Big stuff, is it worth it? Poll, kinda.

[Butch(OH)]

I answered several posts like your and have been abused every time by others when I suggested they tackle smaller stuff and make a bunch more firewood. the posts of guys trying to winch big rounds on trailers or roll them or all the other things involved just looks like a waste of time when you could be making wood. I contend that if you don't have the equipment to handle that stuff leave it (or better yet find someone to cut it on shares and let him do the work). However if you have an 660, it sounds like you are pretty serious about this stuff. Do you have a log splitter with a lift?

YA we have a semi serious splitter that we built in the shop but it is no match for 48" plus stuff. It will split them but half a 48" billlet falling off the end of the beam is till a health hazard and we found it easier to get the wood down to around 24" in size with a saw. Anything that is manageable when halved we run on the splitter. We also have some logistical problems in that the splitter runs from a tractor and have no place to get it inside were we live, 4 miles from the farm.

Here we are splitting some Sycamore that as I remember was just over 24". Allen bypasses the lift, and uses it flat as a staging table most of the time. The boys are lots tougher than the old man,LOL

<IMG SRC=http://i28.tinypic.com/2gwx24z.jpg>

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

The hackberry I asked you guys about last week has been a project. It's big, lots of knots and just plain tough to split, so I have been sawing it, have a decent saw for the job, a 660 but man thats a lot of sawing, lots of butt busting getting those huge disks up where we can keep the bar out of the dirt etc but we have 3 cords stacked at the house and a couple trailer (4x5) loads left. Wish I had pics but camera is still broke. What do you guys think, is the big stuff like this realy worth the time and effort? I find myself wishing for a tall, straight,, 18" tree to cut up, LOL

It's worth it to me. I can have all the good oak I want for free, but it's mostly pretty big stuff, and a lot of crotches.

Yeah, it's worth it. It does cut down on the sawing I get to do, but still, it's free wood!

My back is sore this morning

Vitamin C. It works. When I know I'm going to be working extra hard, I take it all day. 10 grams a day, spread out. Watch it though if you're not used to it, well, it's going to be a moving experience. Think Exlax.

But it DOES work for muscle soreness.

Just don't think you'll see any results from taking a couple of 250 milligram tablets.

 

[abohac]

YA we have a semi serious splitter that we built in the shop but it is no match for 48" plus stuff. It will split them but half a 48" billlet falling off the end of the beam is till a health hazard and we found it easier to get the wood down to around 24" in size with a saw. Anything that is manageable when halved we run on the splitter. We also have some logistical problems in that the splitter runs from a tractor and have no place to get it inside were we live, 4 miles from the farm.

Here we are splitting some Sycamore that as I remember was just over 24". Allen bypasses the lift, and uses it flat as a staging table most of the time. The boys are lots tougher than the old man,LOL

<IMG SRC=http://i28.tinypic.com/2gwx24z.jpg>

I cut just about everything and wrestle with some of that big stuff but it just isn't very productive. We are at our best cutting tops. I hook on to them with my skidder, cut the brush off in the woods and drag them to a staging area where they are cut, split (not much needed) and loaded. Can cut double the loads vs. working with all that really big stuff.

 

[hausfire]

Ill take any size the bigger the better sometimes i get 50 pieces of wood from one large piece. thats a pretty good yield. its even better when its free. keep at when there is a will there is a way.

 

[treemandan]

I just have a single beam splitter so this being my own supply of wood I try not to bring anything to hard it but what does come in is real good

 

[Dok]

I like the big stuff up to a point. It can be the fastest way to fill the truck. If I can't lift quarters into the truck, its getting too big.
Dok

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I'm with abohac....most of the trees on my property and in my area are not too large. The lot where we will start cutting this week was "logged", but only 2 truckloads of big stuff were harvested. we will drag out the tops/logs to the staging area, buck, then load on the pickups with my bud's 2955 JD.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Lignum]

As the ability to find free wood decreases, it will become more valuable. Go figure. If I am collecting my own wood from my own property or was a wood snob, I would agree with most of yahs, but for the most part I take what I can get. I personally like the big stuff. I get a ton more wood with less work. If it is too much, get a dolly, and a trailer that has a long tail gate and roll them basterds up and on. A nice heavy duty splitter makes life easier too.

 

[danrclem]

I used to turn the big stuff down because I couldn't handle it. I bought a 372 and that cured my problems. If quartering doesn't make them small enough then cut them again.

I usually cut my wood about 18" to 20" long. If it needs quartering I cut it about 16" long so it'll be easier to noodle.

 

[savageactor7]

We just cut in the back lot and I count myself as lucky that most of the real big stuff like boundary trees are out of the way now. No getting around it those 30" or better rounds are a pita to process into firewood. Now when I run into the few I have to deal with I quarter 'em up...why kill yourself?

 

[BaldSawRunner]

I like the bigger stuff. I split what I can with the maul, then I either saw split or use my uncle's log splitter on his tractor. I usually half split the big rounds, then bust em up to firewood size (for me, anywhere from 4-6 inches across), then stack it up. The bigger stuff gets the sapwood split off. Then I use the bark/sapwood blocks to make my cribs out of. I put down 4' x 3" planks they use to strap plywood together at work down, and stack the heartwood up on that. The sapwood blocks make great cribs since I can get most of them about the same thickness.

 

[dsm382]

I can agree with about everyone the big stuf is a PITA.
If you have the equipment it's not so bad.
In my case the wood is free and loaded on the trailer for me.
so the only problem is getting the logs off the trailer.

I used to manhandle the rounds in one peice over to the spliter, it's basicly sets on the ground, only about 12" to beam and a split round worked as a ramp. haven't found a log yet it wont split, and you can't bend the beam.. it was over built for sure.

Then i started spliting them with wedges.
Then i got real smart and started making noodles.

It is amazing how many pecies of wood comes out of one 30" log..

The hardest part is getting them cut on the trailer then getting them off, need bigger tractor. although the wheel horse and dozer blade do a fine job pushing the quaters over to the spliter...

 

[Outdoorsman]

I won't say I love the real big stuff, but cut it when I have to.

Some rare trees do however give the "thrill" of rise'n to the challenge.....

Some friends and I took down one of those challenge trees a couple weeks ago.

65" dbh white ash tree that the EAB had killed. Tree was huge, trunk went up about 12' then split into 4 huge branches. 2 of the limbs were big enough I had to rock over the top of them to cut them into rounds...with a 32" bar on a Stihl 460 saw.

Other two guys have a pair of older saws with 38" bars, and was all they could do to cut rounds out of the main log. Cut the rounds to anywhere from 18"-24" depending on limbs/knots, then ripped them into about 14 or more large chunks that were loadable.

Took 3 of us 2 full days to cut that tree into some small/medium/large chunks and load/haul/stack the wood. 11 cords of wood from just one tree.

That's the biggest "big tree" I've done and I'm not interested in another tree like that for a while.

 

[skid row]

Ya get alotta firewood sized chunks from one big round. I take the equipment to the log cut 24" length reguardless of the diameter. Roll it with the cant hook onto the lift and split away.

I dont half or quarter the big rounds. I dont want to make anymore of a mess(noodles) than I have to.

 

[avalancher]

I love the big rounds myself, a hauled home this load today.A homeowner had a tree service cut this red oak down, but they were unable to handle the butt end of the log,left it standing right where it dropped.Dont ask me what kind of clowns they were, I have no idea. I pro should have the capability to take care of rounds this size.
But on the plus note, I got the wood! Backed up to the log, cut it into rounds and loaded it up along with some smaller stuff that had been left behind and drove off.

 

[Wet1]

Given a choice I'd like to stick to the 12"-20" stuff as I think I can work it a lot faster. With that said, I do like getting a hold of some big stuff every so often so I can let the big dogs eat.

 

[STEVEGODSEYJR]

I like cutting the big stuff since no one ekse wants it. I just two truck loads from a place that had a few 36" diameter maple trunks. I just quartered them up with the saw and then I can get them in the truck. I can split them at home when I have time to get the splitter out. Usually cut them 24" long to fit in the OWB.