fire wood,advice needed

[tony marks]

its been a while since i tried the firewood rt. but ive found about 25 acres of mixed hardwood that needs a lot of trees removed. dont know how many cds id get but it be considerable. problem dont have a splitter. im needin some winter income so was wonderin if any of u fellas could advise as to whether its
can be made to pay.easy access and i can leave it where its cut until its sold.
woods free for making his woods look better. hes a fitness fanatic and says a side benefit to him will be him gettin to split. but i dont think that would be somethin to count on.any advice appreciated.i realize this wood would be late winter and next yr sales ,unless i found somebody wanted green wood.
thanks for your attention

 

[Tim Gardner]

Wood splitters are cheap to rent. However, leaving the wood on site until next season is not a good idea unless it is stored off the ground and covered. You could find someone that sells firewood to buy it from you maybe log length.

 

[Ryan Willock]

Tony, i sell and split my own firewood and split every thing with a maul. i sell my wood for $75-$100 per face cord (depending on if i'm short on cash, tired of messing with it ect.) but i live in chapel hill and the people are willing to pay more but remember that everything is realitive and the cost of living is higher here so that $225-$300 per cord may be like you selling yours at $150 per cord:angel:

 

[eyolf]

Man, I'd go back to trying to earn a living with a chain saw if I could get those prices for wood.
here's a cut and paste from our local paper:

OAK FIREWOOD, 8 cord minimum, $125 cord,
you haul $100 per cord, (218)587-2620

8 LENGTH FIREWOOD. Humphrey and Sons Forest Products. 218-587-4957,1-800-987-0585. (these guys get $600 for an 11-1/2-cord 18 wheeler load, but its green)


ROUND & SQUARE BALES of bundled wood. Clean, no bark. (218)746-3705.


SEASONED FIREWOOD, split small and ranked for easy loading. Full cord oak $120, poplar $80. (218)829-0442.

 

[bwalker]

Eyolf, Are you in the twin cities area? The price you listed for a 11.5 cord eighteen wheeler load are about 100 more than I can get the same thing for in upper MI. Of course it is more expensive by larger cities.

 

[Tony Snyder]

Get the Ash first, oaks second (stay away from the pin oak if your are going to hand split, hickory third.

I'm in a rural area, most cut and haul their own. You can't make much here when they are delivering it split for $35 to 40 a pickup load.

However, firewood usage is on the increase again after about 17 years. Natural gas ran around $8.50 M cubic ft last year. People are buying these outside furnaces a pretty good clip. Al this should put upward pressure on firewood.

I seen a pretty neat home built splitter/conveyor last week working behind a small dump truck.

 

[tundraotto]

I would not go the maul way as far as splitting is concerned. Thats some slow and hard work. If you are including larger oaks or hickory, you dont even want to do it for your own needs. If possible, keep the wood to be split under 24" in diameter if its hardwood or even a larger splitter will have a rough time.

Seasoned red oak goes for $55/face cord delivered here within 15miles. About $35 picked up. You wont get rich from it here.

 

[Dieselnut]

One of the best things I have bought in my life is a log splitter. I used to split by hand and didn't think a thing about it, but now I would never be without a spliter. If I was to buy one over I would get one that is a bit bigger, around 30 ton. This is one power tool that ranks as important as a sharp chain on a good saw!

 

[eyolf]

BWalker:

Eyolf, Are you in the twin cities area? The price you listed for a 11.5 cord eighteen wheeler load are about 100

The "local" paper means the only paper of any consequence for the general region. These guys are an hour and a half away, and it's entirely possible their price (delivered) reflects 3 hrs of windshield time. I got a similar load from another logger much closer for $400.

 

[tony marks]

thanks much for all the advice.
it looks like the deal will be to cut it to
lenths and use the backhoe to get it all to one place. . looks like 16 inch is more popular length around here.. then rent a 30 ton splitter and split it all in one work.
im tryin to avoid handling it so will leave it on location in a pile. with a cord for reference stacked on pallets.
this will be something ill do between jobs this winter ,so all but the splittin can
be done as time permits. the only problem with buying a splitter, is that
this might be a one time thing. but if it opens up and i see other sources of wood. i can make that happen then.
i cant see any money being made like this, if u got to buy the wood . thanks much for the tips ,any other comments welcome. by the way, it will be off the rd and in site of this fellas house so dont think theft would be a problem.