woodin' the hard way

[KiwiBro]

I understand what you are saying. But if free time is limited, a mechanical splitter makes more sense. If he has say a free hour, he could bust out a cord. What would he accomplish in a hour with an axe or maul? He also stated he was skinny and not strong, which is fine, but splitting by hand wont favor those traits.

Purchases like a splitter should be looked at as a long term investment. For example, Lets say you split 5 full cords a year. The next 20 years will equal out to 100 full cords. The guy with a kinetic or fast hydraulic splitter might spend 100-130 hours over that 2 decades splitting wood. The guy hand splitting might spend literally 4 times that amount. At the end of the day you need to ask yourself, how much would I earn working those 300 hours on mostly weekends? Even if you only make $10/hour you would have easily paid for the Supersplit. I don't know about everyone else, but I wouldn't give up weekend days for $10/hour.

That is a mild version.

Now lets pretend you use 8 cords a year, the difference over those 20 years is now 500 hours, and wait...you say, I wont give up my Saturday or Sunday for $10/hr. I would need at least $20/hr. Ok, now we are talking 10 grand over that 20 years. That would buy an awful lot of stuff. For the guys who say I can split that fast by hand...no you cant. Not for 8 full cords. Sure you may keep up for an hour, but I've never met anyone who could hand split a full cord an hour consistently for a full day. Those people would be the very rare exception, not the norm. Most people don't have the work capacity or stamina to even come close to keeping up with a mechanical splitter. That's reality.

In short, yes you burn wood to save money and buying a ton of gear seems to defeat the purpose. When you calculate the time you saved over doing it all by hand however, buying that gear makes the most sense. Personally, I like having time to hang out with my wife and kids, or doing other projects, you young guys will see. Before you know it those newborns are as big as you are. Don't waste all your free time to save a buck. I know money can be tight. We've all been there. You need to find a way to save up for things that will save you time and money.

I hear ya. If the $ is available and time isn't (as is most often the case) spending it on saving time is a good investment. Also, we all know the SS machines last long enough to be handing them down to the next generation, or alternatively have a fair residual value if no longer needed. Unlike many other machines. Buying the SS is also keeping a larger % of the $ in USA, supporting USA families, so all Americans benefit.
The question remains though, does the OP have the $ for one and nothing better to spend it on? Further, is there anything else further up the chain that would be worth spending the money on, such as chainsaw winch/snatch block, etc, to get the wood out, if time is limited?

 

[sb47]

I got lucky and then I got smart.
I got lucky because of my location, and I got smart when I worked out a deal with a local tree company that is based just down the road.
They bring me all the wood I can handle for free.

 

[sb47]

I hear ya. If the $ is available and time isn't (as is most often the case) spending it on saving time is a good investment. Also, we all know the SS machines last long enough to be handing them down to the next generation, or alternatively have a fair residual value if no longer needed. Unlike many other machines. Buying the SS is also keeping a larger % of the $ in USA, supporting USA families, so all Americans benefit.
The question remains though, does the OP have the $ for one and nothing better to spend it on? Further, is there anything else further up the chain that would be worth spending the money on, such as chainsaw winch/snatch block, etc, to get the wood out, if time is limited?

I understand what you are saying. But if free time is limited, a mechanical splitter makes more sense. If he has say a free hour, he could bust out a cord. What would he accomplish in a hour with an axe or maul? He also stated he was skinny and not strong, which is fine, but splitting by hand wont favor those traits.

Purchases like a splitter should be looked at as a long term investment. For example, Lets say you split 5 full cords a year. The next 20 years will equal out to 100 full cords. The guy with a kinetic or fast hydraulic splitter might spend 100-130 hours over that 2 decades splitting wood. The guy hand splitting might spend literally 4 times that amount. At the end of the day you need to ask yourself, how much would I earn working those 300 hours on mostly weekends? Even if you only make $10/hour you would have easily paid for the Supersplit. I don't know about everyone else, but I wouldn't give up weekend days for $10/hour.

That is a mild version.

Now lets pretend you use 8 cords a year, the difference over those 20 years is now 500 hours, and wait...you say, I wont give up my Saturday or Sunday for $10/hr. I would need at least $20/hr. Ok, now we are talking 10 grand over that 20 years. That would buy an awful lot of stuff. For the guys who say I can split that fast by hand...no you cant. Not for 8 full cords. Sure you may keep up for an hour, but I've never met anyone who could hand split a full cord an hour consistently for a full day. Those people would be the very rare exception, not the norm. Most people don't have the work capacity or stamina to even come close to keeping up with a mechanical splitter. That's reality.

In short, yes you burn wood to save money and buying a ton of gear seems to defeat the purpose. When you calculate the time you saved over doing it all by hand however, buying that gear makes the most sense. Personally, I like having time to hang out with my wife and kids, or doing other projects, you young guys will see. Before you know it those newborns are as big as you are. Don't waste all your free time to save a buck. I know money can be tight. We've all been there. You need to find a way to save up for things that will save you time and money.

Don't forget the health benefits of spliting wood. Sure if you sit behind a desk to earn the money to just buy the wood vs. doing it yourself is not very healthy.
I can make way more money at a regular job vs. what I can make on firewood.
I think most like the work out plus recycling wood vs. using oil or gas. There utilizing a resource that would otherwise just rot away. I suppose there are benefits to letting wood decompose as well. A lot of people just like fending for themselves as much as possible. It gives a since of independence.

 

[cantoo]

If you can split 10 cord in one day with a Super split and only burn 10 cords a year then it makes more sense to just rent the Super split for the 10 hours. No big money outlay, no upkeep, no storage, newer machine every year, nobody borrowing it. If you need to dig a 200' drain for your house would you buy an excavator or hire one in? Same thing only bigger dollars. I have a couple of firewood tools but plan to heat with wood for 100 years so it will eventually pay for itself and then it'll be pretty much free heat.

 

[KiwiBro]

Does anyone rent out kinetics? Can they afford the insurance? I would almost guarantee nobody is renting out SS machines. Maybe one of the others with 'safety' engagement mechanisms?

 

[sirbuildalot]

I don't always split all my wood at once. I may have a few free hours one weekend, and a few free hours another. I said I could split 10 cords in a long day, not that I always do or even want to. So it'd be a matter of renting it 2 or 3 times some years. Not to mention many years I help family members split there wood. So that 8 or 10 cords may be 20 or 25 cords. If you looked into it, I bet renting a fast mechanical splitter would be pretty expensive.

I like having the tools for when I need them. Driving to a rental place takes time and means you can't change your plans in the midst of splitting. What if the day you rented it, out of nowhere it started to downpour. Or a family emergency came up. Or you got invited to a cookout. Or you forgot about your nephews birthday party. These things happen. Now you're paying regardless of if you use it or not.

The excavator example isn't really the same thing. Its a one time thing You don't re-dig the trench every year like you split your firewood. If you had to use an excavator several times per year, I would look into buying a mini or a backhoe. Remember, I'm usually helping others split there wood or letting them use the machine (responsible family only) lol. A better example is plowing the driveway or mowing the lawn. I could pay someone to do them or rent a machine. It makes more sense to buy the most efficient machine I can afford and do them myself. Otherwise those $50 or $100 plowing sessions add up, and your waiting on someone else's schedule.

When I say time trumps money (no pun intended) I don't mean pay someone else. I simply mean buy the best tools you can afford and make the best use of the free hours you have.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

bartman23:
-pulp hook: $30. from Baileys online. Triangle fish hook tips are unbelievable. Especially in winter. (get a couple tips)
-I just picked up four pair of winter gloves at Farm and Home, or something like that. Cinco foam Frost Breaker thermal gloves #1787.
Not sure how long they last, but so far they're great. $6. ea.

 

[bartman23]

Thanks for all the ideas guys, this thread went alot of different ways. it's not about me putting up 100 cords of wood to try and sell but cutting enough to heat my house and avoiding the potential 500 dollar a month heating bill for the possible 5-6 month winter we have here. I'm trying to put up as much wood as I can now and get ahead so I can slack off and spend more time with my family in years to come. Time is money I agree i want to get as much wood done in as little which I'm sure is everyone's goal and I'm always trying to think of new ways to handle the wood as little as possible. I currently split almost all my wood with a fiskars as running my electric splitter off 200 ft of extension cord doesn't work so well. So a gas splitter is definatly in the future. Here's a few pics from this summer.

 

[Mustang71]

If that's not a couple years worth of wood then yes u need a splitter and probably an atv. I thought u were talking 2 or 3 cords a year.

 

[bartman23]

If that's not a couple years worth of wood then yes u need a splitter and probably an atv. I thought u were talking 2 or 3 cords a year.

I'm already almost a cord in and it's not even December. Mind you I've been trying to burn off the junky light stuff first

 

[KiwiBro]

• Sell the house and buy one that doesn't leak heat but can still breath.
• Any overtime going at work? Spend the extra $ on making the existing house leak heat less. Once that is done, then spend the extra $ buying ( ) firewood.
• Form a co-op of like-minded neighbours and everyone pitches in $x to buy a petrol splitter and agrees on time share and upkeep arrangements.
• The co-op can also pitch in and buy a load of logs delivered.
  
• Place a craigslist ad suggesting yours is a great place for arborists to dump their wood for free, or call a few and see if they bite.
• Buy a chainsaw winch, snatch block and make a skidding cone rather than grunt small bits out of the woods.
• Buy a heat pump and sell the wood burner

 

[Mustang71]

I'm already almost a cord in and it's not even December. Mind you I've been trying to burn off the junky light stuff first

That sucks I've been burning for about a month now. I only burn when I'm home but when it' in the 30s and 40s like it's been then about 6 logs or 2 fires in the wood furnace will keep my house warm all day. I use propane the other half of the time but it's much colder in the house when the propane is on. I'm on a balanced billing with the propane company and I pay 25$ a month.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Three thoughts I had:

Call tree trimmers and loggers and have them dump off green stuff for next year. If you are in between their place and a job, they can be mighty productive to your stash (and mighty thankful for the saved fuel). I just scored 10 loads of oak and walnut. A good deal of it I'm going to have milled into boards, and there was some dry stuff I was able to burn now.

How come you can't blaze a trail into the woods? You have a chainsaw...

The extra equipment you MIGHT buy can go a long way towards purchased firewood if you are desperate. And sometimes thats a lot safer than burning wet or mediocre garbage that will burn down your house with a chimney fire (which I've almost done myself doing the exact thing you are doing)

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Very nice clean looking set-up!

 

[bartman23]

• Sell the house and buy one that doesn't leak heat but can still breath.
• Any overtime going at work? Spend the extra $ on making the existing house leak heat less. Once that is done, then spend the extra $ buying ( ) firewood.
• Form a co-op of like-minded neighbours and everyone pitches in $x to buy a petrol splitter and agrees on time share and upkeep arrangements.
• The co-op can also pitch in and buy a load of logs delivered.
  
• Place a craigslist ad suggesting yours is a great place for arborists to dump their wood for free, or call a few and see if they bite.
• Buy a chainsaw winch, snatch block and make a skidding cone rather than grunt small bits out of the woods.
• Buy a heat pump and sell the wood burner

House was built in 2006 and is sealed up fairly well. It is living quarters on top of 3 car garage(not really used as garage boat is taking up most of room right now) and shop area though. We removed one garage door and framed it in which is where I added my second wood stove but there is still heat loss through the other 2 doors. One we will likely frame in soon as we are debating turning it into 1 car garage and the rest living space. My only neighbour is quite far ahead on his wood so he can't be bothered to work out many deals. Working more hours doesn't interest me factor in 3 hours a day commuting to job site I'm on right now I barely want to stay my 8 hrs. Quite a ways out of the way for arborists to drop stuff off but perhaps I could pick up from there site...not enough hours in a week to get anything done.

 

[bartman23]

Three thoughts I had:

Call tree trimmers and loggers and have them dump off green stuff for next year. If you are in between their place and a job, they can be mighty productive to your stash (and mighty thankful for the saved fuel). I just scored 10 loads of oak and walnut. A good deal of it I'm going to have milled into boards, and there was some dry stuff I was able to burn now.

How come you can't blaze a trail into the woods? You have a chainsaw...

The extra equipment you MIGHT buy can go a long way towards purchased firewood if you are desperate. And sometimes thats a lot safer than burning wet or mediocre garbage that will burn down your house with a chimney fire (which I've almost done myself doing the exact thing you are doing)

I do have trails through my bush but it can be a long way to go to wherr I can get the truck. I don't have very much property so I am very selective of what I take and try to improve the woods as much as I can. And I do not burn wet wood

 

[DSW]

I burn 4 cord a year. Start burning in October, stop in February, maybe March.

It's not a large amount of wood to me, burning one cord at this point wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[bartman23]

I burnt into may last year definatly not full time past March/April though

 

[KiwiBro]

Do you have any ideas what in your firewooding process you need to speed up or make easier? What is the worst bottleneck for you that you would like to overcome? Just note that once you get over that bottleneck, there'll be another staring right at you.
Sounds like getting logs to the truck is your main bottleneck at the mo?
That said, I bet you could find great uses for the time you'd save if you had a mechanical splitter.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I would spend time and some money on insulation for your home.