comes _after _the CSS'ing, I'd say you're not missing out on too much.

How is it your wood dries out so fast? Do you test with a moisture meter?


----------



## Lumber-Jack (Oct 13, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Well CL, considering the best part comes _after _the CSS'ing, I'd say you're not missing out on too much.
> 
> How is it your wood dries out so fast? Do you test with a moisture meter?


Actually to prolong the "fun", I do save a bit in the of the wood in rounds for splitting exercise once in a while, but that will be all gone before snow stays on the ground.

The standing dead, beetle kill, lodgepole pine trees, we have out here dry out real well in our climate, providing they have been dead long enough. Yes I have a meter and it has come in very handy as a tool for me to be able to tell which trees will be dry enough (20% or less) to burn right away. I can tell now, just by looking at the needles. If they are full and bright orange, the trees will still contain more that 20% moisture content, maybe even more than 30%. If the needles are diminished and more brown looking 95-99% of the tree will be <20%, if the needles are almost all missing and gray 100% of the tree will be <20% except maybe the bottom round will be 25-28%.
If I cut in the spring I'll cut anything dead because it has all summer to dry, but I prefer to cut in the fall (no woodticks), so in the fall I just look for the trees with withered brown needles. Usually I'll try and find a grove of them where I can fall them so they crisscross each other on the ground, this leaves most of them up off the ground which makes them easier to limb and buck.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Oct 13, 2012)

onetracker said:


> i'm gonna experiment with something a bit different this year since its my first full year with a splitter.
> 
> i spent the summer leisurely scrounging from the logging yard and now i have about 6-7 cords of big rounds sitting in a pile for 2014/15. i'm gonna break out the splitter after deer season and try to get it all split and covered with a billboard tarp. http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/advertising-billboard-vinyl-tarp.php
> 
> ...


 
Those old billboard tarps seem to work really good for those who have tried them. However, I'd simply stack the wood once you have it split as then it will have an extra 5 or 6 months to dry which is in your favor. And I'm sure you know to cover only the top. But if you cover wood that is just thrown into a pile, it will not dry at all as the tarp will protect it from doing so and even without the tarp it won't dry except for just the outside edges.

fwiw, we stack our wood as we cut it and then do all the splitting in spring, right after snow melt.


----------



## Realstone (Oct 13, 2012)

Carbon_Liberator said:


> Actually to prolong the "fun", I do save a bit in the of the wood in rounds for splitting exercise once in a while, but that will be all gone before snow stays on the ground.
> 
> The standing dead, beetle kill, lodgepole pine trees, we have out here dry out real well in our climate, providing they have been dead long enough. Yes I have a meter and it has come in very handy as a tool for me to be able to tell which trees would be dry enough (20% or less) to burn right away. I can tell now, just by looking and the needles. If they are full and bright orange, the trees will still contain more that 20% moisture content, maybe even more than 30%. If the needles are diminished and more brown looking 95-99% of the tree will be <20%, if the needles are almost all missing 100% of the tree will be <20% except maybe the bottom round will be 25-28%.
> If I cut in the spring I'll cut anything dead because it has all summer to dry, but I prefer to cut in the fall (no woodticks), so in the fall I just look for the trees with withered brown needles. Usually I'll try and find a grove of them where I can fall them so they crisscross each other on the ground, this leaves most of them up off the ground which makes them easier to limb and buck.


Must be nice


----------



## Waulie (Oct 13, 2012)

Same as quads here.  Fell, buck, split it right there, haul it to the stacks.  If I'm out a ways I may make temporary stacks as I spilt, but I see no reason to haul heavy logs or rounds somewhere else to be split.  Better for me to spilt it where it falls.  I really try to get one tree at a time completely done, including clean up before moving on.


----------



## Realstone (Oct 13, 2012)

Waulie said:


> ... including clean up before moving on.


One extra point for processing on site; no need to tidy up in the bush.


----------



## smokinj (Oct 13, 2012)

quads said:


> I cut the tree down, block it, split all the rounds where they lay, then haul the splits home and stack until the tree is finished. I do this for every tree, every time. Then onto the next tree. On average 25 full cord per year.


 

Because you are a mad Man! Us sissy have a very hard time pulling that off with 2 splitters!


----------



## quads (Oct 14, 2012)

smokinj said:


> Because you are a mad Man! Us sissy have a very hard time pulling that off with 2 splitters!


And I work alone..........HA!


----------



## Realstone (Oct 14, 2012)

quads said:


> And I work alone..........HA!


25 cords/year! 
I just glazed over the OP until you pointed it out SmokinJ


----------



## Seasoned Oak (Oct 14, 2012)

Im not sure if i would be burning wood if i had to do all that work.Or pay for the wood either.


----------



## smokinj (Oct 14, 2012)

quads said:


> And I work alone..........HA!


 

Yea I know that. I thats hitting it a little every day. I cant do that so it has to be a perfect set-up form tree to road. I pay for help to so 4 hour run is where I need to be for a cord.


----------



## schlot (Oct 14, 2012)

Ok, I've got to ask. How big of a house are you guys heating with 10 and 25 cords per year?


----------



## smokinj (Oct 14, 2012)

schlot said:


> Ok, I've got to ask. How big of a house are you guys heating with 10 and 25 cords per year?


 

2600 in full wind. Winds are at 40 mph today and gusting over 60.


----------



## JP11 (Oct 14, 2012)

schlot said:


> Ok, I've got to ask. How big of a house are you guys heating with 10 and 25 cords per year?


 
I honestly don't know if I'll be at the 10.  I bet I am though.  Last winter was mild.. and I stopped using oil before the year was up (I put a hour meter on my boiler)  I was at 1500 gallons.  Now I was using home brew fuel, which is about 8% or so less punch that #2

I'm heating just over 6k sf.  1200 is  my wife's photo studio.  1900 for the house, 1900 finished basement, 1200 garage/utility room that's beneath the studio.  Very much liking having it 72 down here in the basement this rainy morning.

JP


----------



## Woody Stover (Oct 14, 2012)

Eric Johnson said:


> My record may be around 30 cords one year from early spring to late fall........it makes me madder than hell to do all that work, etc. only to have the stuff rot in the pile.


Yep, I need to refine my logistics, especially now that we'll be heating my MIL's house with the Buck 91 in addition to the others we are supplying.
This Red Oak is terrible for rotting if it lies around. The heartwood will last forever but the sapwood starts rotting in weeks, it seems.

How you can get all that wood and still have the time to maintain your guitar chops is beyond me.  


JP11 said:


> I too treat it as therapy. It's easier to explain it to my wife that way. I like to say.....
> Would you rather I was a golfer? and disappeared every saturday and sunday?


Let me guess; She said, "Go ahead, then at least I can get some peace and quiet around here."


----------



## Realstone (Oct 14, 2012)

One of those firewood processing splitting machines must look real tempting to you mega-cord burners.  After a point it would seem more like work than unwinding to me.


----------



## JP11 (Oct 14, 2012)

Realstone said:


> One of those firewood processing splitting machines must look real tempting to you mega-cord burners. After a point it would seem more like work than unwinding to me.


 
Are you psychic?  I was eyeballing one at the fryeburg fair.  I REALLY gotta get my toy barn built before I get any more STUFF that needs to be under cover.

JP


----------



## Realstone (Oct 14, 2012)

JP11 said:


> Are you psychic? I was eyeballing one at the fryeburg fair. I REALLY gotta get my toy barn built before I get any more STUFF that needs to be under cover.
> 
> JP


 
No, but we are not as unique as we think we are.  If I were in your shoes...


----------



## quads (Oct 14, 2012)

schlot said:


> Ok, I've got to ask. How big of a house are you guys heating with 10 and 25 cords per year?


I only burn about 4 or so to heat my house.  I sell the rest.


----------



## quads (Oct 14, 2012)

Realstone said:


> One of those firewood processing splitting machines must look real tempting to you mega-cord burners. After a point it would seem more like work than unwinding to me.


Never.  I split it all by hand with my old 6# maul.  Splitting is my favorite part of the whole process.


----------



## Mrs. Krabappel (Oct 14, 2012)

quads said:


> Never. I split it all by hand with my old 6# maul.


 
So that caveman part isn't really a myth after all


----------



## Thistle (Oct 14, 2012)

quads said:


> Never. I split it all by hand with my old 6# maul. Splitting is my favorite part of the whole process.


 
Me too. I enjoy it even more than felling,bucking,hauling or stacking (that's boring lol).I dread the day when I'll have to stop splitting by hand for medical reasons.For supplemental heat in a 'normal' winter I burn between 3-4 cords,last year was barely 2 counting a bunch of smaller limbs,shop/milling scrap &  the usual assorted odd chunks/uglies.


----------



## Larry in OK (Oct 14, 2012)

quads said:


> And I work alone..........HA!


 

Ha, I have my 6 year old grandson helping me. As much as I love the little guy sometimes it would be much, much, much easier working alone  .

I do most of my cutting on a friend's farm. He's been clearing land for several years so I haven't had to fell a tree on his place yet. He's dozed 'em down and piled 'em up with the bigger trees kind of off to the side a bit. On his place I'll cut it, split it, load it and haul it home. I don't even have to pile the brush much. If I get too neat with the brush he gets after me and brings his dozer or track loader out and pushes it around. Most of what I cut last year had been down for at least a year so it's partly dried already.


----------

