zogger
Tree Freak
Philbo, makes sense to me! Already driving your truck in, might as well deliver a load.
firewood prices
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Philbo, you should consider the concrete wire bins I make for your oven wood. The wood dries very good in these cages and at some point you might be able to load them if you get a loader or maybe you can make a lifter of some type to load them into your truck. They save a lot of stacking time and maybe could even be stored in them at the restaurant. You could even use cheap chicken wire for smaller bins.
zogger
Tree Freak
Cantoo, how much in a bin, around 1/4 cord? Those certainly look easy.
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zogger, they are all different sizes depending on the wire and skid I had available. Some mesh is 5' high and the skids are 4' so they hold quite abit. Quick calculation is about 60 cubic feet of space for a 4' diameter and 5' tall, I stack above this so likely 75 cubic feet loose tossed. I do try to lay the splits flat as it seems to hold more. Tossed cord is approx. 180 cubic feet so less than 1/2 cord? The good thing is that when empty they don't take up much space, lay the mesh flat and stack the skids.
That's a great idea, cantoo. Only thing is that our split wood is pretty small and would need much smaller wire combined with some other wire like you have to give it strength. I'd need something like 2"x2" wire for most of our splits. Great idea. I'll see if I can use that somehow.
Have you considered selling log length? That's the only way I sell wood and if I break it down by the hour I make much more that way. I sell to people with owbs. They will usually buy all the wood they can get there hands on and being that they use so much wood a year they have a tractor or skid steer at home to move it so unloading is a breeze. I sell it 100 per cord
CRThomas
ArboristSite Guru
If you from around super man town as you know the price changes with the fly by night wood hauler who need gas or cigs. or beer money they sell cheap thats one of the reasons I don't do bulk wood I'm from the welfare end of Illinis Later
That part of Ill has bleed 1/2 way through WI.
mtfallsmikey
Addicted to ArboristSite
If I were buying by the cord for my boiler, it would be a no-win proposition, same cost to use fuel oil/propane with less hassle, hence the tri-axle loads, but still paying not quite $100/cord that way. I'm too old and don't have enough time to drop/buck/split 9-12 cords per year.
CRThomas
ArboristSite Guru
My area we only us Rank or Rick because our customers can only handle that much if not half of that. Some places a rank is a face cord A rick or a rank is a 4 ft x 4 ft x 16 inchs. I can remember a while back a arguement got started over this measurement and a lot of members became friends no more do to the fact that there was was the only way. Later
Locust Cutter
Sawing for Sanity
Which is interesting as around here a "rick" is a 4'x8' stack, usually 2' deep, or a bit larger on the area dimensions to make up for the lack of depth.
Either way I sell by cord measurements (or divisions thereof). The customers like knowing the physical quantity of product they're getting for the money. Normally once or twice with the tape after it's stacked an they never as again and usually tip a bit. I'm getting $200/cord delivered and stacked, but all of my deliveries are near my work, so when I have to deliver I hitch the trailer up and deliver after work to minimize additional fuel costs. A bit of my wood I have to drive for but most is landed within about 10 miles or less of my house. I just dropped a nice black locust yesterday with my Dad on a neighbor's farm across the the street. I burned more fuel in the diesel by merely starting it up and letting it warm up for a few minutes than I did driving over and back...
We dropped, bucked, split and stacked about 3/4 of a cord in about 3.5 hours which was pretty good considering the heat. Had it been in the 40's-60's we'd have worked faster.
audible fart
MS390 OAK CZAR
Mighty snazzy Tacoma you have there, uncle mustache. Just turned 160k trouble free miles on my 04 2.7 tacoma. Is yours a 2.4 automatic? Ever calculate your mileage? My high average with 2.7 standard cab 5 speed 4x4 consistently hovers in the mid 23mpg range. If you've got the 2.4 i'd imagine you beat me by a couple mpg's. Especially with your 2wd.
Yes, it's a 2.4 auto. Ii clocked it, and I'm not pleased. I read the mileage reports which told me the 6-cyl got better mileage than the 4, and I didn't believe them, so I bought the 4. Wish I hadn't. Haven't gotten any better than 18 mpg, and that's without the back full of my tools. Still, it's much better mileage than my F-350, which used to be my main work truck, so I'm not complaining. And the AC is nice and cold. F350 doesn't even have AC, but it's 4wd.
Mades some pallet baskets this past weekend and started filling them up this week. I think I've got a good layout in mind for these and it's already cut my unloading/stacking time by a huge amount. Just drive up next to pallet and toss in!
4' - 4"x2" welded wire fencing that is stapled onto pallet. Held together currently with zip ties on the sides, but I have a feeling that's not gonna last for the long haul under the weight, sun rays, and eventual freezing/thawing temps so any other good, economical fastening methods and I'm all ears.
These baskets hold between 1/3 and 1/2 cord (tossed in) from what I have measured so far. Probably closer to 1/3, but NO STACKING and great airflow. Gotta keep making some more...
Thoughts?
4' - 4"x2" welded wire fencing that is stapled onto pallet. Held together currently with zip ties on the sides, but I have a feeling that's not gonna last for the long haul under the weight, sun rays, and eventual freezing/thawing temps so any other good, economical fastening methods and I'm all ears.
These baskets hold between 1/3 and 1/2 cord (tossed in) from what I have measured so far. Probably closer to 1/3, but NO STACKING and great airflow. Gotta keep making some more...
Thoughts?
Attachments
STLfirewood
Addicted to ArboristSite
That's a great idea, cantoo. Only thing is that our split wood is pretty small and would need much smaller wire combined with some other wire like you have to give it strength. I'd need something like 2"x2" wire for most of our splits. Great idea. I'll see if I can use that somehow.[/QUOTE
Sound like we do some of the same stuff. I deliver over 2 cords a week to restraunts. I sawmill and sell around 35-40 bundles like this a year. The slabs that have enough meet get turned into cook wood. The ones that don't fire the boiler for the kiln. I think your too cheap on you restraunt wood. If $200 is around the top for a cotd of regular wood in your area you should be $300 plus real easy. They will pay if your product is good and your service is good. I get between $400-600 a cord depening on store,stacking,split size ect.
zogger
Tree Freak
Looking good! Maybe just some hose clamps for a stouter connection, after the zipties get it together. Or like those twin nut small u bolt style clamps for connecting/splicing two cables together, Crosby clamps.
Yeah, I thought about small cable clamps but that could add up because I'd need 4 or 5 per basket to keep wire tight all the way up the side. That add$ up. Hose clamps…maybe. Will check that out.
STLFirewood - Looks like a great setup. Thanks for sharing. I hope to get a loader at home soon to move stuff around more efficiently. I really like the looks of that slab packer, especially with the "stop board" on the far side to keep the slabs even. I'm probably gonna copy that and re-make my own! I wish I could get more than $300 cord (delivered) but hasn't happened yet. We were asking $350/cord to start, but this is our 1st year selling cook wood and are still dialing things in. How much firewood do you try to keep on hand in that open sided shed and how long do you let it season before it goes out? Do you get any problems with mold or wood not being seasoned enough in the middle of that pile. Good efficiency there. You can probably scoop bucket loads of it from the side with skid steer, huh?
STLFirewood - Looks like a great setup. Thanks for sharing. I hope to get a loader at home soon to move stuff around more efficiently. I really like the looks of that slab packer, especially with the "stop board" on the far side to keep the slabs even. I'm probably gonna copy that and re-make my own! I wish I could get more than $300 cord (delivered) but hasn't happened yet. We were asking $350/cord to start, but this is our 1st year selling cook wood and are still dialing things in. How much firewood do you try to keep on hand in that open sided shed and how long do you let it season before it goes out? Do you get any problems with mold or wood not being seasoned enough in the middle of that pile. Good efficiency there. You can probably scoop bucket loads of it from the side with skid steer, huh?
zogger
Tree Freak
Just get a package of barbed wire fencing attachment wires then, cheap and effective, twist em on with your hands, then a little snugger with some pliers. Or if you have any of that same fencing you are using left over, cut chunks out to use.
Or..when cutting the fence, cut in the middle of the horizontal wire instead of down the edge of a vertical wire, then you have open ends to twist around and attach with. That's how I patch this kind of fence here using scrap pieces.
Unc,
To your original post here's what I am seeing: I will use birch (or comparable mid grade hardwood) as a baseline and local prices (up here in timber country it's probably less than where you are) and you can raise your prices as necessary for primo hardwood.
Around here, you can get birch logs delivered for $80-$100 a cord
Split/Seasoned/Dumped is $150 a cord
Split Seasoned for customer pickup figure 15-20% less so around $125
Bucked to firewood length logs picked up should be around $100 (I have never seen that around here so shooting from the hip).
I'd stay away from stacking unless you are helping them stack as you unload to avoid liability.
Will mention some guys do charge $300 a cord and still sell out but move a lot less wood.....
To your original post here's what I am seeing: I will use birch (or comparable mid grade hardwood) as a baseline and local prices (up here in timber country it's probably less than where you are) and you can raise your prices as necessary for primo hardwood.
Around here, you can get birch logs delivered for $80-$100 a cord
Split/Seasoned/Dumped is $150 a cord
Split Seasoned for customer pickup figure 15-20% less so around $125
Bucked to firewood length logs picked up should be around $100 (I have never seen that around here so shooting from the hip).
I'd stay away from stacking unless you are helping them stack as you unload to avoid liability.
Will mention some guys do charge $300 a cord and still sell out but move a lot less wood.....
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Philbo, maybe try those little clamp things they use for making small animal cages. $4 for a pound seems cheap. 
http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-1221-pet-lodge-wire-cage-clips-1lb.aspx
http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-1221-pet-lodge-wire-cage-clips-1lb.aspx
