moving oak rounds

[Hydestone]

i took down a 24” oak today and cut it into 18” rounds. the bigger logs were tough to lift into the trailer. i’ve got (2) 36”+ red oaks coming down next weekend.

i am looking forward to having the firewood, but am dreading handling the 36” stem. if i cut them at 18”, they’ll weight 477 lb assuming 45 lb/sf. i don’t have a tractor or backhoe, just a regular lawn tractor.

how do you guys move around logs that size? i am planning to quarter them with a splitting axe, them splitting the quarters with the splitter in the vertical position.

any other suggestions or ideas on how to move heavy rounds around and split them?


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[sb47]

I use a 2 wheeled dolly to move heavy rounds. Tree Co. use a heavy duty 2 wheeled dolly with extra large wheels to move rounds from back yards out to the curb. I have 2 dollys I got from Uline with the extended nose plate. The cheap home depot dolly's with a short nose plate are not as good.
I use the model H-2055 XL nose plate. The extra long nose plate really helps when you tilt it back and helps keep the round from tilting away from the dolly.
Uline makes a good heavy built dolly with wheel bearings that make rolling it very easy.
I bought one about 3 years ago and put it to the test and I like it so much I ordered another, so now I have 2 of them and they hold up very well.
I have 2 of the cheap 60 dollar dolly's from the big box store and both of them have broken and are now useless.
I'm not using them to load a trailer, just to move rounds over from where I cut the log to the splitter. They work very well for me. Just make sure you get the one with solid wheels and not pneumatic ones.
I ordered one by phone and it was on my door step in less then 24 hours.
There not cheap but you get what you pay for.

https://www.uline.com/BL_1837/Uline-Standard-Steel-Hand-Trucks?keywords=dolly

 

[farmer steve]

i took down a 24” oak today and cut it into 18” rounds. the bigger logs were tough to lift into the trailer. i’ve got (2) 36”+ red oaks coming down next weekend.

i am looking forward to having the firewood, but am dreading handling the 36” stem. if i cut them at 18”, they’ll weight 477 lb assuming 45 lb/sf. i don’t have a tractor or backhoe, just a regular lawn tractor.

how do you guys move around logs that size? i am planning to quarter them with a splitting axe, them splitting the quarters with the splitter in the vertical position.

any other suggestions or ideas on how to move heavy rounds around and split them?


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I usually noodle big rounds into sizes my back likes to handle.

 

[square1]

Two wheel dolly. Ratchet strap the really big ones to it.

 

[drf255]

I find it easiest to noodle them into quarters. I’ve used a wrecking bar to move them to the splitter as well whole, but quartering them makes everything more manageable.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

If it's red oak, it may very well be easy to split. Not if it's gnarly obviously, but if it's got straight grain you could just split it before you move it. This one was 42" in diameter. Didn't take too long to make it more manageable. I will admit that I would have needed a break before I did another one!

 

[sirbuildalot]

If it's red oak, it may very well be easy to split. Not if it's gnarly obviously, but if it's got straight grain you could just split it before you move it. This one was 42" in diameter. Didn't take too long to make it more manageable. I will admit that I would have needed a break before I did another one!

I like the video, nice splitting!!!

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I like the video, nice splitting!!!

Thanks. Looking back there was definitely room for improvement, but it was fun.

 

[NSMaple1]

Split them first. Way easier to toss splits than move rounds.

Sounds like you have a vertical splitter. I'd just move the splitter to the rounds, tip it vertical, then flop the round over on the foot and split. If you put a big stick on the ground in front of the foot first (just big enough to be just a little higher than the foot), that makes a pivot point for maneuvering the round around on as you split it up.

 

[SS396driver]

Me and the misses did this one in the woods was just big to handle rounds. In retrospect I should have skidded it out and taken it to the mill. I noodled them in half then the fisker x27 cut right through the rounds

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Lots of good suggestions. I've waited till it snows and moved one or two at a time on a plastic sled, but it must be fairly level side to side or the tip. Two wheel dolly if the ground is firm enough and not going to far. For splitting, I found it helps when halving, is to cut a kerf 3"-4" deep across the top to place a wedge in and tap to start it. Then windmill with a maul. Usually three hits in Oak opens them up.

 

[unclemoustache]

I have some scaffolding platforms. I built a wood sawhorse that is half the height of my truck bed. One platform goes from ground to sawhorse, next from sawhorse to truck. It’s not steep, so i can dolly a round up it, or even just roll the round up it.

But I usually prefer to noodle them into liftable sizes, since the will immediately go into the splitter pile, and they need to be small enough for my older kids to lift onto the splitter.

 

[sb47]

Split them first. Way easier to toss splits than move rounds.

Sounds like you have a vertical splitter. I'd just move the splitter to the rounds, tip it vertical, then flop the round over on the foot and split. If you put a big stick on the ground in front of the foot first (just big enough to be just a little higher than the foot), that makes a pivot point for maneuvering the round around on as you split it up.

The goal is reduce the amount of work and how many times you put your hands on it. I try to cut strait off the pile and only pick up the round once to put it on the splitter. If I move and stack the rounds before splitting, I'm adding several steps. It makes no difference in weight f I wheelbarrow rounds or splits.
Rounds are heavier but picking it up is like picking up a dozen splits at once. You can only put so much in a wheelbarrow.
It all depends on the season, summer I like shade, winter I like sun.

 

[Hydestone]

great suggestions, thanks. i’ve got a dolly, but hadn’t considered using it to move rounds. i’ll do some in place splitting then dolly them over to the splitter.


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[VW Splitter]

i took down a 24” oak today and cut it into 18” rounds. the bigger logs were tough to lift into the trailer. i’ve got (2) 36”+ red oaks coming down next weekend.

i am looking forward to having the firewood, but am dreading handling the 36” stem. if i cut them at 18”, they’ll weight 477 lb assuming 45 lb/sf. i don’t have a tractor or backhoe, just a regular lawn tractor.

how do you guys move around logs that size? i am planning to quarter them with a splitting axe, them splitting the quarters with the splitter in the vertical position.

any other suggestions or ideas on how to move heavy rounds around and split them?

How tall is your trailer? If the rounds are good and round, you can roll some pretty big ones up a ramp into a trailer. Positioning the trailer where you are rolling downhill instead of uphill is important. Keep them upright and rolling, if they fall over it can be a 2 man project to get one back up and rolling again. I like bringing home the rounds and splitting them as they come off the trailer. If they are really big, I will noodle them and let 1/2 fall onto the splitter and the 2nd half is right there ready to flop over onto the splitter next. Don't try to lift them, roll them. In the picture I got these 36" rounds on and off the trailer by myself. I was younger then, about 55.

 

[sb47]

If you work on fairly flat ground , there are all kinds of heavy duty nursery dolly's that may work for you. I did a search and found a wide verity to choose from, and some have a capacity of 1600 lb. So they make good heavy duty dolly's that may work for your situation if that an option for you. Obviously one man can't handle a full load, but it may make smaller rounds and logs a lot easier to move and if they can handle 1600 lb's you know there built. We used them at one of our tree nursery's to move container trees and they worked great.
They come in all sizes so look around and find one that works for the size rounds your gonna work with. Consider the soil conditions and choose the right tires. There are pro's and con's to solid vs. pneumatic so consider that to. Good quality bearings make them roll very easy compared to the cheap ones.
I already posted the one I use and it is just right for what I need. I'm on flat hard ground so just a good quality heavy duty dolly is all I need. I bought 2 from Home Depot and Lowe's and they just had bushings with a lot of play so they didn't roll well, plus the tubing was thin and bent easy. Not promoting Uline but they are solid with sealed bearings tight tolerances so they roll smoooooth! And smooth makes rolling heavy loads easier.

When I go vertical I dolly the round up to the foot plate and leave the dolly under the round. It's less work then trying to maneuver the round on the foot plate. It also makes it easier to keep the round from moving away from the splitter as you run the wedge through the round.
I made a video on it but I can't find it.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=nursery++dolly

 

[Cowboy254]

I'll often noodle before I buck the log when they get really big. Big rounds can sometimes do unexpected things like roll towards you as you finish the cut which can be awkward. I also like to split as little as possible but get the big chunks home then split at my leisure - mainly because I cut on other people's land and want to spend the time cutting not splitting. Blue gum.





Manna gum.



Rounds that are, say, 20-25 inches I'll flip up onto the trailer. Sit one round at the end of the trailer on its end then roll the other rounds over to it, flip up onto the end-on round then the next flip onto the trailer so you're not lifting the whole weight of the round. Keeping them in rounds rather than halving them also makes it easier to manoeuvre them on the trailer. At the end, if the end-on round is too big to lift, I'll split it there and toss the splits on.

Candlebark.



Not saying my way is the best way but it suits me.

 

[drf255]

If it's red oak, it may very well be easy to split. Not if it's gnarly obviously, but if it's got straight grain you could just split it before you move it. This one was 42" in diameter. Didn't take too long to make it more manageable. I will admit that I would have needed a break before I did another one!

My back just thanked me again for buying a splitter.

Impressive nonetheless young man.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Anyone count the swings? I would guess you were ready for a break...glad I don't have to split to that size. Great job!
I'd suggest noodling...I feel very fortunate I'd just use my tractor or roll to my splitter with a log lift.

 

[drf255]

Noodle and prybar. Dont have to cut that far through, then pop apart.