# grapple load ordered - how to attack it



## wannabegreener (May 2, 2011)

Hi,

I just ordered a grapple load and it should be delivered Tuesday.  I'm looking for any advice on how to attack it. I already have 2011-2012 wood c/s/s so this is for the future.  The grapple load should be 7 cords.  It will be only me doing the cutting, splitting (by fiskars) and stacking.  I have a couple of questions:

1 - should I cut it all first and stack the rounds for splitting later?
       - I think I mostly want to clean up the grapple pile and have neater rows of rounds.
2 - once cut and split, should I try to separate the wood in the final stacks by species?  (oak in one stack , ash in one stack , cherry, etc.) 
        - this wood should not be needed until 2012-2013 season and later
3 - Since this will be sitting/seasoning until at least fall of 2012, if I stack it 2 rows deep, how much room should I leave between the 2 rows that are close to the next set of 2 rows

  Here is a diagram in case my wording is not clear

    if below is 2 rows  how much distance to the next set of 2 rows

     row1  row2    some distance     row3 row4
     xxxx  xxxx                              xxxx  xxxx
     xxxx  xxxx                              xxxx  xxxx
     xxxx  xxxx                              xxxx  xxxx
      etc                                        etc

Thanks - looking forward to a lot of hard wood and hard work.


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## KodiakII (May 2, 2011)

A "grapple load",  what interesting nomenclature you Americans have.


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## Mt Ski Bum (May 2, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> I just ordered a grapple load and it should be delivered Tuesday.  I'm looking for any advice on how to attack it. I already have 2011-2012 wood c/s/s so this is for the future.  The grapple load should be 7 cords.  It will be only me doing the cutting, splitting (by fiskars) and stacking.  I have a couple of questions:
> 
> ...


1. yes- I would cut the logs to length first & stack the rounds. Once you start splitting, you can either start a new stack of split wood, or you can re-stack the split wood in the same stack as the rounds, & slowly replace the rounds with splits as peck away at splitting all that wood. 

2. I personally wouldn't bother separating the wood by species for stacking, particularly if this wood is going to be sitting around long enough before getting burned for the slower-seasoning woods (like Oak) to fully season.

3. I honestly can't answer that one... maybe someone else around here can


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## peterc38 (May 2, 2011)

I wouldn't bother stacking the rounds. Whats the sense of doing that if you still have to split it? I'd either cut it all and then split or cut some, split some and repeat until done. I wouldn't stack it until split. I also wouldn't bother seperating the species. Try to work off the ends of the pile, cutting as much as you can that way. I will cut off the top of the pile too, but some people don't like to do that. If you do, make sure it is stable and watch out for shifting logs. You can also use a tractor or truck to safely pull some of the bigger logs of the pile if needed.


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## PapaDave (May 2, 2011)

I'd just buck up what can be split and stacked for the day, then do that. Why bother stacking rounds? Seems like a lot of wasted effort. Maybe I'm missing something?
I don't like the idea of the pile of logs rolling around under me. Don't know how to log surf, so I pull them down a few at a time, then buck. I stack in a different area where there's a lot of sun and wind, so as I split, they go right in a trailer. YMMV
Have fun!


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## KarlP (May 2, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> looking forward to a lot of hard wood and hard work.



My grapple load came with a LOT of wood 22-26" in diameter.  One of those in particular was a 16' long white oak with at least one limb in every 18" long round.  I know a Fiskars all but splits the wood itself, but me thinks you've got a lot of that hard work ahead of you. 

1.  I only cut as much as I'm going to split in a day.  It leaves the messy pile less messy.  I'd rather move the wood to the splitter, into the garden cart, and onto the stack.  I'd avoid stacking it neatly in rounds because I'd rather move 30,000 lbs of wood 3x than 4x. 

2.  I did, but that's because I want to burn the maple and ash this coming winter and let the oak sit another summer.  If you're SURE you have enough for this coming winter, no need.

3. I put two rows on 4' wide pallets and threw all the "shorts and uglies" the long way between the rows.  Then I left 8' and put a second row of 4' wide pallets.  No idea if this is ideal, but it should be good enough.


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## firefighterjake (May 2, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> I just ordered a grapple load and it should be delivered Tuesday.  *Around here the grapple is the mechanism that loads and unloads the wood from the truck that hauls the wood . . . but it's OK . . . different places, different terminology I suppose . . . I knew what you were saying.* I'm looking for any advice on how to attack it. I already have 2011-2012 wood c/s/s so this is for the future.  The grapple load should be 7 cords.  It will be only me doing the cutting, splitting (by fiskars) and stacking.  I have a couple of questions:
> 
> ...


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## SolarAndWood (May 2, 2011)

I would leave it in log form as well.  The area stays neater and it removes a couple steps.  The only downside is that some of it might rot if you don't get it done soon enough.  Shouldn't be an issue with a 7 cord load though.


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## PapaDave (May 2, 2011)

I like the way Jake answers, but I'm too lazy to type all that.
Glad he's around to do it. :lol:


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## shouldntbesocomplicated (May 2, 2011)

I would cut some ,split some and repeat I personally wouldnt waste my time stacking rounds, though I love the work with wood I try t minimize how many times it heats me ,in hopes 
that the last time I get the most out of it


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## thewoodlands (May 2, 2011)

When I did the load of logs in February of 2010 I cut then split and stacked it on the ground in the same area, in the spring I made a new area for stacking and moved it to that area and restacked it.


Our wood was mostly Beech and Sugar Maple with some Cherry,Ash and two Soft Maple, so I stacked everything together. I stack 5 rows deep with about 15 inches between rows.





GIBIR


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## Wood Duck (May 2, 2011)

I would alternate cutting and splitting rather than cut all at once. I wouldn't stack the rounds because that is unnecessary work, but if I bought a truck load I could have it placed out of sight, more or less, so appearance of the area wouldn't be a major concern for me or my wife. I would not separate by species, because you have time to season even the slow-seasoning woods, and because I like to have a mix when I pull wood from the stacks. I separare the day's wood based on species, saving the more dense wood for night-time and less-dense wood for daytime when I am generally home and able to reload as needed. I think the space between rows should be based on maintenance such as mowing or appearance or access to get the wood (do you use a lawn tractor, for example?). I don't think space from the end of a row to the end of the next row will make any difference in seasoning.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 2, 2011)

KodiakII said:
			
		

> A "grapple load",  what interesting nomenclature you Americans have.



Buy your post did not answer any of his questions!


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## Backwoods Savage (May 2, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Hi,  I just ordered a grapple load and it should be delivered Tuesday.  I'm looking for any advice on how to attack it. I already have 2011-2012 wood c/s/s so this is for the future.  The grapple load should be 7 cords.  It will be only me doing the cutting, splitting (by fiskars) and stacking.  I have a couple of questions:
> 
> 1 - should I cut it all first and stack the rounds for splitting later?
> - I think I mostly want to clean up the grapple pile and have neater rows of rounds.
> ...



Nice going wannabe! This will be for 2012-2013 season and that is great that you are thinking that far ahead. More people should do this. 

To answer your questions:

1. How you do it is entirely up to you and you will be fine either way. If it were me, I'd cut all first and then split and stack. I also agree that once you get the wood stacked, especially if you stack as good as Zap your place will look better than having the logs stacked up.

2. You might want to separate the oak from the rest simply because oak takes so much longer to season. You might also want to split the oak a bit smaller to hasten the drying of it. If the oak is for the 2013-2014 season, then that is great!

3. For sure leave enough room so you can walk easily between the rows. Check out these:






You'll notice these are stacked 3 rows together and then a space. We have no trouble drying the wood this way but then we usually have the wood in the stacks for several years. I did sell some of the wood this past winter that we had cut the previous winter and it was great. However, it was all white ash and the ash were all dead when I cut them. 

The wood we burned this past winter was cut during the 2008-2009 winter then split and stacked in April of 2009. Previous to this we were burning wood that was from 6-8 years in the stack. I like the older wood the best. 

One more thing is covering. We do not cover the wood in the first summer and fall and we believe this promotes better evaporation of the moisture. We do cover the tops of the stacks before the snow flies.


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## wannabegreener (May 3, 2011)

Thanks for all the great pointers.

1. I wasn't thinking about all of the extra work to stack rounds.  I think I need to place the grapple load between the driveway and the kids play area.  I didn't want to keep the wood there because I want to be able to keep an eye on the kids while working in the driveway.  With my back not wanting all of the extra work, I think stacking the rounds will not be a good idea.  I'll do the cut, split, stack, repeat over and over.  At least this way, I'm only moving the wood once.

2. I didn't think that I wanted to separate the wood and I certainly don't want to bar code it (HA HA HA).  I'll just stack it all together.  Last year was my first year and I started in middle to late December and stopped around the first of april since I ran out of dry wood.  I had semi-dry wood but didn't like fighting with it to get it to burn so I just shut it down.  I now have 4+ cords of mixed hardwood and right now about 1/2 cord of pine.  I have a great source for pine so I plan on getting another 1/2 cord for the shoulder season.  Having 5+ cords of wood should be enough to get me through the 2011-2012 season.  So this new wood will be for the 2012-2013 season and later.

3. I didn't think about leaving enough room for the tractor/wheel barrow to get between the rows.  I just found a source for pallets so I'll get some and space them about 1.5 tractor widths apart so I can get in there with to move the wood to and from the piles.

PapaDave - Yup, split and load the trailer while doing it.  I have done this in when I stack in a different area than the wood pile.

KarlP - "I know a Fiskars all but splits the wood itself" Funny - I wish.  I got the x25 and I'm 6'4" so it's a little short.  I need to get the X27 just for better comfort.  

firefighterjake - You must be a comedian in your spare time.  What do you call this type of load of wood.  I always thought it was called a grapple load.  It is advertised that way in the yellow pages.  NH is not that far away from Maine and we all know that Mainers have their own language.    

SolarAndWood - Nope - It won't rot, it won't stay in log form that long.

Wood Duck - good point about maintenance between the wood.  I think more important is getting the wood in and out of the pile without too much walking.  I like to drive the trailer right to the stack.

Backwoods Savage - How do you keep your bottom logs from rolling.  Do you have them nailed together with some cross pieces?  Those stacks looks amazing.  I'm hoping go get another load in the fall if I can get this all processed and then have more room to stack.  I don't have a lot of room to stack so I'll see how this 7 cords look and then see how much more room I might have.

Thanks again everyone.  I'm looking forward to it right now, but maybe in a month or so I'll be ready for it to be done.  Especially with all of the bugs that are already out.  It's driving me crazy.


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## firefighterjake (May 3, 2011)

I've always heard it called a truckload of wood or more likely folks call up and order X number of cords . . .


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## mayhem (May 3, 2011)

If it were me, I'd do it in blocks of time and try to do complete processing of small amounts.  Gets the work done and helps keep the woring area reasonably neat.

- Roll top couple of logs off the pile to a safe working spot at or near ground level.  Buck logs till your saw runs through one full tank of gas.
- Stand all of the rounds up on end.
- Buzz through the whole pile with the Fiskars until you have a small field of splits the size you want.  
- Move all splits to their long term home and stack them.

If you still have time, touch up the cutters on the chain saw, refuel and start the process all over again.


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## wannabegreener (May 3, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> I've always heard it called a truckload of wood or more likely folks call up and order X number of cords . . .



If you just order x cords, how do you distinguish between in log form vs split?  Trying to learn the terminology - that all.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 3, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Backwoods Savage - How do you keep your bottom logs from rolling.  Do you have them nailed together with some cross pieces?  Those stacks looks amazing.  I'm hoping go get another load in the fall if I can get this all processed and then have more room to stack.  I don't have a lot of room to stack so I'll see how this 7 cords look and then see how much more room I might have.



Thank you.

Those bottom logs are just laid on the ground and the wood stacked on top. That's all we've ever done other than lay down some of the splits or rounds that are to firewood length and stacking on those as if they were long logs.  I've never had any problem with rolling. 

There were originally 9 cord of wood there but it is now down to 5. It should be really good wood next winter.


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (May 3, 2011)

I doubt that how you attack it is going to affect the efficiency of your movements.

I would, however, suggest you be careful where you point that saw!


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## wannabegreener (May 3, 2011)

Backwoods Savage,

That looks like a lot more than 5 cords.  I think I night be in trouble with my 7.  Not sure if I have the room.

I got the load today.  I'll upload a picture cause I know the saying - It didn't happen if there is no picture.


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## wannabegreener (May 3, 2011)

ISeeDeadBTUs

I took a ride out through the country today just cause it was a nice day.  I saw some unbelievable wood porn out there.  Not the same as you posted.  These piles must have been 200 + feet long and multiple rows.  They were in a field about 500 ft off the road so it was hard to see, but I think the splits were between 3 and 4 ft long.  I would guess between 50 and 100 cords all c/s/s.  I would have stopped to take a picture, but the wife thought I was nuts.


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## Thistle (May 3, 2011)

mayhem said:
			
		

> If it were me, I'd do it in blocks of time and try to do complete processing of small amounts.  Gets the work done and helps keep the woring area reasonably neat.
> 
> - Roll top couple of logs off the pile to a safe working spot at or near ground level.  Buck logs till your saw runs through one full tank of gas.
> - Stand all of the rounds up on end.
> ...



That's what I do when dealing with more than 2-3 loads at a time.Much easier when you take a little at a time,no sense in wearing yourself out,accidents are more likely when you're fatigued.When you get tired,time to take a break.If the trees are already on the ground I may spend 1 day bucking,the next day hauling them out,next day splitting/stacking.


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## Ncountry (May 3, 2011)

I have always found that the least amount of times you touch any piece of wood the better. I would block  until  I had to start moving rounds out of the way. Stand these rounds up, split them, toss split wood in truck or trailer. Any time you start rolling or tossing rounds aside you are wasting energy. Same goes with the splits.


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## firefighterjake (May 4, 2011)

ISeeDeadBTUs said:
			
		

> I doubt that how you attack it is going to affect the efficiency of your movements.
> 
> I would, however, suggest you be careful where you point that saw!



HehHeh . . . I was wondering where you were . . . haven't seen you post in a while . . . thought maybe you had disappeared in the Spring time thaw . . . glad to see you're still here . . . very nasty looking chain on that saw by the way . . . looks a bit dry . . . and rusty.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 4, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Backwoods Savage,
> 
> That looks like a lot more than 5 cords.  I think I night be in trouble with my 7.  Not sure if I have the room.
> 
> I got the load today.  I'll upload a picture cause I know the saying - It didn't happen if there is no picture.




Perhaps you missed it but in the picture there are 9 cord but that 9 is now down to 5. That is, we've burned some and sold some. Maybe with all the new insulation we're putting in that will be enough for 2 years! That would be nice.


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## wannabegreener (May 4, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> wannabegreener said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yup - I misunderstood.  I thought you were saying that you had 9 cords in that area and the picture is only showing 5.  I may be ok for my 7 cords.

Here is a picture of the wood - just to prove that it did happen


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## Wood Duck (May 4, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> firefighterjake said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



If you are talking about a cord, then you're normally talking about cut, split and tightly stacked wood, and it should equal 128 cubic feet. A cord in log form would be the amount of wood needed to make a cord of stacked firewood. I have read that there are about 85 or 90 cubic feet of solid wood in a cord of firewood, the rest being air space, so you should be able to figure out how many cords of stacked firewood you'd get from a log based on the volume of the log. When I hear that a truck of logs is x cords of wood, I think it should mean that once the wood is cut, split, and stacked it will be x times 128 cubic feet of volume. I don't think it really matters what amount of space the logs take up on the truck.


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## Bigg_Redd (May 4, 2011)

KodiakII said:
			
		

> A "grapple load",  what interesting nomenclature you *east coast* Americans have.



Agreed


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## Bigg_Redd (May 4, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> I just ordered a grapple load and it should be delivered Tuesday.  I'm looking for any advice on how to attack it. I already have 2011-2012 wood c/s/s so this is for the future.  The grapple load should be 7 cords.  It will be only me doing the cutting, splitting (by fiskars) and stacking.  I have a couple of questions:
> 
> ...



If my woodshed was full and I had 7 more cords I'd build another woodshed and fill it too.  If I lacked the will, space, or means for an additional woodshed I'd get it cut up and on pallets.


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## SKIN052 (May 4, 2011)

Must be the picture but that does not seem to be 7 cord to me? Not much to referance the size of it with. I just moved 5 1/2 cord and it seemed like much more wood than that. 

Anyway, the way I handled it was to cut all all into rounds first, then split it all and final


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## mayhem (May 4, 2011)

Looking at other items in that photo, those are some big logs.  That big one on the right for example is probably well in excess of 20" diameter.


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## wannabegreener (May 4, 2011)

Some are certainly big.  I have a farm boss with an 18" bar and I think I may have to cut from both sides to get through some of them.  The pile is about 17' wide and mostly just under 17' long (some shorter ones in the pile).  The max height in the middle is about 5.5 ft, so my calculations are:

17 * 17 * 5.5 / 2 = 794 cu ft

794/ 128 = 6.2

I know you can't measure cords this way, but it looks to be in the ballpark.

My next dilemma is that I have access to as much free pine as I want, but I need to go get it.  It is all cut but not split.  It is about 5 miles form my house.  Do I get the pine now since it is free or do I work on this.  I currently have a place for the pine, and the area where this is going to end up needs some flattening with a front end loader.  I'm taking the advice of a lot of people here and don't want to move this wood more than I have to, so getting that area setup will need to be done before cutting into this pile.  So, do I get the pine now and wait on this, or forget the pine and work in this. :grrr:


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## mayhem (May 4, 2011)

I'd say prep your storage area first and foremost, make it as big as you can.  Since you're set for this coming winter I'd say process what you've got now and then go after extra wood when you're done.  This assumes the free pine is not under a deadline and you cna go whenever you want and take however much you want.  If there is a deadline on the pine, go get as much as you can now.


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