Improving firewood production

[freemind]

One piece of advice, I will offer:

Cut down what you think you will need NOW. Last year was a crappy year for drying for me. Takes less time to dry, if you fell the trees before sap starts running.

For me, I incresed my production by making it an "assembly line". I fell/buck and bring home to one pile. When I can't get out to cut, I split. The bucked pile goes to the splitter, then to the stack area.

From bucked pile to split pile, I can throw the pieces.

Touch that firewood, as little as you possibly can.

I have a Speeco 22 ton, and I don't tow mine. Heard people talk about the tanks having the wheel spindles welded to them, as they are not really ment to tow around.

 

[Manatarms]

My biggest increase in production came from a skid steer, But lets face it, It's all in what you want to do. There are all sorts of way to increase production but if you start spending a bunch of money then you "have" to increase production to pay for all that equipment. I started out selling maybe 10 full cords a year and hope to do 100 full cords this year. I bring in log truck loads of poles and also cut blow downs, dead and un wanted trees on my own property. My skid steer was not bought for firewood it was bought for another purpose but I wouldn't now what to do without it now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. If you want to increase production to make more money you are going to have to spend a bunch to do so. My goal in selling firewood was low stress and low overhead.

Are you using it to feed a processor?

 

[Junkrunner]

A splitter will make the hard stuff to split, faster. i bought mine off craig's list for $600 needed the carb cleaned, but runs fine. Some SOB stole my other one:censored:

I too do firewood on the side, luckily I get paid to cut most of mine ( clearing rite-of-ways, problem trees around houses and building.) which, I'll say does make it more profitable. I started just for some extra $$. It has exploided in to a (almost) full-time gig i thought I was prepared this past fall, with 50+ cords ready to sell, shoot I had it all sold by mid-december, other than MY wood for the house. I have had to turn people away I got probably 40 cords of "green" wood split and in a pile. a couple feet of snow makes it tuff getting to any dead, standing wood now. It sounds like we are in the same boat (at least the same lake) I'm only 35 and i'm in fair shape, but tossing 20" rounds of green oak, is taking a toll. I've probably spent more money, well I'll say; roll-over more money than I pocket. but what the hay, I love cutting, splitting and just being outdoors

I did just buy a new (to me) toy to help. JD 950 with loader and brush hog, has 1200 hrs on it and i'm the second owner. Wish it was 4x4, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, Right??? I think i did alright for $4500.00, what ya think?

 

[cjcocn]

It's pretty much been said already ......

An SS is faster for the first hour, and maybe for the second hour - depending on the wood (you have stated that it is straight-grained).

After that a hydraulic splitter will catch and pass you.

Handling the wood less is better.

Buying log length may turn out to be a good idea, but you'd have to run the numbers to see if it makes you enough $$.

Your trailer might be slowing you down as well. Using a trailer that is as big as your truck can handle means less trips, which means less time/cost to you.

Is there an option to have a tree service dump wood at your place? That would save you time and money.

I haul wood in log length and my first goal is to get it all on my land before anyone else gets to it. Then I can take the time to buck and split it. That works up here since we have smaller and less dense wood. If I was in oak country I wouldn't even try it that way.

Junkrunner ... that is a nice tractor.