Getting firewood from tree service pros and cons
- Thread starter Ontario Firewood Resource
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This is an excellent presentation. I've run into all of what he says here and more. My latest dandy was a tree company that had cut a beautiful 30' long walnut tree trunk (avg dia. = 26") into 6" to 8" wide lengths. I called them chariot wheels. Nothing could be saved.
Many tree service companies have no idea what a fireplace log is supposed to be. And, they love cutting the logs at oddball angles to make them tougher to split. So, you have lots of shaping to do prior to splitting. Stubs and beaver tails are usually everywhere and have to be removed. I contend that there is no such thing as free firewood.
Many tree service companies have no idea what a fireplace log is supposed to be. And, they love cutting the logs at oddball angles to make them tougher to split. So, you have lots of shaping to do prior to splitting. Stubs and beaver tails are usually everywhere and have to be removed. I contend that there is no such thing as free firewood.
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
Well said. I have some bozos who took 5 years to learn what firewood length is and not to cut the 40+ inchers right in half. Of course not everyone is a firewood enthusiast or user, but we did go to math class. What's surprising is how just about everyone who is told to and willing to cut 16 inch end up cutting 12" or shorter. I their defence, 16 inch looks different if between different trunk diameters. I pick at them by saying that if those are 16 in cuts, their dingalings must at least 14 inches according to their measurements!
A guy has to determine if the extra work involved in processing tree service wood is worth the time savings of not having to scrounge one's own wood.
If you have a guy who is going to drop you what you want, where you want it, its a great deal. If you are going to have to sift through punky crap, stumps, and wood chips then maybe not...
I still do not get why every single tree service employee never cuts two pieces the same length!!!
If you have a guy who is going to drop you what you want, where you want it, its a great deal. If you are going to have to sift through punky crap, stumps, and wood chips then maybe not...
I still do not get why every single tree service employee never cuts two pieces the same length!!!
It's as if they love to make extra work for the guy trying to produce firewood or, as they tell me, they cut shorts because they are easier to throw them on the truck for recycling. I've tried to explain that short rounds mean more cuts and that wears out their saws faster, but that never seems to sink in.
One sawyer said that he never thought about using his 16" or 18" bars to measure the lengths of his cuts. He just whacks away. The real killer though was the guy who cut that 30' length of big walnut into 60 chariot wheels, thus bucking lots of 5" to 7" lengths. That I had never seen before. Gasp!
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
Glue gun puzzle time XD
Your understanding would be a little better if you ever had to make payroll for a 5 man tree crew!
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
Ive seen them cut coins to move easier when the tree is on the front lawn, 8 ft from the curb and they're not putting it in the truck because they called me to pick it up and I have a hydraulic tailgate. No concept that firewood logs are rectangular, not square or triangular. On that note, I had an employee who would split logs too thin. For perspective, I said picture yourself showing up with these logs and tell everyone that you're gonna have a great big fire! I had another employee who couldn't figure out how to separate straight lumber-like logs from the slightly curved, knotty, angled en-cut logs...I told him my one year old daughter can separate the shapes better than you
“Chariot Wheels”. Great analogy!!
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
There was a slight grade in their favour from the stump to curb as well. SMH
Lol. Speaking of the devil.
Why don't your have the tree service not cut the logs at all and your crew can cut them up to the length you require and move them to the curb and load them up?
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
My two tree guys, drop off longer logs - average lengths are probably around 7'-8'. The longer the logs, the happier I am. I'm glad they both have 20-30 yard dump body trucks with knuckle booms.
I got wood from a tree service for a year. Some, actually most of it, was great. The problem was I was paying $100. per cord and they didn't have a clue how much a cord is in log form. Started out good. Towards the end they'ed say three cord on the truck with half that much. I paid them and said if I get three cord out of that cord and a half load, I'll call you back. I got a cord and a half. They came by several times with more loads, and I said no thanks, and sold the TW-6.
Last fall I tried to buy a couple logs off them in their yard to make some pallet lumber. He wanted cut lumber pricing. I said thanks, and walked away
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Last fall I tried to buy a couple logs off them in their yard to make some pallet lumber. He wanted cut lumber pricing. I said thanks, and walked away
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Tigwelder83
ArboristSite Operative
As an owner of a tree service, here's why this happens. I tell my guys my number 1 concern is their safety, my other number 1 concern is my clients property, my last concern is the wood that I'm giving away or even paying to dispose of. You firewood types hate our angled cuts, but they feed into our chippers much better. Same with piece length, hang from a rope 70' in the air over a fence, pool, roof, and electrical drop, and you will stop being concerned if its 17 or 37 inches long. As for ruining logs, I've actually sold 3 logs in over 500 trees cut. 90% have metal, extreme decay, or the combo. Todays scenario, customer wanted 4 nice red oak fell, would give me the tree for felling it & cleaning up, or pay me 300 a stump to just cut them down & leave. 4 cuts later we were off to the next job.... we make our money in the air, and felling trees, and try to avoid everything else.
Good points. However, I kind of wish that the tree removal company I talked to would have left that big walnut log for me to buck and carry away. Instead the sawyer cut 30 chariot wheels, about 6" long and over 26" dia. after it was lying on the ground (post #5). These "wheels" were worthless, but much easier to throw into the chipper than 16" lengths. Totally senseless in my book because he had to pay for all the recycling and add that to the bill (or perhaps not give the potential discount back to the customer). That recycling cost he paid was likely already included in the customer's estimate.
I have one tree service that I deal with. The man has dropped stuff that went straight to the boiler. He also left me 10+ cords of stuff that you can run thru a mill. It is a give and take relationship and it you have to make it work for all involved.
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
They are paid to do the cutting as part of the job I am called to show up to pick up the wood. All the off-cuts go to my wood boiler customers, for my woodstove or backup inventory or bagged for sale. As for a crew, I work alone for the most part. Haven't had anyone for over a year except for a few hours. I hate retraining and my work days are too sporadic to have someone everyday and wood splitting is usually in the evening, depending on what time I finish my day jobs with other work. The guy who couldn't get the shapes right was around was there for almost a year and though I have more patience than all of you combined, I had to get rid of him. Couldn't leave him alone for 5 minutes without everything going as backwards. He was more suited to be your bank clerk. Kinda felt like I had to whip him into North American labour status as his first day on the job was his third day in Canada from India..too hot to work hard back home and no rat race like here. I shattered his view of the American dream so to speak, that its a dog eat dog world and hes gotta work his ass off. He was motivated and got a second job doing security at nights but that sealed his fate with me. He said he had his dad's habit of sleeping while being a passenger so "wake up!" was a common term in the truck. I'm a big advocate of getting sleep when you can, Not good showing up to a customer's with Rip Van Winkle riding shotgun
Ontario Firewood Resource
Ontario Firewood Resource/ Youtube
I totally understand, but this scenario is the groundies who already have the wood laid down. If I ask other companies to cut, I tell them to cut 16 inch by saying to cut the tree how they need to first.
