Firewood too long...

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ae1f0d88db4a4b69ab6227f7ae157341.0.jpg

You should channel all that energy...cutting wood!! The proper length, mind you...:hmm3grin2orange:
 
I have always cut bar length firewood. When I cut for my grandfather's furnace I used a Poulan with a 16 in bar so the wood was 15-17 in logs. Now I cut for my stove with a Dolmar wearing a 20 in bar so my wood is 19-21 in. My stove takes up to 24 so it works great for me. But I do have the odd stack of cut offs from the end of logs. Last time I sold some wood the first thing I ask the guy was how long he could burn. When he said he could burn up to 20 I measured the side board on the truck and knew that anything longer than the bed was deep wouldn't work. Surely other sellers out there care about making the customer happy too.
 
In keeping with Colin's line of thinking, has there been any updates on what is happening with the wood? Any chance the discussion will make the national headlines or do you think it will stay here in the front lines on arboristsite.com? We need an update on the length of your wood!!!!

As long as you don't ask my wife! She won't lie for me.

Harry K
 
Seriously? SIX FRIGGIN' PAGES!
Have you called the guy yet?

Cutting firewood to the same length isn't difficult or time consuming. It doesn't require tape measures, markers, gauges, strings, sticks, or any such. Simply use the bar attached to the saw (or the bar and saw if using a short bar), place some marks on it using automotive touch-up paint if you have to. Giving the saw a quarter-turn, and making a visual reference (such as a break in the bark, a bit of moss, even a stray saw chip) as you position yourself for the next cut adds zero time to the job.

191691d1311431270-pile4a-jpg

I must say, those are some pretty piles of wood but I can't figure out why a guy who talks about spending zero time on making sure all cuts are the same but then takes all that time to make those piles look so perfect.
 
...I can't figure out why a guy who talks about spending zero time on making sure all cuts are the same but then takes all that time to make those piles look so perfect.

Well, I've heard, or read, that comment before when I've posted that pic in other threads.
Seriously, it doesn't take "all that [much] time to make those piles look so perfect". I can stack like that just as fast as you can hand me the splits, or as fast has I can grab them from the trailer. Probably helps some that they're all the same length... but still, I can stack pretty darn fast. Really it shouldn't take any longer to stack neatly than it does to stack sloppy... and if you do it neatly, you only need to do it once. I just set one atop of the next, keeping the front edge flush as I go... don't take no time at all.
 
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

Nothing to do with the length of wood, but I liked it.
 
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

Nothing to do with the length of wood, but I liked it.

Very nice. I like that
 
Well, I've heard, or read, that comment before when I've posted that pic in other threads.
Seriously, it doesn't take "all that [much] time to make those piles look so perfect". I can stack like that just as fast as you can hand me the splits, or as fast has I can grab them from the trailer. Probably helps some that they're all the same length... but still, I can stack pretty darn fast. Really it shouldn't take any longer to stack neatly than it does to stack sloppy... and if you do it neatly, you only need to do it once. I just set one atop of the next, keeping the front edge flush as I go... don't take no time at all.

No probablies about it. Cutting firewood to a fairly precise dimension will make all aspects of handling easier.

Whitespider,
It certainly appears that you and I and very few others understand the concept of 1/4 turning the saw and using it to measure each cut. Honestly this method is much faster than breaking out my eyecrometer and eyeballing each cut for me. I have tried eyeballing and I guess I haven't practiced enough to be as precise as I feel I need to be. When I sell firewood I am charging a premium price and as such my product should be premium, ie. all pieces cut to a consistent length, splits all roughly the same size, heck, I even knock off as much bark as I can. I won't get into dryness or seasoning as that is a whole other subject.

As far as cutting longer firewood, such as 24", it is not easier IMO. Yes there are fewer cuts, fewer pieces and subsequently less pieces to split, but the extra length adds difficulty in splitting and handling(more weight per piece). As I have stated previously, I am geared towards 16", it is much easier to handle, easier splitting and my cord measurements are based off 16" lengths. 3, 4'x8' rows of 16" firewood is 1 cord(128 cubic feet).
 
Well, I've heard, or read, that comment before when I've posted that pic in other threads.
Seriously, it doesn't take "all that [much] time to make those piles look so perfect". I can stack like that just as fast as you can hand me the splits, or as fast has I can grab them from the trailer. Probably helps some that they're all the same length... but still, I can stack pretty darn fast. Really it shouldn't take any longer to stack neatly than it does to stack sloppy... and if you do it neatly, you only need to do it once. I just set one atop of the next, keeping the front edge flush as I go... don't take no time at all.

I was wondering about that. Making an assumption here but from your "front side" the back side would be uneven/ragged?

Harry K
 
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But Ash wet or Ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

Nothing to do with the length of wood, but I liked it.

ok, man, very nice, but....who is the author?
 
Well, I've heard, or read, that comment before when I've posted that pic in other threads.
Seriously, it doesn't take "all that [much] time to make those piles look so perfect". I can stack like that just as fast as you can hand me the splits, or as fast has I can grab them from the trailer. Probably helps some that they're all the same length... but still, I can stack pretty darn fast. Really it shouldn't take any longer to stack neatly than it does to stack sloppy... and if you do it neatly, you only need to do it once. I just set one atop of the next, keeping the front edge flush as I go... don't take no time at all.

no need to explain to any one how or why.

just say you have a secret way of doing it and you aren't going to say what it is.

(you'll drive them nuts)
 
I was wondering about that. Making an assumption here but from your "front side" the back side would be uneven/ragged?

Probably not as "uneven/ragged" as you're thinking Harry... The splits are pretty darn close to the same length, except for an occasional ooops.
Here's a pic showing the back-side of some of the stacks.

188628d1309178104-pile3-jpg
 
Probably not as "uneven/ragged" as you're thinking Harry... The splits are pretty darn close to the same length, except for an occasional ooops.
Here's a pic showing the back-side of some of the stacks.

188628d1309178104-pile3-jpg

Nice! That shows a lot more attention to cutting to length that I do for sure. And I even use a measuring stick or the cut-off guide mounted on the bar. Of course my trees, black locust currently, willow in the past rarely had nice straight logs or limbs to work from. No excuse though.

Tried to rep you but can't.

Harry K
 
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