# After 4 months it finally came! (Log Load)



## shelbythedog (Dec 10, 2010)

I had two timber companies promise me a load and back out, one claimed he couldn't get his truck where I wanted the wood, the other set a date and then stopped answering/returning my calls. The third came through with this load and I couldn't be happier! I have a week off work before the holidays and I'm hoping to get pretty deep into it then. I'd say the MS362 I bought early this fall will be broken in by the end of the pile. Now I just need to convince my Dad his old SXL needs to be replaced with a MS441!

Superduty and barn in background for size reference:


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## H-Ranch (Dec 10, 2010)

Dang! That is a big load of wood, especially at a residence.

What did you say your address was again???


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## John R (Dec 10, 2010)

I live in Michigan too, would you mind telling me where you got them from, and what they cost?

Thanks


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## Pulp Friction (Dec 10, 2010)

shelbythedog said:


> I had two timber companies promise me a load and back out, one claimed he couldn't get his truck where I wanted the wood, the other set a date and then stopped answering/returning my calls. The third came through with this load and I couldn't be happier! I have a week off work before the holidays and I'm hoping to get pretty deep into it then. I'd say the MS362 I bought early this fall will be broken in by the end of the pile. Now I just need to convince my Dad his old SXL needs to be replaced with a MS441!
> 
> Superduty and barn in background for size reference:



That's so beautiful it got me teary-eyed!  

Half the rep now and the other half when you post pics of it split!


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## woodhounder (Dec 10, 2010)

what kind of logs?


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## shelbythedog (Dec 10, 2010)

John R said:


> I live in Michigan too, would you mind telling me where you got them from, and what they cost?
> 
> Thanks



Chris Muma Forest Products in Gladwin, they are a class act, my Dad used to do business with them in the late '80s and early '90s, (1-2 loads like this a year). He told me not to mess around with anyone else and give them a call back in August, but the other two loggers were $100 cheaper. I certainly learned my lesson and know where to buy logs in the future. Cost: $1600 dollars not going to the gas company!




woodhounder said:


> what kind of logs?



What the loggers call "Mixed Hardwood", I can pick out Oak, Ash, and Maple so far.


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## Dan_IN_MN (Dec 10, 2010)

I take it that is a freshly cut. How many cords?

When I was in my teens, we would get one or two loads like that a year. 

I wish we....would have gotten it a year in advance and had it cut and split in advance so it could dry....

I don't like cutting from a pile! I found it's much easier bucking up the tree where it was dropped.

Dan


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## forcedintoit (Dec 10, 2010)

shelbythedog said:


> I had two timber companies promise me a load and back out, one claimed he couldn't get his truck where I wanted the wood, the other set a date and then stopped answering/returning my calls. The third came through with this load and I couldn't be happier! I have a week off work before the holidays and I'm hoping to get pretty deep into it then. I'd say the MS362 I bought early this fall will be broken in by the end of the pile. Now I just need to convince my Dad his old SXL needs to be replaced with a MS441!
> 
> Superduty and barn in background for size reference:



My father in law had got a a couple loads the last two years and heats two houses and their hot water and a 48x64 pole barn and burns about 3/4 of a load a year with his heatmor 400!

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0dK7qnN3BY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0dK7qnN3BY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>


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## scag52 (Dec 10, 2010)

Wow ! nice pics. Thanks


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## arborsoldier (Dec 10, 2010)

That should keep you busy for a while!! Looks like there is some softwood mixed in, is there?:chainsawguy:


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## woodhounder (Dec 10, 2010)

Looks like there is some softwood mixed in, is there?:chainsawguy:[/QUOTE]

How can you tell?


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## 1harlowr (Dec 10, 2010)

woodhounder said:


> Looks like there is some softwood mixed in, is there?:chainsawguy:



How can you tell?[/QUOTE]


Beat me to it Woodhounder


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## tomsteve (Dec 10, 2010)

i get slabwood from chris muma. $55/bundle delivered and about 1 1/2-2 cords per bundle. good people to do business with.


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## WoodyWoodsWood (Dec 10, 2010)

How many cords would you guess that is? Or what are the measurements?


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## CTYank (Dec 10, 2010)

Good news for you, Shelby, no doubt.

I think you got lucky with the timing, too. From the pix, the logs look clean of frozen-in dirt. I found out about that a few years back- no fault of the loggers- weather happens. Ash bark can really hold some dirt. 

With practice, you get pretty nimble scurrying about on a pile of logs with a chainsaw, especially a lightweight saw. Even without corked boots. Merry Christmas.


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## cnice_37 (Dec 10, 2010)

That's an early Christmas gift. Absolutely beautiful.


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## fidiro (Dec 10, 2010)

That is a nice looking load. 

I got about 120 yards of mostly 20 footers delivered to me a couple months ago myself from a company doing street work in the area that needed a place to get rid of it for free, so I lucked out mine was free with free delivery.


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## wdchuck (Dec 10, 2010)

One piece of advice for next time, have the driver leave the pile on runners and no higher than six feet tall. 

Otherwise, nice load of 4-12" wood, and so nice and straight. Sounds like a good mix of high btu woods. 1600 is a bit high for delivered logs but it is probably a lot less than a season or two of easy heat.


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## shelbythedog (Dec 11, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your advice and comments.

To answer a few of the recent questions:

No softwood seems apparent from the perimeter of the pile, if a few sticks made it in it will still be better than the pine/poplar diet I have the stove on now.

All the loggers quote the loads at 20 cord, and they end up around 18 cord when cut/split/stacked as I recall from childhood.

The loader operator had to stack the load that high to allow enough room to back the truck out, he had to swing the nose around just past the pile to get the trailer pointed onto the road. Its pretty tight quarters over there, I'm only on one acre so I had to make due with what I've got. As it was he came within a few inches of sticking the left front wheel of the tractor in my 5' deep ditch.

I feel the price was reasonable, the lowest quoted price from the dozen or so loggers that I spoke with was $1400 and the highest $1900. The only two companies who quoted less promised loads and couldn't come through, you have to pay what the market demands or else sit on the sidelines, and what good is a $100 load if you never receive it. Heck, my Dad used to pay $1200 for a comparable load 20 years ago, so today's rate is only +25%, compare that to petroleum fuel over the same period of time.


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## wdchuck (Dec 11, 2010)

That price for 20 cord is great, around here its 10 cord loads and the price swing is .....


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## wvlogger (Dec 11, 2010)

Thats a slick deal there. Shgood pile to cut up. Gonna get pics of that?


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## shelbythedog (Dec 11, 2010)

Got outside this morning for around 2 hours and got a little cutting done. It ended up being about 4 tanks of fuel in the MS362. This should be enough wood once split to fill a few truck loads of wood that will go to my parent's house early next week.


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## rogerc (Dec 11, 2010)

that would me several years here in ky:chainsawguy:


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## scag52 (Dec 11, 2010)

Looks good keep us posted !


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## Yoopermike (Dec 11, 2010)

10 cord load runs about 1100 here for mixed hardwood.. mostly hard maple


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## John Kuhn (Dec 11, 2010)

*MS362 performance*

How did your MS362 perform? I'll bet you're real happy with it!


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## bobt (Dec 11, 2010)

Nice load of firewood that you have, and a good fair price too. Like $80.00 per cord.

I really like the size of the wood you have there. I split by hand and that stuff will be easy going!

Looks from what you have sawed up that it is mostly Oak. The cut ends look pink like Oak.

Bob


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## Dalmatian90 (Dec 11, 2010)

That is a GORGEOUS load of wood!


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## shelbythedog (Dec 12, 2010)

John Kuhn said:


> How did your MS362 perform? I'll bet you're real happy with it!



Beyond happy with it! The weight is very reasonable, it sips fuel, has enough power to cut with authority, and the anti-vibe is perfect. It makes Dad's old Homie seem primitive to say the least. A few hours running the SXL will leave my hands shaking so bad I have to pour the bar oil in with a funnel, otherwise I will spill more than I get in the tank, that was not the case with the MS362.


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## Truck4 (Dec 12, 2010)

Very nice looking load there:biggrinbounce2:, makes me wish I cold get my hands on a load or two like that around here, have fun cutting:chainsawguy:

Roy


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## Sandhill Crane (Dec 12, 2010)

Nice size by the looks of the rounds you've cut up. Was there a delivery charge on top of the $80/cord? And how far did he haul for you? I paid $1400./20 cord for Oak, plus $700. delivery. Mixed hardwood was $10./cord less. You got a nice looking load!


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## shelbythedog (Dec 12, 2010)

Sandhill Crane said:


> Nice size by the looks of the rounds you've cut up. Was there a delivery charge on top of the $80/cord? And how far did he haul for you? I paid $1400./20 cord for Oak, plus $700. delivery. Mixed hardwood was $10./cord less. You got a nice looking load!



$80/cord was the delivered price. After the operator got down off the loader seat I handed him 16 bills and he hopped in the cab of his truck. The company is based out of Gladwin which is about 45 miles from me. He told me he had picked up the load in Grayling which is farther away at 100+ miles. There was a company out of Weidman that quoted the same price you stated for an all Oak load, they were the only ones who mentioned any "delivery charge", all others were a straight price for the delivered load. Too bad all of his trucks are too big to fit down a 16' wide driveway or he would have gotten my business, too.


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## shelbythedog (Dec 19, 2010)

Well, my Dad showed up and helped split on Saturday, this what we got done in about 5 hours. I had cut all the logs to length on Friday. We had to quit after getting this far so we could head into town and do a little Christmas shopping to keep the women happy. My Old Man is more than twice my age and he was hustling harder than I was all day long, it was nice to work side by side and get to stand back at the end of the day with a beer and see the fruits of our labor. We still have a lot of logs left to be processed, but this is definetly a good start.











His prize for coming North and lending a hand was this cord of wood.











We spent Sunday stacking a pile of wood that I have had here for months. It turned out to be a few cords, all of it was free which makes it the best kind of firewood. Sorry, no pics of that pile, I forgot to take them until the sun was too low. Hopefully everyone had a safe and productive weekend as well!


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## Cliniford (Dec 19, 2010)

Tell me about those bedrail extensions! I need a set of those, are they homemade or purchased? If purchased-where from?


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## shelbythedog (Dec 19, 2010)

Cliniford said:


> Tell me about those bedrail extensions! I need a set of those, are they homemade or purchased? If purchased-where from?



They are homemade, I used a Lincoln Power Mig 140. I posted in a thread a few months back when I was building them, there are several members who posted good ideas from their own projects as well.


http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=149243&page=3

I built mine so the sides drop in the stake pockets and the front crossbar pins to the sides with 2 pins per side. The rear crossbar floats on the sides because the sides will flex when loaded with wood. All together the project cost around $300.


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## Cliniford (Dec 20, 2010)

Very nice work.


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## Moss Man (Dec 20, 2010)

I'm curious what kind of rig brought a load of 18-20 cords? A cord of green hardwood weighs an average of 4900 pounds, 4900 pounds times 20 cords is 98,000 pounds and then you add the weight of the truck and it would be way over any road limits around these parts unless the truck had extra axles and a tag trailer like in the video the other member posted?

Maybe it's two loads? If so, pardon me!

A rig like this hauls maybe 12-14 cords of green hardwood and that's without the weight of a log loader;


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## shelbythedog (Dec 20, 2010)

Moss Man-

The truck that delivered the load was exactly like the one shown in post #8 of this thread. We are fortunate here in Michigan that trucks with enough axles are legal at 164,000 lbs. Also, there are special exemptions for log trucks extending the legal load width to 108".


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## Moss Man (Dec 20, 2010)

shelbythedog said:


> Moss Man-
> 
> The truck that delivered the load was exactly like the one shown in post #8 of this thread. We are fortunate here in Michigan that trucks with enough axles are legal at 164,000 lbs. Also, there are special exemptions for log trucks extending the legal load width to 108".



I understand now! You don't see rigs like that here in Maine very often, he must have been talented to back that into your yard to unload it.

It is a damn good looking pile of wood, be safe when cutting on that tall pile.


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## davec (Dec 21, 2010)

Very nice! Rep for ya!

I should say in looking over your thread on the expanded metal sides that you should find a way to tie together the top edge of the rear. With the pressure from loaded firewood, unless you are very careful, you could spread that far enough to pop the upper stub out of the hook while driving. Something through the upper crossbar that hooks under the c-channel hook and clamps tight enough to stay there, but is adjustable to accommodate the flex that will happen from loading. I could see a hook on a long bolt into a nut plate that could do the trick. Heck, even a decent bungee might do the trick.


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## duane9835 (Dec 21, 2010)

I've been seeing alot Chris Muma trucks in our area, I live by alot of Federal land and they have been doing big section clear cuts of all hardwood forest!! Then they have Institutional bus loads of Pickel Pickers move in and hand plant the whole section with Jack Pine!!!


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## gpsman007 (Dec 21, 2010)

I guess I am at a loss...$1600 dollars for a load of wood
Now I am not sure how many cords this is but you indicated that you would need 1 to 2 of these a year There is approx 4 months maybe 5 in Mi That is 400/month± to the gas co.
I dont see where you are saving and that looks like alot of work.

I heat with wood, But I get all my wood for free and I like cutting, splitting and burning but at 400/month to cut split stack carry stack and burn. I would pay the gas company maybe I am not seeing the whole picture here
but that seems expensive to heat your house with

enlighten me please


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## woodfarmer (Dec 21, 2010)

ah do the math gps, 5 months x $400 gas =$2000 he uses 2 cord per year paid $1600 so he has 10 years of wood x $2000 would be paying for gas saving $20000 plus several weekends of work but thats exercise anyway.


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## shelbythedog (Dec 21, 2010)

gpsman007 said:


> I guess I am at a loss...$1600 dollars for a load of wood
> Now I am not sure how many cords this is but you indicated that you would need 1 to 2 of these a year There is approx 4 months maybe 5 in Mi That is 400/month± to the gas co.
> I dont see where you are saving and that looks like alot of work.
> 
> ...



Maybe I was unclear in previous posts about the motives behind buying this load of wood. This 20 cord load will be enough wood to heat my father's house and my barn for 2 years, and if I ever get off my butt and get a stove intalled in my house it would easily cover my father's house, my house and my barn for 1+ year. 20 years ago when 1-2 semi loads were being purchased per year my father was running a pretty lucrative, small time firewood business in order to make enough money back on the wood he sold to cover the cost of the 7-8 cord/year to heat his home and put some food on the table as well. I wanted to get the load now in order to get it processed and stacked so that it is dry for the 2011-2012 heating season, I'm not going to be the guy complaining about how horrible my new stove is because I was foolish and and cut the wood that morning and watched the water pour out of it! 

Furthermore, it has been suggested by some that buying logs reduces the money savings associated with burning wood and there are alternatives such as cutting on state land, making friends with farmers (my neighbors) and clearing fence rows, or buying more land to cut/replant on, etc. These methods all fail in the time needed to gather the wood when compared to a nice load of tops being delivered in my driveway. The latest pictures in this thread are the result of around 20 man hours being spent on processing this load, there is no possible way a guy like me with no quad or tractor to skid logs with could ever get 5+/- cords processed in that amount of time when cutting off site. 

Overall, I am aware that it would be cheaper to heat with wood if I got all the wood for free, but I think anyone in a similar climate would agree that heating 2 homes and a 30'x40' barn at a cost of my labor plus $1600 is certainly cheaper than buying gas. Roughly the cost to heat those buildings on gas would be around $3500/year.


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## camr (Jan 1, 2011)

davec said:


> Very nice! Rep for ya!
> 
> I should say in looking over your thread on the expanded metal sides that you should find a way to tie together the top edge of the rear. With the pressure from loaded firewood, unless you are very careful, you could spread that far enough to pop the upper stub out of the hook while driving. Something through the upper crossbar that hooks under the c-channel hook and clamps tight enough to stay there, but is adjustable to accommodate the flex that will happen from loading. I could see a hook on a long bolt into a nut plate that could do the trick. Heck, even a decent bungee might do the trick.


 
As the pilot of the delivery vehicle on a couple of loads now, I'm pleased to report that there were no issues whatsoever with the racks on the truck. Both loads were approximately 3.5 face cords and the distance covered was just over 100 miles. The uprights on the sides are rectangular tubing that fits pretty snug into the stake pockets and extends down 6 inches. As a result, there is virtually no outward movement of the sides even with wood stacked all the way to the top. Shelby did a heckuva job putting these together and anyone thinking of fabbing a set of racks would do well to follow his recipe.


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## jayhawkinmi (Jan 5, 2011)

*Weidman Logging Company*

Shelby--which logging company gave you the quote from Weidman--Noble Forestry, Maeder? I called the guy I have pruchased bulk logs from the last couple years--RPM Logging out of Weidman--and he said he is now out of the logging business. I now need to find a replacement.


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## shelbythedog (Jan 6, 2011)

I spoke with Tom from Noble Forestry. It took them around a month to call me back when I called their number in the phone book. I have Tom's cell number now, I won't post it here, but send me a PM if you want it.


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## jayhawkinmi (Jan 6, 2011)

shelby--I think I will go with Muma. I talked to them today and got a quote for $1500 for 20 cords of green wood, which was actually a few dollars less than what I paid my last guy in the past. Based on your recommendation I think I will stick with Muma.

Thanks for the thread and the information.


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## camr (Jan 6, 2011)

jayhawk - You won't be disappointed. Our first dealing with them dates back over 20 years. They have never once failed to deliver exactly as promised.


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## farber56 (Oct 3, 2011)

Shelby-
How is that load looking for the upcoming 2011/12 heating season?


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## shelbythedog (Oct 3, 2011)

farber56 said:


> Shelby-
> How is that load looking for the upcoming 2011/12 heating season?


 
A few weeks ago I posted pics in a new thread.

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/181177.htm

Since then I have another 2 cord staked up.


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## WidowMaker (Oct 4, 2011)

Nice load of logs...


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## farber56 (Oct 4, 2011)

Are you close to the apple orchards? I had uncle who used to get all the old limbs and non productive trees for free. He had apple wood for smoking and plenty left to burn as firewood. That was some sweet smelling heat!


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## fast firewood (Oct 5, 2011)

that is a big load. Wish i had it in my yard


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## WidowMaker (Oct 5, 2011)

farber56 said:


> Are you close to the apple orchards? I had uncle who used to get all the old limbs and non productive trees for free. He had apple wood for smoking and plenty left to burn as firewood. That was some sweet smelling heat!



==

If this was directed to me, yes I'm in apple country, live right accross the road from a very large orchard and I get apple wood every chance I get...great wood, cherry also








Across the road and up on top of the bluff for miles is all orchard, apple, cherry, pears


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## oneoldgeezer (Feb 5, 2012)

H-Ranch said:


> Dang! That is a big load of wood, especially at a residence.
> 
> What did you say your address was again???



You're ready for more wood? If the weather holds we have two more to send!


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