# Buying Slab wood vs split wood



## winland (Feb 24, 2012)

Around here, NW Ohio, a pick-up load of split ash firewood will normally cost about $60 - $75.
How do I compare that to a pickup load of slab wood from a sawmill?
I do not have to cut or split the ash. Just unload it and burn it.
The slab wood comes in various sizes, shapes, lengths.
Any help or suggestions on buying or burning slab wood?


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## fordss (Feb 24, 2012)

I have Burnt slab wood it dry fast and burns good but I burns faster then cordwood because more surface area. Slab wood around here runs about $20 a bundle and yeilds about 3/4 cord.the To me the down falls of slab wood is that its a pita to cut unless you make some kind of jig to hold it as you cut also you need to fill the stove more. If you burn slab be careful not to over fill the stove as it can get a way from you easyer the cord wood.


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## MNGuns (Feb 24, 2012)

I believe slab wood to be more difficult to process, and you end up with a lot of bark rather than hard wood.


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## branchbuzzer (Feb 24, 2012)

winland said:


> Around here, NW Ohio, a pick-up load of split ash firewood will normally cost about $60 - $75.
> How do I compare that to a pickup load of slab wood from a sawmill?
> I do not have to cut or split the ash. Just unload it and burn it.
> The slab wood comes in various sizes, shapes, lengths.
> Any help or suggestions on buying or burning slab wood?



Most likely, if you try to use it exclusively, you're going to get tired of all the extra handling and cutting, the fast burn times and extra loading. It might seem like a way to save some bucks initially, but in the end more trouble than it's worth.

What you could do is just use it on a limited basis. Use it to supplement your other wood, mix it in as starter wood, a piece in with a reload to help it start, use a small load on a spring or fall day to knock the chill off. That way you'll still get use out of, still save a little dough, but not be constantly faced with handling and cutting it. 

As already mentioned, if it's small in size be careful of using a full stove load since you could easily over-fire your burner due to the extra surface area.


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## winland (Feb 24, 2012)

fordss said:


> Slab wood around here runs about $20 a bundle and yeilds about 3/4 cord.



Can you define a "bundle" a bit better for me? 

The load of slab wood that I got had little to no bark on it. Just a lot of big scrap from the Amish saw mill.


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## stihl in ky (Feb 24, 2012)

I sell the small 1 ft square bundles to gas stations and some campgrounds around this area and thats all I use is slab wood from sawmills. I get around 200-230 small bundles from one big bundle. I got the Smartholder wood holder from Baileys and it works great. Makes cutting a piece of cake. Very little waste. I also keep some for myself to make my cordwood last longer and it is perfect for getting the fire started. Don't think I would burn by itself all the time though. Try mixing it and see how that works for you.


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## Wood Doctor (Feb 24, 2012)

*Slabwood Looks Good BUT ...*



MNGuns said:


> I believe slab wood to be more difficult to process, and you end up with a lot of bark rather than hard wood.


Cutting rounds for spliiting is better. Slabwood also wears out saw chains quickly because its often packed with dirt. And, it's surprising how much slabwood still has to be split after you cut slabbed strips to length.

Slabwood looks tempting piled up at the sawmills until you try to process it for firewood yourself.


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## cheeves (Feb 24, 2012)

When I lived in Bethesda, Ohio in the 80's I had a sawmill not a1/4 mile from my house. Could here the saw going, Findly ncaved in and went over there. Got to know the forklift operator. He'd lift up a great big pile and just plop it right down in my truck. How ya going to beat it!? Had a pile after awhile n my back yard about 40ft tall. One thing about slab wood is you have to be patient ageing it. takes awhile cuz of the bark. If you don't let it sit be ready for a flue fire! It will happen. Trust me. Great stuff though and easy!!! Let it age!


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## fordss (Feb 24, 2012)

winland said:


> Can you define a "bundle" a bit better for me?
> 
> Around here a bundle is about 3-4 foot round and 6-12 foot boards most with out bark with metal banding to hold it all together


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## Encore (Feb 24, 2012)

winland said:


> Can you define a "bundle" a bit better for me?
> 
> The load of slab wood that I got had little to no bark on it. Just a lot of big scrap from the Amish saw mill.



They are talking about the slabs still in log length. 

You are probably from my area. I live very close to a lot of the amish mills and they sell it like you described. They run it through the de-barker, then it squares up the log, the slabs are processed into about 18" pieces and come out a conveyor belt into a pile. 

Anyways, your slab will burn up much quicker than split wood. I have a buddy who owns a mill and I keep around a cord stacked that I burn in the spring for those short small fires in the morning or whatever. But as far as what gets you through the winter, it's not much comparison to split wood. 

However if you are buying your wood, around here it's going for $175-$200/cord so I guess you have to weigh the cost. I cut and split my own wood so it doesn't make sense for me to buy wood.


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## bikeralan (Feb 25, 2012)

Here in Northern Lower Mich I buy from a local Amish mill, a 16 ft trailer heaped w 8ft pieces of hardwood slabs runs 30 bucks. They sell for 25 for a pulp cord, I run in my OWB and works great, makes a ton of coals. I put some on ground like stickers then pile it on and cut down through the whole pile, some pieces are really thick.
Works great for me.


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## 4b316 (Feb 25, 2012)

*slab wood*

Neighbor up the road cut cherry logs only.8,s,10,s,12,s footers.He put them in a jig he build when they come off the mill,one end up against a steel plate and cuts the ends off the other side at 8 foot.He also has a outside woodstove that he uses these pieces for.He bands the bundle,picks them up out of the jig and put them on my hay wagon running gear.I made a rack 4 foot wide and 3 feet high to take a bundle and set the stacks so I can cut the load in 3 piles and I feed the stove right off that.$15 a bundle.Also set up so that we can cut the bundle into 4 foot if we want to use it at the church.(big Heatmoor)


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## rwoods (Feb 25, 2012)

I've been burning slabs for the first time this year as I clean up from where I had some lumber cut. 

IME - The cons: it was a pain to cut to size without a jig or a helper; not as dry as you would think it should be; and not much burn time. I would also add hard to handle/stack but I had some empty pallets for field stone (wood pallet with wire sides) which I just threw the wood in and moved with the tractor which actually made it pretty convenient. The pros: easy to get a fire going; and easy to fill the firebox (but as previously posted you have to be careful as you can get a real hot fire real fast). If you had a choice of limiting your slabs to good thick ones (i.e. more wood than bark and a band of heart wood) go for it. If your choice is mostly bark and sap wood, then try it but you probably won't like it. 

Ron


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## Turkeyslayer (Feb 25, 2012)

I bought processed (cut to 16" lengths) slab wood once, and would not do it again. I had a 5 cord load delivered and I would say that about 1/4 was nice sized pieces large enough to get a decent burn time. 1/2 or maybe a little less was smallish pieces more kindling sized or a hair larger. And 1/4 or slightly more was tiny little pieces that were kindling sized. The little stuff was a huge PITA to pile! I personally think your money would be better spent on buying split cord wood, but your mileage may vary depending on the size of slab wood.


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## winland (Feb 25, 2012)

I want to thank everyone for their input and experiences.
I have gotten one load of slab wood and I think it will be my last.
I probably overpaid a little bit for it, but I am a quick learner.
Too much additional work involved in the slab wood vs. the standard split wood to make it worth the effort.

Thanks again.


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## 7sleeper (Feb 29, 2012)

Here's a thread where I demonstrate how I do it. I find slabwood a very good firewood.

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/123658.htm



7sleeper said:


> This is my try on showing how I process slab wood directly from the sawmill. Many people like my fil are rather old and not very handy any more(after 2 heartattachs & 2 strokes no wonder!) so they use the chance of getting slabwood very cheap from the sawmill's around the area. This is in the southern alpine region of Austria so Beech, Oak or similar is a rarity. Out of the softwoods Larch(or Tamarack) is a very good type of wood so if you can get it, do it. Luckily he has been able to aquire 6 bundles of slabwood from a local mill and had this delivered to his property. Each bundle is approx. 6 meters long and 1 meter in diameter (we are metric over here  ).
> I will try to chronicly show how I, in my limited time, make his firewood for the winter.
> 
> 1. The bundles are delivered
> ...



7


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## Wood Doctor (Feb 29, 2012)

*Rounds are still better*

Whereas I appreciate your post and your effort to process slabs, bear in mind that I have sometimes split and secured 50 firewood logs from one round of hardwood. Most of the time, I average about 10 logs from a round and those are the rounds that I prefer because big rounds are really heavy and awkward.

Regardless, slabs are also inconsistent along their length--heavy here and light there. Many men find this frustrating compared to large rounds, especially when bucking and splitting is still required. However, as long as you do not mind working with slabs and lots of bark, believe me, you are saving valuable fuel. BTDT.


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## genesis5521 (Feb 29, 2012)

winland said:


> Any help or suggestions on buying or burning slab wood?



I'm in Northeast Wisconsin. I heated with slab hardwood for 3 years. Got it for $30 a bundle which was an honest full cord. Everything was 8 feet long. I burn 5 cords a season. $150 I spent on that slab wood each year saved me umpteen trips and tons of time scrounging for and processing firewood. Slab wood was easy to process. Just cut it up. No splitting. It burns hotter than normal split stuff. I liked it. Cheapest and easiest way to heat my home. Mill I was buying from went out of business. Now I'm back to scrounging. I'd go back to slab wood in a heartbeat. But that's just me. To each his own.

Don <><


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## Fred Wright (Mar 2, 2012)

A sawmill down the road from here sells slabwood cut to fireplace length pretty cheap. There's a mountain of the stuff on site. I've seen many a pickup/trailer going down the road, filled with it.

We tried some awhile back. As the folks said it's a bother to work with and you still have to split it. Some pieces you could drop on concrete and they'd break. Others were really thick and oddly shaped. It's good starter wood but I wouldn't fill the stove with it.

If you can get a load cheap you might be able to sell it at profit ~ dump it in the driveway.

This thread brings back memories. There was an oak flooring plant down the road when I lived in Va. They'd sell you a pickup load of scraps for $10.00. Now that was nice stuff, kiln dried, all oak. We used it for kindling; a load lasted us 2 years.


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## alleyyooper (Mar 2, 2012)

As a kid we would take the old 5 ton stake truck to the saw mill. It was parked under the conver that ran the cut to 18Inch long slabs out side. It took a good day if they didn't have a break down to fill the truck. we usally parked the truck early in the morning then got it home in the evening and unloaded it in the wood shed. that wood woirked really well in our wood burners a big Warm Morning in the living room an old woodcook stove in the kitchen and a smaller cast iron one we called a laundry stove in the small room next to the dinning room. Another mill opened down the road a couple of miles who left the slabs 8 feet long. We parked a couple of hay racks down there to collect those too. It was really good wood to burn for all our needs Of course the bigger chunksdidn't go in the cook stove.
Was a sad day when they both the same summer went to chipping the slabs up selling the chips to the wood fired generating plant. I've been told that today they sell most of it to companies who make mulch for gardners.

 Al


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## Wood Doctor (Mar 2, 2012)

*Slabs Ain't Light*

The local saw mill now chips most of their slabs for landscaping, but they still have lots of them available for practically nothing (except work). Well over half is cottonwood, however. The market for pallets is coming back slowly.

Remember also that many slabs are rather heavy. To load them yourself, you might have to cut many of them in half just to get them onto a pickup truck. Best bet might be to load them onto a 16' to 20' trailer with a loader and then tie down the load. After that, two men to process them works better than one (but isn't that normally the case?)


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## Streblerm (Mar 3, 2012)

Last year I got slabs delivered for $25 a bundle. Each bundle is about 2/3 of a cord give or take. I bought two tri-axle loads. I think it is a toss up whether it is more labor intensive to cut and split vs handling more pieces of slabwood. At $25 a bundle delivered you can't beat it. A bundle is about all my truck can handle. When I think back to the wood that I have scrounged, brought home, and processed, I think that I would gladly pay someone $25 a pickup load to bring it to my house.

I used to cut them in the bundle but I got tired of wasting chains. I have a sawbuck for cutting by myself. I have found the best way is to have a helper slide the slabwood over the sides of my trailer and then cut them one or two at a time letting the wood fall into the trailer. There is much less handling this way. With two people we can easily process a cord an hour and it is easy work compared to splitting and chucking big pieces.


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## alleyyooper (Mar 3, 2012)

What we found here was for 3 guys to work the slabs. One person and some times two wouldf drag them off onto the table.second person worked the table while the third person wouldthrow the cut chunks in the wood shed window. Ya we had a dirt floor room just for fire wood.

 Al


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