# Very particular about my firewood



## cat-face timber (Aug 17, 2010)

I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
Ect, ect, ect...
Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.


----------



## stint (Aug 17, 2010)

Me too 

some of best training I ever received:

If it moves: salute it
If it does not move: police it up
If it is too heavy: paint it


The road ways and walkways thru my woods to the firewood cutting areas are all outlined with rocks painted white


----------



## Wood Doctor (Aug 17, 2010)

*Chips...*

"... the chips cleaned up ..."

May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.


----------



## banshee67 (Aug 17, 2010)

stint said:


> Me too
> 
> some of best training I ever received:
> 
> ...



ok... can you say that again in english ?


----------



## TreePointer (Aug 17, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> ok... can you say that again in english ?









*What don't you understand, maggot?!!*


----------



## cat-face timber (Aug 17, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> "... the chips cleaned up ..."
> 
> May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.



I burn mine. I live out a ways (not in City Limits)
I called the county for a burn permit, they said call the city, I called the city they said call the county.

So I burn whenever I need to.
You are right about the wood shrapnel!!
I made a burner out of a 55 Gallon Drum with alot of .45 LongColt holes in it for air.
If I burn at night the drum glows.


----------



## banshee67 (Aug 17, 2010)

TreePointer said:


> *What don't you understand, maggot?!!*



maybe it was military slang thats over my head.. but... the whole post


----------



## TreePointer (Aug 17, 2010)

Just a 20th C grunt's version of a soldier's catechism. Popularized during WWII.

Apparently, _*stint *_must have some big rocks, LOL!


----------



## banshee67 (Aug 17, 2010)

TreePointer said:


> Just a 20th C grunt's version of a soldier's catechism. Popularized during WWII.
> 
> Apparently, _*stint *_must have some big rocks, LOL!



ok you guys lost me, thanks for your service in the military though


----------



## Wood Doctor (Aug 17, 2010)

cat-face timber said:


> I burn mine. I live out a ways (not in City Limits)
> I called the county for a burn permit, they said call the city, I called the city they said call the county.
> 
> So I burn whenever I need to. You are right about the wood shrapnel!!
> I made a burner out of a 55 Gallon Drum with alot of .45 Long Colt holes in it for air. If I burn at night the drum glows.


Well, I thought about stuffing the chunks into big plastic trash bags and saving it for kindling. However, some of the larger pieces tear apart the bags as you load them and nowadays the ants and other bugs are everywhere. You may have the right idea--old trash barrels with vent holes in the bottom for drainage might work.

Then again, I may just wait until it cools off and throw them into my campfire pit. Regardless, I still have to collect it all. That's the price of progress at the splitter.


----------



## sunfish (Aug 17, 2010)

Has long as it's oak and stacked in the dry I'm good.

The chips, bark, etc stay put, keeps the splitter out of the mud.


----------



## Wood Doctor (Aug 17, 2010)

sunfish said:


> ... "The chips, bark, etc stay put, keeps the splitter out of the mud..."


+1. Right on and this summer was wet as a swamp. The bark and chips kept me from getting stuck a few times.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

cat-face timber said:


> I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
> It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
> Ect, ect, ect...
> Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
> To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.



Do you measure each piece that you cut? My father in law does that. Drives me nuts.6"-22", it all burns the same..If it fits in the stove, stack it!!!


----------



## TreePointer (Aug 17, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> ok you guys lost me, thanks for your service in the military though



For the record, I didn't serve in the military, but I managed to pick up on a little military culture from family and neighbors. I'll also throw a big thanks with you for those who have served.


----------



## Wood Doctor (Aug 17, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Do you measure each piece that you cut? My father in law does that. Drives me nuts.6"-22", it all burns the same..If it fits in the stove, stack it!!!


Hmmm... Even the stove manufacturers recommend that you try to cut all your logs about the same length to fiit the stove. Something about optimal heat efficiency and obtaining the stove's rated heat output.

Your father-in-law sounds like he knows what he is doing. I generally use the saw's bar length as a guide as I buck logs--crude but effective.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> Hmmm... Even the stove manufacturers recommend that you try to cut all your logs about the same length to fiit the stove. Something about optimal heat efficiency and obtaining the stove's rated heat output.
> 
> Your father-in-law sounds like he knows what he is doing. I generally use the saw's bar length as a guide as I buck logs--crude but effective.



Another one.. It`s way to slow to use your bar to measure.You shouldn`t have measure.You should be able to guess.It`not that important.So any short pieces that don`t come out to your measured size don`t get burned in your stove?


----------



## banshee67 (Aug 17, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Another one.. It`s way to slow to use your bar to measure.You shouldn`t have measure.You should be able to guess.It`not that important.So any short pieces that don`t come out to your measured size don`t get burned in your stove?



some people just have O.C.D 
i totally guesstimate all my firewood, and it comes out within a few inches of each other
sometimes i sell firewood which i did not personally buck to length , free wood scores, powerline clearing etc.. and i have to say i am amazed at how bad some people are at estimating each piece
i scored 2 cords of red oak last week from a powerline clearing, the pieces were already bucked, which was great, but unfortunately they were anywhere from 8" long to 2'+ long... i ended up with a pile of 4" long cookies from trimming half of the pieces shorter. they still saved me a lot of cutting so whatever.. i just split the cookies in half now, and throw em in the pile, its firewood, it gets burned


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> some people just have O.C.D
> i totally guesstimate all my firewood, and it comes out within a few inches of each other
> sometimes i sell firewood which i did not personally buck to length , free wood scores, powerline clearing etc.. and i have to say i am amazed at how bad some people are at estimating each piece
> i scored 2 cords of red oak last week from a powerline clearing, the pieces were already bucked, which was great, but unfortunately they were anywhere from 8" long to 2'+ long... i ended up with a pile of 4" long cookies from trimming half of the pieces shorter. they still saved me a lot of cutting so whatever.. i just split the cookies in half now, and throw em in the pile, its firewood, it gets burned



I agree, some people just have too much time on their hands.When i cut firewood from my property, I just drop the whole tree and start cuttin,I take stuff down to 2".When you drop a big oak and the branches are above your head, you start from the small end and work your way back.Of course I like my wood to be close, but I certainly don`t measure it.I guess if I had a logtruck load in my driveway and it was all nice and neat, I might measure(NOT!).Just seems anal.Sorry guys, I don`t care how many miles per gallon my truck gets either.Just not the engineer type, I guess.


----------



## woodbooga (Aug 17, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> "... the chips cleaned up ..."
> 
> May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.



We used to have a part of the yard at a grade we leveled off. Lots of barrow trips, but the biomass is gone and serving a purpose.

I've since moved the splitting operation out back close to the garden. The chips, etc. make great mulch. Help retain moisture and keep the woods down. Only about 20' from splitstump to garden.


----------



## cat-face timber (Aug 17, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Do you measure each piece that you cut? My father in law does that. Drives me nuts.6"-22", it all burns the same..If it fits in the stove, stack it!!!



I measure the bigger logs, it seems to me that the bigger the log the shorter I cut the blocks???

I usually just eyeball the cuts and it comes out ok.
I have a stack were I keep the perfect wood.
I have a pile where I put the unstackable wood and that gets burned first.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

cat-face timber said:


> I measure the bigger logs, it seems to me that the bigger the log the shorter I cut the blocks???
> 
> I usually just eyeball the cuts and it comes out ok.
> I have a stack were I keep the perfect wood.
> I have a pile where I put the unstackable wood and that gets burned first.



Good idea.I usually put the odd ball, odd shaped pieces in between my rows or on the very top.Sometimes though, I`ll get a shat load of real small diameter stuff, that tends to throw off the stacking a bit.I do try and make my rows look good, you can see it from the bathroom window, so it gets looked at alot.LOL I never did try the criss cross stacking, have you.


----------



## Wood Doctor (Aug 17, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Good idea.I usually put the odd ball, odd shaped pieces in between my rows or on the very top.Sometimes though, I`ll get a shat load of real small diameter stuff, that tends to throw off the stacking a bit.I do try and make my rows look good, you can see it from the bathroom window, so it gets looked at alot.LOL I never did try the criss cross stacking, have you.


Suppose you "eyeball" a 28" diameter log and cut it 25" long. You split 35 logs from the big round. Then you discover that your stove accepts only a 24" log. Now, what do you do with 35 logs that are an inch too long to fit into the stove? Buy a case of beer and celebrate the event?

Criss-cross stacking logs on the ends (and occasionally in the middle) of a stack really works.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> Suppose you "eyeball" a 28" diameter log and cut it 25" long. You split 35 logs from the big round. Then you discover that your stove accepts only a 24" log. Now, what do you do with 35 logs that are an inch too long to fit into the stove? Buy a case of beer and celebrate the event?
> 
> Criss-cross stacking logs on the ends (and occasionally in the middle) of a stack really works.


Another measurer.I get a handful of long wood every year,I either cut it in half or burn it upright in my potbelly.I cut 10 cord a year and don`t waste my time measuring.Go for it, if you have to though.I`ll take that beer too if your offering.:i know what size wood my stove takes.Why would I measure?So my pile looks good?So my stove burns efficient?I`ve never done it, so why would I even consider it?It`s a waste of time.


----------



## LAH (Aug 17, 2010)

cat-face timber said:


> I made a burner out of a 55 Gallon Drum with alot of .45 LongColt holes in it for air.



The ole Colt makes a fine drill............Creeker


----------



## sunfish (Aug 17, 2010)

I can guesstamate with-in an inch or two, but I have three stoves, that take 15", 24" and 30". So length isn't much of a problem, just have to remember to cut some under 15" for the little stove. The new splitter will only take 25", so shouldn't have any too long, for the big stove anyway.


----------



## DSS (Aug 17, 2010)

I once blocked and split 10 cord for my MIL's furnace. Circa 22'' long.

Well ,to make a long story short, I ended up burning it all in a little airtight. Had to go through the whole pile and cut/split almost all of it. 11'' rounds burn fine...load them north/south instead of east/west.

But what a pain in the arse..........


----------



## Iska3 (Aug 17, 2010)

For many years we cut all are wood at 16 inches and all the odd ball stuff would come home and I'd burn it in my stove. Now that I had an OWB I'd like to be around 18 inches or more but I find that the 16 inch cut is almost automatic so my piles look a bit funny (but only on the one side) Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 17, 2010)

Iska3 said:


> For many years we cut all are wood at 16 inches and all the odd ball stuff would come home and I'd burn it in my stove. Now that I had an OWB I'd like to be around 18 inches or more but I find that the 16 inch cut is almost automatic so my piles look a bit funny (but only on the one side) Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.



:agree2:


----------



## TXTreeSurgeon (Aug 17, 2010)

I use a simple, effective method to get my firewood in uniform length. I took a tape meausure one day and found out that if I make a fist and then extend my thumb and my pinky finger away from one another, the distance between the tip of my thumb and my pinky is about 8". After I make my first cut on a log, I hold the saw my with my left hand and use my right hand to measure in 8" increments where to make my next cut, which takes about one second. I sell firewood in 16" and 24" lengths, which both happen to be multiples of 8. All of my firewood logs are within 2" of each other. 

I used to just eyeball the length of the log when I only cut for my personal use, and it worked well enough for me. When I started selling firewood, I realized that I needed to sell a uniform product. Also, getting the logs the same length is important because a 4x4x8 stack of wood will not have as many gaps in it, which means that you are getting a true cord of wood. When I deliver a cord to a customer, they usually comment on the quality and uniformity of the firewood that I sell. Then they usually tell me that they will call me next time they need more firewood. 

By the way, another important tip is to cut any knots out of a tree as you are cutting it into rounds so that you end up with mostly straight rounds that split easily and neatly. This makes splitting much faster and the logs come out much straighter when split.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

TXTreeSurgeon said:


> I use a simple, effective method to get my firewood in uniform length. I took a tape meausure one day and found out that if I make a fist and then extend my thumb and my pinky finger away from one another, the distance between the tip of my thumb and my pinky is about 8". After I make my first cut on a log, I hold the saw my with my left hand and use my right hand to measure in 8" increments where to make my next cut, which takes about one second. I sell firewood in 16" and 24" lengths, which both happen to be multiples of 8. All of my firewood logs are within 2" of each other.
> _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> So you measure each cut with your thumb and pinkie?That means if there is a 1000 pieces of wood in a cord, your doing that 1000 times?Just for 1 cord.So, for 10 cord, your measuring 10,000 times? And your still only within 2 inches.Now that just seems like waaay to much extra work. Maybe I`m missing something, but I did work in the firewood business for quite a few years,and for several different guys.Nobody every measured their cuts.When the skidder came in with a hitch, everbody dropped threir mauls and fired up their saws.The boss would tell us what size we were cutting that day, and we knew we had to stay under that size.The thing that brought back customers was quantity and variety.(mostly red oak, everybody wanted red oak).I`m not saying if never happened, I was a driver also, and did have to go back and pick up two cords that were overcut, but only once.And I think that guy was an Engineer.(enough said).LOL I`m not putting anybody down who measures and stacks their wood down to the closest centimeter, it just seems silly, cause your burning it all in the winter anyway.It`s just a pile of wood....


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 18, 2010)

Yup I am very anal about my stacking:hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Yup I am very anal about my stacking:hmm3grin2orange:



Awsome splitter .


----------



## rwilk (Aug 18, 2010)

we measure our wood to sell. our customers seem to like this the most. we ask our crew to use a stick that has painted marks. I usually eye mine, but for some reason have not been able to get the guys good at it. we use our small cutoffs to split and sell be the bucket load for patio pits. 

I like pretty stacks also

be safe


----------



## J.W Younger (Aug 18, 2010)

my splitter is about 20'from my OWB that provides my hot water.
Any guesses where my chips go?


----------



## TJ-Bill (Aug 18, 2010)

I rake my Chips up too. Then I use them to fill mud/water holes in my trail out back. works pretty good and keeps the mud down.


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 18, 2010)

All my "splitter trash" ends up in rubbermaid bins, in the basement, and is used for starting fires, and getting a slight coal bed back up for larger splits of wood.

I don't have an issue with burning pieces of any shape or small lengths. My stove is pretty small, and I welcome the diversity of lengths and split sizes to pack it up tight for the overnight. Also, as a wood scrounge, you just have to take what you can get... Free is free!


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> All my "splitter trash" ends up in rubbermaid bins, in the basement, and is used for starting fires, and getting a slight coal bed back up for larger splits of wood.
> 
> I don't have an issue with burning pieces of any shape or small lengths. My stove is pretty small, and I welcome the diversity of lengths and split sizes to pack it up tight for the overnight. Also, as a wood scrounge, you just have to take what you can get... Free is free!



Arent you worried about optimal heat efficiency and rated heat output like the DR. said??  LOL.


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 18, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Arent you worried about optimal heat efficiency and rated heat output like the DR. said??  LOL.



LOL! If I pack my stove, and I get a 500-600* stove top temp, with full secondary burn and ghost flames in my firebox, I don't think I can do much better than that. I really don't believe for a second it makes a difference, especially seeing how stove manufactures are allowed to use whatever type of wood, at whatever moisture content to achieve their numbers. I'll never replicate their lab type environments for wood, or optimal burn conditions in my house anyway.

BTW, one of my favorite places to hunt is right pretty close to your location. I hunt deer hunt a few times a year in Chesterfield.


----------



## Jredsjeep (Aug 18, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> Suppose you "eyeball" a 28" diameter log and cut it 25" long. You split 35 logs from the big round. Then you discover that your stove accepts only a 24" log. Now, what do you do with 35 logs that are an inch too long to fit into the stove? Buy a case of beer and celebrate the event?



i have run into that and found my chop saw made quick work of trimming the pieces as i needed. much easier than breaking out the chainsaw to fix a few trying to hold them safely.


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 18, 2010)

Jredsjeep said:


> i have run into that and found my chop saw made quick work of trimming the pieces as i needed. much easier than breaking out the chainsaw to fix a few trying to hold them safely.



That's what I use, I find it works wonder on cutting the smaller stuff that I plan on leaving in round to burn as well. I generally split everything larger than my wrist, everything under stays round, but it's MUCH easier to cut with the chop saw.


----------



## spike60 (Aug 18, 2010)

I'm pretty good at hitting 16" consistantly by eyeballing. I do like a neat stack though, so I've got some of that anal thing going on. I have a crate on either side of the woodshed for all of the chunks and odd sized pieces. (The crates hold .43 cord. What'd I say about anal?)

A buddy of mine measures and has a simple method. He has an 18" stick and marks off the log with playground chalk. We're talking cutting off a log pile here, not while limbing out a tree, so it's quick and easy.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> LOL! If I pack my stove, and I get a 500-600* stove top temp, with full secondary burn and ghost flames in my firebox, I don't think I can do much better than that. I really don't believe for a second it makes a difference, especially seeing how stove manufactures are allowed to use whatever type of wood, at whatever moisture content to achieve their numbers. I'll never replicate their lab type environments for wood, or optimal burn conditions in my house anyway.
> 
> BTW, one of my favorite places to hunt is right pretty close to your location. I hunt deer hunt a few times a year in Chesterfield.



Nice area, where are you from?


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

spike60 said:


> I'm pretty good at hitting 16" consistantly by eyeballing. I do like a neat stack though, so I've got some of that anal thing going on. I have a crate on either side of the woodshed for all of the chunks and odd sized pieces. (The crates hold .43 cord. What'd I say about anal?)
> 
> A buddy of mine measures and has a simple method. He has an 18" stick and marks off the log with playground chalk. We're talking cutting off a log pile here, not while limbing out a tree, so it's quick and easy.



Honestly, I`m not knocking anyone who measures.It`s all in fun.It is a little comical how anal some guys get.(I won`t let my wife stack).It just seems a little peculiar to make it all perfect, only to destroy it.Maybe someone should start a post of wood piles. and who`s got the most perfect.I know I wouldn`t be in the running.:monkey:


----------



## mikefunaro (Aug 18, 2010)

I have some experience using one of the mingo markers from baileys that does the shot of paint at specified intervals

I had mixed feelings, at least for logs that are in the woods. It would be completely perfect for a log pile of relatively straight logs. 

For use on somewhat curvy, knotty logs, it's a mixed blessing. You begin to want to cut certain sections out, and say, leave 4" or so on the floor of the woods, but once you do that, all the markings are off. I have had decent luck just using the bar as a guide (depending on what it is) by turning the saw on its side, seeing how far it goes, and then just cutting there. 

Mike


----------



## kingOFgEEEks (Aug 18, 2010)

Count me among the measurers here. I dont get too fancy, though. I just start on one end with the tape measure, and spray a paint dot every 16". Since I have an unlimited supply of marking paint at work (I'm an engineer for a road/bridge contractor), this is pretty much trivial for me.

Oh, and I am an engineer (Penn State '05), so I'm sure that comes into play.


----------



## wvlogger (Aug 18, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> Hmmm... Even the stove manufacturers recommend that you try to cut all your logs about the same length to fiit the stove. Something about optimal heat efficiency and obtaining the stove's rated heat output.
> 
> Your father-in-law sounds like he knows what he is doing. I generally use the saw's bar length as a guide as I buck logs--crude but effective.



but i do see were his FIL is coming from why waste wood i have a guy who comes and buys my scraps for $25 a truck load


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 18, 2010)

kingOFgEEEks said:


> Count me among the measurers here. I dont get too fancy, though. I just start on one end with the tape measure, and spray a paint dot every 16". Since I have an unlimited supply of marking paint at work (I'm an engineer for a road/bridge contractor), this is pretty much trivial for me.
> 
> Oh, and I am an engineer (Penn State '05), so I'm sure that comes into play.



It comes into play alright!! You guys are a different breed.LOL


----------



## DSS (Aug 18, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> All my "splitter trash" ends up in rubbermaid bins, in the basement, and is used for starting fires, and getting a slight coal bed back up for larger splits of wood.
> 
> I don't have an issue with burning pieces of any shape or small lengths. My stove is pretty small, and I welcome the diversity of lengths and split sizes to pack it up tight for the overnight. Also, as a wood scrounge, you just have to take what you can get... Free is free!



Exactly....hell of a good post IMO.


----------



## TXTreeSurgeon (Aug 18, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> So you measure each cut with your thumb and pinkie?That means if there is a 1000 pieces of wood in a cord, your doing that 1000 times?Just for 1 cord.So, for 10 cord, your measuring 10,000 times? And your still only within 2 inches.Now that just seems like waaay to much extra work. Maybe I`m missing something, but I did work in the firewood business for quite a few years,and for several different guys.Nobody every measured their cuts.When the skidder came in with a hitch, everbody dropped threir mauls and fired up their saws.The boss would tell us what size we were cutting that day, and we knew we had to stay under that size.The thing that brought back customers was quantity and variety.(mostly red oak, everybody wanted red oak).I`m not saying if never happened, I was a driver also, and did have to go back and pick up two cords that were overcut, but only once.And I think that guy was an Engineer.(enough said).LOL I`m not putting anybody down who measures and stacks their wood down to the closest centimeter, it just seems silly, cause your burning it all in the winter anyway.It`s just a pile of wood....



I measure each round that I cut, not each piece of wood. 1,000 rounds is WAY more than 1 cord...


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 19, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Nice area, where are you from?



I'm in the eastern part of the state, town called Billerica.


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 19, 2010)

daddy66 said:


> Exactly....hell of a good post IMO.



Thank you!


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 19, 2010)

TXTreeSurgeon said:


> I measure each round that I cut, not each piece of wood. 1,000 rounds is WAY more than 1 cord...



Good point. So it `s probably only a couple hundred per cord depending on the size of the wood.I personaly try to burn the whole tree if I can.Down to 2 inches anyway.To me, wood is a chore, I do like to do it, but like to do it as efficiently as possible.That means firing up the saw and going to town.I don`t need a stick or spray paint or a crayon.Just the saw and a maul.LOL And now a splitter too.


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 19, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> I'm in the eastern part of the state, town called Billerica.



I heard of it, kind of near Lowell and Fitchburg. I think??


----------



## LAH (Aug 19, 2010)

wvlogger said:


> but i do see were his FIL is coming from why waste wood i have a guy who comes and buys my scraps for $25 a truck load



I need someone to buy my scraps. I have a bunch.

Are you getting to work? Seems the Mt. Hope mill is closed?

Creeker in Beckley.


----------



## Adam_MA (Aug 19, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> I heard of it, kind of near Lowell and Fitchburg. I think??



Yeah, pretty close to Lowell, a couple towns over.


----------



## CTYank (Aug 28, 2010)

Wood Doctor said:


> "... the chips cleaned up ..."
> 
> May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.



I just pile them up in a shallow pile (<1' deep) and let them compost below. Then, once a season or so, before various garden areas sprout in spring, load up wheelbarrow with manure fork, and spread on those beds. Repeat a/r. Soil up on ridge here is thin and rocky, and makes good use of organic material.


----------



## BigE (Aug 28, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Do you measure each piece that you cut? My father in law does that. Drives me nuts.6"-22", it all burns the same..If it fits in the stove, stack it!!!



Mingo marker for me. I've tried all sorts of things. If just a few pieces, I have a scrap of wood (with orange paint on it) that is 16" long that I'll use. Or, if I'm using my MS200T, I'll just use the bar.

My stove prefers 16" wood, will take up to 18" long. I went cutting with a "professional arborist" a few years back. He was taking down the trees and I was bucking them up, but then he would come down and "help" me buck up the pieces. Every piece that he cut I had to recut back and home. What a pain. 

I've found that the wood stacks much better if it is all the same length. Every few years I get three cords of oak delivered (hard to find around these parts). I pay $80 a cord for the "misfits" or pieces that are not uniform in length. I pay $200 a cord for the uniform length pieces.

Where I live, you must stack and cover the wood, or you won't be burning it in the winter. Way too wet. It get water logged and will rot out in a couple of years without ever drying.

What I've found is that the people who eye ball the wood aren't nearly as good as they think they are. The bigger in diameter the piece, it seems, the longer the bucked lengths. Eyeballs are good at relative dimensions, but not at absolutes. A 2" diameter piece is pretty easy to eyeball to length. A 30" diameter piece, people always add a few inches. 19" and I have to drag out the chainsaw to burn it....

It was funny - I was helping the neighbor cut wood. These were big rounds, and he wanted 16" lengths. He is one of those "eye baller" types. He came over and said they were way too short, and he needed them longer. That is, until I pulled out the tape and measured it off for him. LOL. Once again, he was cutting the thin pieces short and the thick pieces long.

-Steve


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 28, 2010)

BigE said:


> .
> 
> My stove prefers 16" wood, will take up to 18" long.
> 
> ...



Your stove Doesn`t like 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15" wood?Mine could care less.That size wood stacks the same too.It all looks the same under my shed too.I just collected all the deadfall around my house.I just cut it up.(I didn`t have to measure, I know what my stove will take, and I cut it smaller.No measuring, not paint, no chalk.See, I don`t need my wood to be between 16-18". Neither do you.Your wood could be 15. or 13 .Your stove don`t care.I`ll bet you could cut a whole truck load of wood under 18" without measuring.You just don`t want to.For some reason, you need your wood to be uniform.It doesn`t have to be.it just has to fit in your stove.It just seems silly to me to think of you guys out there with a paint can or chalk, marking your firewood like your bucking logs for the mill.I`ve never had to do it, and never will.I`ll always just cut it way small if I have to.


----------



## sawkiller (Aug 28, 2010)

I am an eyeballer, I compensate the opposite though it seems the bigger the diameter the shorter i cut them. My wood furnace likes anything up to 28" and 30 will work if you put it in just right. But the splitter will only take about 25" or 23" with the four way on. I usually try to cut around 20" and find that I am usually within 2" and rarely have to recut. I cut and split two truckloads today and had to recut one that wouldn't go under the splitter.

My father in law on the other hand has the same wood furnace as i do and we share the splitter. He will try to eyeball to the half inch and he is damn good at it. Problem is he eyeballs everything for 25" and I get tired of fighting his under the splitter.

As far as optimum thermal efficiency of the burn I find that this is usually regulated with the damper and draft controls and the length of the wood has little to do with it other than a slightly longer burn time. Although I never have to crank mine up to full output either I intentionally bought an oversized unit knowing that controling the heat would be much easier. My 100k BTU wood furnace will run you out of any part of the 2600 SF it heats if I turn it up even when it is below zero outside.


----------



## mickeyd (Aug 28, 2010)

stint said:


> Me too
> 
> some of best training I ever received:
> 
> ...



hmmm trying to remember the Navy version of this ....
if its metal, polish it 
if you cant polish it , Paint it 
if you cant paint it , throw it over board !!!
or something like that !

I also have a very orginized wood pile 
MD


----------



## BigE (Aug 29, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Your stove Doesn`t like 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15" wood?Mine could care less.That size wood stacks the same too.It all looks the same under my shed too.I just collected all the deadfall around my house.I just cut it up.(I didn`t have to measure, I know what my stove will take, and I cut it smaller.No measuring, not paint, no chalk.See, I don`t need my wood to be between 16-18". Neither do you.Your wood could be 15. or 13 .Your stove don`t care.I`ll bet you could cut a whole truck load of wood under 18" without measuring.You just don`t want to.For some reason, you need your wood to be uniform.It doesn`t have to be.it just has to fit in your stove.It just seems silly to me to think of you guys out there with a paint can or chalk, marking your firewood like your bucking logs for the mill.I`ve never had to do it, and never will.I`ll always just cut it way small if I have to.



Nope. My stove DOESN'T like the shorter wood. Seriously, it doesn't burn as uniform. Yes, it DOES care. A bunch of short small pieces burn hotter and don't last as long. You can't put as much wood in to the box, and you've got to refill it more often.

And yes, wood that is all uniform in size means less work in the end. You cut five 10" pieces to my three 16" pieces. Why do you want to do all that extra work? You've got to split it, stack it, move it into the house, etc. All those extra pieces add up.

On top of that, I can get more wood stacked in my woodshed, the pile stays stacked better, and it is easier to carry an armload into the house.

But hey, if you enjoy doing all that extra work, more power to you.


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

BigE said:


> Nope. My stove DOESN'T like the shorter wood. Seriously, it doesn't burn as uniform. Yes, it DOES care. A bunch of short small pieces burn hotter and don't last as long. You can't put as much wood in to the box, and you've got to refill it more often.
> 
> And yes, wood that is all uniform in size means less work in the end. You cut five 10" pieces to my three 16" pieces. Why do you want to do all that extra work? You've got to split it, stack it, move it into the house, etc. All those extra pieces add up.
> 
> ...



Yup but thats what I think of 16 inch stuff 22 in to 24 is less work per cord and stoves should be built to accommodate the standard of firewood instead of changing it to 16
I can burn 36 but its not optimum 24 works just fine in my furnace.


----------



## BigE (Aug 29, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Yup but thats what I think of 16 inch stuff 22 in to 24 is less work per cord and stoves should be built to accommodate the standard of firewood instead of changing it to 16
> I can burn 36 but its not optimum 24 works just fine in my furnace.



LOL. My old stove could burn up to 24", and that was pretty nice.

My new stove can burn a max of 18". But, my new stove burns about half what my old stove did to keep the house at the same temperature. So, I still come out ahead.


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

BigE said:


> LOL. My old stove could burn up to 24", and that was pretty nice.
> 
> My new stove can burn a max of 18". But, my new stove burns about half what my old stove did to keep the house at the same temperature. So, I still come out ahead.



Well yeah; but start selling firewood and you will see fast the wasted labor by shortening wood. Ps: ain't no small wood stove going to heat like my furnace lol


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 29, 2010)

BigE said:


> Nope. My stove DOESN'T like the shorter wood. Seriously, it doesn't burn as uniform. Yes, it DOES care. A bunch of short small pieces burn hotter and don't last as long. You can't put as much wood in to the box, and you've got to refill it more often.
> 
> And yes, wood that is all uniform in size means less work in the end. You cut five 10" pieces to my three 16" pieces. Why do you want to do all that extra work? You've got to split it, stack it, move it into the house, etc. All those extra pieces add up.
> 
> ...



Your the one doing the extra work.Marking it and stacking it nice and straight and even, and worying about it.It`s firewood my man, your burning it!As far as getting more in my wood shed, that don`t matter either.As long as it`s full, I`m good to go.I don`t carry armloads of wood, I have a carrier.Are you an Engineer?Your acting like one.I can guess 16", it`s 2" more than my boot size.If you can`t look at a piece of wood and guess a spot on that wood that is roughly 2 inches bigger than the shoe your wearing, than you do need to measure.I don`t need to.You keep putting all that time and effort into thinking and measuring and optimal heat exchange, and wood burning uniform.I`m getting a headache thinking about it.It`s a waste of time!If it fits in your stove, burn it!!My house is just as warm as yours is in the winter.Hope YOU enjoy all that extra work.


----------



## BPS. LLC (Aug 29, 2010)

The wood I sell, I measure with the bar. I like to sell uniform 18" pieces. I burn whatever is leftover. Its ugly, just like my pile of wood that's on pallets, but it gets the job done.


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

Ya know Joe, for someone that swears he's not putting anyone who measures down, you sure seem to keep jabbing away.

Ian


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Ya know Joe, for someone that swears he's not putting anyone who measures down, you sure seem to keep jabbing away.
> 
> Ian


Saying measuring is silly is putting someone down?You must be a measurer.Sorry, if you feel put down.It not my intension to hurt anyones feelings.Are you a measurer, or do you just feel the need to stick up for the poor innocent ones I`m putting down so fiercly?Do you even care?


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

Well look at it this way. If you were doing something that you've done for a long time and made sense to you and someone stood there and repeatedly told you that what you were doing was silly and a waste of time, how would you feel?

It's fine to state your opinion, everyone has one, but know when to stop. You keep repeating yourself in a thread that was started by, and is geared towards those that like consistent, neat wood stacks.

I'm not getting down on you, I just think that not measuring your firewood shows a distinct lack of attention to detail.

I'm not getting down on you, I just think that not measuring your firewood is silly.

I'm not getting down on you, I just think that not measuring your firewood tells me that you don't care that your property looks disorganized and messy.

I'm not getting down on you, I just think that not measuring your firewood shows a lack of math skills.

See what I mean? By downing on one's methods, you are downing the person by questioning their reasons for doing what they do.

I'm just sayin'.... not insulting you in the slightest.

Ian


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Well look at it this way. If you were doing something that you've done for a long time and made sense to you and someone stood there and repeatedly told you that what you were doing was silly and a waste of time, how would you feel?
> 
> It's fine to state your opinion, everyone has one, but know when to stop. You keep repeating yourself in a thread that was started by, and is geared towards those that like consistent, neat wood stacks.
> 
> ...



I think clowns as avatars show lack of tolerance for odd ball firewood. It exemplifies humor while in actuality is a cover for eccentric behavior and possible repressed tendency's. Does wood in piles instead of stacked sorta get to you too? I wonder if being a neat freak shows lack of experience in hard physical labor. I hope this upsets you








boo <a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/00020468.gif" border="0" title="Click to get more." ></a>


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

I think having a macho Hollywood testosterone actor as an avatar is a cover for a pansy who is lacking in said chemical and might have a shriveled weenie. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

back at ya... 
Ian


----------



## amateur cutter (Aug 29, 2010)

opcorn: If this is turn into the insult thread between rope & haywire I'm stayin. A C


----------



## wvlogger (Aug 29, 2010)

amateur cutter said:


> opcorn: If this is turn into the insult thread between rope & haywire I'm stayin. A C



:agree2:


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> I think having a macho Hollywood testosterone actor as an avatar is a cover for a pansy who is lacking in said chemical and might have a shriveled weenie. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
> 
> back at ya...
> Ian



Yup I am a pure cupcake scared of my own shadow lmfao but I am not obsessive compulsive!
I bet you vacuum the dirt in your flippy caps don"t ya? 






Go on, you know you want to move the empty bottle don't you?


----------



## J.W Younger (Aug 29, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Yup I am a pure cupcake scared of my own shadow lmfao but I am not obsessive compulsive!
> I bet you vacuum the dirt in your flippy caps don"t ya?
> 
> 
> ...


Ya know rope,thats just mean.Us cpd(cessive pulsive disorder)types can't take #### like that empty bottle sittin on that there stump.ps:yer woodpile looks like ####
can i have it?


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

That bottle isn't properly centered on the stump... ATTENTION TO DETAIL! 

None of my saws have flippy caps.. but if they did....

Ian


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

J.W Younger said:


> Ya know rope,thats just mean.Us cpd(cessive pulsive disorder)types can't take #### like that empty bottle sittin on that there stump.ps:yer woodpile looks like ####
> can i have it?



Nah it would just drive you to insanity if your ocd and I would not want that:angel: I don't think there is a piece the same exact size in the whole pile


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Well look at it this way. If you were doing something that you've done for a long time and made sense to you and someone stood there and repeatedly told you that what you were doing was silly and a waste of time, how would you feel?
> 
> It's fine to state your opinion, everyone has one, but know when to stop. You keep repeating yourself in a thread that was started by, and is geared towards those that like consistent, neat wood stacks.
> 
> ...



You keep sayin I`m gettin down on everybody and keep repeating myself, but I`m simply replying to people who keep quoting me.Just admit that measuring and stacking symetrical, and figuring optimal heat output is a waste of time and that I`m right and your wrong and I`ll stop.Oh, ya, if my dad were alive, he could beat up your dad.Now run along and go check the gas mileage in the minivan, I think you might have a bad plug.It might save you a quarter next month.


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Just admit that measuring and stacking symmetrical, and figuring optimal heat output is a waste of time and that I`m right and your wrong and I`ll stop.Oh, ya, if my dad were alive, he could beat up your dad.Now run along and go check the gas mileage in the minivan, I think you might have a bad plug.It might save you a quarter next month.



Nah, why admit I'm wrong when I'm not? I guess your if you dad were still alive he could beat up mine, but he would first have to dig him up. Was he into molesting corpses much? I see where you got your rare qualities.

Ian


----------



## fatjoe (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Nah, why admit I'm wrong when I'm not? I guess your if you dad were still alive he could beat up mine, but he would first have to dig him up. Was he into molesting corpses much? I see where you got your rare qualities.
> 
> Ian



It was a joke,and so are you.Look, your obviously looking for a little spat or argument.Maybe your boyfriend isn`t home this weekend.I`m not gonna continue bickering with you, so read this, come up with a real good mature comeback and leave it.That way you`ll have the last word.Oh ya,Give him a call, I bet he misses you too.


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Aug 29, 2010)

It's been interesting sparring with you... have a good night.

Ian


----------



## ropensaddle (Aug 29, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> It's been interesting sparring with you... have a good night.
> 
> Ian



Don't forget to brush teeth,disinfect toilet,set out clothes,wipe sink,clean mirror,straighten the hamper,set the alarm,check for bed bugs,put on pj's and kiss the wife.


----------



## RCR 3 EVER (Sep 8, 2010)

Our fireplace takes anything up to 18 inches long and 5.5 inches thick. Anything smaller than 2 in Diam. or 4 inches long just means more trips to the garage or outside for more wood supply which is painful in the back. So, yes we measure all the wood WE cut and split to optimum size. The smaller size chunks also tend to make the piles unstable. 

Now for the paid for firewood it is great but the wood sellers around our parts are blind in one eye and do not have depth or any perception of length it seems. We have gotten delivered wood anywhere from 8 inches to 28 inches even with nails. The pieces are also split down to 1"x 2" in size Oak, What a waste of hunk of great wood. 

The free wood we get from tree trimmers also blind in one eye as they cut at anywhere from 20-30 inches leaving us a very small piece to cut off for the 16 inches we need. Worse yet they cut the log at a 45 degree angle so we end up with a parallelogram!

It may take us longer to measure a tree before cutting it but at least I know I will get optimum use out of it. Besides I do not move fast enough and the tape measure withdraws into the holder long before I am ready to cut after trimming the small stuff out.


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 8, 2010)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> Our fireplace takes anything up to 18 inches long and 5.5 inches thick. Anything smaller than 2 in Diam. or 4 inches long just means more trips to the garage or outside for more wood supply which is painful in the back. So, yes we measure all the wood WE cut and split to optimum size. The smaller size chunks also tend to make the piles unstable.
> 
> Now for the paid for firewood it is great but the wood sellers around our parts are blind in one eye and do not have depth or any perception of length it seems. We have gotten delivered wood anywhere from 8 inches to 28 inches even with nails. The pieces are also split down to 1"x 2" in size Oak, What a waste of hunk of great wood.
> 
> ...



Lol I suggest you try piecing down a large oak over a roof and see if you care about the size or slope of cuts. I do firewood and cut trees but the safety of my customers roofs are way more important than size of wood.


----------



## Muffler Bearing (Sep 8, 2010)

A lot of post about nothing.
You measure your cuts..good for you.
You don't measure your cuts ..good for you.

I take my own path...and always will.

I drink Bud from 12oz. Tall Boy bottles.
Each bottle is exactly 9'' tall.
My stove coincidentally takes 18'' logs
I just picture the 2 Buds I'm going to have tonight and I'm off and cutting like a Mother XXXXXXXXX.


----------



## Haywire Haywood (Sep 8, 2010)

Rope, why don't you just mark the trunk with a mingo on the way up and out each branch as you go... that would make the folk that get it much happier... It even has a little loop on the top molded in for a lanyard. :hmm3grin2orange:

Ian


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 8, 2010)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Rope, why don't you just mark the trunk with a mingo on the way up and out each branch as you go... that would make the folk that get it much happier... It even has a little loop on the top molded in for a lanyard. :hmm3grin2orange:
> 
> Ian



Well if I did they would just decide to keep the wood see, so, I just cut em by guess then sort whilst loadin the truck.


----------



## RCR 3 EVER (Sep 9, 2010)

*Custom Wood racks built for 16" logs*

When the utility crews were cutting the logs at 45 degrees they were in right of way at street no houses and not even any traffic since street was blocked off by their truck. 

The person trimming our Oak was also using the 45 degree cut until I questioned them since they knew I wanted the logs for fireplace wood. He was in middle of 290' x 90' yard cutting 6 ft branches off tree.
Some crews cut at 45 and some don't but many don't.

Now, as far as marking I have built 2 large wood boxes to store wood in my attached garage where boat used to sit. These boxes were built using with 4x8 sheets of plywood and scraps of wood, 1 rack holds 1.25 cords (6' L X 32" D) and the other holds 2 cords (101" L X 64" Deep). All the wood is cut to 16" some longer or shorter may go on top. Now if the logs were all haphazard lengths I would not be able to put nearly as much wood into these bins that are just a few steps from my fireplace. The wood would have to be store outside and get wet as I do not have a shed outside. 

I use a Spencer tape and crayon marker to mark our logs because the Mingo marker is too bulky and heavy to carry around. Crayons fit easily in pocket. My wife marks the logs while I cut the limbs off, quick and simple. She gets done before I do since I move so slow and then she starts clearing away the branches as I cut.

Our fireplace takes 16-18" but if I cut at 18 and happen to make a longer cut at 18.5 or 19 than I have to chop off that extra .5 inch. I do not have to worry if I cut at 16, I can cut just a bit longer if needed.


----------



## RCR 3 EVER (Sep 9, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Well if I did they would just decide to keep the wood see, so, I just cut em by guess then sort whilst loadin the truck.



Last year we ordered 1 face cord of wood from some person as a sample of his firewood prior to ordering more.But that wood was the worst load of crap I have ever seen. Pieces were cut short and long. Some pieces were only 5 inches long and some were 22 inches long or full of spikes . I had asked previous that our fireplace only took sizes at max 18". 
The split wood was a waste also. Good pieces of Oak split down to 1"x2", I got about a dozen of these. No split log was bigger than a 2"x3" My all nighters I split for are 5.5"x 5.5" x16

What is with SE Michigan firewood sellers do they not understand wood dimensions. We were shorted again, I stacked the logs in outside in a 4 x 8ft row and came up 3 x7. :censored:

I told him to pick the stuff up with a refund or I would report him for shorting us. I got my money and kindling out of my yard. He said if I cut the long stuff it would make up for the shorter logs, what if I did not have a chainsaw or I was a much older man,STUPID idiot. At least I got rid of the crap and I got my money back.


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 9, 2010)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> Last year we ordered 1 face cord of wood from some person as a sample of his firewood prior to ordering more.But that wood was the worst load of crap I have ever seen. Pieces were cut short and long. Some pieces were only 5 inches long and some were 22 inches long or full of spikes . I had asked previous that our fireplace only took sizes at max 18".
> The split wood was a waste also. Good pieces of Oak split down to 1"x2", I got about a dozen of these. No split log was bigger than a 2"x3" My all nighters I split for are 5.5"x 5.5" x16
> 
> What is with SE Michigan firewood sellers do they not understand wood dimensions. We were shorted again, I stacked the logs in outside in a 4 x 8ft row and came up 3 x7. :censored:
> ...



Here your complaining of size and your not even using the accepted form of cordwood measure. Hell you were not shorted if he gave you a few sticks with a string tied and a face painted on them lmfao. Anything legal is cord,fractions of cord or cubic foot/meter. I have many sizes and enough to sort for very picky customers but my pieces are usually 14 to 16 or 18 to 22

That falls under shortwood or long for my fireplace friends I have one lady that wants 12 inch stuff and she pays pretty good for it. If I have one inclination of a customer being picky I inform them of the price of their special consideration. At 150 per cord I ain't going to get very picky but they wont get shorted cause I will allow my cord measurement for varying size. At least from me they are truly getting hardwood as some of the people I served said the wood they bought did not burn right and they were getting hackbury,sweet gum etc. I burn the junk at home because I hate to burn my best wood for my heat I do burn some of it late season though.


----------



## fatjoe (Sep 9, 2010)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> Last year we ordered 1 face cord of wood from some person as a sample of his firewood prior to ordering more.But that wood was the worst load of crap I have ever seen. Pieces were cut short and long. Some pieces were only 5 inches long and some were 22 inches long or full of spikes . I had asked previous that our fireplace only took sizes at max 18".
> The split wood was a waste also. Good pieces of Oak split down to 1"x2", I got about a dozen of these. No split log was bigger than a 2"x3" My all nighters I split for are 5.5"x 5.5" x16
> 
> What is with SE Michigan firewood sellers do they not understand wood dimensions. We were shorted again, I stacked the logs in outside in a 4 x 8ft row and came up 3 x7. :censored:
> ...


Sounds like my kind of wood.Boy, iwould hate to deliver to your house. I did some wood today.I wanted to share my perfectly measured pieces and how they affect my messy unkept piles.I`ve got wood from 3" to 22" stacked in here.I`ve got a lot to go still.This is the 5th row at 12' long and 7' high.It`s a big mess isn`t it?Notice how every piece is exactly the same so the rows don`t fall over.LOL!!!


----------



## J.W Younger (Sep 9, 2010)

very professional looking.I especially like the cedar and punky cherry.


----------



## sunfish (Sep 9, 2010)

Lot of talk about wood length . If it fits in the stove, it works!

That's what she said...


----------



## RCR 3 EVER (Sep 10, 2010)

Much of the wood sold in SE MIchigan is sold by face cord unless you ask for a full cord. In the above case the it was optional and I was "testing" a new source of wood in case I needed an emergency supply. I have since found an honest one but it is a 40 min drive and they do not deliver to my location. I have a trailer that only holds a face cord and my dad has sold a trailer full for years. WE always include a bit extra to make up for air gaps if customer stacks tight or different than us. So, we know what a face cord measurement is!!! No complaints since we started in 1974.

If we had ordered a full cord ($270.00) from the previously mentioned person we would have been shorted by as much as 1/3 of a cord ($90) since he delivered all the wood pallets and dumped them off on drive. *That is the rip-off* I measured them to be 3'x3' when he picked up his pile of crap since he had some in his truck. One double row 3' pallet of firewood does not measure out to be 8' no matter how short or long your logs are.

Now for those short pieces yes they burn fine, and there is no problem cutting them off the long pieces, but it is an extra step an extra that is not economical for the buyer. Or if the short pieces are included in the cord of wood with 6" of air on each end of the log, is the stack of logs full of air instead of solid wood. 
Maybe that is the problem we are getting into is: I stack all the proper length logs we may buy and then put the shorts into a pile to put on top. We usually come up with a short stack. whereas the seller stacks all the logs together including shorts and air spaces. Therefore, I am paying for air.


----------



## Adam_MA (Sep 10, 2010)

Hey Joe.. Those stacks look like a couple in my yard!

It all burns, and it all makes heat!


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 10, 2010)

Lol is this the infamous face cord


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 10, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Lol is this the infamous face cord



Of course then there's the rick lmfao


----------



## J.W Younger (Sep 10, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Of course then there's the rick lmfao


yep, there is allways the famous rick,usually delivered green on a 1/2 ton pick up for 60 bucks.
At that rate the 14 cord i have stacked wood be 37 loads at a mere 2,220 bucks.
cheaper to just burn propane if you buy from these sellers.


----------



## fatjoe (Sep 10, 2010)

J.W Younger said:


> very professional looking.I especially like the cedar and punky cherry.



Ya like that?I did that on purpose to see if some of you would catch it.It ALL burns, and I aint paying for it! The punky stuff was at the bottom.Mushrooms burn too.I burn it all.


----------



## fatjoe (Sep 10, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> Hey Joe.. Those stacks look like a couple in my yard!
> 
> It all burns, and it all makes heat!



Amen!!


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 10, 2010)

fatjoe said:


> Ya like that?I did that on purpose to see if some of you would catch it.It ALL burns, and I aint paying for it! The punky stuff was at the bottom.Mushrooms burn too.I burn it all.



Yup it all burns here too pine,gum newpaper,junkmail lol


----------



## Adam_MA (Sep 10, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> Yup it all burns here too pine,gum newpaper,junkmail lol



Don't forget the liberal media driven trash that they call the Boston Globe. I collect that at work to start my fires with!!


----------



## ropensaddle (Sep 10, 2010)

Adam_MA said:


> Don't forget the liberal media driven trash that they call the Boston Globe. I collect that at work to start my fires with!!



Lol don't get that round hear if I did it would be reserved for toilet paper in deer season<a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/000203F2.gif" border="0" title="Click to get more." ></a>


----------



## banshee67 (Sep 12, 2010)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> Last year we ordered 1 face cord of wood



what the hell is a face cord? :jawdrop:


----------



## amateur cutter (Sep 12, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> what the hell is a face cord? :jawdrop:



Not a legal measurement of wood volume. Generally around here a face cord or rick are the same amount. 1/3 of a cord. 4' X 8' X 16" stacked. A C


----------



## J.W Younger (Sep 12, 2010)

amateur cutter said:


> Not a legal measurement of wood volume. Generally around here a face cord or rick are the same amount. 1/3 of a cord. 4' X 8' X 16" stacked. A C


you can measure and convert from inches to fractions of a cord by deviding by 221,000.
This is handy when delivering or buying when cord prices are listed.
Thanks for the rep a/c I have you on my must spread list.


----------



## boxer_1 (Jan 9, 2011)

*A Question About The Infamous "Mingo"...*



View attachment 167730


View attachment 167731


I'm not sure this is the *best* place for me to put this post, but it is, non-the-less a _place_. I used to be a Mod. at an international Web Design Help Forum, now I'm reduced to wondering where to put my post / question :computer 2:! At any rate, I have a question regarding the Mingo’s “running measurement” and, at least to me, it doesn't’t warrant a new thread, so I did the next logical thing and dug up a discussion that involved The Mingo™. I must say, I’m surprised at the positive feedback I’ve read about the tool here in quite a few threads / posts. I suppose that answers my question before the drawn-out asking of it to follow :smoking:, but I wanted to address it specifically before purchasing one.

The one Q. about the Mingo, I’ve never used one btw, but am planning on having one before spring (Spring in Maine anyway). There has just been one factor that has me wondering, but only a little, because if what I’m wondering is and/or has been an issue, there would have been someone complaining about it already…lol! - :stupid:

Okay, my only Q. is; does the Mingo™ account for the kerf? Of course I don’t want to tred over the “Guidelines” here so, if it does compensate for the kerf (the ¼” or so the chainsaw turns into sawdust with each cut), please refrain from listing the _copyright(s) / secrets_ of The Mingo, if one is used. The secret, to myself anyway, would be its compensation for the natural tendency of a “running measurement” coming out *short* at the end of the log being bucked!

I have a retractable log measure, as I'm sure many ppl here do. However, I have gone up a log marking 16”, 32”, 48” 64”, etc. As I bucked the marks I noticed that the parts of the log turned into sawdust made a difference as I moved sequentially through the cuts, causing the pieces to become subsequently shorter the more cuts I made.

Of course a new chain leaves a “slightly” wider kerf than an old chain, but that factor is minimal,well, for the sake of this post, let's say it's irrelevant. I measured the width of some of my cuts before finishing them and they tended to be about ¼” wide with the chain I was using and *btw-the saw was the 576 w / AutoTune®* (All broke-in w / excellent power, 7 mos. old. w / new plug gaped to .020” + High-end fuel, as well as "High-end" weight, when talking about limbing balsm fir). Well, that last bit in parentheses is irrelevant, just felt the need to get that out there…though I realize it is nothing to "jump up & down" about<-- That phrase bothers me because it is innaccurate...lol. (well, actually you need only jump “up” as gravity will eliminate the need for jumping down…LOL )

Of course, this “little bit”, approximately1/4" (+/- 1/32"[kinda not too serious here...lol]) adds-up and equates to a loss of about 1” every 4 cuts. Before I go further, make a mistake, and someone jumps on it like a piece of Bird's-Eye-Maple. *kidding* I do not have any sort of degree in math (a faint memory of 42 yrs. ago at best ! So errors are not only possible, but likely probable.

Let’s say you have a log that measures 30’3/4” in length (369 inches). With “straight / simple math” (not figuring kerf / waste per cut) you would figure to get 23 - 16” pieces out of it with a 1/16” left over. That’s 21 cuts you will make to yield the 23 pieces. That equates to 5 ¼” that will not be firewood, but rather, will be sawdust. ‘IF’ one measured this with a retractable tape (or any running measure for that matter) and didn’t mark it out *right* (bolded as "right" is the key word there), the 23rd piece would measure approximately 10 ¾” (plus the 1/16th if it was not lost to the saw along the line). 

I know, I know,…I'm not cutting out parts for the space shuttle here, just firewood. However, considering the side note that I have OCD, if it’s not within a ½ inch to 1” I’m not satisfied…hehe. But seriously, especially in a competetive market, there is no such thing as _too much_ quality for the consumer, exponentially so, if the consumer is not famiar with firewood processing _at all_. It seems like the more work they can "see" you have put into your product, the more they feel they _might_ have gotten their money's worth out of the transaction :rant:!

Well, I have again made a short story long (short question long in this case) and I apologize to all who have endured this long-winded / worded post! In summary, (which I suppose I could have confined my post to this next, direct, to the point phrasing at the begginning?!?!?) Has anyone out there had the Mingo™ come out short at the end of a log? Is the theory, guessing by what I’ve seen, that the round paint dot(s), when cut in the center, split the waste between the 2 pieces being separated by a given cut?

I have a feeling that when I return (if there is a response or more) that I will then see that I’ve been missing something obvious about the Mingo™ and will feel like I’m on par with a 1st grader once someone posts an answer…LOL. Thanks for enduring my post and, to all if any who replied, thanks for setting my mind at ease about the issue so I can go buy one (or not) and cut happily ever after.!

On a serious note, *I, personally* am not that fussy about my firewood lengths, when it's for myself especially! However, as I elluded to earlier, the "attention to detail" (which is not necessarily "quality" as it would be defined by those who do this for a living) noticed by the customer can make or break a sale or future sale. In my area anyway, there are a lot of newbies to _*The use of wood for heating*_! Of course not all of the reasons are the same, but a big one is that they lived where it was warm enough not to have to resort to cutting wood which, in many cases, wasn't even available to cut! This leaves them looking for a "quality" of sorts that isn't really quality at all.

To sum this "firewood length" issue-up (in one of several ways) take the following example: John bought firewood accross town last fall and he was bewildered and impressed by how uniform the lengths were and how nicely it stacked in his cellar! He didn't even notice that much of it (20%) was merely softwood pawned off on him because it was too short for pulpwood. However, during the next summer a back injury put his (now trusted) supplier on the bench, unable to produce firewood for sale the next fall. This forces John to look for a new supplier and, low and behold, he comes to me! [For the sake of this example] he immediately notices that the wood I told him was 16" varies by an inch or two (14" - 18"); he notices it when he stacks it even more! Now, my wood may be drier, it may produce more heat per unit, be of various species actually considered to be "good to excellent", etc. 

However, John doesn't notice this because it is subtle to him. All that sticks in his mind is the varying lengths and, what he percieves as, the nightmare of stacking it! You can bet that his hopes are now high that his previous supplier's back injury subsides, which it does. He buys his firewood for the coming winter from the previous supplier, (though shady in this example). I *still* lose the sale of 8 Cord of firewood

Now, even though the "quality" of my firewood was higher as would be judged by someone who'd dealt with firewood as a heating source most of their lives (less moisture + more heat as a result of better species). Only the obvious, in this case being the length / ease of stacking sticks in Johns mind...sticking his money toward the other dealer. For that matter, the nightmare stacking experience (leading to less volume in John's wood storage space) sticks in his mind to the point he will never buy from me again, not as long as there is another supplier within 50 miles!

The above example is not fair, not right, but too often it is *reality*, which is often 80%+ wrong, but 100% merciless:jawdrop:

I hope my post clarifies that I want uniform wood length, but not for myself, rather to secure enough sales to make any / all of it worth the effort. Whether that effort is intense or relaxed, it's the "focus" of the effort in the areas that matter to the customers that will help feed my family and me through the winter! I cannot operate in the winter because the equipment to do so went bye, bye about 16 yrs. ago. Now I operate with a 650 V-Twin 4-wheeler with a tow behind trailer sporting a nice winch and, of course, my trusty 576XP strapped to the front rack.

However, when the snow stops the 4-wheeler, it stops the trailer with the winch, which stops me from operating 'till after mud season  !
:rant:


----------



## Adam_MA (Jan 10, 2011)

Seriously... W.T.F?!?!?!


----------



## J.W Younger (Jan 10, 2011)

*somebody have cabin fever?*

havin never used a mingo marker and possablely not grasping the concept,I'm gonna venture the guess all cuts would be short by1/8" or so and not just show up on the last block.
O kay i'm gonna take my meds now...


----------



## boda65 (Jan 10, 2011)

RCR 3 EVER said:


> The free wood we get from tree trimmers also blind in one eye as they cut at anywhere from 20-30 inches leaving us a very small piece to cut off for the 16 inches we need. Worse yet they cut the log at a 45 degree angle so we end up with a parallelogram!


 
LOL, tree service wood is the worst! Every piece is 10 inches long or 28 inches long, 45 deg cut on at least 1 end and often both. Wassup wit' dat? I guess I shouldn't biotch when it's free. AEP made a major assault on trees in this area last year. They pretty much had the big orange trucks brutalize any tree within 20 feet of a power line. A lot of "L" and "Y" shaped trees around here now. A friend gave me a bunch of wood from his MIL's house that AEP had cut, what a PITA recutting most of it. Silver maple at that  I take it all, he gets me a lot of good wood as well.


----------



## boxer_1 (Jan 10, 2011)

*Guess I Should Have Opted Out of That Post...*

Hey sorry all if my post made me come across as a full blown idiot to a _few_ of you. Like I said I used to be a Moderator at CodingForums.com- Web coding and development forums. Get help on JavaScript, PHP, CSS, XML, mySQL, ASP, and more! (search " *boxer_1* " to see the serious nature of nearly every post I dealt with there. That was my first post here and, I admit, it did run waay too long as well as waay to deep. I knew that much immediately after submitting the post. I assure you that anyone offended was not intentional, and no I'm not _really a "Nut Job!" I haven't posted in a forum for years so I guess I felt the urge to write on. I guess the only semi-good part is that it may have struck some of you as humorous.

If / when I post in the future I will keep it short, on topic and to the point as I have seen in many of the threads I've seen while searching / reading the posts I turned up to see if that question had already been asked and answered. In hind sight I will also admit it was a pretty dumb question and definitely TMI for the first post I've made here. Take care and work smarter than you do hard...lol (Works for me anyway. Kinda like the difference between how a 20 year old can exhaust himself at noon while 55 yr. old man can work all day) <-- Sorry if that analogy wasn't the greatest, but I don't have any pre-fabed ones to choose from (just feels like someone will point out it being strange or out of place so I figured I'd just save 'em the bother of typing out a duplicate opinion...lol.

~*~ boxer_1 ~*~_


----------



## banshee67 (Jan 10, 2011)

some of you guys have serious O.C.W.D... i can only imagine what some of your wood piles look like

and to the guys whining about the free tree service wood having angled cuts , and random lengths...i doubt the climbers or groundmen are concerned about anything other than getting the trees down in a timely manner while doing it as safe as possible, the last thing on their mind is if the placement of their cut is going to mess up the division of the log into equal length firewood rounds


----------



## cantoo (Jan 10, 2011)

boxer_1, sounds like a valid question. Yes you will end up short on pieces and a pile of sawdust cutting up a 34' tree. 
PS, could you send us pics of your wife, I would like to see the most understanding woman in the world. And a bit off topic but could you give me a hint as to how long foreplay normally takes at your house? :hmm3grin2orange:


----------



## super3 (Jan 11, 2011)

I want the wood you deliver me to look like this guys. Don't even think of bringin me 1/4" off either way! I'll run yer ass off dammit!


----------



## boda65 (Jan 11, 2011)

banshee67 said:


> and to the guys whining about the free tree service wood having angled cuts , and random lengths...i doubt the climbers or groundmen are concerned about anything other than getting the trees down in a timely manner while doing it as safe as possible, the last thing on their mind is if the placement of their cut is going to mess up the division of the log into equal length firewood rounds


 
Wasn't really whining, in fact I was LOLing. Or is that LingOL? :hmm3grin2orange:Anyhow, I easily understand why tree service wood is of varying lengths, but why are most of them cut at 45 deg? They are cutting twice the wood they need to.


----------



## boxer_1 (Jan 11, 2011)

*A few Pretty Funny Replies?!?!*



cantoo said:


> boxer_1, sounds like a valid question. Yes you will end up short on pieces and a pile of sawdust cutting up a 34' tree.
> PS, could you send us pics of your wife, I would like to see the most understanding woman in the world. And a bit off topic but could you give me a hint as to how long foreplay normally takes at your house? :hmm3grin2orange:


 
First, let me thank you for addressing my question. Second, I did and do realise that the loss of length to kerf would be ongoing, I used the "end" of the log being bucked because that's where it would be and was most obvious. *It was not *because I pfigured that there was no loss to kerf until I cut the final piece and, almost magically, all of the loss to width of cut just seemed to blow off the final piece in a whirlwind of sawdust (as a member suggested in an astonishingly creative post).

I was patient with the "w.t.f" remark, funny and definitely was *not* a waste of time to type out at all. Tried to explain myself, and apologized about the post. Now to continue seems like a _few_ here are using this as a tryout for a comedy show. C'mon now, asking me how long foreplay takes in my house? I believe it was only in good fun for you, but c'mon, leave me with a little dignity intact if you can resist making it burn .

Besides, I _thought_ I made it clear that I'm not the way that post read, practically at any other time besides when I was typing the post that came across to a few as so funny ya just had to comment, who cares if it comes at an expense to someone other than the guy lucky enough to have posted the most recent humorous remarks.

Joking aside, I believe we are all adults here (or at least show some maturity) and we are posting on "Welcome to...*The Largest Tree Care Forum on the Web*!"

So please, if anyone has yet to do so, laugh, roll around, and let it all out ("The _welcoming_ me" part I guess). Now that I feel surrounded by many who's lives are the woods, can we please talk shop with posts actually containing, legitimate tree care, timber harvesting, chainsaw pros vs cons, etc. (a.k.a. anything more on topic than some and something posted after the belly laugh was all out of the systems of some?)

I posted the question about the mingo firewood measure because the member who started the thread named it, "Very particular about my firewood." I _hope_ the few still stuck on my original post AND unable to refrain from typing "....Seriously... W.T.F?!?!?! (btw-to answer your question, whatever you like! To each their own I guess). I _thought_ my question would be relevant to the topic. It's simple really, is it accurate [the mingo measure] or not? And maybe someone who actually uses one could give me a "ballpark" figure of how much it is or is not off??? At about $30.00 a piece the Mingo has raked in some $$$ since it hit the market. From what I had read in other posts, it was not wasted money. Just wanted to confirm that before my money went into it...no sense for more people to get screwed than need be, or, by the same token, no sense to pass up a useful product if it does the job as advertised! Right / wrong? Peace out to the people with nothing to contribute to the post but hard feelings and to "contributors" to the thread / post, Thank You for not running with the proverbial Kindergarten kickball...LOL.

I realize that a certain % here have very little to do with firewood (especially now). That's fine and your business. For those who do and realize that some customers like uniform lengths, you are the ones I was aiming my questions toward. Heck, for all I know some here could be crossing guards, have next to nothing to do with trees & markets, just here to post, read their post and laugh about it while trying to impress some with their lack of fear to post whatever they like toward someone whom they don't have to deal with face to face. I know some people are like that, kinda play with fire while not being near the heat...hehe!

Now, a little further north I will ask a question that's rather off topic (well, actually not if you re-read the thread topic, will the responses be legit, if at all? Let's see...Who here that _actually_ deals with firewood sales uses a moisture meter? I broke down an picked 1 up a couple months back because there was so much talk (in my area of course) about dealers passing off wood just a month or 2 from green as "seasoned!" Less heat output and more creosote! Creosote build-up (as most of you know) can (unless they have the chimney cleaned VERY often) lead to an increased risk of chimney fire and too often, the loss of a home and more!

I can now prove my moisture level and advertise that fact. Less fear of deception = more business, not to mention a safer wood burning season! Anyone else here see proving your wood's moisture level as important, or maybe overrated? My meter uses the 1/2" pins, so I pick a piece when testing that was not in the best spot in the pile. Cut it in half and test moisture percentages from each end "out" from the middle of course (aka - I try to test where it is more likely to contain over 20% moisture and NOT qualify a seasoned to see if I have a problem meeting 20% so I can attempt to re-stack, relocate, whatever to make it dry enough to be truly seasoned (if I advertised it as such of course).

Yes this post is long too, but this time it was because I felt the need to clarify even the obvious for the few to avoid the last misunderstanding where a member thought I believed only the final piece I cut from a log shows any sign of being short. Umm...I *can* see the sawdust from every cut as well as use common sense!:chainsawguy: C'ya for now (I've posted here 3 times now and I must say, "The welcome from some makes me feel like hurrying back to see the replies left by a few that makes me wonder how I had insulted them directly by the way it is so worth their time to stop by and write W.T.F!" oke:...lol. Of course, all in fun / humor ya know! Don't go getting offended like I _almost_ did with some replies! Happy harvesting / typing, well, which ever you do more of...lol!

just fyi - If my post is too long, feel free to not read it! Just letting you know there is an option for the few who seem stressed enough to slip over to the button that makes them express feelings having nothing to do with the topic or, for that matter, the subject matter of the forum seems pertenant to wood cutting discussions *before* posting a first post that would make me shy away from posting further if I didn't realize that it takes all kinds to make forums go 'round, some of which ignoring would probably be the best bet...ya know, focus on the positives most members bring to this forum and disregard the "true" jesters for which there is a smiley for that should be added to more posts that add up to nothing more than that...Just keeping it real, keeping in step with the few out of line remarks and comments I've seen thus far. Good Day!


----------



## Biker Dude (Jan 11, 2011)

I'm so anal about wood length I built an attachment for my saw that allows me to cut faster than the guys who eyeball their cuts and still keep every round within 1/4" of each other. And yes, it does account for kerf.

I find that my boiler gives it's best burn with 2 rows of wood separated by an inch air space between them and an inch at the front and back of the firebox. Plus I have the bonus of never finding that a long piece is keeping my door from shutting after I have the boiler fully loaded.


----------



## turnkey4099 (Jan 11, 2011)

Biker Dude said:


> I'm so anal about wood length I built an attachment for my saw that allows me to cut faster than the guys who eyeball their cuts ### still keep every round within 1/4" of each other## ### yes, it does account for kerf##
> 
> I find that my boiler gives it's best burn with 2 rows of wood separated by an inch air space between them ### an inch at the front ### back of the firebox## Plus I have the bonus of never finding that a long piece is keeping my door from shutting after I have the boiler fully loaded##


 
I've been using a couple different versions of that for over 30 years## Not anal ### not all that carefull about getting the end of the stick perfectly set on the last cut## Variations of an inch or so don't bug me##

Back to the Mingo - can't see any use for it## Mark the whole log, start cutting, come to a knot, crotch, limb, crook have to adjust where the cut falls## All subsequent marks left by the Mingo are out the window## When I first started cutting firewood, I would use a stick ### a hatchet to mark the log end to end## Only took one day to realize how stupid that is##

Harry K


----------



## J.W Younger (Jan 11, 2011)

*my limbing saw is 23" from bar tip too end of gas tank*

thats what i usually use for marking my cuts too the trunk.
I also use it for blocking the smaller stuff.


----------



## 066Bigbear (Jan 11, 2011)

ropensaddle said:


> Yup I am very anal about my stacking:hmm3grin2orange:


 
sorry have to ask what is the red box on the front of your tw-5?


----------



## boxer_1 (Jan 11, 2011)

*Thanks *



Biker Dude said:


> I'm so anal about wood length I built an attachment for my saw that allows me to cut faster than the guys who eyeball their cuts and still keep every round within 1/4" of each other. And yes, it does account for kerf.
> 
> I find that my boiler gives it's best burn with 2 rows of wood separated by an inch air space between them and an inch at the front and back of the firebox. Plus I have the bonus of never finding that a long piece is keeping my door from shutting after I have the boiler fully loaded.


 
Thanks Biker Dude ! When you wrote:


> And yes, it does account for kerf.



You essentially gave me the most direct answer to my main question. Not sure now if I even want one, but will likely end up with one by spring.

I've seen those sticks that mount on the bar stud for sale. However, with _those particular ones (diff. from the one you have pictured), there were a lot of reviews complaining about them being very brittle. The brand name was *Quick Stix* I think a homemade one mounted to the stud would be the best way to go when it comes to that method of measuring. I used to go from the tip of my bar 2 the second lug nut in and that worked okay provided I was doing my bucking in the yard and not in a tangle of brush where turning my saw was enough to make me give it a throw every couple of hours (temper gets me in crap conditions)...lol!

Well, got my main trail packed and am back to working for now, just had break. Thanks for the replies, ideas, opinions, etc. I guess I turned a seemingly insignificant issue (at least by some accounts) into more than needed be. I think it's because I like to invent / problem solve and am always trying to think of different / easier ways to do things. A lot of money has been made (obviously) off inventions which solved issues far more minute than uniform firewood lengths! Take care all and be safe if ya happen to be killin' trees today !_


----------



## thethug (Jan 21, 2011)

*No - everybody who does not stack there wood neat and tidy are on a different planet*



cat-face timber said:


> I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
> It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
> Ect, ect, ect...
> Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
> To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.


 
I have got a great idea for cutting your firewood the same length, the tool cost less than £2 on ebay, ....how to marlket idea? does anyone know


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 5, 2020)

Wood Doctor said:


> I generally use the saw's bar length as a guide as I buck logs--crude but effective.



That’s what I do, I scratched the side of the bar at 18 inches. I don’t have anything to forget or lose that way. My bar is longer than the cut length, so had to scratch it. At first I marked the bar with a black marker, that wore off.


----------



## svk (Feb 5, 2020)

Old thread! I miss cat-face Timber. He was a good guy.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 5, 2020)

I recently saw the measuring devices, and found this thread in a search. Wanted to see what people here thought.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 5, 2020)

svk said:


> Old thread!



I’m a believer in not starting a new thread if there’s already a thread on the subject.


----------



## MechanicMatt (Feb 5, 2020)

I do just like you for the first few cuts, then I feel like a get a good feel for length....


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 5, 2020)

MechanicMatt said:


> I do just like you for the first few cuts, then I feel like a get a good feel for length....



like someone in here mentioned, I can be off on different diameter logs. Kind of an optical illusion. I like your idea, should get the hang of it after a few cuts. Wouldn’t be as accurate though.


----------



## HadleyPA (Feb 6, 2020)

Like was said many times before. Cut it and burn it. As long as its close the stove won't care. Who has time to measure. Heck mine probably vary by as much as 3-4" but so what I am cutting for me.


----------



## MechanicMatt (Feb 6, 2020)

3-4in variations would drive me nuts when stacking. I try to keep all mine within an inch.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 6, 2020)

Here’s an example of my firewood, to me consistent cut lengths are vital to a stable stack of wood. And like someone else said, it wood take more space to transport and store the same amount of wood with a big variance in cut lengths.


----------



## arto_wa (Feb 7, 2020)

Wood Doctor said:


> *Chips...*
> 
> "... the chips cleaned up ..."
> 
> May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.





The larger pieces are good for kindling and all the smaller chips (including woodchipper chips) as a mulch around our blueberry bushes etc.
It's good to add some nitrogen as the chips decay.


----------



## arto_wa (Feb 7, 2020)

What's the big deal if this is an old thread and was revived since it's still the same subject?

Nothing else to criticize I suppose?


----------



## rarefish383 (Feb 7, 2020)

I mark all my wood at 18". Some body said they didn't have enough time to do that, so I timed it. Took less than 2 minutes to mark about 60' of log with an 18" Oak stick and a pruning saw. Started at the notch, cut it square, then mark the whole tree to the first big limb. I think the time saved by having every thing the same length more than makes up for the time it takes to mark it. I know I can put 5 rows on my trailer and the tailgate will close. One long piece anywhere in the load will screw up the load. Plus I sell enough that any time you have 2 short pieces in the load the customer will use them to calculate the load and say you are short. I'm never short.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 7, 2020)

rarefish383 said:


> I mark all my wood at 18". Some body said they didn't have enough time to do that, so I timed it. Took less than 2 minutes to mark about 60' of log with an 18" Oak stick and a pruning saw. Started at the notch, cut it square, then mark the whole tree to the first big limb. I think the time saved by having every thing the same length more than makes up for the time it takes to mark it. I know I can put 5 rows on my trailer and the tailgate will close. One long piece anywhere in the load will screw up the load. Plus I sell enough that any time you have 2 short pieces in the load the customer will use them to calculate the load and say you are short. I'm never short.



Very good points.


----------



## MechanicMatt (Feb 7, 2020)

Who cares if it’s an old thread? I come on heat for entertainment and this thread is providing it. Keep posting


----------



## arto_wa (Feb 7, 2020)

MechanicMatt said:


> Who cares if it’s an old thread? I come on heat for entertainment and this thread is providing it. Keep posting




Agree 100%
Entertainment, but also a good place to hear what others are doing and learn many things.

For example the chainsaw forum has been pretty useful and so is this firewood forum.


----------



## MechanicMatt (Feb 7, 2020)

Yup. Learning is entertaining. I got a pretty stressful job so this place is my outlet to just relax and be entertained. There’s thousands of things worse than replying to a “old thread”. The only downside really is that you see members in the thread that you don’t see anymore. CatFaceTimber was a cool dude


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 7, 2020)

MechanicMatt said:


> There’s thousands of things worse than replying to a “old thread”.



One of these worse things is creating a new thread when there is already a thread on the subject. It’s better to keep all the information in one place, and not have someone thinking they found all the information on the subject, and there are still other threads they haven’t found.


----------



## sb47 (Feb 9, 2020)

cat-face timber said:


> I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
> It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
> Ect, ect, ect...
> Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
> To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.




A clean organized yard is a person that takes his job seriously. Same with anything else Don't eat at a restaurant that is not kept clean. Like a good car mechanic If there shop is clean and organized is better then one there there are tools scattered around in tools and junk laying around. I get many complements on how well my wood lot is kept neat and organized and it makes better quality wood. It works.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 9, 2020)

BigE said:


> Mingo marker for me. I've tried all sorts of things.



This is what brought me to this thread, I was looking at different methods of getting consistent cut lengths. I don’t want to paint it though.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 9, 2020)

There are a few different products like this. What I’ve done is measure the bar and scratch it at the length I want. I used a marker at first, but that wore off the bar. I’ve also just referenced one of the letters on the side of the bar, all of that requires turning the bar 90 degrees for each cut. These things seem like they’ll get in the way or fall off, anybody use them?


----------



## Ryan'smilling (Feb 9, 2020)

mountainguyed67 said:


> There are a few different products like this. What I’ve done is measure the bar and scratch it at the length I want. I used a marker at first, but that wore off the bar. I’ve also just referenced one of the letters on the side of the bar, all of that requires turning the bar 90 degrees for each cut. These things seem like they’ll get in the way or fall off, anybody use them?
> View attachment 796601
> View attachment 796602
> View attachment 796603



If I was gonna use a marking stick like that, I'd slap it on a little saw like my Dolmar 421 and use that just to mark the logs. Then I'd grab a bigger saw and get to bucking.


----------



## mountainguyed67 (Feb 9, 2020)

One of the reasons to measure in some way is I’m often working with logs over 2 feet across (sometimes over 3 feet), this multiplies the variance in cut length once you get through the log. I’m not working in perfectly level conditions, and the log might not even be parallel to the ground. So I don’t get perfectly square cuts, this isn’t a big deal with a ten inch log, and isn’t really noticeable.


----------

