# How long does it take you?



## scojen (Sep 20, 2011)

Assuming that you have your rounds in a pile all ready to go, how many hours (estimate) does it take you to split and stack one cord of wood? This is not a contest, more for my curiosity, so please provide your best "guesstimate". It takes me about 4-5 hours.


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## woodsmaster (Sep 20, 2011)

I'd guess about 3 1/2 to 4 hr. but don't really Know. Takes me around 8 - 10 Hours to drop, buck, split and stack 1 cord.


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## rottiman (Sep 20, 2011)

@ my age, its takes whatever time it takes.  A day out in the bush is more than cutting wood and splitting it.  It is my R&R and I like to take the time to enjoy the peace and quiet.  Even @ the splitting pile I like to take my time and enjoy the surroundings.  I really couldn't venture a guess as to how long it takes me.


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## onion (Sep 20, 2011)

I guess about 3-4  hours.  Hard to say since I really haven't just done 1 cord all in one shot.


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## wood spliter (Sep 20, 2011)

I split when I have time.  Never realy timed it


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## Loco Gringo (Sep 20, 2011)

MDfireguy said:
			
		

> Assuming that you have your rounds in a pile all ready to go, how many hours (estimate) does it take you to split and stack one cord of wood? .


No more than 3 hrs without smoke breaks. Now thats gittin it btw.


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## ansehnlich1 (Sep 20, 2011)

I use a hydraulic 3pt splitter on a Ford 1620 tractor when I get serious about splitting. The thing AIN"T fast. I'm guessin' I can split a cord in 4  hours or so, depending. I took down a big fat black cherry over the summer and it took a while to split it. That sucka was all gnarly and stuff.

Then you say you want to include stacking time too. I really never timed stacking, I just go to it til I'm wore out then start up again the next day, or whenever. 

I dropped an ash, a locust, and an elm, all dead, about 3 weeks ago and they're layin' in the woods. I'll go get 'em some day when it dries out some, and buck 'em up. It's probably about a cord of wood there. 

I see the neighbor has a walnut down, he always gets me to 'clear' his downed trees, sucks don't it? I'll cut that to 8 footers or so and haul it back to my place on the tractor bucket.

Woodburnin' to me is a lifestyle. NOBODY comes to my house without either a. commenting on my wood  OR b. wanting to go out and just "look" at the wood pile. I think sometimes visitors are weider than I am when it comes to my firewood.


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## wood-fan-atic (Sep 20, 2011)

I do about 1/2 a cord at a time. This includes putting several rounds on a hand truck, and wheeling them in the yard (about 30'), and dumping about 15 of them next to the splitter. I'll split them - then stack them in the racks...get a beverage...a little break so my wife can tell me that I'm trying to do too much :shut:  ....then get another pile of rounds , and split and stack them. All together-- probably an hour and a half for a 1/2 cord...split and stacked....including breaks.


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## wood-fan-atic (Sep 20, 2011)

wood-fan-atic said:
			
		

> I do about 1/2 a cord at a time. This includes putting several rounds on a hand truck, and wheeling them in the yard (about 30'), and dumping about 15 of them next to the splitter. I'll split them - then stack them in the racks...get a beverage...a little break so my wife can tell me that I'm trying to do too much :shut:  ....then get another pile of rounds , and split and stack them. All together-- probably an hour and a half for a 1/2 cord...split and stacked....including breaks.



Did I mention how much my back hurts?


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## golfandwoodnut (Sep 20, 2011)

Depends on alot of variables.  The species of wood be the primary one, as I still split by hand.  Sassafrass almost splits itself, cherry depends on how twisted it is, red oak is sweet, white oak can be tough, elm I don't even attempt.  I usually only split about 2 hours at a time, but a cord could vary all of the place time wise.


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## red oak (Sep 21, 2011)

The last time I split for an extended period I put up about 2 cords.  This took me about 6 hours.  So I would say a cord would take me about 3.  However most of what I was splitting was red oak and poplar, so it went very easy.  As others have pointed out different species could be much slower.


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## PapaDave (Sep 21, 2011)

Takes me about 1 hour to split and one hour to stack.....per 1/3 cord, so 6 hours/cord.
I never do that much at once. Might do 1/3 to 1/2 cord at a time.


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## granpajohn (Sep 21, 2011)

rottiman said:
			
		

> @ my age, its takes whatever time it takes...



When I saw the title " how long does it take you?" I already knew the answer:
-Longer than it used to...
-Longer than it ought to...
-Longer than I want to....

....without knowing the rest of the question. 

(You may read into that anything you like that may be good for a laugh.)


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## jpl1nh (Sep 21, 2011)

rottiman said:
			
		

> @ my age, its takes whatever time it takes.  A day out in the bush is more than cutting wood and splitting it.  It is my R&R and I like to take the time to enjoy the peace and quiet.  Even @ the splitting pile I like to take my time and enjoy the surroundings.  I really couldn't venture a guess as to how long it takes me.


  good answer


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## jpl1nh (Sep 21, 2011)

rottiman said:
			
		

> @ my age, its takes whatever time it takes.  A day out in the bush is more than cutting wood and splitting it.  It is my R&R and I like to take the time to enjoy the peace and quiet.  Even @ the splitting pile I like to take my time and enjoy the surroundings.  I really couldn't venture a guess as to how long it takes me.


  good answer


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 21, 2011)

MDfireguy said:
			
		

> Assuming that you have your rounds in a pile all ready to go, how many hours (estimate) does it take you to split and stack one cord of wood? This is not a contest, more for my curiosity, so please provide your best "guesstimate". It takes me about 4-5 hours.



How can that be answered? For example, if I have all soft maple it would take x hours. If I had ash, it would be close to that. If I had elm, who knows? If I had an elm that grows in the woods vs an elm that grew in a fencerow, OMG! What about cottonwood, or hickory, or sycamore? It would all be different.

Now let's go to the stacking. Are you stacking right where you split it or do you have to move it to where you will be stacking? Are you stacking single rows or multiple rows. Are you staking HH or regular? Are you using t-posts for the ends or building them just from the wood you are stacking?

Too many variables. Just cut, split and stack and don't worry about the time. Enjoy it all.


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## nate379 (Sep 21, 2011)

Never timed it, but last wood I did was abotu 4.5 cords and it took me the weekend.


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## Bigg_Redd (Sep 21, 2011)

MDfireguy said:
			
		

> Assuming that you have your rounds in a pile all ready to go, how many hours (estimate) does it take you to split and stack one cord of wood? This is not a contest, more for my curiosity, so please provide your best "guesstimate". It takes me about 4-5 hours.



I can split about 1 cord per hour (using my 2.25lb Fiskars Pro-splitter splitting Axe)

Stacking?  I dunno.


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## onetracker (Sep 21, 2011)

as has been already said here by some, i never really timed it. i guess if i were a woodseller it would be more of an important factor in know the time. someone here said about 8-10 hours to buck, split and stack a cord. that seems about right...AND...justifies the average price of a cord (around here) at around $200. damn...if a man's efforts aren't worth at least that much...

i was out yesterday for about 2 hours just noodling and half-ing some big red oak rounds. i'm estimating the tree to be about 1.5 cords. i feel that i could get the rest of it split and stacked in a full work day or less. thankfully i'm cutting for 12/13 and beyond, so there is no need to sweat it.


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## NorthCountryWood (Sep 21, 2011)

I'm a putser. Split a few rounds every time I walk by the pile. Drop and skid some poles to the landing when I'm out in the woods on the tractor. Sometimes get a lot done, sometimes only a little. Do most of my felling and skidding in the fall, bucking and splitting in winter and stacking in late summer. Try to stay 1.5-2 years ahead, but I'm behind on splitting.

Rarely do more than 4-6 hours at a time and never kept track of my volume.....but guess it's about 4 hours per cord split with a maul and stacked. Splitting today so maybe I'll time it.


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## Wood Duck (Sep 21, 2011)

I don't think I have ever had a whole cord of rounds ready to split. Probably not even half a cord, and I am sure I didn't split it all at once. I like to split a little every day, but I tend to run out of rounds. I need to scrounge more, i guess.


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## Shari (Sep 21, 2011)

You got that answer nailed down!





			
				granpajohn said:
			
		

> rottiman said:
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> ...


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## SolarAndWood (Sep 21, 2011)

My trailer holds a cord so that is usually what I split at a time.  It takes me an hour and a half to split a cord of reasonable firewood sized rounds, double that or more if they are monsters.  Stacking a cord can easily take 2 hours depending on where I have to move it to.


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## Cowboy Billy (Sep 21, 2011)

I don't watch the clock either but right around two hours. But  have the wood right on the trailer backed up 90 deg to the splitter and the splitter next to the wood pile. And I move the splitter so I don't have to take the splits more than five steps. I find its faster to move the bigger rounds to the splitter than to move the splits. Plus I rarely deal with anything over 24" dia. Although my splitter is slow my wedge is 14 inches tall so I can take two small logs stack them one on top of the other and split them both at once. 

Billy


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## Flatbedford (Sep 21, 2011)

I cut, loaded, hauled 1/2 mile, unloaded, hand split, and stacked about 1/3 cord of Black Locust in just under 3 hours on Sunday. If I didn't pass out first, I could probably do same with a cord in 8 hours.


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## lukem (Sep 21, 2011)

I did 2 cord in 6 hours last week.  Had to carry it about 25 feet to the stacks.


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## eba1225 (Sep 21, 2011)

Takes me about 5 hrs per cord, would be less if they are nice straight pieces, but as we all know we every once and a while get those pieces that we spend way too much time on splitting.


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## smokinj (Sep 21, 2011)

By my self stacking couple weeks. To get it ready for someone else to stack cord every hour to hour and a half.


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## NorthCountryWood (Sep 22, 2011)

Timed myself yesterday and bucked, hand split and stacked 1 cord (75% hickory/25% ash) in just under 4 hours, but it was all nice straight and clear wood. I felt it this morning.


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## Wood Duck (Sep 22, 2011)

NorthCountryWood said:
			
		

> Timed myself yesterday and bucked, hand split and stacked 1 cord (75% hickory/25% ash) in just under 4 hours, but it was all nice straight and clear wood. I felt it this morning.



Nice straight clear wood makes a huge difference in the time it takes. If the rounds will stand on their own and split in a swing or two, it goes fast. Rounds with the ends at bad angles, rounds that take several swings, and stringy wood are an entirely different story. I imagine stringy wood slows you down a lot even if you are using a splitter.


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## NorthCountryWood (Sep 22, 2011)

Wood Duck said:
			
		

> NorthCountryWood said:
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Agreed. Wish I had more hickory. Heavy as hell, but splits so nice.


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## fabsroman (Sep 23, 2011)

wood-fan-atic said:
			
		

> I do about 1/2 a cord at a time. This includes putting several rounds on a hand truck, and wheeling them in the yard (about 30'), and dumping about 15 of them next to the splitter. I'll split them - then stack them in the racks...get a beverage...*a little break so my wife can tell me that I'm trying to do too much* :shut:  ....then get another pile of rounds , and split and stack them. All together-- probably an hour and a half for a 1/2 cord...split and stacked....including breaks.



My dad helps me with a lot of the splitting. Not so much the stacking. Anyway, he was up here during the week and he brought my mom to watch my kids while he and I cranked out some wood. My mom was continually telling us to take it easy and be careful. Thing is, this is how we have worked for as long as I can remember. My mom just wasn't around. My dad kept telling her "I'm glad you never came to work with us." Yeah, then she might know what we are talking about when we joke around with my dad about how hard he pushed us. Thing is, we push him just as hard right now.

Regarding the OP's initial question, I have no clue how long it takes me or me and my dad to split and stack a cord of wood. I have never really stacked the wood at the same time I have split it and I have never really timed myself. Then, there is a huge difference between splitting oak and splitting gum. Then, it depends on how far away the stacking is to be done from the wood pile of splits. If I start to think about all this, I might stop cutting, splitting, and stacking wood and just go with natural gas. If it takes more than 3 hours to process a cord, then that is way too long for me.


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## SolarAndWood (Sep 23, 2011)

fabsroman said:
			
		

> If it takes more than 3 hours to process a cord, then that is way too long for me.



Not me, I'm happy with that.  Even if it takes me 3 hours to get the wood that it takes me 3 hours to split and stack, that is a currently untaxable $25/hour doing something I enjoy.   Apples to apples with buying, you would have to take the stacking time out of that analysis too.


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## snowleopard (Sep 23, 2011)

If I'm stacking in the summer, I often wait until the cool of the evening, and take advantage of that subarctic midnight sun to split and stack.  So I suppose one could say that it takes me all night to do what I used to do all night  . . .


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