Do you split first, then load or load first then split?

[memory]

How do you guys haul your wood out of the woods? Do you split it on site then load it or do you load the rounds up and split where you stack it at? Which way do you think is easier?

The reason I ask is because me and my Dad are always going against each other on this. If the rounds are manageable, I would rather load them up and bring them home to split where they will be stacked especially if we have to go down the road. Dad on the other hand says why handle the rounds twice. He would rather split on site. Either way, you are still handling either the split pieces twice or the rounds twice. Actually, you would be handling each piece three times counting the splitting part.

Another reason I would rather load the rounds is you can get more in a load. We do not have a trailer right now so all we have is two trucks. That might be one reason he doesn't want to load the rounds, he has to lift them higher. If we had a trailer with a ramp of some type, I think he would be more inclined to load the rounds first.

As long as 1 or 2 people can pick the rounds up without the help of machinery, what would you rather do?

 

[farmer steve]

i think your dad and my dad are brothers.

 

[Hinerman]

I load them, haul them, and split them where I stack them. I only have one truck and one trailer. A splitter takes up room on the trailer. I cut wood on other peoples property so I am not leaving my splitter anywhere. If I had 2 trucks and trailers, or split on my own property, I would consider splitting on site. Splitting on site would be nice as you don't have to handle big rounds more than once.

FWIW, considering your situation (2 trucks and no trailers), tow the splitter to the site and split on site. Then all you have to do is stack when you get home. Try it for your dad, he may be on to something, and he will be glad you at least tried his proposition. I would do whatever my dad wanted if he would come cut with me. I envy you that you get to cut with your dad.

 

[OhioGregg]

I am fortunate to be able to cut at home, two wood lots here, 10 &16 acres. I generally do things in stages so to speak. I go into cutting mode, and generally haul rounds on a trailer up to where I split wood at, by the buildings. Will keep cutting and hauling till I get filled up with no where to pile the rounds. Then when ambition and time permit, go into splitting mode for a while till the pile is gone. Could be a few days or a month. Then go back into cutting mode again.

Exceptionally large rounds I will bust up into halves or quarters with a wedge & sledge, in order to handle them. On occasion, I have noodled some, or sometimes will take the tractor with the splitter on it back to the woods and bust the real big ones into manageable size with the splitter in vertical position. For the most part I like to split in one designated area that I use. Have the 3pt. splitter on one tractor, use another with a home made boom pole etc. to skid logs if I want to, and a smaller tractor to pull the trailer. I probably do things different than most, but I do it year round, (less in the dead of winter when real cold or snow covered) and on no time line to get the job done. Just work at it whenever.

I have done it all kinds of ways. The way I generally do it, does involve handling the wood an extra time. But my time is cheap, I don't do this as a business. I supply myself with wood for heat, and several other folks in the area. I only cut & split 15 or so cords a year. All depends on what I happen to be working on I guess. But generally I like to haul rounds from the woods, to where I split, up by the buildings.

Gregg,

 

[zogger]

Haul it back, split later. I am always numerous cords behind on splitting.

but..that isn't a big deal to me either, they eventually all get split. When I get in the groove and am hand splitting every day, it goes pretty fast. The only ones I split are huge ones that I can't chuck into the trailer. Split or noodle, whatever.

IF I was selling and IF I had customers who would get with the program and stay at least two years out, I would split on site and then haul it directly to the customer.


When I split, it is very close to where they are going to be stacked, so right from the splitting block/tire directly to stacking, no middle step there. Either carried direct or a fast trip with the wheelbarrow. I pick up small rounds on site, but once I get to splitting I want them to stay clean and off the ground and directly to the stacks.

 

[laynes69]

I cut the rounds and haul them where I will split and stack them. I used to cut them in 4' lengths, so I could get the wood out of the woods quickly then be able to cut at split at my leisure. Since having a hernia repair and back problems, I just cut to length and haul to the house. My yard doesn't become a mud pit like the field and woods so it much easier to work on things as needed. I don't feel obligated that way.

 

[Jordan3605]

Theres no ONE way of doing anything. Find the way it works best for you in your own situations and keep on truckin!

 

[Fred Wright]

I haul the rounds out to the splitting/stack area. Stack all rounds and split later. Ours is an electric splitter - not a lot of choice there.

Handling rounds three times... load 'em in the cart, unload and stack then lift again later to lay on the splitter. Not very efficient overall but it does get the rounds out of the woods a lot faster.

 

[Dirtboy]

I cut them up to 16-18 inch chunks, throw them on the cart and drop them on pallets where I split. If I have a lot of huge chunks, I take the splitter out in the woods and quarter them. If its only a few, I'll noodle to get the pieces on the cart. I try to stay a couple years ahead, so the rounds don't get split until after winter, so that I have a place to put the splits to season for a couple years. I got racks in the front and in the back to hold the splits, both big enough to hold a seasons worth of wood. Burning the back racks this winter.

 

[HD2010]

I cut and stack in the woods. Then come back with spitter and then stack splits at different location. I think it is less handling this way.

 

[Cheesecutter]

I do it however is the quickest at the time. Sometimes I haul out logs, other times rounds, and if time permits I usually split on site.

 

[rms61moparman]

Depends on the situation,

If I am cutting here close to home, I just buck up into rounds and bring to the splitter.
If I am going a good distance for wood I will take the splitter with me so I can stack the split wood in the truck as tightly as I can and get more wood per load. Sometimes even put short sideboards in the bed to increase capacity.


Mike

 

[Big_Al]

If I'm cutting for personal use I just load the rounds (size permitting) without splitting & do them later at home. If we are selling the wood it saves a step to split it & then load it. It can go straight to customers that way. I've found I can fit more on truck & trailer if its split.

 

[mn woodcutter]

I usually cut everything into 18" lengths, load them into the truck and do my splitting when time allows. An hour or two here and there and I eventually get it done. I wish I had the time to split it all in the woods and leave the mess there but it rarely works out that way. Time is the biggest factor for me. I only can get away to cut wood every now and then so I have to get as much as I can in that window of time and bring it home.

 

[greendohn]

Depends, if I can load the truck by myself, I do and split-stack as I unload the truck at the woodshed.
Bigger wood gets split-loaded on the truck small enough to get it home and split smaller, if needed, when I get it home.

 

[Whitespider]

I cut in the woodlot that is my back yard...
I don't split or haul anything until all the cutting is done... I cut the rounds and leave them lay. Normally the only "handling" I do is kicking/rolling a couple feet so I can make the next cut. Once all the cutting is done I bring out the splitter and trailer... splitting and loading is one operation. I toss splits in the trailer as they come off the wedge, moving the splitter to the rounds, not the rounds to the splitter (my splitter can be moved easily with one hand). When the trailer is full I pull it out'a the woodlot and right up to the stacks, unloading and stacking is one operation. The trailer will hold 'round ½ cord of splits... if I have someone helping, so the splits get somewhat stacked, it will hold 'bout ¾ cord. Really, I only lift/handle a "full" round once, just when it gets placed on the splitter beam, which requires lifting only 'bout a foot or so above the ground. And, as a bonus, I leave all the mess laying in the woodlot... the only thing I haul into the yard is ready-to-stack/burn firewood.

Doing it the way I do, I gotta' agree with your dad.
Splitting at the cuttin' site is way less work, way less time consuming, way less to clean-up when you're done... and way, way less lifting/handling.
The more things you can (efficiently) combine into one operation, the less time and energy you'll spend at the task. For example, combining splitting & stacking wouldn't be efficient 'cause you'd need to keep walkin' away from the splitter... but combining splitting & loading is highly efficient 'cause you can just toss the splits without taking a step. And I really like combining unloading & stacking; I just stand between the trailer and stack, no bending over, no moving my feet... just grab, turn, plop, turn, grab, turn, plop, turn, grab...
*

 

[savageactor7]

If my dad were helping I do what ever he thought was easier. Maybe splitting it there and then is like taking a break for him...who knows.

 

[Homelite410]

I like to leave the mess in the sticks and just back up to my corn crib and stack ready to dry firewood inside. Minimal mess and as little handling as possible.

 

[ash man]

I have been splitting on site since im normally alone and don't want to p/u the big rounds myself. Once home I can just stack the wood once till its ttime to burn. It also seems to keep it neater back by the wold pile which keeps wifie happier

 

[GM_Grimmy]

Up until this year, I used to cut and load, and then split when I get home. A lot of the wood I get is pretty good size, so by the end of the day, the arms are aching from having to noodle a lot, or the back is aching from carrying heavy rounds. I also have a 2 man logrite log carrier, which works great, but then I still have to man handle it off the trailer onto the splitter. However, since I got my Oak series log splitter from Bobby at allwoodlogsplitters.com, I now split in the woods. I always have my cutting buddy with me, so we cut and skid to a clearing where the splitter is, enough to hopefully fill my 7x16 tandem axle trailer. As the wood is almost all cut into pieces, will fire up the splitter, let it run a good 10-15 minutes (depending if it's cool out or not) and split away and stack in the trailer. What used to take me 2+ days (cut one day, then a full day of splitting or more) to get it in the basement, I can now get all done, cut and split in a day. I can unload it too, or can save it for the next day. Either way, I have a lot more time for other things, being it sharpening and getting the saws ready to go for next time, or there's usually some project that has been procrastinated against that needs to be worked on. Using the splitter, has just been way easier on the back, using the log lift. So I save some time not having to half and quarter pieces, I just pick it up with the lift and split it. That's how I roll.