Any advice welcome

[unclemoustache]

Go to the local gas stations and ask if you can sell bundled firewood. I'm selling 1 cu. ft. for $4, and the station re-sells it for $5. That's about $500 per cord, and that's just for silver maple! Advertise on Craigslist as well.

As others have said, don't sell green wood. You get a bad reputation and you'll have a tough time building it back up. Quality and courtesy will pay off big time in the long run.

ALWAYS show up on time. If you're going to be more than a few minutes late, call the customer as soon as you know, and let them know when you'll be there.

Next year I'm planning on selling silver maple AND quality hardwood. Two different prices for different kinds of wood. We'll see how that goes.

 

[Briar012]

Sorry so long without a reply guys I got off work and went straight to the woods to start cutting before I went home. I'm gonna try to answer most of the questions y'all have asked if I miss one or two ask it again.

I don't burn wood for myself, but I'm thinking if I can sell some of the scraps that guys don't want in a rick or cord, hey everything helps. I'm not trying to make a killing or anything and in all honesty (don't tell my wife) it's a way for me to be in the woods so I enjoy it. Not saying that my family doesn't need the money because we do, and that's the main goal. My check covers all the bills and puts food on the table but that's about it, so 50 or 100 bucks a week is a big plus.

The working hard part of it is one of the biggest things I enjoy about it. I pride myself on how hard I work, I know it sounds crazy but I really enjoy the challenge of hard work. Also most of the wood I've been selling so far is oaks that have died in the last couple years but their still in good shape and the guys buying them say their burning good.

Zogger I've done a lot of noodling here in Oklahoma but had never noodled with a chainsaw, that is until today. I had a big knarly log with about four limbs coming off of it and no idea what to do with it, so with your advise I noodled it lol and I now know why it's named noodling.

Hinderman, Do you sell by the rick or the cord. Seems like most folk around here don't even know what a cord of wood is. Great having an Okie on here with me.

Epchief,
I have a deal brewing with a gas station/bait shop right down the road from the house I grew up in and I know the owners. We're gonna come up with a number and make a deal eventually. I hope they will buy enough that they are the only customer I need.

I've got a question now. Since most of my wood is from trees around 10'' or so are there any tips to speed up production on these? Their easy to split, fell, buck and limb, I just have to do 2 or 3 sometimes 4 to make a rick of wood. I'm guessing I just need to get better at doing all the little things while I'm working these trees to speed up production, but surely there's some tips or tricks that will help speed things up.

 

[Briar012]

Also I have heating my home with wood before just the current place I'm in I don't have a fireplace or wood stove. Just didn't want everyone thinking I'm trying to sell firewood when I've never had to burn wood.

 

[unclemoustache]

The less you move the wood, the better. How many times do you move it from woods to home? Cut it down, move it to the trailer, from trailer to stack, from stack to splitter, from splitter to another stack, from stack to truck, from truck to customer. Can you eliminate any of those steps? If you can split and stack in the woods, then you eliminate a few, and then you can deliver from there to the customer, but maybe that's not possible for you.

Another way to speed production (since you split by hand) is to set up a line of splitting stumps, so that you can stand up a bunch of rounds at once, then split them all at once, then stack them all at once, rather than doing one round at a time.

When I post on CL for firewood, at the bottom I explain the terminology - cord, face cord, rick, rank, etc. so that the customer has the information they need to make an informed decision. I also let them know exactly what my prices are and what delivery costs will be, as well as what kind of wood I'm selling. It seems that a LOT of CL ads are misleading or incomplete with their info, and you have to call to get the straight scoop. I don't know about others, but that just bugs me.

 

[epchief]

I have to ask what is a rick of wood. I have never heard of this term up in the north east, is it the same as a face cord?

 

[ponyexpress976]

The trick to splitting the bigger rounds with a fiskars (or any other brand really) is to slab chunks off the outside first. Work all the way around it gradually getting closer to the center. As for the smaller rounds you have....get yourself an old tire. Pack as many rounds in it and whack away. The tire keeps you from having to bend over and stand up all the pieces that need more than one split. Be fore I was introduced to the tire method by the fine members of this forum, I would just stand up as many rounds as I could, then wail away. If you constant pick up and put down your axe to adjust the pieces to be split, well, those few seconds eventually start to add up.

 

[mainewoods]

How are you hauling out your wood? Bringing out tree length or logs to a landing will save you time, by eliminating lifting rounds onto a trailer in the woods,and unloading them when you get to your processing area. Saves handling the wood a couple of times.

 

[ponyexpress976]

Oh, as far as selling green wood...don't be afraid of it. Just make sure you tell people what it is and why there is a price difference. I sold 8 cords of green this year at $160 per cord. My seasoned goes for $200. My product is mixed hardwoods as I'm scrounging and being sourced from tree companies. I sell the green a little cheaper because I don't have to store or stack it. Follow Uncle Stache's advice for the bottom part of your add. An informed customer is a good one

 

[rarefish383]

A couple more little things. As noted above, slab off the sides of bigger rounds. The sap wood, just under the bark, is the the toughest part of the round. If you hit the round in the center, the sap wood won't give. If you hit the round on the edge, the sap wood will give and the heart wood will crack easy. If you noodle big rounds and knots to make them easier to handle, keep the long stringy noodles. Put them in paper lunch bags and give or sell them to your customers as fire starters. Tear the bag open, put under wood, light corners of bag, instant fire, Joe.

 

[Marshy]

I agree with the above statement, the less you handle your firewood the more productive you can be. Heres a trick you might find helpful.

 

[rarefish383]

Oh, cut a "marker stick" the length you cut you wood, and mark it when you cut the log. Customers don't like a bundle of 7 pieces, with 6 different lengths. One of the nastiest follow up phone calls I ever got was from having short pieces in the pile. It was one of the last loads of the year and I was cleaning up the wood lot. My F600 dump had a 12 foot bed with 6 foot sides. I had the inside marked at different heights with different colored paint, so I could put a half cord per rack. Red for 16", white for 18" and blue for 20". The load was all Oak. We only sold Oak, every thing else we wholesaled out to a local farm market. Just before I left I called the customer and told him I was about to leave. I told him I had a bunch of odd length and shaped scrap I was going to throw in the burn pile. If he wanted them I'd throw them on the truck for free. When I dumped the load on Saturday he raved about how big the pile was. On Monday I got a call claiming there was a bunch of short pieces and I shorted him on the cord. After a bunch of ranting he said he only got about a 132 cubic feet of wood. I told him a cord was 128 CF. I could hear him tapping on a calculator, then the phone went click. Now, unless some one asks for my scraps, they go on the burn pile. Makes a nice bonfire for the first sled riding night of the year, Joe.

 

[zogger]

Sorry so long without a reply guys I got off work and went straight to the woods to start cutting before I went home. I'm gonna try to answer most of the questions y'all have asked if I miss one or two ask it again.

I don't burn wood for myself, but I'm thinking if I can sell some of the scraps that guys don't want in a rick or cord, hey everything helps. I'm not trying to make a killing or anything and in all honesty (don't tell my wife) it's a way for me to be in the woods so I enjoy it. Not saying that my family doesn't need the money because we do, and that's the main goal. My check covers all the bills and puts food on the table but that's about it, so 50 or 100 bucks a week is a big plus.

The working hard part of it is one of the biggest things I enjoy about it. I pride myself on how hard I work, I know it sounds crazy but I really enjoy the challenge of hard work. Also most of the wood I've been selling so far is oaks that have died in the last couple years but their still in good shape and the guys buying them say their burning good.

Zogger I've done a lot of noodling here in Oklahoma but had never noodled with a chainsaw, that is until today. I had a big knarly log with about four limbs coming off of it and no idea what to do with it, so with your advise I noodled it lol and I now know why it's named noodling.

Hinderman, Do you sell by the rick or the cord. Seems like most folk around here don't even know what a cord of wood is. Great having an Okie on here with me.

Epchief,
I have a deal brewing with a gas station/bait shop right down the road from the house I grew up in and I know the owners. We're gonna come up with a number and make a deal eventually. I hope they will buy enough that they are the only customer I need.

I've got a question now. Since most of my wood is from trees around 10'' or so are there any tips to speed up production on these? Their easy to split, fell, buck and limb, I just have to do 2 or 3 sometimes 4 to make a rick of wood. I'm guessing I just need to get better at doing all the little things while I'm working these trees to speed up production, but surely there's some tips or tricks that will help speed things up.

Ha, catfish noodling! Pics or it didn't happen! hahahah!

I use several tires to split inside, the largest is a semi trailer old tire, that will fit a bunch of small rounds. I have yet to drag an old farm tractor tire over to try that, but I could I guess, several kicking around the farm.

 

[Hinerman]

Hinerman, Do you sell by the rick or the cord. Seems like most folk around here don't even know what a cord of wood is. Great having an Okie on here with me.

We live in "Rick" country. When I say cord people think extension cord. I do tell customers I sell by the cord and explain to them what a cord is. It is pointless because they say "OK, give me 2 rick". It may take several years for my repeat customers to catch on.

FYI, OK state law says wood is to be sold/traded by the cord, as there is no official size for a rick. If a person buys a rick of wood he has no official recourse if the rick is not the volume of wood he was expecting (because there is no official volume associated with a rick). I try explaining this to my customers and they still say, "OK, give me a rick".

Despite what the law says, I do not know any firewood sellers that advertise or sell by the cord. The law is definitely not enforced.

 

[Hinerman]

I have to ask what is a rick of wood. I have never heard of this term up in the north east, is it the same as a face cord?

In general, a rick of wood is 1/3 of a cord (what you call a face cord). But, as I stated earlier, there is no official measurement for a rick of wood. There is no official measurement for a face cord either. I know you mean 1/3 cord is a face cord. But, if you order a face cord, and the supplier drops off 4'x8'x12" pieces, writes you a ticket for a face cord, then leaves; while stacking you notice the pieces are 12" long instead of 16"----you are screwed because your receipt says face cord (not 1/3 cord). You have no official recourse because you paid for an unspecified amount of wood. It would be like buying a splash of gas---WTH is a splash. A face cord could be 6" long pieces stacked 4'x8'.

AFAIK, most states mandate firewood to be traded by cord measurements.

 

[epchief]

In general, a rick of wood is 1/3 of a cord (what you call a face cord). But, as I stated earlier, there is no official measurement for a rick of wood. There is no official measurement for a face cord either. I know you mean 1/3 cord is a face cord. But, if you order a face cord, and the supplier drops off 4'x8'x12" pieces, writes you a ticket for a face cord, then leaves; while stacking you notice the pieces are 12" long instead of 16"----you are screwed because your receipt says face cord (not 1/3 cord). You have no official recourse because you paid for an unspecified amount of wood. It would be like buying a splash of gas---WTH is a splash. A face cord could be 6" long pieces stacked 4'x8'.

AFAIK, most states mandate firewood to be traded by cord measurements.

I never sell a face cord it's not worth the fuel to deliver to me but I like learning other lingo from other parts

 

[svk]

Oh, as far as selling green wood...don't be afraid of it. Just make sure you tell people what it is and why there is a price difference. I sold 8 cords of green this year at $160 per cord. My seasoned goes for $200. My product is mixed hardwoods as I'm scrounging and being sourced from tree companies. I sell the green a little cheaper because I don't have to store or stack it. Follow Uncle Stache's advice for the bottom part of your add. An informed customer is a good one

This is good advice. Some people want firewood delivered in April/May/June so it can season in their racks. It's worth selling green/semi seasoned wood to them at slight discount and getting it out of your way so you can do more. Come October everyone else wants wood and the people who are answering your ad in December really need wood.

One other thing is campgrounds and seasonal cabins. These folks want fire pit wood and dont really care what species it is or if it's completely seasoned as long as lights decently and doesnt sizzle. Note: Be sure to know your local law on bringing wood into a campground. The state and federal owned ones may require licensed/inspected dealers only. Privately owned campgrounds you should be fine.

 

[Hinerman]

Oh, as far as selling green wood...don't be afraid of it. Just make sure you tell people what it is and why there is a price difference.

This is true. I have one customer who wants green, unseasoned wood. He knows what he is getting. He sees me pull in with a load of green oak and says I want it all. I say it is green. He says, "I don't care". He pays the same price as if it was seasoned though.

 

[farmer steve]

We live in "Rick" country. When I say cord people think extension cord. I do tell customers I sell by the cord and explain to them what a cord is. It is pointless because they say "OK, give me 2 rick". It may take several years for my repeat customers to catch on.

FYI, OK state law says wood is to be sold/traded by the cord, as there is no official size for a rick. If a person buys a rick of wood he has no official recourse if the rick is not the volume of wood he was expecting (because there is no official volume associated with a rick). I try explaining this to my customers and they still say, "OK, give me a rick".

Despite what the law says, I do not know any firewood sellers that advertise or sell by the cord. The law is definitely not enforced.

not until you get some grumpy SOB that says ya shorted him and he calls the man. same here in PA but not enforced.

 

[zogger]

not until you get some grumpy SOB that says ya shorted him and he calls the man. same here in PA but not enforced.

I guess, with all the members here, we could do a huge nationwide seller and buyer education effort, flag all for sale ads that don't specify volume by cord or fractions, and add our own informational ad, educating customers and sellers on proper fair and legal terminology (along with the state reference law if applicable) and the importance of dry wood.

Had a guy ask me "how much a load"? for hickory. I should have quoted him a big price, then delivered a ratsun pickup "load" heheheheh

Instead...I told him quite straight forward, there was no such thing as a "load", that pickups come in a big variety of sizes and weight carrying capacities, and explained cords. Explained why ricks, ranks, face cords, etc are all also not the same. I was polite, but said to him, paraphrasing but along these lines why cord is important, "you can't go into a store and say sell me a load of potatoes, etc. You can't go to the gas station and ask for an oilman's bucket of gas" Stared at me, and obviously no sale and I don't care either. Don't need that gents cash that bad.

 

[jerrycmorrow]

When splitting look for the crack radiating from the center of the round. Hit it there
Keep your axe and maul SHARP.
Be aware if where your feet are in case you make a short strike, don't wanna hit yer foot.
Have yer feet firmly settled on the ground when swinging.
I like to use a round (usually somewhat wonky or knotty) to set my other round on for splitting. Like to have the top of the round to be split slightly below waist height. Helps my aim and don't lose energy on the strike
ALWAYS (trust me on this) wear a hard hat when dropping a tree, particularly a snag. You may be hard headed but even a small branch can seriously hurt you. Also wear yer other PPE when running the saw
Keep yer chain SHARP. If you hit a rock resharpen or replace chain. Dull chains require extra force from you and don't cut worth spit. Also very hard on yer saw

I'm from just east of ya close to prairie grove. Welcome aboard. Be safe