Milling vs splitting..

[blkcloud]

Have any of you ever put much thought into the idea of sawing your firewood into instead of splitting it?
I have seen some lower cost band mills that were cheaper than some Hyd splitters.. With a mill you could saw the log into quarters with 2 cuts.. Then just cut them to length.. Think how much easier they would be to stack.. No more knotty wood flying out and hitting you in the face.. Plus after you got all your wood put up you could mill yourself a few boards in the off season.. I used to have a all Hyd woodmizer ( back before I burned wood) and a good quality blade would last for a long time before it needed sharpening.. Which at the time was $6 iirc.. Just wondering if milling vs splitting would be cost effective..

 

[Shagbark]

What would be the handling time difference involved? For me, time is the issue.

 

[muddstopper]

I guess my opinion is that if I have a log big enough that it needs to be put on a sawmill, then that log is big enough to mill into lumber. Dont own a bandmill, but have been thinking about building one. And I guess my reasoning for wanting to build a mill is because I get enough big wood that would make good lumber, that I usually cut up into firewood. Dont know how I would act if I did own a band mill. I would be willing to bet that a lot of the pine stuff I usually turn down would somehow find its way to my house. I could use the pine lumber to build sheds to house my oak fire wood. OK, gears turning and a plan coming together now.

 

[Shagbark]

AS is a dangerous place. It is hard on the wallet.

 

[Fred Wright]

Milled or sawn firewood is a breeze to stack.

But it still must be crosscut into stove-length pieces. That could become time consuming. Rather than buck one round to get several splits you'll buck several long timbers to get the same amount.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

If you have loads delivered or have a lot of straight trees maybe. I don't on both counts. Throw hilly ground in there and that would be another minus. Have all that wet wood stacked real tight and how long do you think it would take to dry? You'd need more. read expensive, equipment to move, lift and skid said logs around. Less impact on my woods by keeping a simple driveway as opposed to highways and staging areas is another thing I like about the traditional method. I'd rather be cutting,splitting and hauling than spending have my time on set up and moving logs into position. Simply doesn't make sense or cents to me.

 

[sunfish]

We have a band saw mill here & a Super Split. I will not be using the mill to make firewood!

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Slabs are a fair amount of work to turn into stove length firewood.

 

[Shagbark]

The thought of perfection in stacked firewood....uniform length, width, height, really appeals to my OCD! I would be outed as having psychological issues to all my friends and neighbors...could be real expensive!

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

The thought of perfection in stacked firewood....uniform length, width, height, really appeals to my OCD! I would be outed as having psychological issues to all my friends and neighbors...could be real expensive!

I tend to get mine real nice and compact when it put the ashes in the ash can!

 

[zogger]

If you have a use for the lumber or can sell the lumber, then just burn your slabs, heck ya! Lumber is worth more than firewood for sure.

 

[Philbert]

Interesting idea. But milling is much slower than splitting, and band mills and blades require much more maintenance than a hydraulic splitter. If you owned a mill and wanted to try it for incidental firewood use, that might be OK. But if you owned a mill and a splitter, I don't think that you would use the mill for firewood. You have to do more set up with longer logs, and would also generate more waste as sawdust.

As far as burning milled lumber, there is no problem with that. People burn splits and scraps from all sizes of mills, as well as pallet wood and construction scraps/waste. When I first got my fireplace insert I ordered a couple of 'bundles' of oak slabwood/clapboards, and just cut them to length, while still bundled, with a chainsaw. The wide pieces split easily too, for kindling. Some of this wood might be 'too small' for guys with an OWB, who like larger, thicker pieces for longer burn times.

Philbert

 

[turnkey4099]

Have any of you ever put much thought into the idea of sawing your firewood into instead of splitting it?
I have seen some lower cost band mills that were cheaper than some Hyd splitters.. With a mill you could saw the log into quarters with 2 cuts.. Then just cut them to length.. Think how much easier they would be to stack.. No more knotty wood flying out and hitting you in the face.. Plus after you got all your wood put up you could mill yourself a few boards in the off season.. I used to have a all Hyd woodmizer ( back before I burned wood) and a good quality blade would last for a long time before it needed sharpening.. Which at the time was $6 iirc.. Just wondering if milling vs splitting would be cost effective..

It would take a lot more time than splitting and use a lot of fuel.

HarryK

 

[Mike Van]

Bandmill blades can not take dirt in any amount, stick with the proven chainsaw & splitter for firewood.

 

[CoreyB]

This is what I do for large firewood. When I bought my chainsaw this is one thing it had to be good at.


Splitting ain't ever been so fun!

 

[Philbert]

This is what I do for large firewood.

A.k.a. 'Noodling'

Philbert

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

This is what I do for large firewood. When I bought my chainsaw this is one thing it had to be good at.


Splitting ain't ever been so fun!

And an over 30 second cycle time too. Gives you more time to savor the moment.

 

[blades]

7900 is even more fun, course the logs get bigger also

 

[muddstopper]

This is what I do for large firewood. When I bought my chainsaw this is one thing it had to be good at.


Splitting ain't ever been so fun!

I did a little of that today. was helping my son and one of his friends trying to scrounge a little wood. Big 20in red oaks standing dead. When bucked the water just spewed out. They where beating their brains out with a couple of go devils. I just sawed and loaded on the trucks. When it looked like they had just about worn themselfs out, I told them to let an old man show them how to split wood. They just laughed until I cranked up the old 365 with the 24in bar and started noodeling those big soggy rounds. I would saw about half way thru the round and then stand it on end, one wack with the mual and it would split. They said I was cheating, I said yea, but your the ones worn out and I aint broke a sweat. Work smarter, not harder.

 

[Wood Doctor]

The 1-2 punch of noodling and then splitting the 6ths, quarters, or halves is still the best way to go when working with huge rounds. Noodle cut to size that you can lift onto the tailgate, transport to the splitter, and then split from there.