Log delivery
Saturday, March 26th, 2005
Yesterday a neighbor with whom we trade firewood for web-related work came to deliver the logs that will be next year’s firewood to burn in our woodstove. This is the first part of a process that we’ve been doing at this house for nine years now. Each year the process gets better: easier, more efficient, more fun. We are about to get about half of this load which will split down to four or five cords of finished firewood.
In order to get the logs where I need them: out of the way, close enough to the splitter so I don’t have to move them, and on relatively solid ground the truck had to pull in next to the garage in such a way that the claw had to swing over the newly roofed garage to get them stacked. Good thing the operator has skill (a lot of it) ’cause given that my truck was in said garage and that any single log dropped from height would have penetrated said roof and impaled truck, dropping one would have been, well, not good.
This load came from around here: when you’re dealing with thousands of pounds of green firewood, you don’t drive it far. A truck like this costs a lot of money to get from one place to another. Logs bound for lumber are another story as they’ll fetch more money on the receiving end so they can be driven a bit further. We ask for and get a nice mix of wood: soft and hard maple, red and white oak, shagbark hickory, ash and a few other varieties I’m not sure of yet but will find out about soon.
This pile grew relatively fast and part of me was loving the size increase (more wood, yeah) and part of me was dreading each big new log that got dropped (more bucking, moving, splitting, stacking). Firewood is a process and this is just the first step. Well, there was a step before this one and since we have a few trees in the far back that need to come down, we’ll show that process as soon as I’m well enough to don chaps and get outside to work. Spring is here and the outside work begins.
Wow, that’s going to make a lot of firewood. Need any help splitting and stacking? Enjoyed the pictures and your story.
Gary, there will be plenty of work to do by the time you get here. I hope it’s all split by then but by then we’ll have another load. So, start working out now…
OK, and I’ll have my sign with me: “Splits and Stacks Wood For Blog Help” ;)
It’s a deal. We’ll split in the morning, kayak in the afternoon, and blog in the evening over beer and dinner.
why not link to arborct.com — the other side of the barter. just an idea
Hmm … interesting set of pix. Reminds me that we’re looking at the possibility of putting in a wood stove for next winter …
Brian
Hi, I am interested in learning more about your experience having wood shipped in. Can you give me some idea of what you end up paying per cord for the logs? What kind of splitter do you use? I am thinking of starting a firewood business and am hungry for information: Your hard-won experience would be very helpful if you would not mind sharing it.
Thanks!
Jonathan,
As I said in the post, I barter for this wood, I help this particular arborist with web work and photography and they deliver wood when I need it. I don’t know how much it would cost because I’ve never bought logs or split wood in my life.
If I wasn’t doing this I’d be out getting the wood myself. I do a fair amount of arborist work on our property so know how to take down trees and buck them up. I buck these logs up too.
So, the process is, get the logs, buck them into the right lengths (if you’re in biz you need to figure out what that is), split them, and stack the firewood and let it dry out, or, use a conveyor and make a huge pile and let it dry that way. You’ll lose some to rot but it’s less handiwork.
I used to split 4 cords a year by hand but my back can’t take it anymore so I broke down and bought a hydraulic splitter. Then I returned it as it was too whimpy for what I needed but a new one with the specs I wanted costs about 5K which was too much for me, even though doing this saves us a lot of oil money.
I ended up buying a decent one used. It was a rental but it was in good enough shape and the price was right: 1K even.
Here’s what I have: Iron and Oak 26 Ton BHVH2602 Vertical / Horizontal Log Splitter.
I love it. It’s unstoppable and the Briggs engine isn’t as sexy as a Honda but man, it never quits. Change the oil a few times a season and keep it greased, change the hydraulic filter and it’ll outlast you.
The vertical is useful if you get large rounds. Commercial operations tend to have hydraulics for this but for me it works fine. Most of your splitting is done horizontally of course but I usually quarter the big rounds vertically first so I don’t have to lift them up. Works great.
All of their commercial grade splitters are horizontal only and I can see why: you can work faster, the machines are simpler, and the wood is pushed into the wedge rather than the wedge being pushed into the wood. This gets the wood out of your way faster.
Poke around on their site, interesting stuff there.
This is a very tough way to make a living though: a lot of work to process a single cord of wood which might sell for $150 delivered. I’ve thought about getting into it myself and If you want to talk on the phone about this let me know, I’m glad to help out. Good luck.