firewood profit

[John Green]

Thanks, guys. I now see that the maul is more like a wedge than an axe is. I'll check one out at the local hardware.

I don't have a fireplace myself, and intend to give this stuff away--part to my son and part to a next-door neighbor.

 

[Chainsaw_Maniac]

"Maul" is a term I hate. I call it my splitting ax and everyone knows what I mean.

Nickrosis: $90 for a stacked face cord? That's pretty nice money in US dollars/

 

[stavenstumper]

what is the proper "seasoning" time and method, example stacked? covered? palletted? pilled?etc.

 

[Bills Oak]

Everybody here that has responded is correct--nice for a change--I have been splitting & selling firewood for about 15 years now in Florida--the only way to make ANY MONEY is to get FREE WOOD---buy a splitter with cash that you have saved splitting wood by hand----have the majority of your customers pick up the wood themselves! I have a good customer that buys 15 cords at a time--loads it by hand into the back of a produce truck--with 5 guys throwing wood it takes about three hours--he then bundles it & sells it for about $5.00 per bundle--5-7 pieces. He makes good money at it & I don't do too bad either. I sell about 150 cords per year at an average of $75.00 per cord & I only deliver about 10 cords total. It is very hard labor intensive work but like I tell my wife I get good exercise, make a few dollars & don't have to go to a gym like her for $300 per year fees!

 

[Ax-man]

Splitting wood with hand tools

I used to do all our wood by with hand tools. I've been meaning to start a thread on the different things that have worked good and some that don't work at all.

Anyone ever use a Monster Maul or Missouri Maul ( same thing ) it is twice as wide as the standard maul, works much better IMO. It is heavier than a regular maul of course, you hold it eye level and with a good flick of the wrist, the weight will split most pieces the first time.

For bigger rounds, I have a pair of twisted wedges, that work really good. I forgot where I got them from and would like to get some more, anyone happen to know what I'm talking about and where I could get some.

A variation of the standard wedge is what I would call a stepped wedge. It has smaller wedges at different heights on the sides to increase the width of the wedge as it goes down into the wood. This also works extremely good.

I can post some pics if anyone is curious as to what I'm talking about.

The worst wood splitting gadget I ever bought was the Oregon Wood Grenade. It is well named, drive it into some wood and it will pop out of the wood and bomb your foot, steel toed boots are advised when using this one. Basically it looks like an ice cream cone.

The best tool of all is the hydraulic splitter, can't beat those.

Nick,

Your prices for wood are average, but I think you are giving your labor away for stacking, my friend. I rarely stack wood for people as I feel I have handled the darn stuff enough just to get it to them. If I do stack, I charge your prices Only if it is within twenty feet of the truck. When you offer to stack wood people want you to put some in basement or cart it to the back yard or put some in a shed that is a half a football field from the driveway.

If they must have it stacked by us and it is not close to the truck the price is a firm $ 30 / face cord period no exceptions. I know this is a heck of an attitude to have and do not get many takers for this, but I have been jacked around too many times over the years on this stacking issue, wood stacking is not worth my time or someone who is working for us to do it for less.

Larry

 

[John Ellison]

Last winter I bought a True Temper splitting axe. Only 4 lb and as wide as a maul but with a skeletonized head. Have not touched my regular mauls since. I can split more wood with even less effort.

John

 

[alanarbor]

Get the local arborists to pay you for the priveledge of you disposing of their wood. Here in PA we pay 2-300 a load for a sub to come haul away logs from our jobs, wether it's good wood or not. Then you get paid twice for the wood you process.

 

[Timberwerks]

This is my first post and my first year selling firewood. So far selling firewood is going well. I get the tress dumped here at my lot for free from local tree services. The bring me large Ash, Elm, Oak and Maple trees about 4' - 6' in length. I buck them and split them as soon as they come in. If the trucks come before I have the last load split I just buck and stack the logs for splitting later.
I invested in a Timberwolf TW-5 splitter so splitting goes fairly easy and fast. I charge $65.00 for a face cord + $15.00 for stacking. $100.00 for half cord + $25.00 stacking. $200.00 for a full cord + $35.00 stacking. I do not charge for delivery within a 15mi area. Most of my orders are for half cords and I get my buisiness from fliers I pass out. So far I am very pleased with how things are going. I can see myself getting a larger truck for next year since I am using a short box pickup. When I get calls for a full cord I have a friend of mine deliver it in his dump truck.

Dale

 

[Nickrosis]

Welcome to the site. I'm 1 mile south of Mequon.

 

[Timberwerks]

Thanks for the welcome. It's nice to see a post from someone so close. I am located on Baehr road in Mequon roughly 60th and Donges Bay. If your ever in the area stop in and say hi. In the upcoming weeks I will also be setting up for sawmilling. This will be done mostly for my own use for furniture. You most likely know the Wallace and North Shore guy's. I just meet Lance Wallace a few months ago and help him out from time to time.

Take Care
Dale

 

[Nickrosis]

Originally posted by Timberwerks
Thanks for the welcome. It's nice to see a post from someone so close. I am located on Baehr road in Mequon roughly 60th and Donges Bay. If your ever in the area stop in and say hi.

I drove past your house 10 minutes ago!

I know Lance.....we go way back. Tell him I have issues with his flooring dude.

 

[Timberwerks]

I must have missed you. I take the dog out for his last walk about that time. I'm the house with the firewood sign and the chainsawed bear on the mailbox post. I'll talk to Lance this week. I'm going to see if he can bring his chipper by so I can get rid of some of the off cuts and other not so nice wood. If you know anyone that has a woodburner they can have them free. I'd keep them myself but after awhile the pile looks a mess.

See Ya
Dale

 

[Nickrosis]

We trade the stove wood for getting our trucks washed for free. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Some detailing, several waxings a year.... Not a bad deal.

Let me know if you ever need anything. I'm off to TCI Expo in Detroit for the next week, but I'll be around after that.

 

[Timberwerks]

Thanks, have a good time at the expo. If you ever run across anything that would be good for milling let me know. I build slab tables (contemporary) and I'm always on the look out for something unique. I'd love to find some Cherry. I usally buy from Kettle Moraine but it would interesting to build from something I milled. I also carve fireplace mantels so large timber for those is always nice.

Take Care
Dale

 

[Nickrosis]

FYI....Lance's father passed away. His funeral is on Sunday.

 

[Timberwerks]

I just found out this morning to. I hope Lance pull's through this ok. I just met Lance a short time ago and he had mentioned his father was not doing well. I will be going to a wedding this weekend so I won't be able to attend the funeral. If you happen to talk to or see him tell him my thoughts are with him. I lost my Aunt this year to cancer and my cousin three years ago to leaukemia and I know it's a tough thing to go through.

Take Care
Dale

 

[Nickrosis]

I did get to stop by the funeral, and I'm glad I did.

On the topic of firewood:
We're in full swing here! We've got $10,000 of firewood to unload and put towards winter bills.

We've got a guy making calls - he's awesome...just racking up the sales.

I'm thinking we could start splitting some pieces really small and plastic wrapping them separately. It would get the same effect of what you were getting at, Dale, in terms of making people feel they're getting a value-added service and an easier-to-start first fire.

 

[Timberwerks]

That sounds great. Over the weekend I had my flyer updated to add two other stack options.

1/2 face cord includes firestarter, delivery and stacking $50.00

1/4 face cord includes firestarter, delivery and stacking $25.00

These two options are liste with the discription (perfect for weekends, holidays or just to take the chill off)

I'll send you a flyer to check out, they should be printed tonight.


How was Lance doing?

Dale

 

[buckwheat]

Over the last three weeks I've noticed firewood prices in central PA increase by about 25%. (It just started getting pretty cold at night.)

 

[Timberwerks]

I raised my 1/2 cord price by $5.00 to stay in line with other sellers in my area. The last couple of weeks things have been slow but this week the calls are coming in on a regular basis, even though the weather has been warm. I think the holidays coming up are a factor.

Dale