# Any body buying log truck loads of poles for firewood.



## saxono3 (Dec 22, 2012)

Ive been selling Firewood for about 15 years. Ive never made it through a winter without selling every stick I had seasoned. Some years only 30 or 40 cords. Some years close to 100 cords. Some years Ive lost track. Book keeping was never my strong point.
Now, I get most of my wood bringing it home a pickup load at a time from logging jobs, cut offs, drag a few tops out, as long as the company I'm cutting for is okay with it and most are. But this doesn't add up to fast. I don't get wood every day and the truck is full of equipment so I cant fit more than a few rows across the back. 
I get some paying for it to land owners who have their land recently logged. But this is time consuming and its really only something to keep me busy between logging jobs.
I get some for free cleaning up storm damage trees and what not for people. I cut some on my own land every year but not more than two or three cords. Al this like I said gets me to between 30 and 100 cords a year. 
I like to make a good part time business out of firewood. Id like to sell about 200 to 225 cords a year. Or more, maybe much more. I think I can move it.
Around here a cord of good seasoned wood sells for about $150 picked up and between $180 and $200 delivered. Ive seen hire, and Ive seen much lower. And what I have noticed is by about the middle of Jan. most of the ads selling firewood are pretty well dried up. The ones selling wood cheap seem to dry up first. Last year I ran a test. I cut out a bunch of ads in Nov. and Dec. I waited till the end of Jan and called them all. Some never returned my call, and the ones that did, very few still had wood and a few offered "semi" seasoned wood. Wonder what that is?
Id like to be the guy with wood ALL THE TIME. Sell it to campers in the summer, yes, I have a place I can do that. And the year round outdoor wood burner folks. 
So, about the only way I can figure to get that much wood is to buy some of it in log truck loads of poles. They are going from $700 to $800 a load delivered. 
If I charge a base price of $150 a cord, and get 6 to 7 cords of wood per truck (I think most loads are between 6 and 7 cords split and stacked) and pay $700 for the truck load that doesn't leave much. I guess between $300 and $400 per load. Or somewheres around $50 per cord profit. My wife (who is smarter than me) says that's not enough, with the added cost of bars,chains, fuel, splitter parts and fuel. And whatever else burns bends or breaks. I think its alright. 
So, what do you guys think? Any body else doing this?


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## showrguy (Dec 22, 2012)

your right.......

your wife is a very smart girl....

where you at in Pa. ??


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## saxono3 (Dec 22, 2012)

showrguy said:


> your right.......
> 
> your wife is a very smart girl....
> 
> where you at in Pa. ??



Every bodies a comedian.  PM inbound showrguy.


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## blackdogon57 (Dec 22, 2012)

You would need to sell for at least 300 per cord to make it worth your time.


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## Hddnis (Dec 22, 2012)

What is top dollar for a cord in your area?



Mr. HE


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## saxono3 (Dec 22, 2012)

Hddnis said:


> What is top dollar for a cord in your area?
> 
> 
> 
> Mr. HE



Highest Ive seen is $200. a cord with a $25. delivery fee on top of that. I have to wonder if they are selling much at that price.


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## Hddnis (Dec 22, 2012)

saxono3 said:


> Highest Ive seen is $200. a cord with a $25. delivery fee on top of that. I have to wonder if they are selling much at that price.





Reason I ask is that around here prices per cord are advertised from $135 up to $225 delivered in town and stacking is extra. With the price of a truckload of logs here a guy would make very little selling for $135 a cord. But, guys selling in the $175 to $225 range can make good money buying logs by the truckload and turning it into firewood. So far I've never had trouble moving wood at the higher prices. If people don't buy from me this year they will next year when the cheap stuff they got was full of rot, too wet to burn and left a huge mess where they stacked it.



Mr HE


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## Como (Dec 22, 2012)

I have seen more and more ads, more people seemingly trying to sell and few buyers because it has been so warm.

We also had some big storms a year ago and there is a lot down, there for free if you can collect.

Truckers seem to charge about $125 an hour so $700 seems a lot.

I did not measure the semi truck I had delivered, but a 40 ft trailer 8 ft wide is 320 sq ft or at least 2 cords per foot high. I am sure it was at least 8ft high. Now I am buying soft wood but even so.


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## sb47 (Dec 22, 2012)

Since you have some access to wood from jobs, why not do a little better planning and drag a trailer to work a few days a week and bring more home with you?
Get a dump bed so you can just drop a load and be ready for the next day with an empty trailer. You could haul a cord at a time with a good trailer each trip. 
As for sales and trying to compete with others, I don't. I have a base price that is fair and if they don’t like what I have they are free to go elsewhere. There are so many wood sellers that pop up this time of year it get crazy on cl. The people that buy from me all seem to like what the are getting and refer there friends and keep coming back, even though there is a lot of cheaper wood out there.


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## jcl (Dec 30, 2012)

sb47 said:


> Since you have some access to wood from jobs, why not do a little better planning and drag a trailer to work a few days a week and bring more home with you?
> Get a dump bed so you can just drop a load and be ready for the next day with an empty trailer. You could haul a cord at a time with a good trailer each trip.
> As for sales and trying to compete with others, I don't. I have a base price that is fair and if they don’t like what I have they are free to go elsewhere. There are so many wood sellers that pop up this time of year it get crazy on cl. The people that buy from me all seem to like what the are getting and refer there friends and keep coming back, even though there is a lot of cheaper wood out there.



x2
get a dump trl or dump bed truck. (i got both ) leave trl at work till full and you can use it at the end of the year to deliver.
there more money in season wood the green also if you can get a year ahead you can make more money just from the sun that what i do. But it takes up alot of space. As far as rot only wood thats sitting on the ground may rot depends on how much rain and ground. Anything i find black, rotted or ugly looking i burn it in my shop it burns well for me


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## cantoo (Dec 30, 2012)

You're lucky you guys don't have to pay income tax, up here it kills us.


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## Curlycherry1 (Dec 30, 2012)

You need to find a cheaper supplier. That is almost 2X what my brother pays in CNY. He has been using the same suppliers for over 15 years but he has gotten a great relationship from him and they can count on cash payments when they need it. One of them waits until just before hunting season and he gets his full payment all at once so the wife does not see the money.  At one to 2 loads per week that is a serious chunk of change, but then again, this guy goes hunting in Alaska for big game so he needs the $$$.

Go to your local chainsaw repair place that services the loggers and post that you need logs. You will find plenty of offers and you just need to sort through the good and the bad ones to find good suppliers that can keep you happy for a good price.


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## epicklein22 (Dec 30, 2012)

I'm in a similar position. I always sell out early and never find it very hard to move that amount of wood (50 cords or so a year). I'm to the point of seeing just how much can I sell a year. I can access 50 cords of wood pretty easily, but doubling that up to 100 or so will make me look into various sources for wood. I've never paid for wood and if I have to, then I have to look at raising my price as well.

I'm also entertaining the idea of buying a homemade processor. It needs some work, but is well built, perkins diesel powerplant, large chain driven deck that can hold at least a cord and a half at a time.

Lastly, a local firewood sales guy always buys his wood every year. $175 a cord delivered. $150 picked up. He's less than 10 miles away and I can haul 5 cords at a time with a 6 axle dump truck. Gonna look into that as well.

Decisions!


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## WestMIFirewood (Dec 30, 2012)

I too have been toying with the idea of buying a truckload of logs and processing into firewood. I can get 9 cord for $900, an figure I can sell for $175 per cord picked up, up to $225 delivered. 

It doesn't leave much meat on the bone though. The benefits to me are I really enjoy the process, it is not so much work as it is a release from my everyday job. I also have a 8 year old boy that helps out quite a bit, and I think it would be a good opportunity to develop a work ethic in him. 

Don't have any dreams of getting rich off it of course. If I can scratch together an extra $1000-$2000 a season that would make for an awfully nice Christmas or vacation fund.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2


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## Curlycherry1 (Dec 30, 2012)

We got out of the woods about 25+ years ago and since that time firewood selling has been much more profitable. The cost of getting wood in the woods is very high. Sure paying for logs delivered to your yard is expensive, but considering the costs of doing it one's self, it pays back in dividends. It was ~25 years ago that my brother started buying logs by the truckload and it has been much better for him ever since.


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## avc8130 (Dec 31, 2012)

In my area, cords of SPLIT wood can be had for $100 if bought in bulk (3+) and shopped around. Paying someone $100/cord for log length just sounds crazy to me. 

To go from logs to split wood costs a fair amount. Gas/oil/chain/maintenance for 1 cord is probably ~$10 all said and done? How much time is that? ~2 hours working HARD? 

ac


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## Como (Dec 31, 2012)

avc8130 said:


> In my area, cords of SPLIT wood can be had for $100 if bought in bulk (3+) and shopped around. Paying someone $100/cord for log length just sounds crazy to me.
> 
> To go from logs to split wood costs a fair amount. Gas/oil/chain/maintenance for 1 cord is probably ~$10 all said and done? How much time is that? ~2 hours working HARD?
> 
> ac



The capital depreciation on your equipment is the biggie.
Gas for splitter - 40c
Gas and oil for chain saw - 80c
Never costed chains.

But the equipment has to be replaced, paid for.

I agree with the premise, I have seen adverts from people offering free logs, blow downs from last year.


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## Patrick62 (Dec 31, 2012)

*Your results may vary*

I got a log supplier up here that deliveres a full load of logs for a grand. It works out to $50 to $55 per cord depending on how righteous he loads the truck. This is by far the cheapest way that I can get wood here. working a cut always seems to be higher in cost.

My cord price is about the same, and 50 for the wood makes it tough to make any profit. The numbers will be crunched tonight!! (where I find out just how stupid 2012 has been for me) Watch your loads, and see how well they loaded the logs. If they are not nice and straight and laid in tight you are probably getting screwed.

Good luck!


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## sb47 (Dec 31, 2012)

I keep seeing people post up that they can split a cord of wood in a few hours.
Without knowing the details, its hard to know how that can be done.
I have a single stroke hydraulic splitter and with cut rounds stacked next to it, I can barley split a cord a day.
How can one split a cord in 2 hours? 
I know the variables can have a great deal to do with it, but damn, I sure wish I could split a cord in 2 hours.
My wood comes from tree companies, (mostly red and post oak)so I get what they bring me, and most of the time, it’s big tree trunks that cant be shredded.
If I start early and noodle up some rounds, then split and toss into a pile, then stack it. I can barley get a cord a day done.
It goes a little faster when the wood is around 18” in diameter and in long strait logs and I split into large pieces. 
Splitting it into smaller pieces takes a lot more time, some like the bigger split wood and some like the smaller stuff.


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## Curlycherry1 (Dec 31, 2012)

Your splitter is probably on the slow end of the spectrum. A Supersplit can really whack the wood and I have been using a friend's for a few years now and I am blown away how fast it is. I can split about as fast as a person with an axe on a below zero day can do. It is literally so fast that I cannot run one more than 4-6 hours max before I am totally wiped out.

A 4-Way splitter can really up the production. 4-5 Full cords per day if the blocks are ready is possible for a single person splitting.

A firewood processor can up the production. My brother gets consistent 7 face cords out of his Timberwolf processor in 1:45-2.5 hours depending on the quality of the logs. He has one person running the processor and a helper feeding logs, and helping with splitting the big stuff that misses the main splitter. He is selective in the logs he buys and that helps a lot. He also has a small single splitter set at the end of his processor splitter and the helper that is loading the deck with logs uses that single splitter to resplit the big stuff that escapes the 4 way or 6 way splitter of the Timberwolf. So if he sees a big chunk not get split he just flings it out of the split zone and the helper gets it when he gets a chance. 

He has been running his Timberwolf for over 15 years and it has gone through one rebuild of the beam. All totaled his business is very large scale and he has well over $250K tied up in equipment and another $30-40K in logs alone.


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## Patrick62 (Dec 31, 2012)

*Fast splitter, and I cheat.*



sb47 said:


> I keep seeing people post up that they can split a cord of wood in a few hours.
> Without knowing the details, its hard to know how that can be done.
> I have a single stroke hydraulic splitter and with cut rounds stacked next to it, I can barley split a cord a day.
> How can one split a cord in 2 hours?
> .



My quick splitter has about a 9 second cycle time, 3 way wedge, and I don't stack it up. Either tossed into a truck or pile on ground. I split 1 cord in just over a hour of pine. Your harder wood would be a little slower...


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## avc8130 (Jan 1, 2013)

sb47 said:


> I keep seeing people post up that they can split a cord of wood in a few hours.
> Without knowing the details, its hard to know how that can be done.
> I have a single stroke hydraulic splitter and with cut rounds stacked next to it, I can barley split a cord a day.
> How can one split a cord in 2 hours?
> ...



You must be dilly-dally-ing. I run a 22 ton Huskee (el cheap from Tractor Supply). I do 1/2 cord every 45 mins (that's when the 1/4 gallon tank runs dry). That's not really hussling, but it certainly isn't slacking. 

The goal is for the splitter ram to never stop moving. If the ram is stopped, you are losing productivity. 

ac


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## Como (Jan 2, 2013)

avc8130 said:


> You must be dilly-dally-ing. I run a 22 ton Huskee (el cheap from Tractor Supply). I do 1/2 cord every 45 mins (that's when the 1/4 gallon tank runs dry). That's not really hussling, but it certainly isn't slacking.
> 
> The goal is for the splitter ram to never stop moving. If the ram is stopped, you are losing productivity.
> 
> ac



My neighbour has one of those, I said I would go and split their wood if they block it first. I was thinking it would take half the time with mine, but I was assuming I would do 2 cords an hour if it was there stacked. Of course it depends what length you are splitting as well..


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## sb47 (Jan 2, 2013)

avc8130 said:


> You must be dilly-dally-ing. I run a 22 ton Huskee (el cheap from Tractor Supply). I do 1/2 cord every 45 mins (that's when the 1/4 gallon tank runs dry). That's not really hussling, but it certainly isn't slacking.
> 
> The goal is for the splitter ram to never stop moving. If the ram is stopped, you are losing productivity.
> 
> ac



Well sir, I’d like to know what kind of wood you’re talking about, what length and how small are the finished pieces and if the wood is dry or green?
I have the same Husky splitter and splitting red oak and pecan, post oak into 20” length pieces and splitting them down to an average of 2x4 and 4x4 pieces, takes me quite a while to work through.
No way can I do it in a few hours, and I’d like to see it done. I think some of these people are fudging there time a bit.


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## avc8130 (Jan 2, 2013)

sb47 said:


> Well sir, I’d like to know what kind of wood you’re talking about, what length and how small are the finished pieces and if the wood is dry or green?
> I have the same Husky splitter and splitting red oak and pecan, post oak into 20” length pieces and splitting them down to an average of 2x4 and 4x4 pieces, takes me quite a while to work through.
> No way can I do it in a few hours, and I’d like to see it done. I think some of these people are fudging there time a bit.



I split all hard woods. Generally I have a mix of ash, elm, oak and maples. Cuts are 18-20". I usually split so the backbone is 4-6". I work the splitter in horizontal mode 100%. Generally my rounds are 10" to 20" diameter. I usually split the round in 1/2 and put 1 half on the edge of the motor mount leaning on my leg. Then I work the other half peeling off splits. My goal is to never allow the ram to stop moving. 

Working diligently I can split enough wood on 1 tank of fuel that lasts 45 minutes to fill 2 of my pallet racks. Each rack is right about 1/4 cord.






Note: the wood isn't stacked in that 45 mins. I usually spend the next 15 mins enjoying the silence of the splitter not running to stack those 2 racks.

ac


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## sb47 (Jan 2, 2013)

avc8130 said:


> I split all hard woods. Generally I have a mix of ash, elm, oak and maples. Cuts are 18-20". I usually split so the backbone is 4-6". I work the splitter in horizontal mode 100%. Generally my rounds are 10" to 20" diameter. I usually split the round in 1/2 and put 1 half on the edge of the motor mount leaning on my leg. Then I work the other half peeling off splits. My goal is to never allow the ram to stop moving.
> 
> Working diligently I can split enough wood on 1 tank of fuel that lasts 45 minutes to fill 2 of my pallet racks. Each rack is right about 1/4 cord.
> 
> ...



If your using the create that you made from pallets in the picture as your gage, then you may be off on your measurement. 
That create looks like it will only hold a ¼ cord at best, so you only have a ½ cord in the two creates on the tractor.
The size of your splits look about like what I split mine to.
I try to have a mix of sizes in my cords.
How much wood is in the two creates you have in the picture?


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## avc8130 (Jan 2, 2013)

sb47 said:


> If your using the create that you made from pallets in the picture as your gage, then you may be off on your measurement.
> That create looks like it will only hold a ¼ cord at best, so you only have a ½ cord in the two creates on the tractor.
> The size of your splits look about like what I split mine to.
> I try to have a mix of sizes in my cords.
> How much wood is in the two creates you have in the picture?



I have said all along I can split 1/2 cord in 45 mins working diligently. 

The crates are dimensioned as follows:

48" deep
42" high 
36" wide

42 cubic feet.

Hmm, I guess I was off on my measurement. Each is actually more like 1/3 cord! I actually split 2/3 of a cord in 45 mins!

ac


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## Como (Jan 3, 2013)

View attachment 271168


This took about an hour to split. Probably take me as long to move and stack..

I have ordered some Dino Bags to see how that works, 12 to start with as above that the shipping hurts. They are about your crate size.


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## avc8130 (Jan 3, 2013)

Como said:


> View attachment 271168
> 
> 
> This took about an hour to split. Probably take me as long to move and stack..
> ...



I have used the Dino Bag. Good product. In fact, I continue to use the one I have when I need to move wood that I stacked before starting the pallet boxes. 

I would venture to say you split at least 2 bags full in that pile.


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## Como (Jan 3, 2013)

avc8130 said:


> I have used the Dino Bag. Good product. In fact, I continue to use the one I have when I need to move wood that I stacked before starting the pallet boxes.
> 
> I would venture to say you split at least 2 bags full in that pile.



More like 6, most of the pieces are 24", and it was 3 F150 Truck loads piles as high as I could with the tailgate down

Anyway I decided today to do a small experiment:

View attachment 271355


Here we have at 24 inch length the equivalent of 1/4 cord.

View attachment 271356


6 minutes later.

Some comments:

I split everything at least once. Even small stuff that I would not usually bother with.
Length of wood makes little difference.
I tried not to rush.
Noticeable that I slowed down as I had to reach further, if I had a helper and a ready table I could be much faster.
None of the wood needed more than one hit.
Most of the wood I had to hand was smaller diameter, I prefer larger diameter as I only have to pick them up once and it is quicker to whittle down than split smaller pieces once. Smaller pieces that I can just about grab by the ends with one hand are my next favourite as I can grab 2 in one go.
I tried to split them to 'supermarket' size.

So about 2 cords an hour, If I had a big pile I would move the splitter as needed. But that takes little time. A couple of seconds to grab the table and pull it back a few feet.

The saw is my new Earthquake.


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## Como (Jan 3, 2013)

Just a thought, but for most of my wood a 4 way wedge would really help.


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## sb47 (Jan 4, 2013)

Como said:


> More like 6, most of the pieces are 24", and it was 3 F150 Truck loads piles as high as I could with the tailgate down
> 
> Anyway I decided today to do a small experiment:
> 
> ...




Ok I see why you get so much wood split in so little time. For one, the wood you are splitting is small logs that only need to be split once or twice. Secondly you’re using a faster splitter. And most important, it’s cold there, so you can keep up a good pace without dying of heat stroke.lol

Here is the wood I have to work with.







My splitter







After stacking.






Plus, its usualy 95+ degrees when i split my wood.lol
And not that it matters, i'm probably a bit older at 52, I dont move as fast as i use to.lol

Come down here to Texas in July and try that chit and i'll be calling 911 for you.lol


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## Como (Jan 4, 2013)

sb47 said:


> Ok I see why you get so much wood split in so little time. For one, the wood you are splitting is small logs that only need to be split once or twice. Secondly you’re using a faster splitter. And most important, it’s cold there, so you can keep up a good pace without dying of heat stroke.lol
> 
> Here is the wood I have to work with.
> 
> ...



I am 5 years older! I have time to split in the winter. Sometimes it is just too cold and windy, yesterday was a nice sunny still day.

Larger diameter wood would be quicker, the time delay is in picking the wood up, my back.... I much prefer 24" rounds. I dislike cutting the small logs. Lot of time for not much wood.


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## sb47 (Jan 4, 2013)

Como said:


> I am 5 years older! I have time to split in the winter. Sometimes it is just too cold and windy, yesterday was a nice sunny still day.
> 
> Larger diameter wood would be quicker, the time delay is in picking the wood up, my back.... I much prefer 24" rounds. I dislike cutting the small logs. Lot of time for not much wood.



One thing I failed to mention, I always split green wood. I never seem to get to leave it till its dry. Picking up 150lb chunks kills my back after awhile so I have to take it slow.
With the wood I have to work with and the type of splitter I have, you or anyone else are not going to produce that much wood, no way, no how.


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## Como (Jan 4, 2013)

sb47 said:


> One thing I failed to mention, I always split green wood. I never seem to get to leave it till its dry. Picking up 150lb chunks kills my back after awhile so I have to take it slow.
> With the wood I have to work with and the type of splitter I have, you or anyone else are not going to produce that much wood, no way, no how.



I have plenty of wood, but Pine and Aspen, wood many on here would not bother with. Just remembered last lot was Doug Fir, much heavier, but you get what you can get.

My wood starts off dry, I made the mistake of letting a lot of it sit too long and it became a pain to block.

So I think the best bet is to block as soon as I can and split whenever. I went around my piles this morning, collected the odds I had cut a little bit too long, I guess I did a cord and have another cord stacked and that is it until I get more wood.


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## sb47 (Jan 4, 2013)

Como said:


> I have plenty of wood, but Pine and Aspen, wood many on here would not bother with. Just remembered last lot was Doug Fir, much heavier, but you get what you can get.
> 
> My wood starts off dry, I made the mistake of letting a lot of it sit too long and it became a pain to block.
> 
> So I think the best bet is to block as soon as I can and split whenever. I went around my piles this morning, collected the odds I had cut a little bit too long, I guess I did a cord and have another cord stacked and that is it until I get more wood.




I find that I can get through a pile of smaller rounds faster then the big stuff. I split deferent ways for deferent purposes. For just plane firewood I split it a bit bigger and don’t worry about what shape it is. For BBQ wood, I do it a bit different. 
I like the big wood because it has more heartwood in it, and I split so that I get the most heartwood I can. The rest gets thrown in with the regular firewood.
I only deal with wood you can cook with. Most people around here want oak firewood and nothing else, unless it just for a camp fire, then anything will do.
So if you can’t cook with it, I generally don’t mess with it. I will take most kinds of oak though.
All the junk wood I end up with goes in the camp wood pile along with all the scrap.
I’ve see videos of the splitter you have and they are fast and much faster then mine.
I may look into getting one someday.


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## Typhke (Jan 6, 2013)

To answer to the first posts 

Recently bought a truckload of logs. I'll get it at the end of the month. It's around 5.5 cord for €750, all oak. It's cheaper in the summer but even with this price, it's better for me to buy it than to get it myself. 

Situation for me in Belgium:
I'm alone so the things I can do on a day are limited and all the forests are overseen by the government. So the allowed wood for cutting is very limited. You also need to get a permit which specifies what you can cut, mostly dead or 'wild' trees. Takes a lot of time. Then you'll need to get the logs out of the woods, also a problem without the right equipment (and even harder alone). Then you need to haul them to your home, also expensive with the petrol prices here and takes a lot of time. 
There is also the option to buy forests that need to get cut for building purpose or roads but you need to buy them. Ofc all the firms buy them so don't have a chance to get them.

So instead of buying a lot of equipment and still losing the best wood to the businesses, I can better have them delivered at home. Saves me a lot of work and is cheaper all costs compared. Another advantage of getting logs delivered is that they are mainly the same sizes + quality is guaranteed. So you can use a set-up to process those sizes and work quicker than when processing big and small logs at the same time. 
Next to that, you can work at home. No time lost with driving to the site/moving equipment (loading saws, getting everything ready to go), work whenever you want, easy to put up some lights if it's a little dark. If you go further you can also say; less chance to have an accident with your car, don't need to clean the car that often, don't make extra miles with it, etc. You can even take into account that you'll have faster help when you have an accident. There are a lot of advantages imo. Just need to take everything in account.

This doesn't mean I don't love to go into the woods. And I would do it when there is an opportunity that isn't far away. But only when it's close to me and offered to me.


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