# Firewood Processor Recommendations



## Case1030 (Dec 10, 2019)

Hello, I'm looking for some recommendations on reliable wood processor brands that are capable of cutting/splitting up to 17inch diameter logs, and an output conveyor. 

For simplicity sake only looking at hydraulic bar, not circular models.

Thanks in advance to any members that are able to help!


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## Ted Jenkins (Dec 10, 2019)

For the kind of money you are referring to you should go to the dealer or site and have it demonstrated. What I need and want can not be purchased so some what building what I need. You might be able to have some thing modified to your exact specs. Thanks


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## Case1030 (Dec 10, 2019)

Ted Jenkins said:


> For the kind of money you are referring to you should go to the dealer or site and have it demonstrated. What I need and want can not be purchased so some what building what I need. You might be able to have some thing modified to your exact specs. Thanks



A palax ks45 would work for these specs. I'm willing to buy used to get what I want. 15-30k is my budget. Just don't want to be disappointed after paying that amount.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 11, 2019)

Unless you are cutting and splitting stuff that looks like a telephone pole, this is the machine you want.


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## DSW (Dec 11, 2019)

I would take my 15-30k and put it into anything other than firewood. 

But that's probably not the answer you want.


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## cantoo (Dec 11, 2019)

I have a Wallenstein processor but don't use it a lot. I have some pictures of it posted here if you search a bit. Cuts max of 18" I have a 6 way on it. I usually cut less than 14" so the 6 way splits a little too small. It saves wear and tear on the body but isn't a speed demon. I also have a homemade 36" splitter with a hydraulic adjusted 4 way wedge on it and I feel it's faster but a lot more muscle work. 
https://www.wallensteinequipment.com/ca/en/model/wp1624


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 12, 2019)

Case1030 said:


> A palax ks45 would work for these specs. I'm willing to buy used to get what I want. 15-30k is my budget. Just don't want to be disappointed after paying that amount.



What are your expectations of a processor?

And, what is the point of a processor if re-splitting is required?

Edit: Take a look at the Eastonmade splitter w/box wedge and pull back arm. They also offer a pintle hitch option for connecting a conveyor for moving within the wood lot as a single set.


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## Case1030 (Dec 12, 2019)

Sandhill Crane said:


> What are your expectations of a processor?
> 
> And, what is the point of a processor if re-splitting is required?
> 
> Edit: Take a look at the Eastonmade splitter w/box wedge and pull back arm. They also offer a pintle hitch option for connecting a conveyor for moving within the wood lot as a single set.



The main issue I'm dealing with is I cannot keep up with firewood demand. By hand it's really becoming a PITA bending over and trying to dummy an 18inch log onto a splitter... which is fine at first just not after a few 8 hour days.

The trees I have average 16 inchs (with the odd 18-20 inch. Splitting 6 ways on an 18-20 log may need resplitting but at least it's not a huge round.

I have a lineup on a cord king with a 24inch bar capable of processing 20 inch logs. It has a live 12 foot infeed table to avoid trying to play around with logs.

All I expect from a processor is to limit the amount of times I need to handle logs, while increasing productivity. Sure it's not be all end all... but with majority of my logs being 16 inch split 6 ways that will help alot. I already have a loader with forks so other than purchasing a processor that should be it.

Ontop of that a conveyor into my end dump will also increase efficiency.


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## cantoo (Dec 12, 2019)

Wallenstein.


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 12, 2019)

Case1030 said:


> By hand it's really becoming a PITA bending over and trying to dummy an 18inch log onto a splitter... which is fine at first just not after a few 8 hour days.


I get that. 
I built some make shift log decks to cut on. 
Last spring I decked one over completely to handle short pieces and larger logs, so as to noodle them without dropping the halves on the ground.


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## Case1030 (Dec 12, 2019)

That's a decent setup both of you have.

Being that I will be bucking and trimming all of my logs. I want to limit the labor to just that. I will be using my loader with bale forks to load all logs onto the table. That is all I am willing to do now. I hope to buck/ process atleast 8 cords per day which would normally take me many days. Labor+time is money... I can only count on my self.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 13, 2019)

Not trying to discourage you but we used to run a 3 man crew on a top of the line cord king and if we managed 10 cords a day without a major break down, it was a good day. This included a log truck to load the live deck and a front end loader to remove debris. The build quality on a cord king is marginal at best. I think your 8 cord a day goal is very optimistic.


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## Case1030 (Dec 14, 2019)

CentaurG2 said:


> Not trying to discourage you but we used to run a 3 man crew on a top of the line cord king and if we managed 10 cords a day without a major break down, it was a good day. This included a log truck to load the live deck and a front end loader to remove debris. The build quality on a cord king is marginal at best. I think your 8 cord a day goal is very optimistic.



Well there should be no problem if the logs are stacked beside the processor that I can't do at least 1 cord per hour. I dont think that's being overly optimistic being that the machine in rated at 1.5 - 2 cords per hour.

I'm going to be loading 12 foot logs about 16 inch diameter very straight. Also I'm not trying to defend cord king... but there equpitment is very simple, not much to go wrong. I'v heard the circular saw models having issues but not the bar and chain.

I'll make a detailed report after a month of operation. You very well could be right. I'm going to have 15 chains on standby sharp as a razor, sounds like limiting downtime is a huge step to getting proper production by the sounds of it.


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## rancher2 (Dec 15, 2019)

I am looking forward to see what type of processor you can buy for 15 to 30 K that will run 8 cord a day for days on end. Making firewood is tough on equipment. I know when I was looking for a processor in that price range it was tough to find something that would process the kind of wood we were wanting to run.


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## Case1030 (Dec 15, 2019)

rancher2 said:


> I am looking forward to see what type of processor you can buy for 15 to 30 K that will run 8 cord a day for days on end. Making firewood is tough on equipment. I know when I was looking for a processor in that price range it was tough to find something that would process the kind of wood we were wanting to run.



I will keep you updated. There have been a few reviews on these 1820 cord kings. All are in line with each other saying 1 cord per hour with single operator. If there is another guy loading the production can be doubled to 2 cords. Remember I'm buying used, new these machines are 40k.

Manufactures always over exaggerat production amount, so if they say 1.5 -2 cords per hour I lower my expectation to 1 cord per hour which I find fairly reasonable.

I'll also be posting sometime next month a project I'm working on to convert a hay elevator to wood elevator.


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## DSW (Dec 15, 2019)

Case1030 said:


> Manufactures always over exaggerat production amount, so if they say 1.5 -2 cords per hour I lower my expectation to 1 cord per hour which I find fairly reasonable.



That's a smart thing.
I'm sure the numbers they throw out are realistic in a perfect scenario for a limited amount of time. The longer the span, the more you get to the realistic average.


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## cantoo (Dec 15, 2019)

Case 1030, see if you can find a grain elevator instead of a hay elevator. I have both and the grain one is the best. I also convert mine to gas engines. I direct belt drive them and just adjust the idle for the speed and power that I want. I also keep the belt just loose enough so that when a piece jams it just slips the belt. Saves time eating break downs. This is the grain one, closer and smaller paddles. I also keep a pair of used motor oil to lube things up. Chains and the center where the paddles rub. This one is a gasser now. This is wood that I sell so you can see where I throw the punky or ant covered pieces as I split them.


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 15, 2019)

CentaurG2 said:


> Not trying to discourage you but we used to run a 3 man crew on a top of the line cord king and if we managed 10 cords a day without a major break down, it was a good day. This included a log truck to load the live deck and a front end loader to remove debris. The build quality on a cord king is marginal at best. I think your 8 cord a day goal is very optimistic.



How many cord per hour?
Advertising two or three cord per hour, but how many men does it take to run a processor to hit those numbers.
The above quote leads on to believe 1.25 cord/hour. 10 cord/8 hours.
A more realistic comparison would be man hours per cord, or as the math shows, cord per man hour.
Ten cord, three men, assuming eight hours.
10/3=3.33 cord/man
3.33/8 hours = 0.41 cord per man hours.

And this is why I have not taken a loan to purchase a processor.
It takes me four hours to do a cord.
0.25 cord per man hours using a SuperSplit wood splitter.

Percent of increased production using a processor vs SuperSplit
.25/.41 = x/100 = % increase
cross multiply
.41x = 25.00
x = 25.00/41
x = 60.97 %

Say I do 100 cord with the SuperSplit (I don't but for easy numbers)
Then in the same number of hours, a processor could do 160 cord.
Suppose there is $100. profit per cord.
60 cord x $100. = $6,000 increased income using those numbers.
Which means you would probably have to increase cords produced by 2x or 3x to make a processor a financially solid purchase.

There are other factors. Using a processor may be less hands on labor intensive, making it possible to put in more hours. 
However, as volume increases the labor and hours may increase more than a simply proportional, or linear 45° angle graph.
Assume you produce ten cord in ten hours, or one cord per hour, you may not be able to do one hundred cord in 100 hours, because every eight to ten cord the machine will need to be moved from the split pile.

I have found from personal experience that smaller logs take longer, and also, large logs take more effort to physically handle. Often the largest logs I get are punky butt logs, of which I cull out before it goes up the conveyor. I still cut and split into stove size pieces and toss in a separate bin for personal stove use, which is good it gets used, but doing so takes longer to do a cord if the firewood is going in a junk pile, and not up the conveyor into the customer pile.

In short, I can't make the numbers work to finance a processor, and if I did, it would most likely create a cash flow problem to keep it fed with purchased logs.


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

cantoo said:


> Case 1030, see if you can find a grain elevator instead of a hay elevator. I have both and the grain one is the best. I also convert mine to gas engines. I direct belt drive them and just adjust the idle for the speed and power that I want. I also keep the belt just loose enough so that when a piece jams it just slips the belt. Saves time eating break downs. This is the grain one, closer and smaller paddles. I also keep a pair of used motor oil to lube things up. Chains and the center where the paddles rub. This one is a gasser now. This is wood that I sell so you can see where I throw the punky or ant covered pieces as I split them. View attachment 780475



If I can find a grain elevator that would work much better. These hay elevators are alot easier to find, I'll hold off for a bit to see what comes up.

What did you do to the hay elevator to get it to work? And would it work good enough to get the job done?


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

Sandhill Crane said:


> How many cord per hour?
> Advertising two or three cord per hour, but how many men does it take to run a processor to hit those numbers.
> The above quote leads on to believe 1.25 cord/hour. 10 cord/8 hours.
> A more realistic comparison would be man hours per cord, or as the math shows, cord per man hour.
> ...



That's understandable. I'v talked to many people about that same topic. Everyone I talked to with first hand experience says 1- cord per hour with a one guy operation (no down time). Skidsteer loading live feed table when empty. Now if there was 2 guys working at it... he could make sure the live table is always fed, dump the truck when full, and grab logs from the bush when needed if not enough to keep going for the day. Obviously production should raise at least an extra .5 cord reasonably.

I'll have the logs all stacked beside the processor. The live feed table will be able to hold about half a cord onto the live feed deck (also under estimated). (6 feet deep, 10 foot long logs, and 16 inch diameter). There will be a conveyor dumping into a 3 cord (loose 180cf) tandem grain truck. Wood will be brought 1/2 mile away into yard.

So yes emptying the truck will take time, but now I won't need to move my processor when the pile gets full.

I'm more so worried about having the conveyor working flawless than anything. The wood needs to get to the yard somehow. 

At the end of the day I won't be burnt out, and the idea is to reduce the amount of labor.

So if a single guy (without a processor) can do .25 cords per hour... your using a power saw and handling each 16 inch log individually seems reasonable. Guess it comes down to how long can a guy keep that up for?

Has anyone compared a hydraulic driven harvest bar, to a decent gas power saw? The hydraulic is about twice as fast if not more. Every thing adds up!


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

Sandhill Crane said:


> I get that.
> I built some make shift log decks to cut on.
> Last spring I decked one over completely to handle short pieces and larger logs, so as to noodle them without dropping the halves on the ground.
> View attachment 779623
> ...



After reviewing your other post I noticed something I didn't before. How did you half the logs? It looks like a chainsaw cut them in half.

I'v done that a few times with huge logs that didn't fit on the splitter, soon came to realize it took to long to cut and it must be hard on the power saw going with the grain takes 4x longer with throttle wide open.

I know guys use Alaskan saw mills all the time to cut lumber like that but the saws dont last long.

Anytime a log is over 20 inch diameter a make a pile off to the side for my friend with a saw mill. Makes beautiful lumber and saves alot of time/wear and tear on the saws.


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## Natster (Dec 16, 2019)

I'd like a self propelled, power split, with a boom on it, with an anger head, to dig post holes, and to spin a spinning wedge splitter. The kind you use on a car, or pto.
This would work good, for huge yard tree removal. 
Cut monster tree down.
Cut into pieces.
Use spinning wedge with hydraulic power head to break up smaller. Put on power split, and finish splitting.
I'm really surprised that this has not yet been done.
Those monster trees have a lot of wood. And, are simply hard to move the logs.
Ahem, power split, where are you?

Nate


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

Natster said:


> I'd like a self propelled, power split, with a boom on it, with an anger head, to dig post holes, and to spin a spinning wedge splitter. The kind you use on a car, or pto.
> This would work good, for huge yard tree removal.
> Cut monster tree down.
> Cut into pieces.
> ...



From Manitoba Canada. Going to be clearing a some acres of farm land. It's quite common to have 30 inch oak trees and 20+ inch box elder with nice red inside (I'm 90% certain its boxelder, anyone able to verify?). Makes a perfect coffee table when stained/ epoxy.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 16, 2019)

Sandhill Crane said:


> How many cord per hour?
> Advertising two or three cord per hour, but how many men does it take to run a processor to hit those numbers.
> The above quote leads on to believe 1.25 cord/hour. 10 cord/8 hours.
> A more realistic comparison would be man hours per cord, or as the math shows, cord per man hour.
> ...



Difficult question to answer. It really depends on how uniform your logs are. The more they look like a telephone pole the better you will do.



Here is a vid on one of these machines and if you look closely you can see where you lose processor time.







Little things end up costing you time. Engine is on the wrong side of the processor and throttle control is on the engine. Walk around to stop and start or even idle down. Poor clamp design. Look how the last piece of wood fights him. Dangerous and he still does not manage to get a sellable piece out of it and the final piece lands crooked in the chamber and must be repositioned by hand. Pickaroon time. He will learn to just reverse the infeed chain and throw the end piece off the front of the machine and deal with them later to save time. He did manage to get 11 pieces cut before he had to stop, walk around the machine again and clear a jam on the conveyer. Again, time, fuel, and a great way to tear a belt. Wood is just too chunky and full of debris.

Other problems we encountered were problems with logs getting stuck on the live deck and logs getting stuck in the infeed tray. Live deck can be solved with a short cant dog to rotate the stuck log. Live deck problems get a lot worse as the machine ages. The chains run on plastic strips in the deck channels that wear down quickly. Infeed tray usually required log truck.


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

CentaurG2 said:


> Difficult question to answer. It really depends on how uniform your logs are. The more they look like a telephone pole the better you will do.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Yeah I noticed in that video to, watched it a week ago. I was told by a guy the machine works better keeping the tongue closer to the ground and never had a log land like that since. Alot of small tricks a guy learns along the way. 

I already got a nice spike I can use to reposition the logs if need be. Keeps my hands and arm out of dangers way. 

Regardless even the few hiccups the guy had that's not enough to prevent 1 cord per hour. As the bugs get ironed out with wise tricks learned along the way doesnt seem all that bad. 

Regardless can talk about until blue in the face... but will just have to wait and see how it goes once the machine is landed in the yard and wood through it. And like I said before I'm more concerned about having a conveyor that doesn't screw up. That's the only weak point in my eyes.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 16, 2019)

I don’t see how you could lower the tongue of the trailer without affecting the live deck but give it a go. It might work for you. Cordwood here is almost $400 a cord and it needs to be just about perfect or your sales will suffer.


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## Wood Hound (Dec 16, 2019)

This the machine that i am looking at,the throttle is nothing,that can be taken care of-the guy does make the 18-20 look bad,i am still interested in the 18-20..

One thing,i see is the splitting chamber,the sides,seem to be too high,how in the heck are you going to re-split,


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## mijdirtyjeep (Dec 16, 2019)

The Multitek we had was the same. Hang out the window and grab it with a pickaroon.


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

CentaurG2 said:


> I don’t see how you could lower the tongue of the trailer without affecting the live deck but give it a go. It might work for you. Cordwood here is almost $400 a cord and it needs to be just about perfect or your sales will suffer.



Also just got off the phone with the cord king dealer.

Must have sharp chain and you can't slow down near the end of the cut or else it will just twist and drop on end

When you get to the last log cut turn the feed deck very slow and log will do a complete 180 landing perfectly into the v chamber.

Edit: I have done alot of wood by hand and no way is it close to being perfect. I believe my firewood quality will go up not the other way around...


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## Case1030 (Dec 16, 2019)

mijdirtyjeep said:


> The Multitek we had was the same. Hang out the window and grab it with a pickaroon.



How many cords were you able to do per hour with your multitek?


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## cantoo (Dec 16, 2019)

Case1030, the hay elevators work fine it's just that you have to speed it up so that you don't get too many splits on each paddle, if you do they will flip over and fall back down ( depending on how steep your elevator is of course). If you have a long elevator it's no problem though just that's a lot of weight to slide up the steel. You can also add more paddles to make it like a grain elevator too. 
As for the Cord King video, the guy seems to forget how to run it at the 2:00 mark. And why did he not start up the conveyor until it was all jammed up. Every conveyor will do that is it's not running. 
My Wallenstein has a roller clamping system so it works better keeping that last section of the log in the infeed tray. 
A dull chain will slow you up. 
Stage the logs by diameter so that you save time by not moving the wedge up and down as this sometimes causes jams and eats time up quickly. Don't have to be perfect but the time really does add up if you are constantly going up and down with the wedge. 
You are right about the conveyor being the issue. I mostly do ash logs and now with the bark falling off it gets caught under the chain sprockets at the bottom and top. It's a single chain style with little wings welded on to it. Now you know why I have 5 conveyors to use on my 36" orange splitter. I cut my owb wood to 32" long and don't use a conveyor at all for it. As I split the pieces fall off the end then pile up, splitting the next piece it will actually push the splitter down the row of rounds as I go.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 17, 2019)

Old school trick on a conveyor that is powered by the hydraulics on the processor is to stop the conveyor when cutting. Gives a little boost to the speed of the saw and more power to the ram. However, a lot of time you forget to turn it back on.


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## nathan4104 (Dec 17, 2019)

Lots of good info here already but I’ll chip in too! I have a Blacks Creek model 1500. (Belt driven saw bar, simple) It’s got me started into a decent side business. I got it used but still affordable new to start out with. 
I see you want up to 17” capacity. How much of your supply is really that big? I don’t often get that big so the few that are over 14-15” I set aside and do by hand. To get a bigger machine to do bigger wood is a lot more expensive as I’m sure you’ve learned. If you’re dealing with lots of big wood likely ok, but for 10% of your supply an extra $30-40g may not be worth it. Something to consider. 
The largest logs I run through my splitter twice. Takes more time but again, for the amount that has to be, one has to ask how much that time is worth. If all the wood was big, that would be a different story. Of course all our areas are different in what we get for logs for firewood! 
On my 13hp machine, I can do a cord (128cu-ft) an hour by myself, that’s with 8’ logs, on the nice size of 8-12” and straight. Once they get real small (3-4” we get lots of) and crooked, cause what mill wants crooked wood, that will slow it up a bit. When I look to upgrade, I don’t often see any machines putting out much over 1.5-2 but for a whole lot more money than I have in my set up so it’s hard to justify. 
I recently tried a Hakki pro 38. It was an awesome machine and likely would do ~2 cord an hour. 
I’m doing 150 cord a year, and could easily double if I had the time. A faster machine is only 1/3 the equation though, still have to deliver it, move logs around, clean up, keep the missus happy.....
Also, the smaller machine is very portable so I go to folks places just to process their wood which is also a nice way to do it. The self loading processor saves having to take a machine to load and can be towed with a pick-up.


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## cantoo (Dec 17, 2019)

CentaurG2, I wondered if that was the case and that's why I said it looks like he forgot how to run the machine at the 2:00 minute mark. He looked at the conveyor and the pile of splits but kept letting it get worse. I think I would have shot a new video but I have no idea of the reason behind the video, it sure wasn't a flattering video for sales though. I've shot a couple of videos and sent them straight to the garbage pail a time or two myself. 
We need to remember that these smaller machines are designed and priced to save labor and money. You can build a house with a $20 hammer or buy a $500 gas operated nail gun, it'll still be a house when you are done.


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## Case1030 (Dec 17, 2019)

nathan4104 said:


> Lots of good info here already but I’ll chip in too! I have a Blacks Creek model 1500. (Belt driven saw bar, simple) It’s got me started into a decent side business. I got it used but still affordable new to start out with.
> I see you want up to 17” capacity. How much of your supply is really that big? I don’t often get that big so the few that are over 14-15” I set aside and do by hand. To get a bigger machine to do bigger wood is a lot more expensive as I’m sure you’ve learned. If you’re dealing with lots of big wood likely ok, but for 10% of your supply an extra $30-40g may not be worth it. Something to consider.
> The largest logs I run through my splitter twice. Takes more time but again, for the amount that has to be, one has to ask how much that time is worth. If all the wood was big, that would be a different story. Of course all our areas are different in what we get for logs for firewood!
> On my 13hp machine, I can do a cord (128cu-ft) an hour by myself, that’s with 8’ logs, on the nice size of 8-12” and straight. Once they get real small (3-4” we get lots of) and crooked, cause what mill wants crooked wood, that will slow it up a bit. When I look to upgrade, I don’t often see any machines putting out much over 1.5-2 but for a whole lot more money than I have in my set up so it’s hard to justify.
> ...



Thanks for taking the time to answer. You make a very good point. If 90% of our trees were smaller than 15 inches I would have saved myself probably 8k. The average log will be around 16" inchs but a machine limited to 16" inch logs would need it like a telephone pole straight. I thought long and hard... the issue I kept coming back to was being disappointed that I didn't shell out the extra cash for somthing that can handle our large diameter hardwood. 

I feel confident in my decision. Now I am going to be able to put most if not all my logs through the processor. Anything over 18 inch I'm going to save for mill wood anyway. 

Even though the maximum diameter for the 18-20 cord king is 20", I'd rather not do respliting and I'm pumped to have some nice lumber for the sacrifice.


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## OnTheRoad (Dec 17, 2019)

Trying to make a profit on firewood is a fools errand. You seem to be dedicated to prove that fact so go on with it. Hope you or your team has the means to bail you out when you finally discover that fact. Making firewood is poor mans work.


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## Case1030 (Dec 17, 2019)

OnTheRoad said:


> Trying to make a profit on firewood is a fools errand. You seem to be dedicated to prove that fact so go on with it. Hope you or your team has the means to bail you out when you finally discover that fact. Making firewood is poor mans work.



The goal is to not waste wood from clearing agricultural land. It's a shame seeing all of it pushed up and burned.

If I wasn't clearing land at the same time it wouldn't be worth purchasing wood. So yes your correct on it being hard making a profit buying the wood from loggers.

Ps. This isn't my full time job no bail out required for me.


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## Natster (Dec 17, 2019)

OnTheRoad said:


> Trying to make a profit on firewood is a fools errand. .......Making firewood is poor mans work.


Scary true. I think that's been true for a long time.
N


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## chiefs584ever (Dec 18, 2019)

I have a Blockbuster 14-12+ with some modifications that I am very happy with. Takes up to a 20" log. I have extended the live deck to accept a longer log and the cylinder and frame are beefed up for bigger work. I work by myself and have zero issues processing a semi load of wood per day by myself. This also includes a pup trailer.

Awesome machine that is built at a location less than 30 miles from my home.

I have attached a video of my machine in action with myself at the controls.



Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


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## Natster (Dec 18, 2019)

@chiefs584ever it seems that the finished size of the wood, from that video, is about 2x the size, that I would want. Do you have any complaints about that?
Thanks!
N


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## Case1030 (Dec 18, 2019)

Natster said:


> @chiefs584ever it seems that the finished size of the wood, from that video, is about 2x the size, that I would want. Do you have any complaints about that?
> Thanks!
> N



Thoes logs could definitely use an 8 way split wedge for use in a woodstove or furnace. If he is using them in a boiler the large splits would be fine.


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## Woodcutteranon (Dec 18, 2019)

A few observations.

A brand new Dyna SC 14 lists for $35k. It will take about an 18" log if it's perfectly straight. Dyna's are VERY good machines, somewhat on the slow side but they are well built and will last forever.

I am wrapping up my 2nd year with a small Dyna and it seems the "estimated cords per hour" by any manufacturer is certainly under optimal conditions that rarely, if ever exist. I usually process by myself and I am nowhere near 1 cord per hour. My benefit of running a processor is more about saving my back, knees, shoulders, and elbows vs running my saws and Super Splitter. I don't put as big a value on speed as I do on simple progress but that is what's important to me. YMMV.

Running a processor requires a "process"' in order to take full advantage of the machine's capabilities. By process I mean having your logs staged to be put onto the live deck...and that is a HUGE process in, and of, itself. Also with a processor you will be up to your earlobes in splits in no time and you should have an efficient method to move them to their final resting place...you want to keep your work area clear so the logging truck can drive in, unload, replenish. If you are measuring your cords per hour I think you must include your prep time into the equation. Rolling, halving, scarfing logs onto runners that can be forked to your live deck, IMO should count towards your CPH. Never underestimate this prep work because it is A LOT more intensive than you think. 

I wish you the best with your purchase and if I were you I wouldn't be gun-shy to purchase a used machine...just check it over good...its welds, systems etc. Also good luck with your firewood business. It is a great industry and has a lot of positive elements to it.


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 18, 2019)

The neighbors logged off a section of their property last summer/fall, 2018. I got a few cull logs from them, which once home I cut in rounds on the ground. Then rolled a couple at a time onto pallets and placed them on the cutting bench to noodle into small enough pieces to move to the splitter. I used an ms 661 and 25" bar. Noodling, cutting a round on its side, goes fairly fast, although there is lots of clean up. A few of the Beech were large enough that I climbed on the deck to cut them in half. Then quartered them after I jumped down. All of the timber from the neighbors went into our own wood shed. In one of the photos the splitter is turned around, away from the conveyor, and the splits are going into a trailer. Few of the logs I buy require noodling.


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## Natster (Dec 19, 2019)

Well, it seems to me that we need a mechanism, (besides noodling) to take apart the big uns, for splitting on the (less than 3000 $ splitters).
The 2 ideas I've come up with (and I'm sure I'm not the first) is a post hole digger, with anger, converted to stickler, and gas powered jack hammer, with big wedge. This last idea would maybe require a bigger heavier gas hammer.
I've noodled, but in a way, it's not really good for bar and chain.
Nate


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## nathan4104 (Dec 19, 2019)

^ sawmill? Make boards and live edge planks!! Worth more than firewood!!

sorry, I’m just jealous, as here is is -30 and mostly what we have here to burn is 3-5” round spruce and birch!!!


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 19, 2019)

Natster said:


> I've noodled, but in a way, it's not really good for bar and chain.


I've heard other say the same thing. I don't really get it. Maybe a skip tooth chain would be better at clearing chips but I don't see the harm to the bar or chain. They're tools to be used. Bars need dressing up once in a while to take the burr off. 
The ms661 sits a lot the way I cut on a bench, no need. So getting it out and using it is a good thing. Used it most of one summer until I could find someone to trouble shoot the 357xp. The 357 is a delight to run.
The first time I tried noodling I had trouble, because I was cutting with the round sitting on end. The teeth want to jump. I asked on here why I was having trouble. Once I tried laying rounds on their side it goes pretty smooth. Just have to stop and clear noodles from the side cover once in a while. If it doesn't pull itself into the wood then it's way past time to sharpen. Noodling goes pretty smooth for me.


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## cantoo (Dec 19, 2019)

Sandhill, I've heard that some of the guys buy a spare side cover and cut out part of it so that they don't have to clear noodles out. Would save you some time I bet. VW guy on the 2nd page has pics of his. 
https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...n-on-noodling-splitting-da-tuff-stuff.266070/


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## Case1030 (Dec 20, 2019)

Cutting on a logs side sure does go quicker than cutting from the end down... but still its alot of extra work just for firewood. I would much rather put them through a saw mill. Obviously species of wood comes into play when deciding what's worth it.


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 20, 2019)

I have a very small wood lot, or work area, and have to keep it cleaned up. I don't have room to set the big stuff or junk aside for later. I cut/split the junk, and the shorts, as it comes along but it gets culled out at the splitter into row-pack crates. This sorting is included in the time to cut/split a cord for sale which is about (4) hours per cord total. When the four row-pack boxes I have are full I run the pieces up the conveyor and bundle them on pallets. A year later we burn it for our selves. Previously, prior to being able to bundle it, I put the boxes out by the road with a free sign just to get rid of it, as it does not stack. Weekend camp fires and all, the junk always disappeared in a day or two, and I could reuse the boxes.
So far, since the beginning of Nov. we have been burning junk wood. Some of it is great stuff, just too short to sell, as it does not stack. Most of it is somewhat punky.
The orange box is a foldable plastic crate known around here as a row-pack, shown behind the cutting bench. Behind that is a pile of shorts. If I get an end cut 12" long or so I cut it 
in half and split it. It burns like huge chunks of coal. But it does increase the time it takes me to do a cord of wood.
This photo from the conveyor shows the row-pack boxes and pallets of junk wood. It adds up, but now I'm no longer giving it away.


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## babybart (Dec 20, 2019)

Sandhill, I'm always impressed with pics of your area. I don't know how long it took you to get it layed out but it just seems like a smooth one-man operation. You usually have snow in your pics as well!


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 20, 2019)

Thanks. The photo vary over two or three years or more. I added the container last December, so those photos are more recent.
To sell in this area firewood must be seasoned and fairly clean as people tend to store it on porches and garages. I sell oak and season for one year. Two would be optimal but who does that. I simply don't have the room.
I'm done bundling for the season. Snow builds up on the bottom of pallets and the industrial tread on the lift tires don't help. I dropped the mast and stored the PackFix.


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## Case1030 (Dec 20, 2019)

Sandhill Crane said:


> I have a very small wood lot, or work area, and have to keep it cleaned up. I don't have room to set the big stuff or junk aside for later. I cut/split the junk, and the shorts, as it comes along but it gets culled out at the splitter into row-pack crates. This sorting is included in the time to cut/split a cord for sale which is about (4) hours per cord total. When the four row-pack boxes I have are full I run the pieces up the conveyor and bundle them on pallets. A year later we burn it for our selves. Previously, prior to being able to bundle it, I put the boxes out by the road with a free sign just to get rid of it, as it does not stack. Weekend camp fires and all, the junk always disappeared in a day or two, and I could reuse the boxes.
> So far, since the beginning of Nov. we have been burning junk wood. Some of it is great stuff, just too short to sell, as it does not stack. Most of it is somewhat punky.
> The orange box is a foldable plastic crate known around here as a row-pack, shown behind the cutting bench. Behind that is a pile of shorts. If I get an end cut 12" long or so I cut it
> in half and split it. It burns like huge chunks of coal. But it does increase the time it takes me to do a cord of wood.
> ...



I'm curious what type of netting/ firewood tote you use on the pallet?

Looks like a good idea and awsome airflow for seasoning.


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## muddstopper (Dec 20, 2019)

I did the math once on how many cords per hr I could produce. my splitter is more than capable of doing a lot more than I can. I had 5 men, feeding, splitting and stacking. We did one cord in right at 15 min. The wood was already bucked to length. That would of been 4 cord per hr. but 5 man hrs of work. That's just over 3/4 cord per man hr. I can about do 3/4 cord in a hr by myself if the wood is already bucked, but I cant keep that pace for more than a hr or two. One thing I have also discovered is that big wood produces a lot of firewood, but a 20 in dia round still produces 10in wide splits whether you use a 4 way, 6 way, 8 way wedge, and every one of those splits has to be resplit. Simply throwing a big round thru a multi wedge machine doesn't produce usable firewood. If you have to resplit a large majority of the wood that comes thru a processor, what kind of time have you actually saved even if the processor can split 3 or 4 cord per hr. 
Most of the manufacturers build really good machines, but everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They can build a machine that can produce 10 crd per hr. provided you have the crew and support equipment to keep it fed, and deep enough pockets to pay for it. But in all honesty, how many folks here are going to process and sell 10 cord per day. Any size processor that can produce more than you can sell, is a waste of money


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## Case1030 (Dec 29, 2019)

After a few days of running my "new to me" Cordking 1820, I believe made the right choice.

I'm going to make a few improvements down the road, but so far have easily 3x production by myself. Slowly picking up tricks along the way. With hard oak 14"-16" can average 1 cord per hour. I can't believe how powerfull the splitting cylinder are! Even knots are cut like butter.

With soft wood I can realistically see myself doing 1.5 cords steady.


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## cantoo (Dec 29, 2019)

Come on Case1030, you are going to have to show us pictures of your setup so far. Start a thread and then you can update as you revise things over the years. Great that your purchase is working out.


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## Case1030 (Dec 29, 2019)

cantoo said:


> Come on Case1030, you are going to have to show us pictures of your setup so far. Start a thread and then you can update as you revise things over the years. Great that your purchase is working out.



I sure will, before I do that the wood elevator will have to be finished... I'll take some photos soon as it comes along and get back to processing some wood. Shouldn't take long to get up and running. Already have a small hydrolic motor to drive the elevator. 

The other thing that would increase loading efficiency is a grapple. That I already planned for, didn't realize how much messing around forks are untill I tried.


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## rancher2 (Dec 30, 2019)

Case1030
Glad to here the new processor is working good. If you have a lot of wood in the 14"-16" diameter range that's some nice processor running wood. We do need pictures of that new to you unit.


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## cantoo (Dec 30, 2019)

I've had 5 or 6 different types of grapple and wasn't happy with any of them. Make sure you try out before you buy if you can. Only one I never tried was one with round bars instead of rectangular bars. I think the round might be better. I have a round tine manure fork and it works good to pick up splits. I use my forks to load but I have 3 prongs on it instead of normal 2, works much better.


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## Case1030 (Dec 30, 2019)

cantoo said:


> I've had 5 or 6 different types of grapple and wasn't happy with any of them. Make sure you try out before you buy if you can. Only one I never tried was one with round bars instead of rectangular bars. I think the round might be better. I have a round tine manure fork and it works good to pick up splits. I use my forks to load but I have 3 prongs on it instead of normal 2, works much better.



Good to know thank you. I'll try to get some photos tomorrow of the unit. I stacked a few cords to run through it. Currently I'm just using my kubota with bale forks to load the live deck.


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## cantoo (Dec 30, 2019)

Here's my set of forks with 3 forks on it for wood working. I have them offset so that I can lift my firewood bins without having to take the 3rd one off. I also have a 2 arm grapple that goes on it but I only use it for moving brush. There is also a pic of my stone fork style bucket too. The same 2 arm grapple goes on it. I've lost count of how many buckets/ front attachments I have.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Dec 30, 2019)

muddstopper said:


> I did the math once on how many cords per hr I could produce. my splitter is more than capable of doing a lot more than I can. I had 5 men, feeding, splitting and stacking. We did one cord in right at 15 min. The wood was already bucked to length. That would of been 4 cord per hr. but 5 man hrs of work. That's just over 3/4 cord per man hr. I can about do 3/4 cord in a hr by myself if the wood is already bucked, but I cant keep that pace for more than a hr or two. One thing I have also discovered is that big wood produces a lot of firewood, but a 20 in dia round still produces 10in wide splits whether you use a 4 way, 6 way, 8 way wedge, and every one of those splits has to be resplit. Simply throwing a big round thru a multi wedge machine doesn't produce usable firewood. If you have to resplit a large majority of the wood that comes thru a processor, what kind of time have you actually saved even if the processor can split 3 or 4 cord per hr.
> Most of the manufacturers build really good machines, but everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They can build a machine that can produce 10 crd per hr. provided you have the crew and support equipment to keep it fed, and deep enough pockets to pay for it. But in all honesty, how many folks here are going to process and sell 10 cord per day. Any size processor that can produce more than you can sell, is a waste of money



If I had the supply and manpower, I could provably sell 10 cords a day 4-5 months a year.

I do in the 300-400 cord area and I turn away a fair bit of business.


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## T. Mainus (Dec 30, 2019)

https://bruteforcemfg.com/products/log-grapple-skid-steer/

This is the grapple that we bought. Got it from Brute Force up in Dorchester. Its like having a hand on the end of your machine for moving logs.


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## Ptsiteworx (Dec 31, 2019)

To give our input on the Dyna products.

We've done 2 separate rentals of a dyna sc15 each time was at least a week. Once we got acclimated to the controls, 3 guys were only able to produce 2 cords per hour. We had my dad in our excavator sorting through our log pile and loading the live deck, my brother running the controls, and myself either pulling pieces back in to re split or rotate any logs that were twisted enough to skip over the feed chain. Its a good unit and if I can find a used 15 or 16 for 30-35k I would definitely pick one up. We sell wholesale so I have orders where we fill 50 cords at a time. This processor with 6 way wedge needs 8-14" log diameters to run at it's peak. Any bigger and you will have to re split guaranteed, any smaller and you aren't producing enough pieces to stay efficient. We have also ran really large logs that barely fit through the saw opening and it cuts and splits them just fine. It's definitely a well made mid range unit that can produce a decent amount of wood without having to pay multitek, bells, or cord king prices.

I also just received my eastonmade 12-22 yesterday after a 3 month wait. It has the box and 6 way wedge so I'm interested to see how this thing works also. I'd still pick up a used dyna if it comes across and run them together or sell the eastonmade if I found it redundant. There is such a demand for them that I don't think I'd lose much if at all any money on it.


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## cantoo (Dec 31, 2019)

T.Mainus, could you imagine your setup with a barrel turner on those heavy arms? 
https://www.camattachments.com/products/rotators
https://ezspotur.com/ pole setter one?


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## Case1030 (Dec 31, 2019)

Sorry for the crapy lighting just got home from work.


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## T. Mainus (Dec 31, 2019)

cantoo said:


> T.Mainus, could you imagine your setup with a barrel turner on those heavy arms?
> https://www.camattachments.com/products/rotators
> https://ezspotur.com/ pole setter one?



Not sure what you mean? We have a set of rotating forks that we had customized with a side panel for emptying our bags.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 1, 2020)

T. Mainus said:


> Not sure what you mean? We have a set of rotating forks that we had customized with a side panel for emptying our bags.
> 
> View attachment 784431
> View attachment 784432
> View attachment 784433



I have a setup similar, tried it once. Found it's easier and as quick to empty the bags by hand.


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## T. Mainus (Jan 1, 2020)

ChoppyChoppy said:


> I have a setup similar, tried it once. Found it's easier and as quick to empty the bags by hand.



But that defeats the purpose of the bags which is to not have to handle the wood anymore than you have to. I can load a full cord of wood in 10-15 minutes with the bags. It would take me an hour to throw that in by hand. multiply that the fatigue you get from throwing it in by hand and this system works pretty good for us.


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## panolo (Jan 1, 2020)

Ptsiteworx said:


> To give our input on the Dyna products.
> 
> We've done 2 separate rentals of a dyna sc15 each time was at least a week. Once we got acclimated to the controls, 3 guys were only able to produce 2 cords per hour. We had my dad in our excavator sorting through our log pile and loading the live deck, my brother running the controls, and myself either pulling pieces back in to re split or rotate any logs that were twisted enough to skip over the feed chain. Its a good unit and if I can find a used 15 or 16 for 30-35k I would definitely pick one up. We sell wholesale so I have orders where we fill 50 cords at a time. This processor with 6 way wedge needs 8-14" log diameters to run at it's peak. Any bigger and you will have to re split guaranteed, any smaller and you aren't producing enough pieces to stay efficient. We have also ran really large logs that barely fit through the saw opening and it cuts and splits them just fine. It's definitely a well made mid range unit that can produce a decent amount of wood without having to pay multitek, bells, or cord king prices.
> 
> I also just received my eastonmade 12-22 yesterday after a 3 month wait. It has the box and 6 way wedge so I'm interested to see how this thing works also. I'd still pick up a used dyna if it comes across and run them together or sell the eastonmade if I found it redundant. There is such a demand for them that I don't think I'd lose much if at all any money on it.



Once you get some seat time on that Eastonmade I'd love a review of the box wedge. If you were so inclined a video would be fantastic! The product has my interest just not in my budget this year.


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## Ptsiteworx (Jan 1, 2020)

panolo said:


> Once you get some seat time on that Eastonmade I'd love a review of the box wedge. If you were so inclined a video would be fantastic! The product has my interest just not in my budget this year.




no problem, we should be back to running some wood in the next week.

I've been making calls to the local tree guys to let them know we take wood as I'm running low. we usually do a clearing job in the winter and i haven't come across anything so far.


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## DSW (Jan 1, 2020)

What's your normal wood supply? The tree services?


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## rancher2 (Jan 1, 2020)

Case1030 Looks like you found a well kept firewood processor. Hope it makes you a lot of money in 2020.


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## Sandhill Crane (Jan 1, 2020)

Questions for T. Mainus:
I see a deck over dump trailer in your photos. If it is yours, do you like it?
Also the JCB 35D, do you like it as well?


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## T. Mainus (Jan 1, 2020)

Sandhill Crane said:


> Questions for T. Mainus:
> I see a deck over dump trailer in your photos. If it is yours, do you like it?
> Also the JCB 35D, do you like it as well?



The PJ trailer is a 8x14 deckover. We have delivered a boatload of wood with that trailer. I like it because I can use it for getting other materials for the storage shed side of the business as well. I have a line that runs from the battery on the truck to the back bumper that the trailer plugs in to. I have never had the battery go dead from a day of delivering wood. And I think the battery is the original one to the trailer. That being said we are probably going to get a dump truck this year. I need to hire a delivery guy for next year, it was just to much for me to keep up with the firewood deliveries and the storage sheds this fall. We did about 150 cord this year and the majority of that was delivered between Sept 1st and we were sold out by Nov. 1st this year. 

The JCB TLT35D I love. It is a hybrid of a forklift and a telehandler. It will lift 7,000 lbs, it is very small and compact. 55" wide, weighs 12,500lbs so it is light enough that I can move it between our 2 shops with my pick up truck and trailer. It is 4x4 but the machine needs good flat ground to operate on. It has no suspension so if the ground is a little uneven it will high side and you can get stuck. We have spent a lot of money over the past 4 years to get the yard all graveled out so we don't have to deal with any mud anymore. We had a plate made for the forklift carriage to allow us to use bobcat style qwik-tach attachments. We use that mainly in firewood season. Our grapple, bucket and one set of forks is all qwik-tach style. When we are using it after firewood we will keep the standard forklift carriage on the machine. That was the main reason we had that rotating fork attachment made this past year. I can use it for unloading material for sheds, then if we have some firewood deliveries, I just need to add the side panel for unloading bags and then we don't have to switch out carriages.


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## jrider (Jan 2, 2020)

T. Mainus said:


> But that defeats the purpose of the bags which is to not have to handle the wood anymore than you have to. I can load a full cord of wood in 10-15 minutes with the bags. It would take me an hour to throw that in by hand. multiply that the fatigue you get from throwing it in by hand and this system works pretty good for us.


I love the idea of the bags and not having to handle the wood by hand again, but an hour to hand toss a cord into a truck or trailer?


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## Sandhill Crane (Jan 2, 2020)

Thanks for the reply. Very nice set-up. And I get it, about the mud and gravel.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 2, 2020)

The purpose of the bags in my operation is a container to hold wood while it's drying, either outdoors or in the kiln.

The wood is stacked in the truck out of the bags, so it's just as easy to pull it out by hand vs dumping it in and picking it up.

There's no way to be accurate on a cord without stacking it that I've been able to come up with. Plus I couldn't fit 2 cords in the truck if it was loose.



T. Mainus said:


> But that defeats the purpose of the bags which is to not have to handle the wood anymore than you have to. I can load a full cord of wood in 10-15 minutes with the bags. It would take me an hour to throw that in by hand. multiply that the fatigue you get from throwing it in by hand and this system works pretty good for us.


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## cantoo (Jan 2, 2020)

T.Mainus, sorry I pasted the wrong link on. I meant this one which should be the rotating clamp one. It's skid steer attachment and used to rotate the bins. They also have one like your arms but a rotator also. 
https://ezspotur.com/prod_clamping_fork.php


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## Case1030 (Jan 4, 2020)

Been doing about 1 cord per hour myself with no help. If I was processing soft wood I can see myself doing about 1.25-1.5 cords per hour. So far I have not had an issue with the logs dropping incorrectly into split chamber. And for the final portion of log on the deck it does a full 180° (into split chamber) and has not failed me yet.

The one issue I have with logs that aren't "cut" straight they try riding up the splitter shear or cylinder plunger. I'm thinking about welding spikes or something to give the plunger a good bit on the wood... any ideas? Maybe adding some narrow tack welds will be enough.


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## Ptsiteworx (Jan 4, 2020)

just don't do anything to aggressive that would pull the wood back after it's split.


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## CentaurG2 (Jan 5, 2020)

Case1030 said:


> Been doing about 1 cord per hour myself with no help. If I was processing soft wood I can see myself doing about 1.25-1.5 cords per hour. So far I have not had an issue with the logs dropping incorrectly into split chamber. And for the final portion of log on the deck it does a full 180° (into split chamber) and has not failed me yet.
> 
> The one issue I have with logs that aren't "cut" straight they try riding up the splitter shear or cylinder plunger. I'm thinking about welding spikes or something to give the plunger a good bit on the wood... any ideas? Maybe adding some narrow tack welds will be enough.



Why is the wood not getting cut square? Is it just the two ends that were cut with the handheld chainsaw?


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## Case1030 (Jan 5, 2020)

CentaurG2 said:


> Why is the wood not getting cut square? Is it just the two ends that were cut with the handheld chainsaw?



Only happens with logs that are twisted. I know those aren't ideal but I have no problem feeding them through, other than when it comes to splitting.


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## nathan4104 (Jan 5, 2020)

Gotta love the crooked logs! I don’t know if 2 of 10 of my 8’ birch are ever straight. Then therefore don’t get cut square, luckily my machine does not have a hold down arm, so I can manhandle it to cut straight (and they are generally small enough to handle easily. My machine has a couple bolts on the pusher face that help to ‘grab’ some of the not square pieces , too much outta square obviously won’t work without having it just right....


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## kz1000 (Jan 5, 2020)

I like this wood processor!


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## Case1030 (Jan 5, 2020)

nathan4104 said:


> Gotta love the crooked logs! I don’t know if 2 of 10 of my 8’ birch are ever straight. Then therefore don’t get cut square, luckily my machine does not have a hold down arm, so I can manhandle it to cut straight (and they are generally small enough to handle easily. My machine has a couple bolts on the pusher face that help to ‘grab’ some of the not square pieces , too much outta square obviously won’t work without having it just right....



That's a good idea. Could weld a few small nuts onto the pusher face.


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## Case1030 (Jan 5, 2020)

kz1000 said:


> View attachment 785798
> I like this wood processor!



I question how much work gets done!


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## cantoo (Jan 5, 2020)

I welded my initials on my Speeco and welded bumps on another splitter I had.


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## Ptsiteworx (Jan 6, 2020)

I don't think those will do much good. The dyna has a textured push plate and crooked logs can still ride up. Won't hurt I guess.


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## CentaurG2 (Jan 6, 2020)

Case1030 said:


> Only happens with logs that are twisted. I know those aren't ideal but I have no problem feeding them through, other than when it comes to splitting.



If you are having problems with the crooked wood you can try a couple of things. The easiest is to try cutting and dropping another piece onto the crooked piece. On the processor I ran, in small stuff, we used to cut a number of pieces to fill the splitting chamber before hitting the ram. You can also try welding something onto the face of the push block or if you can weld well, using a piece of tire and some epoxy. Not permanent but it should work. If it is still giving you trouble you might be able to weld a spike to the center of your star wedge. The old LaFont ss used to have a big spike right in the center of the wedge. It kept the from getting thrown out of the splitting chamber and pre-split the wood before it hit the flutes. I always liked the design. There is a picture of a Lafont splitter with wedge on a rival web sight. Google search should find it. Good luck.


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## Case1030 (Jan 13, 2020)

Nearly finished the wood elevator. Still on the lookout for a dual chain ear corn elevator but next to none around my area. Hopefully this unit lasts me until I come across one.


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## nathan4104 (Jan 14, 2020)

Nice project case. 
A dual chain or a belt will end up working better than the one chain in a V. If you get to changing that one around, make the bottom flat and add some bars on the chain? Or if you can find, add a second row of chain. Make some sort of deflector/guard around the sprocket and keep an eye around it to keep it clean or every little chard of wood will jam it up and possibly derail the chain! I made a ‘trash rack’ for my splits to slide across before they go up the conveyor to get the dirt/chips small bits out.


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## Case1030 (Jan 15, 2020)

nathan4104 said:


> Nice project case.
> A dual chain or a belt will end up working better than the one chain in a V. If you get to changing that one around, make the bottom flat and add some bars on the chain? Or if you can find, add a second row of chain. Make some sort of deflector/guard around the sprocket and keep an eye around it to keep it clean or every little chard of wood will jam it up and possibly derail the chain! I made a ‘trash rack’ for my splits to slide across before they go up the conveyor to get the dirt/chips small bits out.



Thanks for the advice about derailing. Might weldup some guard if possible. On the wood processor it also has a metal grate to help remove debris, but still doesn't get all of them.


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## Case1030 (Jan 20, 2020)

Tested it out yesterday. Few improvements will be done shortly.


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## Iaff113 (Jan 20, 2020)

Just call this guy 



https://www.instagram.com/p/B7i88v_gLiM/?igshid=1q07weomx5gms


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Case1030 (Jan 20, 2020)

Iaff113 said:


> Just call this guy
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Lol I'd like to see him try elm or knoty oak.


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## KiwiBro (Jan 20, 2020)

Lafont wedge spike:


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## CentaurG2 (Jan 21, 2020)

That’s the beast. LaFont made a very powerful and very fast splitter in the day. A three man crew could push about a cord an hour with it but without a lift, it was a lot of work.


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## Jhenderson (Jan 21, 2020)

CentaurG2 said:


> That’s the beast. LaFont made a very powerful and very fast splitter in the day. A three man crew could push about a cord an hour with it but without a lift, it was a lot of work.



I sell tree length to a guy who still runs one. It’s got a Wisconsin v twin for power.


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## CentaurG2 (Jan 22, 2020)

All of the larger models I have seen all came through with a Wisconsin v-twin. A lot have been re-powered with a Honda twin.


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## KiwiBro (Jan 26, 2020)

This one is portable:


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## Jhenderson (Jan 26, 2020)

By the look of the mill the processor is working for, Europeans take their firewood seriously. They’re also working with perfect wood.


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