Wood Handling - Too Much! And your number??

[KaptJaq]

Most of my scrounges are provided by a local tree-service. He cuts, bucks, delivers to my splitting area. I split by hand on a petrified round (been using the same one about 5 years so I'm sure it is mostly rock). The first time I touch the wood is to put it on the splitting block. Split it and toss it to where it will stack to dry. Next time it is touched is when it is brought into the house to burn. I bring in a day's worth at a time but always have three days' worth in the house. I guess that I touch the wood four times from dump to burn.

1. Move to splitting block.
2. Stack.
3. Move to inside rack.
4. toss into stove.

KaptJaq

 

[Motor7]

I have the same issues with "over handling" my wood. Since I have a tractor and 100 ac I cut standing dead trees into 10'ish logs, fork several logs at time and carry them to a landing where I do my splitting. I cut them up while on the forks so I don't have to bend over, then turn the tractor around and split everything with a PTO splitter. As I am splitting I toss the splits into a wire metal pallet cage which is then picked up with the forks & transported to a drying shed/barn then to my basement. Sometimes I stack the splits at the landing up on railroad ties if it needs more drying time, then stack them into the cages. Pallet cages are in the background on the left stacked 3 high:

The cages greatly reduce my handling time. I designed the basement garage door tall enough to get the tractor in there so I could drop loaded cages of wood. But my plan was foiled when I found that the damn mice make nests in the pallet cages between the splits. So the revised plan has the cages parked just outside the door and I use a Northern tool log cart to load the splits and roll them inside.

 

[red oak]

This may belong in the wood shed, and I am positive this idea is not new.....just new to me and popped into my head while I was CCS a cord of pine Saturday.

I realized I must handle each piece of wood close to a dozen times before I get to enjoy it in the fire, so...with this thought in mind here is a countdown to burn.

1= Cut the round
2=Load round on to truck
3=unload the round from the truck
4=stack the round
5=move round for splitting
6=split the round and move the piece to the wood drying pile
7=move the split to the dry wood burnable stack
8= load split on to wood carrier to take into garage as part of a 2 day supply to burn
9= move split from garage to stove to burn.

Now I realize everyone's number is slightly different because of the setup they have in their home, sometimes there are more (sometimes after I cut the round I roll it toward the place where I will be loading which adds another count to the handling process and some of you lucky folks will have setups that have less steps, still it surprised me as I thought about this.

What is your number?

So for me I would eliminate steps 4, 7, and 8. I don't stack the rounds, I dump them off the truck in my splitting area. I have one main woodpile so that's no to step 7. I take the wood directly into the house so that's no to step 8. Change step 9 to move from woodpile to basement. So I guess that would make me a 6? I'm sure I'm forgetting something.....

 

[Backwoods Savage]

There have been many threads on this subject if anyone wants to do some study.

For us, we have our own woodlot so do not need a truck to haul. However, we do use the atv and a trailer. Some have tractors and grapples and they can be nice depending upon your woods. Ours would be a challenge but then, we have no use for a grapple as we do not have really big timber. Same goes for saws. We have no need for a large saw so why have one? I ran the big saws too much in the past anyway. I like the light saws now and so does my back.

We cut wood off and on usually from December 1 through to March. The wood gets stacked where it will get split. Following the splitting, it gets stacked right there. It then stays in the stack several years before burning.

1. Fell the tree.
2. Buck it up.
3. Load wood into trailer (small stuff wife does).
4. Unload trailer in spot where the wood will be split and stacked later.
5. Split wood.
6. Stack wood.
7. Move enough wood into barn in October to last the winter.
8. Move from barn to porch.
9. From porch to stove.
10. Wife empties ashes.
11. Spread ashes on vegetable garden.

 

[gandrimp]

You just need more kids,,, Think of the work you'll save.

 

[ArsenalDon]

Most of my scrounges are provided by a local tree-service. He cuts, bucks, delivers to my splitting area. I split by hand on a petrified round (been using the same one about 5 years so I'm sure it is mostly rock). The first time I touch the wood is to put it on the splitting block. Split it and toss it to where it will stack to dry. Next time it is touched is when it is brought into the house to burn. I bring in a day's worth at a time but always have three days' worth in the house. I guess that I touch the wood four times from dump to burn.

1. Move to splitting block.
2. Stack.
3. Move to inside rack.
4. toss into stove.

KaptJaq

See that is what I am talking about. You actually move the round to the chopping block and then touch the split aside before you stack it so that is another touch of the wood.WE touch each split more than we realize

 

[ArsenalDon]

You just need more kids,,, Think of the work you'll save.

Fantastic idea...my wife and I cannot have more kids....but it does not mean I cannot keep trying

 

[ArsenalDon]

There have been many threads on this subject if anyone wants to do some study.

For us, we have our own woodlot so do not need a truck to haul. However, we do use the atv and a trailer. Some have tractors and grapples and they can be nice depending upon your woods. Ours would be a challenge but then, we have no use for a grapple as we do not have really big timber. Same goes for saws. We have no need for a large saw so why have one? I ran the big saws too much in the past anyway. I like the light saws now and so does my back.

We cut wood off and on usually from December 1 through to March. The wood gets stacked where it will get split. Following the splitting, it gets stacked right there. It then stays in the stack several years before burning.

1. Fell the tree.
2. Buck it up.
3. Load wood into trailer (small stuff wife does).
4. Unload trailer in spot where the wood will be split and stacked later.
5. Split wood.
6. Stack wood.
7. Move enough wood into barn in October to last the winter.
8. Move from barn to porch.
9. From porch to stove.
10. Wife empties ashes.
11. Spread ashes on vegetable garden.

getting close to a dozen!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tis okay Don. I need the exercise now.

 

[ArsenalDon]

The other thing about ponderosa trees is they tend to be very big in diameter, and again, our permits have rules that don't allow us to cut trees over about 16" in diameter at breast height. Anything bigger is suppose to be reserved for wildlife.

Of course! makes total sense....not...supposed to leave big snags for the wildlife so that when a fire happens it provides more fuel to kill the wildlife. So stupid, they do that here after a fire, oh....leave the big trees that are burnt out for wildlife...then when we have another fire nearby it hits the dead trees and turns into an uncontrollable burn. Great idea environmentalist whackos!

 

[midwestcoast]

Of course! makes total sense....not...supposed to leave big snags for the wildlife so that when a fire happens it provides more fuel to kill the wildlife. So stupid, they do that here after a fire, oh....leave the big trees that are burnt out for wildlife...then when we have another fire nearby it hits the dead trees and turns into an uncontrollable burn. Great idea environmentalist whackos!

Leave the rants in the Ash Can please Don.
To the topic I'm at 8-9 pretty much like the OP. I skip your step 7 & load from the stack to a little wood rack on my deck, but then I sometimes toss my splits in a pile after splitting & stack later so that takes me back to 9. Small lots with no space make reducing that # difficult. When I finally build a wood shed it will go up by another 1, but be soooo worth it.
If you count the ashes it's 11, but most the wood is burned already so ashes should only count at like a 10'th or 20'th of a "time".

 

[ArsenalDon]

Leave the rants in the Ash Can please Don.
To the topic I'm at 8-9 pretty much like the OP. I skip your step 7 & load from the stack to a little wood rack on my deck, but then I sometimes toss my splits in a pile after splitting & stack later so that takes me back to 9. Small lots with no space make reducing that # difficult. When I finally build a wood shed it will go up by another 1, but be soooo worth it.
If you count the ashes it's 11, but most the wood is burned already so ashes should only count at like a 10'th or 20'th of a "time".

but the rant was related to a previous thread here and would not have made sense out of context...sorry

 

[firefighterjake]

1. Cut down tree and limb it
2. Buck tree into rounds
3. Load rounds into ATV cart
4. Unload rounds from ATV cart to Pick up or trailer
5. Unload rounds from pick up or trailer
6. Split rounds
7. Stack splits outside
8. Load splits (and small rounds) into woodshed after being outside for a year
9. Move wood from woodshed on to covered porch
10. Move wood from covered porch to woodbox beside stove
11. Load wood into woodstove
12. Dump ashes

What can I say . . . I like handling my wood.

 

[AJS56]

I actually have to think about this... I am usually cutting standing or fallen deads on our own property. So...
1) Fell and limb/buck tree.
2) Load onto trailer to haul up to barn area.
3) Unload in splitting/stacking area:
a) Smaller pieces go directly into stacks
b) larger rounds go into a pile to be split
4) Split rounds
5) Stack splits
6) Load on to trailer (about a week's worth at a time) to pull into garage.
7) Carry into house/stove as needed.
Sometimes into woodrack by stove, sometimes just straight into stove.
8) Ashes into can and onto garden.

Of course, sometimes the little buggers fight ya and you have to bobble/juggle/drop/chase the darn thing into submission. Kinda like cattle that way.

-AJ

 

[swagler85]

I'm going to go the pallet route here on my farm.. have forks on my tractor... Want to drop the pallets off right where I'm doing my splitting and handle my wood once onto the pallet... Then when I need the wood I have a cement floor area in a foyer area at the back of my house that I can set the pallet on,,, roof over head etc,, out of the weather,,, back door right there to bring the wood in... So I'd handle the wood once to stack it and once to bring it into my house or the wood stove.. My buddy has been doing it for 3 years now and loves it... I'll frame the pallet so I can stack one pallet on top...I figure the pallets are 40 x 48 inches and plan on having the wood stack 2-3 foot high..I have plenty of fields I can leave them out in to dry in the sun and wind... then just move them to my wood storage garage for the winter and bring them to the house as needed.. Maybe get a flat bed trailer that I can load 3 pallets at a time on as well.. Handling the wood less would be nice.

That's close to what I do now really cuts down on handling.

 

[BobUrban]

If I wasn't slightly OCD, a little obsessed and addicted to the fun or the work involved this would be no way to save money.

Limiting or eliminating a step or two would be nice, especially at the tail end of the season but for me it is all part of the fun. When it is no longer fun I will pay for grapples, when that is no longer fun I will buy CSS'd wood, when that gets old I will suck it up and go back on the bottle or move to south beach.

I am hoping the last one never happens!!

 

[TradEddie]

1-Pay tree service massive sums of money to take down mature oak/hickory/poplar trees leaning over house.
2-Cut rounds because tree service leaves them anywhere from 10" to 36"
3-Split rounds by hand where they lie, tree service has already trashed lawn.
4-Stack close to splitting area.
5-One year prior to burning, move to optimally positioned covered drying stacks.
6-Move from stack to beside patio door.
7-Move from outside door directly into stove
8-Move some to inside garage or beside stove n preparation for snowstorm/miserable weather.
9-Wait 2 years to save up enough for next-closest trees, hoping a storm doesn't bring them down first.

That's minimum. Probably 2 or 3 more steps in every case, the above is just optimism.

TE

 

[charly]

That's close to what I do now really cuts down on handling.
View attachment 95824

That's good to hear.. I'm just trying to figure on how much framing to do on the upper part of the pallet to keep the wood in, and not falling out once it has dried.. I have a 30hp L3010 Kubota, LA482 front loader, with quick connect bucket and pallet forks, around 1200 lb lift capacity.. I'm figuring stacking the wood in my pallets maybe 2-3 feet high rather then killing the front end...I'm going to experiment and see what amount lifts well first. My plan is to bring the splitter and pallet right to were the wood is being bucked up..Then move the pallet to a central location to dry in the open fields.. I have the ability to bring the pallet right to my back door once seasoned and set it on a concrete slab that is a breeze way on the back of my house, out of the weather with the house roof overhead... Then I can either pick the wood off the pallet as I need it or load it into my racks inside my house in our back room so the wood is warm to load into my stoves... Pallets would save me a lot of work and time..

 

[mecreature]

Sometimes I go out and just re-stack my rows for no reason at all.

 

[ArsenalDon]

I'm just trying to figure on how much framing to do on the upper part of the pallet to keep the wood in, and not falling out once it has dried..

Never thought about a setup like you have...like the idea...what if you framed it, stacked it in and then roped the top of the frames together to hold it tight?

Sometimes I go out and just re-stack my rows for no reason at all.

Let me guess....retired?

 

[Hills Hoard]

My typical wood hoarding mission / scrounge life cycle

1. chop up tree on ground
2. load in back of 4x4
3. unload ute in my driveway (where i process)
4. stand back admire new pile of free wood with a cold beer while the wife looks at me like im an idiot or getting more wood.
5. split wood
6. admire new pile of split wood with a cold beer. hopefully the wife has gone back inside at this stage.
7. stack wood pile.
8. move wood from pile into wood shelter
9. take from shelter into the house
10.load into wood heater (put feet up and drink a beer and enjoy the fact that it was free.)

 

[swagler85]

My typical wood hoarding mission / scrounge life cycle

1. chop up tree on ground
2. load in back of 4x4
3. unload ute in my driveway (where i process)
4. stand back admire new pile of free wood with a cold beer while the wife looks at me like im an idiot or getting more wood.
5. split wood
6. admire new pile of split wood with a cold beer. hopefully the wife has gone back inside at this stage.
7. stack wood pile.
8. move wood from pile into wood shelter
9. take from shelter into the house
10.load into wood heater (put feet up and drink a beer and enjoy the fact that it was free.)

You have the beer drinking down to a science

 

[Hearth Mistress]

I realized I must handle each piece of wood close to a dozen times before I get to enjoy it in the fire, so...with this thought in mind here is a countdown to burn.

1= Cut the round
2=Load round on to truck
3=unload the round from the truck
4=stack the round
5=move round for splitting
6=split the round and move the piece to the wood drying pile
7=move the split to the dry wood burnable stack
8= load split on to wood carrier to take into garage as part of a 2 day supply to burn
9= move split from garage to stove to burn.

Now I realize everyone's number is slightly different because of the setup they have in their home, sometimes there are more (sometimes after I cut the round I roll it toward the place where I will be loading which adds another count to the handling process and some of you lucky folks will have setups that have less steps, still it surprised me as I thought about this.

What is your number?

Since I'm just about out of my "good wood" and with crappy winter dragging on making it a damp muddy mess to even TRY to get the rest of my monster Sandy trees processed I haven't eliminated steps, I'm just not doing the hard part

1- dial phone
2- order a cord of kiln dried wood
3- pay extra $45 for stacking
4- wait 3 hours for 2 guys to bring it up 2 flights of steps and stack on my pallets
5- make a pot of coffee and share with the stacker guys
6- tip the guys another $20 because I feel guilty only paying $45 for them to stack for me, it is 3 solid hours of work.
7 - take 10 steps out my front door to my beautiful full cord and "then some" perfect stacks
8- fill my rubbermaid tote as heavy as I can carry it
9- bring wood in the house
10 - burn baby burn!

 

[fabsroman]

On a lot of these scrounges lately, the trees are already bucked for me. So,

1 - split round
2 - load in truck
3 - unload from truck
4 - stack
5 - bring in the house
6 - load into the furnace

Even when the logs are not bucked, I rarely, if ever, bring rounds home to split them. I prefer putting them in the truck already split. Makes things so much easier moving all these heavy logs around. There have been a couple of exceptions when I have been pressed for time, but the vast majority come home split already.

 

[Hills Hoard]

You have the beer drinking down to a science

im not going to deny that.. ..on a few occasions I have had friends help with splitting and stacking...the more beer you give them, the more work they do...beer solves all problems...