What would you have done?

[fbelec]

i use y pieces buck right below the y and run it thru the splitter splitting it at the crotch usually goes right thru no problem and sometimes that end is a touch bigger

 

[Woody Stover]

Buddy's load, if the pile of splits is half, might be getting close to a cord.

 

[Caw]

I haven't dried much hard Maple, but soft Maple will get pretty dry by fall if you stack it now, don't split real big (maybe 4-5") top-covered, single-row.
Now, I had some hard Maple rounds from a yard tree here that were stacked across the road for three years, not covered, and the splits were pretty dry when I split it last year. I'm burning some of it now. But 18 months (if that's true?) Not too dry unless soft Maple. Oak, not even close, but I don't see a lot of Oak there.
Of course it's hard to tell from a pic but that looks like solid wood to me, not punk. I use Y-pieces..not leaving any wood in the woods! 😏 I might cut them short though, instead of trying to split full-length crotch wood.
I'm gonna guess 1/2-2/3 cord.

Looks like red maple (soft) in the pics to me. I think he should be good for next winter with proper storage in a good spot. Great wood! The oak will be at least 2 years before it's burnable...and way better after 3.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Do you have timber on your property there? Looks to be a nice bunch of trees just waiting to be burnt!

I have some, a fair number of dead standing ash in wetlands. I am processing those. Don't necessarily want to cut the living trees as they are buffers between the neighbors. For now, I am just cutting fallen or dead standing on my property.

 

[Garbanzo62]

My Splitter is a hand maul. So Ill be whittling away at the pile. Going to do all of the stuff that can fit in my stove first. Trying to decide if I should bother with cutting the 19 and 20 inch pieces or just place them diagonally when doing smaller loads. Anything bigger than 20 I'll need to cut smaller.

 

[zak77]

Man, this sounds just like what happened to me about 10 years ago. Young kid selling a cord of rounds for $100, green oak, but when he dropped off the first load i questioned the amount. He kept saying it'd add up to a cord but i didnt believe him. I was going to buy 5 cords from him but after the 2nd load i put a halt to everything because it was adding up to what he said he'd do. He ended up not returning phone calls so i made it my hobby to warn everyone on CL about this kid and man did he get upset. I was only telling people the truth. He started posting under different names and towns but i knew it was the same kid since he kept spelling maple, mapel. He recently moved out of the area but if this person's name is Kyle, it's the same guy. He's a real piece of work.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Not Kyle, and It may end up being about a cord. Don't know as I need to start cutting the big pieces before I split. As others have stated, paying more for already split and seasoned probably would be worth it. I was hoping some of the Smaller rounds might be close to ready as my friend said he had a few come in at 19%. After testing 10 splits all above 25, I stopped checking.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have some, a fair number of dead standing ash in wetlands. I am processing those. Don't necessarily want to cut the living trees as they are buffers between the neighbors. For now, I am just cutting fallen or dead standing on my property.

My Splitter is a hand maul. So Ill be whittling away at the pile. Going to do all of the stuff that can fit in my stove first. Trying to decide if I should bother with cutting the 19 and 20 inch pieces or just place them diagonally when doing smaller loads. Anything bigger than 20 I'll need to cut smaller.

I never cut live trees if I can avoid it. They help us in a number of ways, and deadfalls will release carbon regardless of whether they decompose or are burned. I have so much deadfall Red Oak in the woods now that it'll take me a while to catch up. They seem to die and fall more than other species here.
If you hand-split, there are a couple tricks that can make it easier. On big round you can work your way around the outside, cleaving off slabs. Another thing I do if I'm trying to split a round is to find a split already forming (on the deadfalls I cut,) hit it there and if it doesn't go leave that maul stuck in there, then hit opposite that with another maul. Or start a wedge opposite the first maul.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I get most of my wood from deadfall, tree service trees. etc. Since I started wood burning
in 2007, only twice have I paid for wood, but I think I got a fair deal. 300 per cord for
90 to 100 percent Red Oak, recently split. I stack it for 2 years out or more. Source was a
local plant nursery and the wood is brought in to them late summer in a huge pile. They
are a well known local firm with a good reputation, so far as I know. The count is pretty
darned accurate, their cords really are cords. I will continue to use them occasionally,
but still no problem for me to acquire and process my own wood. I have White Oak rounds
on the ground right now awaiting splitting. I'll get to it... 3 years seasoning on that. I will
fell smaller standing dead trees but mostly leave that for the pros. Oh, forgot to mention-
the nursery does free local delivery for the price above. What's not to like? They have a
several-ton tilt bed truck; I have it dumped on my drive. That works since it comes totally
ready to be carted and stacked. If you wait and buy in the spring from their fast
diminishing pile, you're getting 6 month+ seasoned Oak. I think they do sell out or close
to that some years, but I have seen a few cords moved to the back of the lot and still
available.

Clutter