# Log Weights



## DDM (Sep 27, 2006)

http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/weightchart.pdf
Calculator
http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/Log_WeightChart.pdf


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## LightningLoader (Sep 27, 2006)

interesting....


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## ddhlakebound (Sep 27, 2006)

Interesting and handy.....gonna print out a copy to keep in the truck. 

On the Dept. of the Interior "Weight of Green Logs" chart, at the top, it says weight per linear foot, I believe that should be weight per cubic foot.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 27, 2006)

ddhlakebound said:


> Interesting and handy.....gonna print out a copy to keep in the truck.
> 
> On the Dept. of the Interior "Weight of Green Logs" chart, at the top, it says weight per linear foot, I believe that should be weight per cubic foot.



No it's the weight of a cylindar which uses the cuft weight (w) in the formula

(Pi r squared) * h)* w

So the column under that heading is the value for (w), where the row on the top is the value for (d) which you divide by 2 to get (r)

On small logs you can use 3 for Pi, but 3.141 is better in bigger ones, or you can be off hundreds of pounds.

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375 would be overkill 

I've memorized 3.141592 just to one up my Dad.


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## M.D. Vaden (Sep 27, 2006)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> No it's the weight of a cylindar which uses the cuft weight (w) in the formula
> 
> (Pi r squared) * h)* w
> 
> ...




Well, it may not be a piece of cake, but you've got a piece of pie... :rockn:


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## ddhlakebound (Sep 28, 2006)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> No it's the weight of a cylindar which uses the cuft weight (w) in the formula
> 
> (Pi r squared) * h)* w
> 
> ...





JPS, I understand what you are saying (all except "cuft weight"), but I don't think you saw the column I was referring to. 

The far left column, directly right of the "species" columm is headed "weight per linear foot". This is the column I believe should be headed "weight per cubic foot". 

All the other columns are the listed weight for a one foot section/cylinder of a certain average diameter. 

The math above is the long way of taking the weight of avg. diameter x length in feet to approximate the weight of the log. 

But the math above does not get you all the way there......here's an example:


Lets use a shagbark hickory log, twelve feet long, 24 inches diameter at the base, 20 inches at the small end, call the average 22 inches diameter. 

using pieR2 to get the square inches of the log, and multiplying by the length to get the volume, in cubic inches

radius 11 inches, squared = 121 x 3.14159 = 380.13 square inches, times the length, 12 feet or 144 inches = 54738.72 cubic inches. 

Now convert to cubic feet, one cubic foot = 1728 cubic inches, so our log holds about 31.7 cubic feet of wood. Listed at 64 pounds/foot3, the log should weigh about 2028 pounds. 

Now lets cross check:

The chart lists shagbark hickory of 22 inch diameter one foot long weighing 169 pounds. Multiply by 12, and the log weighs........2028 pounds. 

I've never seen "linear" used to describe mass, volume, or weight.......

Still think the "linear weight" column header is right?

edited to change left to right in second paragraph.


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## buzz sawyer (Sep 28, 2006)

ddhlakebound said:


> Interesting and handy.....gonna print out a copy to keep in the truck.
> 
> On the Dept. of the Interior "Weight of Green Logs" chart, at the top, it says weight per linear foot, I believe that should be weight per cubic foot.



ddhlakebound, I believe you are correct. The first column should be weight per cubic foot. If it were weight per linear foot, it would have to be for a particular diameter since only one weight is stated. The columns at the right give the weight per linear foot - based on avg diameter. At first I thought the weights were a little high but then I saw this is weight for green wood. There was another chart showing approximate btu's for different woods that included wgt per cubic foot but I can't find it. 

I had seen this chart before but missed this. Good catch!


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## Ekka (Sep 28, 2006)

I think the woodweb link is for dried log ...

,,,, the Sherril one wont open for me, some sort of error??!!

Good one DDM, got any others, or can some-one maybe save the Sherril one then post it here that way I'm not trying to download from their server.


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## xtremetrees (Sep 28, 2006)

They dont upload kangaroo Ekka your to far away from us.
What a handy chart I always wondered what the crane man was a reading. Simple go right into my truck for all to see. Ty much DDM


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## buzz sawyer (Sep 28, 2006)

Ekka said:


> I think the woodweb link is for dried log ...
> 
> ,,,, the Sherril one wont open for me, some sort of error??!!
> 
> Good one DDM, got any others, or can some-one maybe save the Sherril one then post it here that way I'm not trying to download from their server.



Ekka, I was able to open it once. After closing it, I had to reboot to open it again. I may have an old version of Adobe. Tried this repeatedly with same results, even with the copy I saved some time ago. I'm going to try for a newer version of Adobe.


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## DDM (Sep 28, 2006)

Hmmmmm


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## buzz sawyer (Sep 28, 2006)

Aha - very wise, David!


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 29, 2006)

ddhlakebound said:


> Still think the "linear weight" column header is right?



You are correct sir, that column should be per cu ft (cubic foot) I habitually drop the space

From Wikipidia
Symbols

There is no universally agreed symbol but the following are used:

* cubic feet, cubic foot, cubic ft
* cu ft, cu feet, cu foot
* ft³, feet³, foot³
o feet^3, foot^3, ft^3
o feet/-3, foot/-3, ft/-3​


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 30, 2006)

Dude, It is because you are thinking when you was younger, now you are working when you are older.
Jeff Lovstrom


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## younggun (Oct 1, 2006)

any one notice the chart and the calculator give different estimates for the same peace of wood?

basswood,36",1' section
calculator:248 lbs
chart:297 lbs


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## Tree Machine (Oct 1, 2006)

The weight charts are informative, but they could be more useful with some further number crunching and layout.

For instance, a commercial treeguy who produces commercial firewood doesn't really much care how much a 12" (30.5 cm) length of wood weighs because he's shooting for 16" (40.6 cm) Twelve inches would be an oddball size.

Smaller diameters, weight is never really considered when bucking firewood. Its the bigger diameters that weight becomes an increasingly bigger issue. A 16" block of 16" diameter hardwood weighs what? A 24" (61 cm) diameter firewood-length block weighs what? The biggest tree diameter the pro-bucker would likely get into would be, say 4 feet (122 cm), so what does a 16" cookie, 4 feet across weigh. This matters, as the round often needs to be either lifted onto a truck, or rolled up an incline. 

For commercial firewood makers, a chart of the species, offering the weights in standard firewood length would be interesting to know. The loaders could guess the weight of the round, then check their guesses against the chart, keep the mood light during the heavy lifting.


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## ironpig70 (Oct 1, 2006)

well i have a 48" +/- white oak and i'll be cutting 18" rounds off it then splitting it. after seeing this chart i'm not looking forward to man handling a vw bug:hmm3grin2orange:


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## ddhlakebound (Oct 1, 2006)

Yikes!!! That will be some heavy lifting indeed. Calculating at 62 lbs/cu ft, for white oak, a 48 inch diameter disk, 18 inches long, will hold 18.8 cu ft of wood, and weigh 1169 pounds. 

To be well laid out and comprehensive, you would almost need a weight table for each species, or lump species together which fall into a certain weight range per cubic foot. 

Anybody think this would be handy enough to want more tables, or is it easier to just do the calculations off the lbs/cu ft weight?


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## John Paul Sanborn (Oct 2, 2006)

I think taking the tables and making 3-4 groups would suffice.

I allways tought it would be nice to have a slip card weight per dia/ft (or woould dia:ft be more acurate?)

Hvae it on a lanyard gromit and you can get an accurate estimate by d=taping the log.

If anyone remembers the crazy man from Oz who does euk removals with det cord, he has a book of tables and D-tape on his belt for calculating loads in the tree. It's in one of his vids.


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## Tree Machine (Oct 2, 2006)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> I allways tought it would be nice to have a slip card weight per dia/ft (or woould dia:ft be more acurate?)


and diameter per 16" firewood-length as one of the columns.



JP S said:


> Have it on a lanyard gromit and you can get an accurate estimate by d=taping the log.


How bout a digital tape measure? They make em for carpentry and construction. Ours would need to calculate weights based on LxD x specie factor, calculate distances, act as a protractor to give us angles and have a green laser built into it. Modern day's answer to a cruising stick.


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## Grizzly (Oct 30, 2006)

DDM said:


> http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/weightchart.pdf
> Calculator
> http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_weight



Dang thats a prety nifty tool. Where did you find it?
Is that just for logs or can that take in account of the whole tree with the branches and what not.


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## (WLL) (Nov 2, 2006)

DDM said:


> http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/weightchart.pdf
> Calculator
> http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_weight


give higher quote


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## Grizzly (Nov 9, 2006)

DDM said:


> http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/weightchart.pdf
> Calculator
> http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_weight



would it work for estimating the weight of a palm. I had to order a crain and I wanted to get the whole thing at once and just lay it in the street. 
I may end up renting a crain thats as tall as the palm and take it down in sections. What do you think. Its a canarry date palm. fat and tall


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## SRT-Tech (Dec 10, 2006)

:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: damn.........if that chart is correct i have been overloading my truck by 1500 lbs every day!  no wonder i have been using a lot of oil in the engine...


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## woodchux (Dec 13, 2006)

Here is a smaller simpler chart from Yale


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## Ryan Cafferky (Dec 13, 2006)

*Big cottonwood log pick*

I used the Woodweb calculator yesterday to calculate a log that we had to pick with a crane today and it was off by about 1000 pounds. That suprised me a bit. The crane operator basically said he wasn't suprised at all because those charts usually are more for estimating.


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## EngineerDude (Dec 26, 2006)

younggun said:


> any one notice the chart and the calculator give different estimates for the same peace of wood?



and ...



Ekka said:


> I think the woodweb link is for dried log ...



Turns out the woodweb link assumes 75% moisture (buried in the documentation). Taking into consideration the fact that the difference between the two sources is inconsistent (Sherrill heavier for some woods, lighter for others), it would appear that the real explanation is simply that these tools use base data (lb/cu ft of wood) from different sources.

Anyone have a feel for which is more accurate?

Also, I wonder if anyone uses a "Palm Pilot" or similar handheld device. This would be a pretty simple thing to code in basic for the Palm, and I might consider doing so if there was enough interest.


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## M.D. Vaden (Mar 10, 2007)

*Chart Gone Away ??*

No chart available when I looked today.

The pdf link in the first post


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## ray benson (Mar 10, 2007)

Found it in their pdf listing.
http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/Log_WeightChart.pdf


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## Wood Doctor (Jan 16, 2008)

*The weight of an oak trunk log*

You folks might appreciate this story. Last week I was cutting down a 30" dia. red oak tree (green). There were three of us working, and I was handling the big saw. The last trunk section was about 72" long. I told my buddy, "We need to make three cuts and make four billets for splitting."

My buddy asked, "Why not two cuts and three 24" logs. Our stoves can both take 24" logs." 

To which I replied, "There are only three of us here working. We will be lucky to move 18" billets to the log splitter."

In fact, we could hardly roll the 18" billets, even on flat ground. I firmly believe that the 24" lengths would have been impossible for three men to move by hand.

BTW, I also notice a typo in the posted log weight table, The 32" dia. red oak log should read 351 lb per foot rather than 251 lb per foot as shown.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Jan 18, 2008)

> To which I replied, "There are only three of us here working. We will be lucky to move 18" billets to the log splitter."



Oh come on, they would only have been around 600#each


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## Wood Doctor (Jan 18, 2008)

*Red Oak Logs Heavier Than White Oak?*



John Paul Sanborn said:


> Oh come on, they would only have been around 600#each


LOL! I am also a bit surprised that the table lists white oak logs as being lighter than red oak. Dried, white oak is rated about 15% greater density than red oak. Perhaps if green, red oak may contain more sap water because it is more porous, and thus it would weigh more. Thus the table is reporting green logs rather than seasoned logs?

Just my WAG.


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## Markm (Mar 27, 2008)

*Large Diameter Billets*

_My buddy asked, "Why not two cuts and three 24" logs. Our stoves can both take 24" logs." 

To which I replied, "There are only three of us here working. We will be lucky to move 18" billets to the log splitter."_

I usually turn the big saw 90 degrees from the cut, cutting with the grain & quarter (or sometimes more) them till they can be handled easily. Better have some plastic wedges and a sledge hammer so the saw wont get pinched. If the saw is kept out of the dirt it wont dull that bad. Usually the chain is headed for my grinder to be touched up anyway. 

Usually, I am using a stihl 066 for this task, however I have used a 029 with great results on the 18"ers. If you are cutting correctly you will soon see 6" long chips flying out of the cut.

Try it, you will be supprised how easy it is!

BTW, I am new to the site... this is my 1st post.


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## tomtrees58 (Mar 27, 2008)

come on its one of the first things to learn in school for tree care tom trees


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## Meadow Beaver (Dec 30, 2008)

Could anyone figure out how much a 58" by 1' section of white pine would weigh?


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## TreePointer (Dec 30, 2008)

MMFaller39 said:


> Could anyone figure out how much a 58" by 1' section of white pine would weigh?



Volume of cylinder = pi * r^2 * h 

weight = volume * density

---------

radius (r) = d/2 = 1'/2 = 0.5'

height (h) = 58"/12 = 4.833'

density of white pine (rho) = 36 lbs./cu.ft.

---------

Substituting into the volume equation:

Volume = 3.14159 * (0.5')^2 * 4.833' = 3.796 cu.ft. of white pine

Substituting into the weight equation:

Weight = 3.796 cu.ft. * 36 lbs./cu.ft. = 136.659 lbs.

*Answer = about 140 lbs.*



EDIT: Yes, I was bored and hand nothing else to do.


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## acer saccharum (Dec 31, 2008)

TreePointer said:


> Volume of cylinder = pi * r^2 * h
> 
> weight = volume * density
> 
> ...



I think d=58" and h=1'


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## Meadow Beaver (Dec 31, 2008)

Yeah I've got a slab of wood in my back yard that is 58" by 1'. I flipped it down the hill and it was *HEAVY*. My forearms sure were sore.


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## TreePointer (Dec 31, 2008)

acer saccharum said:


> I think d=58" and h=1'



OK, then it's about 660 lbs. (Good thing I saved the spreadsheet.) Now for some champagne. Happy new year!


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## loghog (Jan 21, 2009)

*log weight chart*

just order a free sherrilltree catalog the chart is on page 53.


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## asger13 (Jan 24, 2009)

*funny*

very funny


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## injun joe (May 16, 2009)

wow this chart helps out so much now i just figured that i was wrestling around with rounds that were in the neighborhood of 1000# no wonder i couldnt lift them.


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## Henry G. (Jul 14, 2009)

Would like to find out how much semi green euc is here I swear concrete is lighter. Will have to test my self this week


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## flyfshrmn (Oct 22, 2009)

*wood weight*

I think the chart is close for cubic feet. I do know that what I cut out here is mostly almond and a cord of green almond weighs 5000 lbs. the valley oak and other oaks and madrones will be similar weight for green wood. this is why I have a splitter with a log lift. figure the weight you move in a day if you pick it up to put it on the splitter, throw it in the trailer, pull it out of the trailer and stack it on the pile. burns the calories, though.


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## flyfshrmn (Oct 22, 2009)

*moving lots of wood*

Three years ago, I did a valley oak that was 66 inches in diameter. I calculated the weight of the rounds (20 inches for most of the tree). It came out about 1450 lbs per round. I know it's probably a rough estimate, but the log lift on my TW6 is rated at 550 lbs and would not pick up anything larger than a quarter of one of the rounds and it struggled with the quarters. We ended up ripping the rounds into sixths and eighths in order to handle them safely. That gets out of the realm of firewood and into serious logging. for casual firewood cutting it's really stretching the envelope and becomes much more strenuous and dangerous than what one should risk for a warm fire.


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## bass_on_tap (Apr 17, 2010)

*current link to log weight chart*

Try this

http://www.sherrilltree.com/site/pdfs/Log_WeightChart.pdf


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## flyfshrmn (Apr 17, 2010)

*logging in the raw*

No way. I hate sawdust in my sandals. besides, that saw is too puny for that tree.


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## esshup (Jul 5, 2010)

Does anybody know the Cu. Ft. weight of Mulberry? The local tree service has a "log" that is roughly 14' long, 55" dia at the butt and 40" at the other end. They had to whittle away at the root flare to make it narrow enough for their saw to cut thru the base of the tree once they de-limbed it.

It's on their "junk" pile and I think I can get it for free. I just want to try and figure out how much weight I'll be playing with.

I picked up a 32" lightly used Oregon reduced weight bar & chain at the local Dolmar dealer over the weekend at a good price so I think I have the tools to whittle it down to size now.


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## olyman (Jul 5, 2010)

http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_weight try this one-- i put it at black maple--as its of the maple family---and if your measurements are accurate--thats 10,045 lbs!!!!!!!


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## TreePointer (Jul 5, 2010)

esshup said:


> Does anybody know the Cu. Ft. weight of Mulberry?



The cord (128 cu.ft.) weight for mulberry can be found in this chart:
http://extension.usu.edu/forestry/HomeTown/General_HeatingWithWood.htm


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## jefflovstrom (Jul 5, 2010)

olyman said:


> http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_weight try this one-- i put it at black maple--as its of the maple family---and if your measurements are accurate--thats 10,045 lbs!!!!!!!



Maple is Acer and Mulberry is Morus. 
Jeff


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## jefflovstrom (Jul 5, 2010)

esshup said:


> Does anybody know the Cu. Ft. weight of Mulberry? The local tree service has a "log" that is roughly 14' long, 55" dia at the butt and 40" at the other end. They had to whittle away at the root flare to make it narrow enough for their saw to cut thru the base of the tree once they de-limbed it.
> 
> It's on their "junk" pile and I think I can get it for free. I just want to try and figure out how much weight I'll be playing with.
> 
> I picked up a 32" lightly used Oregon reduced weight bar & chain at the local Dolmar dealer over the weekend at a good price so I think I have the tools to whittle it down to size now.



What are you going to do with Mulberry?
Jeff


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## esshup (Jul 6, 2010)

jefflovstrom said:


> What are you going to do with Mulberry?
> Jeff




I figure in 2 years it will put out some good heat when burned in the QuadraFire insert. 

Thanks for the info on the weight guys!


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## WidowMaker (Jun 20, 2011)

DDM said:


> http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/weightchart.pdf
> Calculator
> http://gear.sherrilltree.com/pdf/Log_WeightChart.pdf



====

Links no workee


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## lfnh (Jun 20, 2011)

Moved here:

http://www.sherrilltree.com/site/pdfs/Log_WeightChart.pdf


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## Mntn Man (Aug 26, 2011)

Links aren't working for me. Do they need updating again?


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## Deprime (Sep 12, 2011)

Here is the link for all the instructional PDF files on their site. Some interesting stuff in there.

Instructional PDFs and Literature


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## Alan cox (Feb 2, 2012)

*weight of wood ( few notes)*


ok. I have trucked wood for 40+ years. same species of wood from different hills. vallys. swamps will totally weigh different . we have a few places here that the oak stinks so bad you can smell it coming down the road. some oak is so heavy it is like lead.
we also have white oak from some hills that is awesome. clean. straight and lite. these charts are squat from real life. calculate all you want to but when I can hadly get up beauty shop hill with only ten cord on with a 450 big cam talkin to me I know that load is a serious load of logs. thats how I know 
we sell wood by the ton. have told all my custmers this. its 11 bks for the cat scales. solves all those measureing things.
and the guy that simply agree that there is 3 rick in a cord and deliver that much wood so the guy gets his 30 rick. I used to sell 14 cord loads and just raised the price . the guy was happy and he now knows he always got 30 ricks out of a 10 cord load. however he got 14 cord. paid a lot more but it wasnt the price he was after. it was the amount.
so when he buys wood from someone that actually gave him 10 cord. he is gonna squak because the last guy hauled him 30 rick. now he is only getting 24. he is saying he got ripped but he went shopping for a cheaper price.
when these guys go shopping for wood by price. its like buying work boots doing the same thing.
they get what they are asking for. ricked by a rack. I think its quite funny actually. they dont ask how clean it is. if its tops or the middle of the tree. delivered to their back yard. cement cracked or crushed. wires.
I have a special trailer that pushes the wood off the back of the trailer. I can back into a pole barn. ( inside ) see movie on you tube. alanjcox there is amovie of me pushing off a load of wood inside a GREEN HOUSE, in East Grand Rapids. Romence gardens. see what a real wood hauler does and how its done.
I have been cutting wood since I was 8 years old. communication is the key. referrals are the best way to sell wood.
I dont mind differences of opinion. its the customer getting enough wood so he dosnt end up with winter at the end of his wood pile..


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## rifleman84 (Dec 9, 2012)

Buddy of mine showed me a "Handyman Calculator" app for my smart phone. It has a board feet calculator and log weight with a listing of major species. Quick and easy to use.


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## Chris Cringle (Jun 11, 2020)

I too use the log rate calculators you can find on the net. However, I know that there are variables that can make my real world log lighter or heavier. So I do a crude field check on the weight of the tree using the first block I am loading into my truck. I will take one of the blocks that I have bucked, split it if need be into halves, quarters, sixths, or eighths, with the goal of getting to a piece that according to the calculator should be around X pounds, somewhere in the range of 40-50 pounds. Sink a picaroon tip in the end and then lift it by the tool handle up near the head. Compare that to the weight of a full 5 gallon jerry can of fuel, a load with which I’m fairly familiar. How much heavier is the wood than the gas can, which is in the low 30 lbs? Multiply to estimate the weight of the round. Crude, but tells me if the calculator tech is anywhere close. Believe it has kept me from overloading my light duty pickup. Particularly helpful when harvesting big trees that have started to die or dry but parts still have a ways to go.


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