Nickrosis
Manned by Boderators
Oooh, a smooth 1500 posts, ehp. 
firewood profit
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Nickrosis
Manned by Boderators
We're at $200/cord dumped. $225 stacked. I think we could charge more for stacking, though!
xander9727
The Silverback
Here there is only a moderate demand for firewood and a lot of landscapers and father/son teams that sell it. Your doing well if you get $175 a cord stacked. Most sell for $125-$140 dumped. For me that isn't worth the headache. The bottom of zone 5, top of zone 6 isn't a good money maker for firewood or snow removal.
xander9727
The Silverback
Chainsaw_Maniac
ArboristSite Operative
I always go read a thread if it sais "firewood" in the title.
But, ya, I make a living off of selling firewood. The trick for me is getting all of the trees or fuel wood logs for free or cheap and avoiding handling the wood too many times. Obviosly..
Anyways, now adays in a 60 hour work week (yes, you gotta work long hours) I'll do maybe 80 face cords that I'll sell for $65/ face cord which makes $5200 (CAN). I am paying for some of the wood and all my equipment and fuel is costing me a lot of money, but I think I'm doing alright. Not getting rich, but I'm doing alright and I'm outside doing what I like doing.
And whoever said that there is a big differance between making a certian amount in cash and making that in taxable income made a really great point. You gotta remeber that.
I think the reason that most start up firewood bussinesses go bankrupt is because they dont have all the nessicary equipment which makes them handle the wood too many times, and they dont have the experiance to make it all work efficiantly without unnessicary handling of the wood. Doing inefficiant little things like throwing the wood on a pickup by hand or driving a full hour to sell $100 in wood is what gets them.
Also, having a good costomer base where people know you and know you sell quality firewood helps a lot too. You can probably buy firewood $10 cheaper than what i sell it for in my area, but the good costomer base is what lets me keep selling it at $65/cord.
But, ya, I make a living off of selling firewood. The trick for me is getting all of the trees or fuel wood logs for free or cheap and avoiding handling the wood too many times. Obviosly..
- You can't be messing around loading/unloading a truck or trailer by hand, you gotta have a loader tractor and a truck or trailer that dumps.
- Obviosly no splitting with an axe, you gotta use a hydrolic splitter.
- Definatly no piling the wood up to dry. A windy place with a dry underground will do just fine for srying if you dump it in a big heap.
- You can't be driving very far to get your wood. And you gotta use a diesel truck instead of gasoline.
- Naturally you need to be in good shape physically and have equipment that is reliable and shrp chainsaws and all that. And you gotta be really good at using that equipment.
Anyways, now adays in a 60 hour work week (yes, you gotta work long hours) I'll do maybe 80 face cords that I'll sell for $65/ face cord which makes $5200 (CAN). I am paying for some of the wood and all my equipment and fuel is costing me a lot of money, but I think I'm doing alright. Not getting rich, but I'm doing alright and I'm outside doing what I like doing.
And whoever said that there is a big differance between making a certian amount in cash and making that in taxable income made a really great point. You gotta remeber that.
I think the reason that most start up firewood bussinesses go bankrupt is because they dont have all the nessicary equipment which makes them handle the wood too many times, and they dont have the experiance to make it all work efficiantly without unnessicary handling of the wood. Doing inefficiant little things like throwing the wood on a pickup by hand or driving a full hour to sell $100 in wood is what gets them.
Also, having a good costomer base where people know you and know you sell quality firewood helps a lot too. You can probably buy firewood $10 cheaper than what i sell it for in my area, but the good costomer base is what lets me keep selling it at $65/cord.
Paul Downes
ArboristSite Lurker
If you have a grapple truck you can minimize handleing the wood. I always laugh when I see guys cutting firewood into blocks and splitting them and then throwing them in a pick-up. Of course I do the same thing, but hey, I need the exercise. A few years ago we cleaned up 9 acres of oak tops by cutting 8' lengths and hauling them to a wood processing site. Took us a week. One way I pay the land owner is to cut some wood for them to sell, on a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio. At least I don't have to shell out $. Free is best and a lot of people just want their woods cleaned up.
Chainsaw_Maniac
ArboristSite Operative
A truck with an actual grapple would be expensive and you need a special kind of truck to place logs on. A loader tractor or an industrial loader is the next best thing (and load the blocks with that).
Newfie
Addicted to ArboristSite
Your time is free? Mine isn't.
Ryan Willock
Addicted to ArboristSite
Durn right mike!
Chainsaw_Maniac
ArboristSite Operative
He means free trees. That way your expenses are the hours that you spend working at it and costs for equipment (saws, truck, trailer, etc) and fuel and oil.
If you get free trees you should be able to make some money if you are efficiant. If you make big money as an arborist
p ) the moeny you make doesn't seem like much. But deffinatly for the weekend arrior it's a good way to avoid a yearly gym fee. 
John Stewart
ArboristSite Guru
Hey Nick
I could be wrong but were you not chargin $10.00 to stack on your website?
Even though I see your upin your rate you still got to charge at least 35 US or 50 CDN
Stackin isn't fun and it depends how far!
If you go fair on the cord and high on the handlin you should be OK
Later
John
John Green
New Member
Query: What is a maul used for in splitting wood? I'm obviously a novice, and have been using my chainsaw to split the wood. It's a little awkward. (I'm not in business)
I have no axe, but do have a large hatchet, plus a small sledge and wedge.
I have no axe, but do have a large hatchet, plus a small sledge and wedge.
MasterBlaster
TreeHouse Elder
Welcome, John Green.
Newfie
Addicted to ArboristSite
The maul is used to split the rounds of wood lengthwise after standing them up. It has a long handle and a 6-8 pound head. One side of the head looks like a sledge and can drive wedges if needed and the other side looks like an axe for splitting. Much easier than any of the methods you described.
Hope this isn't wasted on a troll. Welcome to AS.
Newfie
Addicted to ArboristSite
Originally posted by netree
Mike, I thought you used the bandsaw to split wood?
The thought had never crossed my mind. Maybe big wood isn't such big work anymore?
John Green
New Member
Thanks, Master & Newfie. I guess a maul then acts like an axe?
Anyway, maybe I'll check out buying one, since the hatchet is not enough for the job. I've cut several trees in a woods behind my backyard, mainly for landscaping. I've bucked them and have maybe two cords of wood in a pile.
The saw cuts okay, but you have to get it to dig in before the wood skitters away.
Anyway, maybe I'll check out buying one, since the hatchet is not enough for the job. I've cut several trees in a woods behind my backyard, mainly for landscaping. I've bucked them and have maybe two cords of wood in a pile.
The saw cuts okay, but you have to get it to dig in before the wood skitters away.
I like an 8 pound maul for the good balance between the amount of effort typically required to both throw it up overhead and to then pull it downward toward the target. The 6 pound maul head goes up easier, but usually requires much more downward force. Swinging it from waist high, around the back, and over the head, in one continuous motion just doesn't work as well. You're not using an axe and that motion will tire you quickly.
I prefer the axe-eye mauls with wood handles. I'm on my fourth or fifth season on my current handle and it's just now starting to lose a little profile immediately below the head.
Check out http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/splitting.htm, which is most excellent except for perhaps the recommendation on weight. I'd worked out the same methodology independently several years ago. I can swing either handed and can walk a line across the round and/or could hit a pea 9 times out of 10. With a little practice, you can too. Firewood is fun; it warms you several times.
Glen
I prefer the axe-eye mauls with wood handles. I'm on my fourth or fifth season on my current handle and it's just now starting to lose a little profile immediately below the head.
Check out http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/splitting.htm, which is most excellent except for perhaps the recommendation on weight. I'd worked out the same methodology independently several years ago. I can swing either handed and can walk a line across the round and/or could hit a pea 9 times out of 10. With a little practice, you can too. Firewood is fun; it warms you several times.
Glen
Nickrosis
Manned by Boderators
Splitting mauls have a much wider angle wedge, too.
John, I just found out our firewood rates went up.
Price Dumped (Stacked):
Face: $90 ($100)
Half: $130 ($150)
Full: $230 ($265)
Usually, it just takes sitting down at the phone and calling people who've ordered in the past. A popular thing to suggest is that they split with a neighbor. You sell more, and they get a bulk discount.
The job keeps one or two people busy delivering on Saturdays in the fall/early winter. Selling in the newspaper isn't usually effective because the competition is based on price. With commodities like firewood, it's hard to have a big margin.
Right now, I'd like to find someone who wants 100 cords for a complex or something. That would make my day, even at volume pricing.
John, I just found out our firewood rates went up.
Price Dumped (Stacked):
Face: $90 ($100)
Half: $130 ($150)
Full: $230 ($265)
Usually, it just takes sitting down at the phone and calling people who've ordered in the past. A popular thing to suggest is that they split with a neighbor. You sell more, and they get a bulk discount.
The job keeps one or two people busy delivering on Saturdays in the fall/early winter. Selling in the newspaper isn't usually effective because the competition is based on price. With commodities like firewood, it's hard to have a big margin.
Right now, I'd like to find someone who wants 100 cords for a complex or something. That would make my day, even at volume pricing.
