# used splitter from home depot, new saw (me the newbie)



## pacman (Mar 27, 2007)

Im just a newbie starting a fire wood business, just wanted to share some pics. Used log splitter I but at the homedepot $700 .It has split every thing I put under it including some 3 ft round 2feet thick white oak . New saw too cuts like butter and it "is" a real worker !


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## A. Stanton (Mar 27, 2007)

Congradulations on the new equipment. If you haven't already, I would advise you to always keep your eyes open for a nice piece of land to run your business out of and store the cut wood. A lot of us yankees are heading for your state and this will only drive your real estate prices up.
Just a thought.


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## kellog (Mar 27, 2007)

*Reply to pacman*

Pacman,

equipment looks good. I am very happy to see you using eye and ear protection that unfortunately too many people neglect. Safety is #1.


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## pacman (Mar 27, 2007)

*oh yeah*



kellog said:


> Pacman,
> 
> equipment looks good. I am very happy to see you using eye and ear protection that unfortunately too many people neglect. Safety is #1.



The splitter is loud and the saw is almost as loud as the splitter ! (
huh ? what did you say ? ) Thanks for replying !


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## rb_in_va (Mar 27, 2007)

Mike,
Is this your first year in business? How many cords of wood are likely to sell in a year?


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## SWE#Kipp (Mar 27, 2007)

Nice pics 
enjoy the good equipment !!
and good luck with the firewood business


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## dimanager (Mar 27, 2007)

Welcome, nice stuff, there will be more.
Sam


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## computeruser (Mar 27, 2007)

Looks good! Keep your costs under control and you should be able to make a few bucks. Happy cuttin'!


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## Sprig (Mar 27, 2007)

And another 'Welcome!', good show! Thats a nice splitter and a good saw for what your doing, best of luck on the new business! Work safe and stay happy! :rockn: 



Serge

Small edit here> For us 'dial-up dinos' resizing your pics makes it sooo much easier to have a look-see, you can copy them into any 'paint'-type program then use 'save as... JPEG' which will usually bring them down to around 100kb, or use a free resourse like Irfanview (a resizing utility many people use)


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## Industry (Mar 27, 2007)

Perhaps you already have them, but if not, do yourself a favor and get some steel toe boots for working in. Probably you have some already, but you first pic is shoes. Good luck with the business, and congrats on the new equipment.


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## pacman (Mar 27, 2007)

*first year in the business*



rb_in_va said:


> Mike,
> Is this your first year in business? How many cords of wood are likely to sell in a year?



I dont know how many I can sell a year yet.(my 1st year ) but im going to cut and split for the next couple of months. Thanks for the reply !.....Do you have any ideas for me ?


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## redprospector (Mar 27, 2007)

I've got a splitter similar to that one, I bought it used 15 years ago and it's still splitting. Only God knows how many cords it has split. Do your maintenance and it will last a long time.
In the second pic I like the old cars in the back ground, makes me feel at home. 

Andy


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## Cedarkerf (Mar 27, 2007)

*Welcome*

Best of luck to ya.


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## pacman (Mar 28, 2007)

*old cars and trucks*



redprospector said:


> I've got a splitter similar to that one, I bought it used 15 years ago and it's still splitting. Only God knows how many cords it has split. Do your maintenance and it will last a long time.
> In the second pic I like the old cars in the back ground, makes me feel at home.
> 
> My unckles farm is full of old cars and trucks


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## Ed*L (Mar 28, 2007)

It looks like you are off to a good start. Take care of the equipment and you'll be all set.
Cool old trucks too!!!

Ed


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## Industry (Mar 28, 2007)

please tell me you guys are gonna do something with that old chevy!


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## pacman (Mar 28, 2007)

*old chevy*



Industry said:


> please tell me you guys are gonna do something with that old chevy!



It belongs to my unckle . He has lots of stuff there . I just go out there to cut the wood and trees that has fell down ( yeppie ! lol ) :biggrinbounce2:


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## epicklein22 (Mar 28, 2007)

Looks like you are off to a good start, just go out and have some fun. Make some fliers to put up in your local stores and the customers should come in no time. I was suprised to find out how many people wanted wood in my area. If you are close to a city the better, prices go up because wood is harder to come by. Good luck and keep the pics comin.


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## rb_in_va (Mar 29, 2007)

pacman said:


> Do you have any ideas for me ?



Yes, get ahold of some local tree services to get them to drop off wood to your lot. Do you get your wood for free right now?


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## pacman (Mar 31, 2007)

*thanks !*



rb_in_va said:


> Yes, get ahold of some local tree services to get them to drop off wood to your lot. Do you get your wood for free right now?



I will try some asap ,thanks for the advice .


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## redprospector (Mar 31, 2007)

pacman said:


> My unckles farm is full of old cars and trucks



I could miss it by a year one way or the other, but the first 2 pic's looks to be a 1952 Chevy 5 window. My favorite.  I could have fun for days at your uncle's farm.
Be sure and cut those trees so they don't fall on any of those treasures. 

Andy


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## pacman (Mar 31, 2007)

*you are right*



redprospector said:


> I could miss it by a year one way or the other, but the first 2 pic's looks to be a 1952 Chevy 5 window. My favorite.  I could have fun for days at your uncle's farm.
> Be sure and cut those trees so they don't fall on any of those treasures.
> 
> Andy



my unckle said it was a 51 or a 52 chevy


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## redprospector (Apr 1, 2007)

That would make a pretty cool delivery/parade/advertising/tax deduction truck. A real eye catcher all fixed up.  

Andy


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## pacman (Apr 2, 2007)

*huh ? tax deduction ?*



redprospector said:


> That would make a pretty cool delivery/parade/advertising/tax deduction truck. A real eye catcher all fixed up.
> 
> Andy



How can it be a tax deduction, Red ?


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## redprospector (Apr 3, 2007)

Fix it up all pretty, with wood side boards with your business name all over them. Put it in a few parades, take it to the fair, park it in places it can be noticed. It's advertising at it's finest.  

Andy


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## rb_in_va (Apr 4, 2007)

pacman said:


> How can it be a tax deduction, Red ?



It's a business expense. Do you do your own taxes?


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## FBX1986 (Apr 7, 2007)

*splitter*

pacman ,
what types of wood are you selling ?is it mostly hardwood you have in tenn. or like pine or what? good luck and welcome.


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## lawson's tree s (Apr 7, 2007)

good luck with the splitter and the saw. hopefully it will turn a few bucks for you . shouldn't have any problems selling firewood people can't get enough when it gets cold out.


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## pacman (Apr 7, 2007)

*hard woods*



FBX1986 said:


> pacman ,
> what types of wood are you selling ?is it mostly hardwood you have in tenn. or like pine or what? good luck and welcome.




I am going to sell mostly hard woods but I usually get most of it on the side of the road and lots that have been cleared.I got some cherry and walnut last week ,about 3-4 truck loads ,untill it got too dark ... hahah .


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## pacman (Apr 7, 2007)

*winched !*

Today I put a winch on my 16 foot trailer to give me a lil help with the bigger bucks.


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## yooperman (Apr 8, 2007)

I noticed green on the trees in your pics. I just plowed 16"+ of snow in my firewood yard yesterday(after a week of 60deg. weather). Want to trade? LOL Is that an 029 stihl you have? I've been using one for years. The thing won't die so I can't justify going and getting another saw(Jonsered 2165 drool like Homer Simpson). Nice winch set up also. Do you plan on deliveries or sell roadside? Sell good wood and you'll have more people call than you have wood to sell. Good luck.


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## sweetleafburner (Apr 8, 2007)

*got chaps?*

its real cool what your doing .ear muffs,glasses,no safety boots,but dude you have to get some chaps.and steel toe boots.but most of all chaps.safety first, the reson for safety is whats waiting for you at home.dont take it for granted.and dont pay no mind about them yanks there is plenty of wood out there for everyone .


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## sweetleafburner (Apr 8, 2007)

*old cars*

a man your:rockn: lucky and dont know it man i would love to have them cars and trucks on my land man id be restoreing them. i have a 63 impala ss and i love tree work but next to that are cars im a old school car buff i love trees and cars more then my wife lol just kidding but i do love cars old cars


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## pacman (Apr 9, 2007)

*Winch IS ON !*

I went to work friday and my supervisor asked me to work saturday , so I said ok . Then I asked him how about that winch back in the shop what are you going to do with it ?He says I dont know its been back there a while and guys have been asking for it . So I says can I have it and put it on my trailer tomorrow ? He says ok bring your trailer up here tomorrow and pick it up. Believe me im not a welder but look what I done while I was at work. I cut the pieces with a cuttin torch .Then I made a template of the base of the winch ,made straight marks on the trailer ,then clamped and welded the pieces,boltedit down. Sunday I connected the cables up and it didnt work , hahahah, (2hours later) found out the problem was the wires were snatch out of the plug .I fixed it the wires then went to the woods to try it out . Worked like a champ . Picked up some oaks bucks around 400 lbs .Thank the boss for the freebie !


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## Sprig (Apr 9, 2007)

pacman said:


> I went to work friday and my supervisor asked me to work saturday , so I said ok . Then I asked him how about that winch back in the shop what are you going to do with it ?He says I dont know its been back there a while and guys have been asking for it . So I says can I have it and put it on my trailer tomorrow ? He says ok bring your trailer up here tomorrow and pick it up. Believe me im not a welder but look what I done while I was at work. I cut the pieces with a cuttin torch .Then I made a template of the base of the winch ,made straight marks on the trailer ,then clamped and welded the pieces,boltedit down. Sunday I connected the cables up and it didnt work , hahahah, (2hours later) found out the problem was the wires were snatch out of the plug .I fixed it the wires then went to the woods to try it out . Worked like a champ . Picked up some oaks bucks around 400 lbs .Thank the boss for the freebie !



Cool rig pacman! It looks strong and functional, some grinding and paint'll make it, (might have added a brace in case you snag while dragging somethng big, from the front of the bed to just above the red part on the upright of the stand, just a thought as i could see this maybe bending the frame the way it sits), hope my first welding project turns out half that good, yer a natural 



Serge


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## pacman (Apr 9, 2007)

*Its a 290*



yooperman said:


> I noticed green on the trees in your pics. I just plowed 16"+ of snow in my firewood yard yesterday(after a week of 60deg. weather). Want to trade? LOL Is that an 029 stihl you have? I've been using one for years. The thing won't die so I can't justify going and getting another saw(Jonsered 2165 drool like Homer Simpson). Nice winch set up also. Do you plan on deliveries or sell roadside? Sell good wood and you'll have more people call than you have wood to sell. Good luck.



I think its a 290 farm boss or some thing like that . I bought it new and they said it will last over 20yrs ! Cool Huh ! I am going to find me a spot at the farmers market and sell the wood. Its alot of hackberry here and its easy as pie to split .Im going to sell what ever kind of wood I can sell that they want to buy ,stick $2, truck load $75 ,trailer load ( I dont know yet hahah ) mayybe $175 -250 !
Did you check out my winch pic ?


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## Ed Roland (Apr 9, 2007)

Pacman, Thats good stuff, man. Cutting in the presence of old Iron sure beats the goat infested lot I get to cut in.

Consider that a half cord fits on a 4 x 4 pallet @ 4'. A little shrink wrap, some pallets, a means to move said pallets...

Just a thought. I am seeing it more and more.


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## pacman (Apr 9, 2007)

*thanks*



Sprig said:


> Cool rig pacman! It looks strong and functional, some grinding and paint'll make it, (might have added a brace in case you snag while dragging somethng big, from the front of the bed to just above the red part on the upright of the stand, just a thought as i could see this maybe bending the frame the way it sits), hope my first welding project turns out half that good, yer a natural
> 
> 
> 
> Serge



I didnt see that untill you said it . I think I will weld a brace inbetween the traile frame and put a brace in front incase it might want to come apart from too much weight .


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## pacman (Apr 9, 2007)

*Hey Mon !*



woodweasel said:


> Pacman, Thats good stuff, man. Cutting in the presence of old Iron sure beats the goat infested lot I get to cut in.
> 
> Consider that a half cord fits on a 4 x 4 pallet @ 4'. A little shrink wrap, some pallets, a means to move said pallets...
> 
> Just a thought. I am seeing it more and more.



I really like that idea but I dont know how strong the winch is.I would like to drop off a palet of wood in a drive way with it though hahaha !!!


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## Ed*L (Apr 11, 2007)

Pacman, nice score on the winch setup!!! You did a good job on setting it up also.

It should save you a lot of backaches!!! 

Ed


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## pacman (Apr 17, 2007)

*Free Bucks*

I talked to a local tree service this week and asked him did he want to get rid of some logs for fire wood and he said that he has any where from 10 - 15 dumps of logs a week that he pays $40 to dump at the land fill . I think I might tell him he can dump logs on my spot for free . Is this a good idea ? What do you guys think ? Any advise ? Thank you !


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## BlueRidgeMark (Apr 17, 2007)

Sounds like you have it made for wood, pacman!  Be careful, though. One other person on this site mentioned that he found the tree people were dropping off TRASH along with the trees. You'll have to keep a close eye on it, or your uncle's farm will start looking like the trash dump!

He's likely going to drop off the whole tree, too, which means branches and small stuff. You'll have to deal with that, so that's more work to do. You're obviously not afraid to work, but it's just more time you have to allow.


Maybe someday you can get a chipper and do some mulch business, too. 


I'll second the motion to get some chaps, though. And you'll need to learn to sharpen that chain. It's going to need it on a regular basis. 

That's a beautiful state you live in. I spent about 6 weeks working around Nashville and down south of there a few years back. Nice folks around there!


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## rb_in_va (Apr 17, 2007)

pacman said:


> I talked to a local tree service this week and asked him did he want to get rid of some logs for fire wood and he said that he has any where from 10 - 15 dumps of logs a week that he pays $40 to dump at the land fill . I think I might tell him he can dump logs on my spot for free . Is this a good idea ? What do you guys think ? Any advise ? Thank you !



I think it's an excellent idea! But just keep in mind that he may dump logs that you won't be able to process into firewood. Just have a plan to use them. Are there any portable sawmill owners in your area? Might work a deal where they saw the logs for their own use, or yours, or a compromise of the two.


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## Ed Roland (Apr 17, 2007)

Pacman, consider a small mill set up for the logs that are not good for btu material.


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## Sprig (Apr 17, 2007)

Sounds good at da front of it for the wood dump, as others have said tho you'll want to look at what to do with the leftover stuff (giant EPA unfriendly bonfires comes to mind, but heck, I _like_ a good fire (good being it doesn't burn your barn down or poison anyone  ).
The reason I'm posting here is to warn you of one factor and that is of where did the wood come from?? Free wood is great, granted, but free wood that was an old fence-line (with potential metal components) may not be such a good deal, and, you wouldn't want to be trying to mill it on someone else's mill unless someone is prepared to check it out thoroughly with a detector.
The reason I am sayin' this is not to discourage you by any means, but I have a bunch of stuff in my yard (that is now being bon-fired as I speak) that was nice looking cut-offs, um, it was full of nails (think they used some of this for guides for a csm) and darned iffin I'll put my saw to it if I can help it. Just sayin', don't let people dump of any-old-sht on ya, if you can help them by getting rid of stuff thats cool, but make sure you speak to them not to lay carp on ya! Other than that.............have at 'er bro!!!! 



Serge


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## pacman (Apr 17, 2007)

*Thanks for the advise !*

This week end im going to go talk with him and maybe I could just pick it up my self ( the stuff he had cut ) . Like you guys said , it might might be alot of stuff on there I dont want . I was just thinking I could get ahead of thing with him dumping about a mount of stuff out there but I better just load it myself , right ! :monkey:


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## ddhlakebound (Apr 18, 2007)

pacman said:


> This week end im going to go talk with him and maybe I could just pick it up my self ( the stuff he had cut ) . Like you guys said , it might might be alot of stuff on there I dont want . I was just thinking I could get ahead of thing with him dumping about a mount of stuff out there but I better just load it myself , right ! :monkey:



Definately talk to him. I don't think picking it up will be a very good option, because he's not going to want to stage the material somewhere, so unless you can pick it up on the jobsite, as soon as it comes down, he's not gonna want to leave it laying there waiting to be picked up. 

In addition, fuel is expensive, and everything you don't spend on fuel goes straight to your profit margin. You will make more money in less time, if your blocks/logs are being dumped on site for free. 

If he's paying $40/ton now, and your site is of comparable distance to what he's driving now to dump, I don't think you'll have a problem as long as you communicate clearly what you are willing to have dumped on your site. Tell him you ONLY want hardwood logs/blocks. If he's generating 15/20 loads of wood per week, he's probably got a chipper for all the brush. You may be able to take his chips for pay, say $20/ton, then either compost them for soil amendment, or sell them cheap for plain landscaping chips. (They do need to be aged 9-12 months before being used in landscaping.) Either way, you will be cutting his dump fees dramatically, increasing his profit margin. It's not unreasonable for you to specifically define what you're willing to have dumped, or how much of it. Clear communication is the key. 

He's paying to dump, and you're spending time and fuel to get wood to your site. Sounds like a great way to solve both your problems.


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## joesawer (Apr 18, 2007)

Try explaining your sitiuation to him. Explain that you dont need any trash or huge forks. that you just need logs that you can process into fire wood. Even if he only brings you a couple of loads per week, he saves dump fees and you get lots of fire wood.
The chip thing might be something to look into.
You mentioned going to the farmers market. I'm thinking that you probably wont sell much fire wood there, but you will meet a lot of potential customers.
I think it would be a great sales oprotunity.Take some business cards and a small load of wood. More people will stop and want to talk than you will have time to talk to. You might want to try the local flea market also.
Good luck to ya!


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## pacman (Apr 18, 2007)

*That is what I was thinking ....*

so unless you can pick it up on the jobsite, as soon as it comes down, he's not gonna want to leave it laying there waiting to be picked up. 



If he's paying $40/ton now, and your site is of comparable distance to what he's driving now to dump, I don't think you'll have a problem as long as you communicate clearly what you are willing to have dumped on your site.

Either way, you will be cutting his dump fees dramatically, increasing his profit margin. It's not unreasonable for you to specifically define what you're willing to have dumped, or how much of it. Clear communication is the key. 

He's paying to dump, and you're spending time and fuel to get wood to your site. Sounds like a great way to solve both your problems.[/QUOTE]

Well said that is exactly what I had in mind... I thank you for the advise but I dont want the mulch , not this year . This is my first year doing this .Thanks for the advise .


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## BlueRidgeMark (Apr 18, 2007)

pacman said:


> ... I thank you for the advise but I dont want the mulch , not this year . This is my first year doing this .Thanks for the advise .



I think that's wise. You've got to learn the ropes on the firewood business, get that up and running well, then maybe you can add the mulch business later.


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## pacman (Apr 30, 2007)

*24 inch oak buck split*

Here is just a pic of what my used splitter is capable of doing . This is a buck from a tree that has been lying on the ground a year or two ( dont know for sure but it was tough to cut with my saw ) . I found a lot with some downed trees to buck and split this week end so I will be posting new pictures . I like doing this stuff .


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## pacman (Apr 30, 2007)

*oh yeah*

Thats red oak being split in that pic .


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## Log Splitter (May 3, 2007)

I like those old trucks! Do they still have the engines and drivetrain?

Good luck with the firewood business, BTW. Looks like you are off to a good start.


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## pacman (May 3, 2007)

*oh yes*



Log Splitter said:


> I like those old trucks! Do they still have the engines and drivetrain?
> 
> Good luck with the firewood business, BTW. Looks like you are off to a good start.



Most of them have engines and will run . It might need a lil attention though .


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