Looking back, and problem solving along the way.

[Sandhill Crane]

This is how I started out doing firewood for our own use the previous fifteen years.
The improvements here are the woodshed and the splitter bench. The splitter itself was a used SpeeCo we picked up about 1983 or '84. It was modified before I bought it, raised up to be pulled by a tractor on a fruit farm. I added a detent valve.
We built a house in 1994 with a heat pump, and I quit doing firewood for several years despite having a wood stove. The wood shed came later. We owned that splitter for thirty three years, and used it for over thirty years, with two engines. Sold it for $500. Tried to buy it back for $600. after selling a TW-6, and he would not sell.

At some point we bought a used quad, a Polaris 330 Magnum 4x4. Friend sold their cottage and no longer had a use for it. I found a new Thule atv trailer near Cleveland, and I was back doing firewood for ourselves. I could not make trails on the private property I was cutting down and dead stuff on. A couple years later I saved and added a LogRite arch. Someone on AS suggested a brilliant modification to the arch using chain instead of a strap to secure the front end of the log. I bought a cnc cut piece from him and had it welded on. If you choke the log to lift it the log is easily positioned and secured. However, if you sling the log, which is done for heavier loads, the cable attachment is parallel with the backbone of the arch, causing the log to turn crossways. The provided strap was awkward when dealing with tremendous torque to pull the log into position. Using the chain attachment allows using the chain as leverage to turn and lift, and quick easy one handed anchoring. I've suggested this mod twice to Tammy of LogRite at the Paul Bunyan Show.
I was still doing wood for personal use only, and enjoying it immensely.
I retired without a plan. The first eight months was a awkward transition. I started doing yoga almost daily for five years and would have continued if not for a knee injury. During the eight months I spent a lot of time in the woods doing firewood. Me and the dog. I found a firewood conveyor on line in Iowa, which was the beginning of selling firewood. Except now I had to buy logs. The first load was decent, the second was 11 cord from a 20 cord load. I didn't say anything to the guy, I just switched suppliers. And tried to figure out a way to go about this. I added a couple saw horses and built a staging table on wheels.
I got a job to save some money, and started building firewood racks because the large piles were being to mold rather quickly. I built (100) 1/3 cord racks that nest together with angled legs, and filled them using the quad and trailer.
Without a truck I didn't sell much the first year. I found a used piggyback forklift and an older Top Kick 5500 12' flatbed. With the forklift I could now move logs and the firewood racks. I built a larger log deck.
to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Our son helping out.

There was some small inexpensive mods to the splitter. The detent of course was one. Another was the table or bench that could be used on either side. The thing with a bench is that it extends well beyond the wedge to catch the split pieces on the off side. Another was stroke reducing collars. Note some people have regretted using them if the wedge or push plate is threaded on the cylinder rod. The threads strip apparently. My set up had a bolt attaching the push plate with a through hole in the end of the rod. I had to replace this bolt many, many times as it would eventually shear, without damage to the parts. Reducing the stroke 6" inches each way, is a huge improvement at a cost of approx. $30.00
I built 30 firewood racks that held 3/4 cord. I liked these better and now I could cover individual racks more easily also. Stacking however was becoming very time consuming, and pulling from a conveyor pile was a literal pain in the back. I built a bin out of scaffolding that proved to be a little dangerous to the nuts, as pulling wood created caverns that could drop anytime. Couple times I got nailed in the hip.
Overtime, I read and read about SuperSplit on AS. After two years I ordered one based completely on AS comments. Wow! Home run! I had never even heard of them let alone seen one. A huge thanks to all the AS members that posted about them. There was an equal number, maybe more, who talked them down but had never actually used one. For me it was an almost perfect fit. I modified it... with fork lift tubes, and much later, four wheels.(I sent an email with photos to SuperSplit hoping they might make it an easy bolt-on option.) Lastly, I added per KiwiBro, the plastic high density table cover.
to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Some photos that go with previous comments. I added side doors to the scaffold bin for better access.
View attachment 781641
The four wheel mod and phenolic table cover came several years later.
I have a great log supplier but purchasing logs is a huge obstacle to over come money wise. I tried getting logs dumped off by a tree service for a year. I paid much less for the logs but dealing with bigger wood meant a shift in processing. I ordered a TW-6 and went to work. At the time I had an 066. It was a bunch of new challenges.
First, I found myself chasing splits to re-split. The off side would fall on the ground opposite the log lift. If I worked the off side then I would have to switch sides to load the log lift. And often, the four-way wedge would ride up and come off.
Mod time ttwo weeks after I bought it: I had a machine shop add several inches to the back of the four-way making a shelf of it. Then splitting small pieces off the bottom like a box wedge does. The pieces on top get pulled back with a pulp hook to the log lift, and to the beam. Then repeat.
to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

The thing was, they kept upping the price and I sold the splitter 18 months later. This design is copied over and over and I don't see why. Later I learned of Eastonmade with his v box wedge design and pull back arm.
I had had my conveyor for several years and I had an issue with it. I broke the hand crank jack that raises it because the hinge tube froze or seized up. An issue a few zerks could have prevented. I called Built-Rite. Nope, never had that problem before. In the end I ordered valves from Surplus Center, replacing the existing valve and adding one, and a cylinder to raise/lower the unit. The cylinder I ordered from Built-Rite as I was not sure what would work. I still had to have a welder modify the mounts on the conveyor to make it work, which is what I was trying to avoid to begin with. A few times I've loaded dump trucks with it, but mostly I never move it. If I use the quad I have to raise it all the way to shift weight off the hitch. One wheel/tire also seized up. My opinion, and I'm no mechanics, but the seal was shot due to weld splatter when they attached the spindle.

to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I also replaced the hydraulic motor that drives the top drum. This may have been my fault as I did tip it over backwards once when running wood up it. It was not hitched to anything and I had the conveyor up as far as it would go. The load of wood made it top heavy, and over it went. I had done that once before but the pile of splits caught it. I was starting a new pile and it came down on the drum and bent the shaft, which I noticed because the motor was flexing. I replaced the shaft, but probable stressed the motor shaft as well at the time. A year later the motor shaft sheared. I made an adjustable mount and replaced the love-joy with an (I forget what it's called. It has bigger bearings for side force. Offset something?) and a double chain coupler. The mount allowed me to dial in the coupler, although the photo doesn't show that. I do like this conveyor. Hydraulic to drum drive, forward/reverse, some tracking issues with chips around the bottom drum but easily remedied in minutes by reversing and sweeping chips from the lower belt. Snow is more of an issue due to high compression on the drum and poor drum access as the shields are not removable. If using in the winter the guards would need to be modified as removable.
to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

One of the most useful tools is a pulp hook. I think I first became aware of them watching a PowerSplit YouTube video. Again, for $30.00 plus or minus, a huge improvement on a daily firewood processing basis.
Another issue I had relating to breakdowns was my delivery truck. I had less than 5k in it. 2000 Top Kick 5500 with 12' flatbed. It started jumping out of 2nd about the third year I had it. That winter I decided to keep it and get it fixed. It has a Cat 3126, and it set me back more than the cost of the truck for a rebuilt transmission. The debate is always dump trailer vs dump truck. At that time we did not own a pickup. That repair was a set back. At the time I asked them to put a pto on it for the option of a future dump box. I now know most dump boxes in that size would probably be electric/hydraulic.
Oh well. Move on.
Looking at my process, I was spending a great deal of time stacking. I needed to for seasoning. Also, when I chose a forklift, I now had nothing to scoop with. The initial long range plan was to get a bigger truck to carry firewood and the forklift for deliveries. Have not gotten there.
(family calls...to be continued...)

 

[Hand Splitter]

Looks like you have plenty on intelligence and ingenuity to make as much money as you want to doing what ever you set your mind to. Great innovative and CSS!

Is selling firewood profitable to you? Or more of a hobby to keep you busy to make a couple bucks?

 

[panolo]

@Sandhill Crane I always enjoy your picture posts and info!

 

[alderman]

Enjoyed the tour. Looks like a fun operation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cantoo]

Sandhill, here is the solution to your not having a dump bucket for your forklift. I've had one sitting on my fenceline for 5 or 6 years. If you don't have an extra outlet on your piggy back you could just add an electric pump like a hoist or snow plow one. Mine is the one with a single cylinder and the forklift mount. It would also dump into dump truck or dump trailer for you.
https://wifo.ca/products/orchard-produce/produce-buckets.html

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Is selling firewood profitable to you? Or more of a hobby to keep you busy to make a couple bucks?

The honest answer is...No.
I don't do enough volume.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Sandhill, here is the solution to your not having a dump bucket for your forklift. I've had one sitting on my fenceline for 5 or 6 years. If you don't have an extra outlet on your piggy back you could just add an electric pump like a hoist or snow plow one. Mine is the one with a single cylinder and the forklift mount. It would also dump into dump truck or dump trailer for you.
https://wifo.ca/products/orchard-produce/produce-buckets.html

I also like the three point forklift package for unloading and placing for deliveries.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Replacing the truck transmission was a set 5k setback. I needed a delivery truck and the repair was, at the time, the cheapest alternative, short of a loan for something better. The money came in, and went right back out.
I had also focused on each step of the processing using the conveyor, SuperSplit and a wooden home built log deck with sacrificial cutting bench built in, and a rounds staging table on wheels. It worked pretty good, but my neck and knee would get sore from repetition. I added a second log deck/cutting bench and eliminated the staging table on wheels. The neck/knee problem disappeared. The four wheel nursery wagon, purchased to use as a second mobile staging table became a rather expensive work table, but I was thrilled with the end result, which is what I do now for cutting/splitting.

The wood lot: I had been working near our wood shed under a canopy of Oaks and Beech for several years. Having built wood racks, I had expanded the area for staging seasoned wood, and also empty wood rack storage. Things were beginning to sprawl out in areas, which I did not care for. As stewards of the land, I, we, had left most of the property natural. One small area is tall old pines with small tops. Next to that was a thick group of Poplar 10"-14"s of about 3/4 -1 acre. The rest is some nice size oaks and aging beech. The wood duck, pileated woodpeckers, and owls love it. I dropped six or so poplar, piled the brush, and log arched 16' sections out, cut to 8' and piled. Stacking brush was going to be a problem. I found an older 18 hp DR chipper on line for a thousand bucks. Slow process but much, much better, and I sold the chipper when done for $850. or something. I did put new knives on it. I gave away the logs to a guy with a boiler. Then hired an excavator to haul off stumps and grade with gravel.

I kept looking at my over all process. A processor would allow me to increase production which could increase cash flow. But in reality it would not, because that meant taking out a sizable loan, limiting cash flow for buying logs to feed it. Impasse...
The other thing about processors I had not overcome was re-splitting. Why pay thousands for a machine that doesn't really do the whole job, to cut/split only to re-handle and re-spit. Why pay to save time and effort, and then add the saved time and effort back in? Why pay for higher fuel costs, added maintenance cost, etc.?
The biggest factor was Effort, getting the splits to the SuperSplit. I looked online at used flowboys, semi trailers used to haul blacktop, and live floor semi trailers to stage behind a processor to feed a wood splitter. All cost prohibitive of course even in the worst of shape. And also salt bodies off county trucks with center floor conveyors.

Stacking: You can only stack so much, limiting production.
I ordered the Posch PackFix and decided to keep the forklift, looking ahead to a 24' tandem flatbed with piggyback package. Four pallets per cord, I could haul three cord plus the forklift. I could do larger orders, or multiple orders per run. Trucks could be had for 25-30k.

The thing about a truck is it is an expense, a drain, and does not really make money.
It is also regulated, unlike a processor or other equipment, meaning you need a cdl license, annual commercial plates, annual insurance, annual physical/drug tests, annual vehicle inspection, etc. That's a lot of firewood.

The PackFix was going to/and has saved a great deal of Effort. (time and/or reduced labor)
It also has helped with seasoning.

A processor could bump me from four hours per cord to possibly one hour per cord. But how long, and how much work, would it take to re-split?

The other question is how much of a processor would I need?
I ruled out a Dyna 12XP due to the manual cutting. At my age (now 66), and having the neck and knee soreness from unbalanced repetition at the splitter, I didn't think the shoulder action of manual cutting would work very long for me. The next step is (?) 35k, plus options.

I was hung up on how to re-split, obviously.

The thing about a processor vs a truck is the processor could make money and does not carry with it annual fees or taxes to operate. Which makes me think the better option would be a processor. Or, considering the financial aspect further, no loan at all, and work with what I have and just put in more hours.

There are other options. I am often approached with offers of free logs, but I am not set up to go get them.
I have had free logs dropped off on a couple of occasions. Each time there was significant junk to deal with, and I'm not set up for that as well.

to be continued...

 

[Sandhill Crane]

just some photos.

 

[muddstopper]

You have already gotten more firewood processing equipment than most of the folks on this site. Going to a processor just seems like the next logical step. You seem worried about resplits with a processor. You have seen the video of the Eastonmade with the arm that pulls the rounds back for resplitting. I saw a video the other day, I didn't save the link, of a wood processor that did the same thing. Box wedge design that spilt pieces from the bottom of the round and pulling the top piece back for resplitting. If your serious about buying a processor, I would look for that type of wedge design. I don't know how many cord per hr it was rated for, but it would save a ton of labor. Use your forklift to load whole logs and sit on your butt and pull levers to produce usable size splits.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Japa 435 perfect split. I saw it at the Paul Bunyan Show this fall. 85k with 50 hp Kubota. The box wedge cycles via an electric eye, until the round is completely split. It has a shaker outfeed behind the wedge with dedicated conveyor for splitter trash, and a vacuum and bagger for saw chip collection. There is supposedly a little brother Japa 405. These were the best looking firewood splits from a processor at the show, period.
Easton made box wedge splitters looked great too at 10-15k. His box wedge design is adjustable up and down to vary the split size. The Japa box wedge on the ground is their optional, smaller one for gas station bundles.

 

[muddstopper]

I dont think the Japa 435 perfect split was the one I seen, but I like it.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Posch PackFix for palletizing splits.

Posch is Austrian. Or German (?) and they have plants in Austria. I'm not really sure.
When I ordered a SuperSplit I had never seen one. I had read about them here on AS over period of two years as I paid off other equipment and saved to replace our thirty year old SpeeCo splitter. The log arch for personal firewood, then the used conveyor came up, and forklift to save my back, all came first. The TW-6 came after the SuperSplit. I had it for a year and a half and sold it with something like 65 hours, 12 of which were from leaving the key on overnight, which ran the hour meter.
Anyway, I bought the SuperSplit sight unseen. Same with the PackFix, with the thinking it would save me literally tons of work.
(oak is 5,800 pds per cord green)
As with everything there are trade offs. With this purchase, the thought was/is, it is a piece of the puzzle to increase production to the 100-200 cord per year range from the present 70 cord/yr. Less than that bulk bags would be more cost efficient, and above 100+ cord, the netting would be increasingly more efficient.
Netting: I picked up the PackFix at a trucking terminal near me, and made a second trip for the pallet (64 rolls) of netting.
As with many things there are option choices. I choose the 'hydro base option' which is a turn table base with two fill drums. It is stationary, and the filled drum platform rotates the drums from under the conveyor to under the drum lifting tripod, where netting is wrapped on the outside of the lower section of the fill drum. As the lower portion of the drum is wrapped, the drum is lifted, slip formed upward leaving netting around the firewood. The drums sit on pallets, which of course are now loaded and moved. Another pallet is placed on the turn table base and the empty drum lowered onto the pallet.
The hydro option allows filling of one drum while the other is being wrapped. As a one person operation the hydro base meant less forklift starting/stopping and on/off steps, for a smoother flow. The hydro base is an expensive option. For one it is self powered, where as some base option units are powered by tractor hydraulics. Also with the turn table is a larger base, platform and additional fill drum. This summer/fall a good friend help process half a dozen cords together, and we got to see how it works with two people. We are both in our mid sixties, and at a steady pace, we did a cord, consistently, in less than two hours. Loading the log decks required stepping out of the way for safety, and the time included refueling, etc. He would cut rounds on one side of the splitter, I would split on the other, and switch. During the drum filling process I check about one third full, and if need be, use a 4' hook-a-roon to shift splits at the edges of the drum, so they do not teepee and cause voids.
While my arms is in the drum I stop the conveyor for a moment, but splitting can continue. Then I return to split, alternating sides. When the drum is full, I again stop the conveyor. The top splits are leveled, any extra are tossed in the empty drum. The turn table does a 180 and the conveyor started again. He is cutting and splitting, as I wrap the drum, forklift it off the base and set it down 6' from the machine. I place another pallet on the turntable, lower the fill drum, and kill the engine. Then I cover the new bundle with a 6'x6' cover, secure with twine, and stage pallet for seasoning. While the forklift is running I check the log decks and load if needed. By now the next drum is half full of splits and I check for teepees and then I continue splitting. Initially I had hoped three drums per cord, but that comes out short when stacked. Four drums per cord is a touch over, say two to three cu. ft. If there is a teepee void in one drum it's covered. The problem with voids is settling when moving or seasoning. Then the bundle can tilt. Settling and small voids is also why I cover the bundles when trucking. I wrap seven to eight times, overlapping of course, but the bundles are not secure for road transport. They could be with more netting wraps if you chose to do that.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I have been thrilled with the Posch unit. The machine is well designed and finished, and after a short learning curve a delight to use.
Initially I tried double stacking. It took a little more time to do that, on and off the lift to level the base row. In the spring 95% was good, but some lower row bundles settled and shifted, making it very difficult to get forks in some of the top bundles. Most of the time I could one fork the lower side, block it up, and then access it. Tipping one over makes a bit of a mess. I stacked those in the 1/3 cord racks I had at the time, and got a really good idea how the bundles stacked out cu. ft. wise. Then I would run it back up the conveyor to re-bundle.
One learning curve was using pallets. I have been using 4'x4' pallets. Hardwood pallets are best of course for outside, ground contact use. Many of mine are pine, and the worst have only three cross pieces on the bottom. After a year or two they become water soaked and bend or break. I used a car jack to lift the pallet enough to connect the drum lifting tripod to the top of the drum.
As my system lacks a heavy duty enough truck with a piggyback forklift mount, unloading by hand is piece by piece work. Aside from lifting cut rounds from the cut table to the splitter, unloading is only the second touch. It is way too time consuming unload each and every piece by hand, as mentioned previously.
I have considered a dump trailer, loading it in the wood lot would be much easier. I could use the conveyor, and have considered a platform to place pallets on, back trailer under, and cut bundles. Unwrapping actually works better, as the netting catches on splits when cut, like a gill net. At one point a dump trailer was not an option for lack of a pickup. We now have a truck for towing an older rv trailer Margaret bought when she retired. She bought a pop up that we towed with a mini van, which wasn't ideal. It rained a few times camping and the pop up got sold. She had talked about a pop-up for years. I had used them before and was not onboard, so she went halves with our son. She bought a 2005 27' bumper pull. Nice, older, one owner unit, no carpet and blond interior. It was nice, and she has never asked for much despite making more money than me all these years. I said I'd go halves on a truck, and she bought the trailer. Great for two, but now we needed a pickup. That TW-6 money, went towards a pickup instead of a heavy duty 52,000 gvw. The whole rv thing never appealed to me until she got me in that trailer, and got me to try it along Lake Michigans in state parks on several three and four day weekends that summer, some with the kids and grand kids. I found out in February that my brother, nine years older then me, had a mild heart attach in January. Mid March we hooked up the trailer and headed southwest to CA. Visited friends in New Mexico on the way, and my oldest sister in CA. A friend was house sitting for us and looking after the animals. We planned three weeks, were gone seven weeks, and visited as many national parks and monuments. The honeymoon we never had. After leaving Santa Fe on the way out, we avoided freeways, with few exceptions. In late fall we visited friends in New Jersy, headed northeast into NY state. My moms folks lived in Delhi, NY. Hooked up with cousins, and headed north to Lake Placid, then east to Acadia National Park. We were at the horse barns there in late afternoon, the last day of the season, when they fed them in the pasture. The fall colors were prime, and few campgrounds were open when we headed home. Anyway, no big truck for deliveries, and no regrets. We had gone coast to coast, folding paper stars, called German stars, that we gave to people we met along the way.
Cash flow has always been an issue, and that was the motivation to go with the TW-6, and get away from paying, or paying as much for logs. But things come up and we have to make choices.
This year we did not camp as much of course. For one thing the trailer took a beating on the roads, especially on freeways when we got on them. We bought a 2011 Chevy 3500. I knew Margaret would be doing considerable driving, and wanted a truck that was firm, with adequate tires and brakes. We originally looked at older trucks, and less frills work trucks. We soon discovered power mirrors were a given is we both drove. We found this one with 102,000 in Kentucky, hoping to get a more solid, rust free body. It's a dually and I didn't have much thought pro or con at the time about that. I learned later that duallies sit lower and are considered more stable. Anyway, I did some work on the trailer this spring. Margaret took it for a week to a fiber arts festival near here. She spins wool and alpaca, and knits. And we took it to the Paul Bunyan Show and stayed two nights before heading to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and Turkey Run State Park in Indiana on the way home.
This fall I expected to get caught up. In the spring I had had skin cancer and reconstructive surgery on my nose. Doc said keep your head above your heart for two-three weeks. This fall pneumonia snuck up on me. Six weeks of coughing spells, then again when I transitioned inside to out, or vice versa. Cold air irritated it. A friend helped again with some cutting/splitting to fill a partially filled drum. The next day Margaret and I dropped the mast and put the PackFix in the container. Previously I had built shelves for the netting, which had been stored in the garage.
to be continued...

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I'm not understanding why you'd need to resplit with a processor?

A cord an hour would be fairly slow.

I can do a cord in about 2 hours by myself. Load logs, process them, and stack.

The processing is maybe 30-40 mins.