# Cut your found firewood to consistent length and leave stubs, or split the difference and have odd l



## elmoleaf (Feb 3, 2010)

I cut up a lot of roadside scavenged wood that usually comes precut in oddball lengths. 
I've finally settled on cutting these into my standard 14" lengths, and having some odd 3", 6", 8" etc. chunk of firewood left over.
I used to try to proportion out these scavenged logs into equal lengths when cutting to avoid odd leftovers. 
However, I've found it simplifies stacking to have everything the same length and just stack the odd leftovers separately.

Just curious what others do, or if anyone has some other clever ideas?


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## pen (Feb 3, 2010)

elmoleaf said:
			
		

> I cut up a lot of roadside scavenged wood that usually comes precut in oddball lengths.
> I've finally settled on cutting these into my standard 14" lengths, and having some odd 3", 6", 8" etc. chunk of firewood left over.
> I used to try to proportion out these scavenged logs into equal lengths when cutting to avoid odd leftovers.
> However, I've found it simplifies stacking to have everything the same length and just stack the odd leftovers separately.
> ...



I'm w/ you.  I don't like to compromise the stability of my wood stacks by having shorties mixed in.  I'd rather have li'l stubs, and just set them to the side.

pen


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## LLigetfa (Feb 3, 2010)

I buy my wood in 8 foot lengths but they are never exactly 8 feet and even if they were, 8 feet is not evenly divisible to my stove length.  As long as I can split the difference and keep my rounds within about an inch I do, otherwise I have a chunk left over.


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## summit (Feb 3, 2010)

I scrounge alotta wood, too... and while it ain't as pretty as the bought and delivered type, it does the job fine.. I agree w/ the odd length theory.. I save the stubs and odds for shorter shoulder fires, or while I am home to throw a few 4" chunks into every couple hrs... I don't try to stack them, just set them off into a little designated corner of the woodpile.


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## MNBobcat (Feb 3, 2010)

I'm approaching my wood from a little different perspective than what seems to be most, here.  I see a lot of guys posting pictures of these beautiful stacks of wood.  While they are admittedly a sight to behold, it seems like way too much work and unnecessary unless done for the shear enjoyment of doing.  

All of my wood is going to go into containers that I'll make and its just going to be dumped into them.  My goal is to not have to handle the wood by hand.  The containers will get moved to my wood shed, using my bobcat, when I need more wood to burn.  (my boiler is in the shed)  

In my case, I really don't care if I have odd lengths of wood or not.  Its all BTUs.  It will all get dumped into the container.

If you're going to stack, then you might want to go ahead and cut everything to the same length to make stacking easier and then any odd pieces you could throw into some kind of storage container/bin/pallet...


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## rdust (Feb 4, 2010)

I made a thread on this a while back.  Here's the link to it.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/47490/


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## Wood Duck (Feb 4, 2010)

I do a little of both. I normally aim for 16 inch pieces, but if I can get two 12 inchers I usually make two equal. If equal length is less than that, I make a 16 incher and a stub. This is all eyeballed, so there is a lot of variation. I stack in round holz hausens which work pretty well with variable length wood.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 4, 2010)

Anymore when I have short splits and several of them I just stack two of them sideways in the stacks.


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## ansehnlich1 (Feb 4, 2010)

I cut to 20 inches, give or take, and whatever drops off the end goes into the "chunk" bin if it ain't about 16 inches long or more.


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## dirttracker (Feb 4, 2010)

I cut to as close to 16" even lengths as possible (~ the length of the exposed section of bar on my saw). If theres a piece that's over by an inch or two I leave it. Otherwise I cut it to length and throw the short chunks in a pile with all of the other odds and ends that don't stack well and the stuff that's a little too punky to burn in the winter. I use this pile of odds and ends to feed the boiler in the summer to make DHW.


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## f3cbboy (Feb 4, 2010)

i try to cut to 17", yes i try to measure and make them close.  most of the chuncks that are left over are shorter that 10".  i mean if my last piece is 20" i will have two 10" pieces left, anything smaller than that, i leave smaller pieces left over that my son takes  a whack at them. under a watchful eye of course.


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## Lumber-Jack (Feb 4, 2010)

I try to cut all my rounds in the bush (where the trees are), if  there's an end piece that isn't 16" it gets left on the ground. No extra work to end up with nice neat stacks, it just works out that way because all the pieces fit.


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## SolarAndWood (Feb 4, 2010)

I got almost 2 months heat out of cutoffs this fall.  Not a lot of work to toss them in a heap and then in the stove.  I don't stack or allocate shed space to anything that isn't stove length.


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## bogydave (Feb 4, 2010)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> I got almost 2 months heat out of cutoffs this fall.  Not a lot of work to toss them in a heap and then in the stove.  I don't stack or allocate shed space to anything that isn't stove length.



+1
I cut to everything I can to length - 18"
I'd rather have 1 good 18" piece than 2 whatever length.
I pile up the odd ones & burn for cook-out fires or burn in the stove for small fires, shoulder wood


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## westkywood (Feb 4, 2010)

I had a friend bring me alot of wood. Alot of it was cut in 24-30 inch lengths. I wasnt going to complain, it was free. But cutting off the ends are a pain in the rear. I cut the ends off so I have an 18 inch log. The photo shows all end pieces. They are stacked 3 deep. I found they stack ok if ya stack them all together.....


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## northwinds (Feb 4, 2010)

I have odd lengths and don't worry.  It stacks fine although it doesn't look as pretty as some. I stack
on pallets and tend to throw the weird and small pieces in the middle of the stack or on top.

With a big firebox, there's plenty of room to sort out which pieces fit where.  It all looks the same in the
ash bucket.


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## bogydave (Feb 4, 2010)

northwinds said:
			
		

> It all looks the same in the
> ash bucket.



That's the best answer yet


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## golfandwoodnut (Feb 4, 2010)

I do a little of both.  I prefer 20 inch pieces, but I will go down to 16 inches if splitting the difference works.  If you build a HH you can just throw them in the middle and it still looks great.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 4, 2010)

Chunks are BTUs . . . they are saved and burned . . . generally I tend to burn more of these in the Fall . . . when I'm loading up the woodshed I tend to keep the chunks and uglies (crotch pieces, gnarly pieces, crooked pieces, etc.) that do not stack easily to the side . . . and my first few shoulder season fires tend to be made up of this rag tag looking lot of wood . . . although invariably I end up tossing a number of them on top of my stacks and/or between rows . . . as I "re-discover" this wood in the course of the season I toss it aside and save it for a weekend burn when the woodstove doesn't need to have every nook and cranny packed with wood.

For the record, MNBobcat . . . I'm with you . . . I really like the pretty pictures of neatly stacked wood . . . but long ago realized that at the end of the long winter it doesn't matter who has the neatest woodpile or the prettiest looking wood . . . the real winners are the folks who make it through the winter with wood to spare . . . and they make it through the winter by staying warm with their wood . . . no matter how ugly looking it may be.


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## billb3 (Feb 4, 2010)

I aim for 16 even though 18 will fit.
Sometimes I goof and have a 19 or end up with an odd size at the end of a log / branch.

I've thrown shorties in a bin made of pallets.
I've put a 9 and a 7 where a 16 inch split would go 
I've stuck them in the stack sideways.
I've given the longees away to someone with a bigger stove.
I've put the shorties on the top of the stack and I've used the longies on the top of the stack to hold a piece of plywood as supports.

Right now I have a small pile of oddballs and unsplitables on the ground.


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## Flatbedford (Feb 4, 2010)

I cut to 16" (or so). I have a "butt bin" made of pallets for the small leftovers. I either burn them outside or inside when I know I will be around to reload often. Uniform lengths make handling and stacking much easier.


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## RAY_PA (Feb 4, 2010)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Chunks are BTUs . . . they are saved and burned . . . generally I tend to burn more of these in the Fall . . . when I'm loading up the woodshed I tend to keep the chunks and uglies (crotch pieces, gnarly pieces, crooked pieces, etc.) that do not stack easily to the side . . . and my first few shoulder season fires tend to be made up of this rag tag looking lot of wood . . . although invariably I end up tossing a number of them on top of my stacks and/or between rows . . . as I "re-discover" this wood in the course of the season I toss it aside and save it for a weekend burn when the woodstove doesn't need to have every nook and cranny packed with wood.



This is what I do too, just a tad different. I try to cut most of it in 18-20" lengths, but many times I am day dreaming and get to the end of a log and have a hunk or small stick. Oh Well, they burn fine. I got a tip from someone on here that made a box out of pallets. one on the bottom and 4 for the sides...that thing works awesome for the chunks and nasties.I ended up taking the chain saw and cutting almost 1/2 of the front (facing) pallet off so I could reach in and get to the pieces on the bottom. I fill it up and use that stuff foor when we are home to fool with the fire all day or for our 10-12 camp fires in the pit in the summer.

EDIT: HA, just saw flatbedford's post...maybe it was he that educated me to the pallet box.


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## wood spliter (Feb 4, 2010)

My stove also takes 18" but I try for 16". If its to big I just cut them in half. It works for me when filing the stove especially if there is some wood left in it.


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## leftyscott (Feb 4, 2010)

My quad will take a 24" piece but all of the wood I'm burning was cut pre Quad.  Few of my splits are longer than 18.  I load E to W so I have 6-8" of space to load N to S.  Those short 12" long & under splits work great in that space.  I stack em with the other similarly aged wood, usually on the top of the stack to keep the pile from getting unsteady.  

Just realized.... I'm not sure I want to hand split 24" splits from 2'+wide rounds.


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## Cutter (Feb 4, 2010)

I do it all.I cut large rounds sometimes at 12" because I can't lift larger ones up onto the splitter. The center shaft of the tree gets rather standardized 20"-24". The smaller stuff Hedge is so crooked that they might vary from 10" up to 38". None of it ever stacks very pretty. Crotches and roots do go in a separate pile and get burned first so I don't have to worry about covering them when it starts to snow. I would never show you guys my piles for fear of flames and embarrassment.  But I am also proud of my ashes.
Brad


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## drdoct (Feb 4, 2010)

LOL... after seeing all the pretty stacks I wondered if I was the only scrounger who had to do this.  Glad to see it's a problem with y'all too!  The city cuts most of my wood but usually to 20" lengths.  My stove only handles 18".  The first few loads I would try to cut them in half and have 2- 10" pieces, but now I just wack off the end and have a chunk left with the right length.  I had a double row fall over this year and most the reason was those short lengths.  This year I'm going with a HH to see how it works and then maybe just the old wood stack where you pile it up on end and it makes a little messier HH looking pile.  My dad was burning all those chunks in his open fireplace, but quit after 2 rolled out and burned his HW floor.  Now I put them in the can and save for later when I just want a warming fire for the night.


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## CrawfordCentury (Feb 4, 2010)

I shoot for 16" but if I had a 2' log, I'd prefer two 12's.

While my stacks aren't too pretty, they're pretty sturdy. Use the same basic technique to build a stack as I'd use to build a stone wall. New England granite ain't uniform, so it needs to be self-reinforcing.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 5, 2010)

When I posted pictures of some of my wood piles I was simply amazed at the comments I got about how nice and neat they were. I'd actually given it very little thought and that is just how I've always stacked. I don't stack to make anything look pretty but I don't like it looking sloppy either. It takes no more time and a wood pile does look a little better if it is neatly stacked.

Now for the length. I have always cut in differing lengths and the reason is knots and crotches. I hate having a crotch in the middle of a log. To get away from that, I'll usually end up with a piece either longer or shorter than normal. I've never found this a problem during stacking either.


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