four man hrs. per cord.

[Sandhill Crane]

How does that compare to what your doing?

For me that means loading the 8' logs on the log deck, cutting, splitting, wrapping with netting on pallets, and staging to dry. One person...four hours. (Does not include loading/delivering)
Right now I do between one half to one full cord a day is all, depending.
Edit: (side note, $42,000. in processing equipment, plus or minus. (forklift; saws; splitter; conveyor; palletizer. Does not include truck.)

 

[Guswhit]

Is that splitting with just the super split or your other splitter? In my current setup, I have all of my wood bucked to 16-18 inches piled and I can split 1 cord in an 1 hr and 15 min. But all of the wood is bucked and stacked neatly in rows, I just pull the splitter next to the rows, split and keep edging the splitter backwards down the rows, no stacking splits or clean up figured. If I wasn't such a prick I could probably get someone to work for me and the process would speed up. The most I ever did in one day was 3 1/2 cord, and I had to take a day off after that, my back just won't take it.

 

[greenskeeper]

I don't process, but sounds like too many hours per cord?

Can you dedicate time strictly to each stage, so that you aren't changing equipment or moving things around (example: cut 10 cords of rounds, split 10 cords, then pallet 10 cords of splits) to gain efficiency?

Every time you touch the wood it costs you money.

 

[Tenderfoot]

Thats about what it takes me, but I do not get log length brought to me, I get cut to length from a tree service. About $10k in equipment. Figure 6 hrs delivered.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Guswhit: Anything under 18" I use the SuperSplit.

Greenskeeper:
I did it that way. This year I changed, and touch the firewood much less.
Part of it depends on the equipment you have to work with.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Another factor besides time/cord is how hard one works, or effort/cord. Which is what greenskeeper is talking about, and guswhit also, when he says 3 1/2 cord split in one day, but.... had to take the next day off. Which is 1 3/4 cord/day. Effort/cord can be related to equipment used, and that gets into money invested in equipment, etc. It's a circle...
The balance is to find what is efficient, affordable, and do-able day in day out.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I can do 2 cords in an easy day by myself. From logs to cut, split and stacked in the truck, ready to deliver.
I've done a few 15-20 cord weeks by myself.

Biggest slowdown is stacking and having to cut, stack, cut, stack, when the truck is close to full. Otherwise with a guy stacking and no "hickups" I can do a cord in 1-1.5 hrs.

As far as $$ invested, it's well into 6 figures.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

As far as $$ invested, it's well into 6 figures.

I did not figure in the TW-6 (because I really don't use it, and it is for sale) or the GMC 5500 for deliveries. I still want a 24' tandem axle flatbed for deliveries with the piggyback lift, and that will be another $25K for a half way decent one.

 

[Guswhit]

Sandhill, so what is your routine now? Do you buck some on the saw tables and then split, run up the conveyor until basket gets full so you can move with forklift after wrapping?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I did not figure in the TW-6 (because I really don't use it, and it is for sale) or the GMC 5500 for deliveries. I still want a 24' tandem axle flatbed for deliveries with the piggyback lift, and that will be another $25K for a half way decent one.

I was just talking processors and skid steers. Add in all the logging, hauling and support equipment/trucks and it'll make a house look cheap!

 

[Guswhit]

I was just talking processors and skid steers. Add in all the logging, hauling and support equipment/trucks and it'll make a house look cheap!

Now I'm not trying to start a fight here, so please don't take it that way. You are or appear to be at least double if not triple the production of Sandhill and you get double the money per cord that he gets as well if I gleaned the correct info out of some of the other threads you guys have posted in. So, you can/should be able to spend more on equipment. Also, your wood appears to be much straighter and manageable than we get down here in the Midwest. Most of the wood we get is from limbs that are not straight, thus it makes for continued issues with processing. I can't imagine what I would be able to do for production with the easier, straighter pines you get to work with. And granted, I would be looking for a true processor rather than an S.S. then for speed. There just is no one solution that will work on every single guy here's situation. I appreciate all of the shared info and the ideas for problems that some people have faced-solved! Some will and have helped me, but some are just not feasible or I don't run into those issues, hence different purchases for machinery to solve them.

 

[Tenderfoot]

Another factor besides time/cord is how hard one works, or effort/cord. Which is what greenskeeper is talking about, and guswhit also, when he says 3 1/2 cord split in one day, but.... had to take the next day off. Which is 1 3/4 cord/day. Effort/cord can be related to equipment used, and that gets into money invested in equipment, etc. It's a circle...
The balance is to find what is efficient, affordable, and do-able day in day out.

I found my balance is to split 3 cord one day (about 5 hrs work) and stack it the next (about 3 hrs work) and do other things the rest of the day. It seems to make things go smoother. I bet I could double that splitting if I have a log lift and a 4 way wedge.

 

[Big_Eddy]

Not counting the food to grow my boys to the size they are (and all their other toys), they have about$3K invested (2@562XP, umpteen manual splitters and a 5x10 utility trailer.) in their little endeavour. They buy in log lengths by the tandem and cut, split and deliver at about 100% markup (or 50% profit margin). They are looking at doing 60 full cords this year +/-.

The two of them usually work together, so one is cutting from the pile while the other tosses splits onto the stack. Then they both split the next batch of blocks. A batch of blocks is however many the one can cut before the "tosser" has all the splits on the pile.
Splits are stacked on the sides of the pile to form a wall then tossed "over the wall". The walls allow them to stack about 4' deep on pallets instead of a cone shaped pile. For deliveries, the trailer is backed up beside the pile and they work the pile backwards on a vertical front.

I'll have to try to figure out how long they think it takes to cut, split and toss a cord.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I get $225./cord, plus delivery.
To be truthful...I don't make much money considering...the work, the time, and money tied up. (Including buying logs. Between processed firewood, and 8' logs there is the equivalent of five 20 cord loads, and two more coming.)
Also note, I am retired, and do not do this for a living.

The SuperSplit fits what I'm doing, and cuts down on waist, but doesn't pay the bills other than equipment.

I wish I had the cash flow to hire someone to help for a month, to see how that would change the numbers.
I do one cord in four hours.
If two people did two cord in four hours, that's zero improvement. Still one cord per person in four hours.
Three cord/four hours would be an improvement.

Last year I did 1 3/4 cord in one day. And like Guswhit, I did nothing the next day, except hurt.

However, this year, I think I can do two cords a day. The difference is two cut tables and elimination of the staging table. 5,800 pounds per cord less lifting, and splitting on both sides of the SuperSplit, which so far is way more balanced throughout the neck and shoulders. One cord is not fast, but very little effort. Much of the effort now is focused in the knees, getting on/off the lift which has odd spaced steps, and stapling the netting to the pallets. Guess I'm getting old... I also spend a half hour or more at the end of the day cleaning up bark and saw chips so I can start good in the mornings. Someone on a job (as a carpenter) once said, "You make your own conditions." There can be a lot of truth to that. I like to keep it picked up each day. Just seems easier to do and is a welcome change of motion by clean up time.

As for machinery, I chose the Posch to palletize because of two issues I was having. Dumping in huge piles off the conveyor resulted in moldy wood. I tried stacking in racks to dry. It was labor intensive, really... and the racks were not holding up due to ground contact and rot. The Posch eliminated the labor (5,800 lbs/cord), and seems to be working very well. There is of course an added cost to seasoning.

I stopped along the road to look at a processor operation last fall. There was a one ton dump backed under the conveyor. A woman came out and we talked for a minute. I asked if they sold seasoned wood and her responses was, "Yes. The logs are one year old. We process into the truck and deliver."

That seems to be the most common approach for bulk firewood. To just call it seasoned.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Dropped my 357xp at the shop. The 562xp is about the closest thing to it, a touch bigger. $740.
I do not understand the Husqvarna badging.
3120xp; 395xp; 390xp; then 576xp; 372xp; then 562xp; 550xp; 543xp; then 365; 555, etc.
What am I missing?

 

[Wowzer]

I stopped along the road to look at a processor operation last fall. There was a one ton dump backed under the conveyor. A woman came out and we talked for a minute. I asked if they sold seasoned wood and her responses was, "Yes. The logs are one year old. We process into the truck and deliver."

That seems to be the most common approach for bulk firewood. To just call it seasoned.[/QUOTE]

This is how most do it i think around us they call seasoned wood. 2 year old logs. or they will say cut last fall seasoned for the summer. and then they cut and split right into the truck/trailer that it is going to be delivered with.

I seen another guy had a Coverall and a 40ft Elevator he was cutting and splitting it into it. and using his tractor by the looks of it to load trucks/trailer with but then again a nice 40x100 coverall is probably like 50 grand

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I get $225./cord, plus delivery.
To be truthful...I don't make much money considering...the work, the time, and money tied up. (Including buying logs. Between processed firewood, and 8' logs there is the equivalent of five 20 cord loads, and two more coming.)
Also note, I am retired, and do not do this for a living.

The SuperSplit fits what I'm doing, and cuts down on waist, but doesn't pay the bills other than equipment.

I wish I had the cash flow to hire someone to help for a month, to see how that would change the numbers.
I do one cord in four hours.
If two people did two cord in four hours, that's zero improvement. Still one cord per person in four hours.
Three cord/four hours would be an improvement.

Last year I did 1 3/4 cord in one day. And like Guswhit, I did nothing the next day, except hurt.

However, this year, I think I can do two cords a day. The difference is two cut tables and elimination of the staging table. 5,800 pounds per cord less lifting, and splitting on both sides of the SuperSplit, which so far is way more balanced throughout the neck and shoulders. One cord is not fast, but very little effort. Much of the effort now is focused in the knees, getting on/off the lift which has odd spaced steps, and stapling the netting to the pallets. Guess I'm getting old... I also spend a half hour or more at the end of the day cleaning up bark and saw chips so I can start good in the mornings. Someone on a job (as a carpenter) once said, "You make your own conditions." There can be a lot of truth to that. I like to keep it picked up each day. Just seems easier to do and is a welcome change of motion by clean up time.

As for machinery, I chose the Posch to palletize because of two issues I was having. Dumping in huge piles off the conveyor resulted in moldy wood. I tried stacking in racks to dry. It was labor intensive, really... and the racks were not holding up due to ground contact and rot. The Posch eliminated the labor (5,800 lbs/cord), and seems to be working very well. There is of course an added cost to seasoning.

I stopped along the road to look at a processor operation last fall. There was a one ton dump backed under the conveyor. A woman came out and we talked for a minute. I asked if they sold seasoned wood and her responses was, "Yes. The logs are one year old. We process into the truck and deliver."

That seems to be the most common approach for bulk firewood. To just call it seasoned.

I'm retired too, got hurt in the .mil. My VA pension pays for groceries.

There's no profit in trying to season it. Unless you charge for it. Ie $275 regular wood, $375 seasoned.

The Posch deal is neat, but shoot, I'd have easily 20k invested just in pallets to be able to do enough wood!

I did get some vented super sacks for drying bundle wood, they cost me about $30 each after shipping. Have been thinking of getting 60 or 70 to do a few cords for last minute "need dry wood, it's January and -30*" customers.... and at the $375 price.

They claim 3 bags to a cord, but my math says it's 4.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I'm getting reconditioned pallets for $4.00 ea. around here. Some places were asking as much as $9.00. Netting has worked out to $2.00/pallet, or $8.00/cord. That's after buying the machine of course. Cost varies depending on base option. Mine has the 'hydro' base, which is a turn table with two drums.
I think you are correct about four bags/cord based on math, but no real experience with them to know for sure. I think you would still need pallets under the bags.

 

[cantoo]

Sandhill, I'm planning on burning these next month at a campfire. Been collecting them for a few years and the boss says she's tired of seeing them. I use them under my piles but didn't bother last year and the wood seems fine so no more skids for me. I used to burn them in the owb but it's hardly worth the effort. 168 saved up but I'll keep a few around. I can get lots from work if I decide I need some. I figure she will sell a few of the better looking ones on a local classified site too.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I'm getting reconditioned pallets for $4.00 ea. around here. Some places were asking as much as $9.00. Netting has worked out to $2.00/pallet, or $8.00/cord. That's after buying the machine of course. Cost varies depending on base option. Mine has the 'hydro' base, which is a turn table with two drums.
I think you are correct about four bags/cord based on math, but no real experience with them to know for sure. I think you would still need pallets under the bags.

Not even including the cost of the Posch... These bags would cost you less per unit than the pallets and netting...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Sack-...514056?hash=item2373f86548:g:BJ0AAOSw8gVX88oY

Another, these look to be vented...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Sack-Bulk-Bag-2500lb-Multiple-Syles/132153816474?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=2&asc=40130&meid=5847c3af8fed453aa37dec4f2b512586&pid=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&sd=281874038115

And...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bulk-Bag-Su...25b6686&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=132153816474