Any one selling wood running solo?

[gslam88]

Just wondering if there is anyone else who is selling firewood. .. who is also doing it solo?

I had a partner last year.. ( another story, but its now my ex brother in law) .. we still talk.. but we are not working together doing firewood ...

So now being solo.. I am looking to see if anyone else is thick headed enough to do it...

I worked yesterday.. from 8-8:30 till 4 or so.. and it just seems like I am unproductive... I was able to only cut, split and load 1 cord into my truck.

Anyone have any tips from a solo op out there doing it too?

Here is a picture of my all day efforts.. 6 foot bed.. :monkey:

 

[CharlieG]

I do the wood thing by myself, but for family and friends-not for selling. I just figure out what I'm capable of for that day and get it done. After a load is delivered I'll buck up into rounds and neatly stack around my processing area. Then I bring the splitter to the rounds and split till I'm buried in wood. Take a break, and then stack or load. Basically, just a have a plan and stick to it. Be neat/safe. That way you'll have a feeling of accomplishment, and have more wood processed.

 

[cjcocn]

I only sell part time, but I also haul for my home and do both by myself.

Having enough room helps (I have a little 40 acre patch of land).

My F250 has a rack on it so I can load past the top of my rear window with 8' logs. My trailer is what slows me down as it is only a 5' x 10' utility trailer. I only recently got my truck and used to have an F150 short box, so the trailer used to be a decent fit. I am looking for a bigger trailer.

I travel 30 miles one way to my current wood source and can get two trips in the time that you get one. I am not a whole lot faster than you, but can manage two trips easy because I bring the wood home in 8' and 10' lengths and cut it up at home later on.

There are quite a few guys out my way who are after the same logs, so I figure that I can get more wood in my yard if I just get it home as quickly as possible.

Instead of processing the logs out at the site, I find that I can move more if I just haul steady until I have a nice stack to work from. Once I have a nice stack of wood, only then do I focus on cutting it. I find that doing it this way allows me to work faster than fully processing one load at a time.

Besides, some people want different lengths so rather than play a guessing game I find it easier to get an order before I go out and cut the wood into blocks.

DISCLAIMER: I have been cutting and hauling wood since I was 10 yrs old (with my brother), but in terms of experience, on these forums I am like a babe in the woods. As you can tell by my post count I mostly read when I am here, and am quite impressed by some of the set-ups that these guys have (I am just a guy with a saw).

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[aandabooks]

cjcocn,

How do you get the wood loaded when it is in 8' lengths. This is where I figure I can save time if I can bring it home in longer lengths and then cut and split at home. It would make me more productive when I am out in the timber. Most of the trunks that I am cutting are in the 18-30" size. I do the wood thing by myself and for just myself. I don't sell any wood and wouldn't feel right selling because I don't own the land where I am cutting and I get all the wood for free. I drive about 20 minutes to where I cut wood and have a 6 1/2' box on truck and 5x10 utility trailer. A good 3 hours of cutting will get them both full but then by the time I get home and unload I am shot for the day. Figuring this out would be great because I can only cut in the timber when the crops aren't in. Everything I cut is along the field edge of a deep ravines.

Matt

 

[gslam88]

Well I get the wood brought in by a very very local guy.. brings in 15- 30 yard dumpsters full when I can fit it... so getting to wood is not an issue.. and it being on his fuel.. its nice..

I also do some tree jobs so I charge the customer taking it out.. and then resell it...

Limited on space.. as I only have just over an acre... but that includes my house and garage.. etc...

a 18" log is probably not that bad at 8" to load.. but a 30" could be very heavy..

Chris... although I am a babe in the woods ( forgive the pun) compared to a lot here.. I have been doing it for a bit..

Some of the stuff I do get can be in the 36" to 40" or better range.. so it does get tough to move...



I guess its just a feeling of being overwhelmed lately.. trying to keep up with everything being solo.. ( solo in a lot of ways)

 

[cjcocn]

cjcocn,

How do you get the wood loaded when it is in 8' lengths. ...

Matt

Matt

I load the logs by hand. When I get into the larger stuff I load the trunk-side of the wood first so that all I have to do is lay one end on the tailgate and then lift the other end and slide the log on. When I get to the other end of the tree (the smaller stuff) it is much easier to lift those to the top of the truck.

I get my wood from a logging site, which helps both of us since the loggers are required to get rid of the dry stuff in order to reduce fire hazards (and all I need is a salvage permit). I have ± 200 feet of tow (straps, wire cables, chain) so I pull the trees out to the road. Once they are on or near the road I back the truck up and angle the trailer out of the way so that I can have almost clear access to the truck.

I load up the truck first, then pull ahead to straighten out the trailer. Once the trailer is loaded I am good to go.

I am not moving wood that is as large as your stuff, with the largest being generally 20" or so and doubt that I have moved much that was bigger than 25". Once in a while I will get into some wood that only requires 3 or 4 tree length logs to fill my truck, but that is rare right now with the area that they are logging. This is all dry wood as well so is relatively light and easy to move around.

I do not know what I can offer in the way of suggestions beyond towing the logs to the road where possible (before cutting them into truck lengths) and, when they are too large to load a full log by hand, only cutting them in half so that you can load them up quicker.

HTH

 

[cjcocn]

Well I get the wood brought in by a very very local guy.. brings in 15- 30 yard dumpsters full when I can fit it... so getting to wood is not an issue.. and it being on his fuel.. its nice..

I also do some tree jobs so I charge the customer taking it out.. and then resell it...

Limited on space.. as I only have just over an acre... but that includes my house and garage.. etc...

a 18" log is probably not that bad at 8" to load.. but a 30" could be very heavy..

Chris... although I am a babe in the woods ( forgive the pun) compared to a lot here.. I have been doing it for a bit..

Some of the stuff I do get can be in the 36" to 40" or better range.. so it does get tough to move...



I guess its just a feeling of being overwhelmed lately.. trying to keep up with everything being solo.. ( solo in a lot of ways)

gslam

Is this local guy selling it to you, or giving it to you? Where does he get it from and is it possible to use his site to process the wood? I find that if I can break up the process into three basic stages, I can get things done quicker. That is why I try and do all of my hauling; then cut the logs into the required lengths (14" - 18"); and then do any splitting that is required.

With your 36"-40" stuff, can you cut it into manageable lengths and do the splitting (or further sawing) at home right near your stack to reduce handling? Maybe you can end up with 2 or more truck loads per day and use the next day to split the wood?

If these ideas are way out of whack, I apologize as I am not familiar with your set up.

PS ... I have flown solo myself before and it is a tuff row to hoe. Thankfully I am stubborn and was able to make it to the good stuff!

Oh, and my previous "babe in the woods" comment was directed at myself since I have waaay less experience than most of the folks on here (and even less equipment .... I really like seeing all of the pics on here and dreaming of stuff that I cannot afford right now!).

 

[gslam88]

No.. he is a tree company/ dumpster guy.. so he gives it to me..

He gets it from his customers houses .so no way to work on site with it.

Stuff that big.. 40"+ I can cut to a size and get it manageable .. but takes a little time.. I just don't care for it as much.. 5 times the amount of work...

I think space and setup are my biggest hurdle at this point..

The newer green wood gets in the way of the older wood to be processed.. and then it slows me down..

So like all solo guys.. time becomes the issue.. so I guess that is what I should work on...

as I not only do firewood. .but other landscaping projects for customers..

 

[Patrick62]

apologies to George Thorogood

I cut alone, yea, with nobody else. Ya know when I cut my wood I prefer to be by myself...:rockn:

Judging from the stack in the pickup (6 ft. bed) it isn't quite a cord....

This is my "hobby". I tell everybody it is "easy money". In actual fact it is damn hard work. I figure it like this, if motivated:

I could cut 1 full cord, and load it in the morning.
Split it up over lunch, deliver it that afternoon. Around here that would make me about $100, after expenses. I would be a bit sore.....
I prefer to cut piles of wood in the summer, split it in my free time, and deliver when someone wants wood. Spreads the misery out a bit.

In order to "pay" someone to help.... you have to move ghastly amounts of wood. Then it all works, until something breaks.

-Pat

 

[gslam88]

Patrick

Around here a cord is going for the low end of $160 to $300 ... depending on the area... and no. its not easy work.. but what is now a days.. lol

 

[Patrick62]

Easy money...

$150 ish around here. So I am figuring that running the truck, splitter, saws, etc could eat up 50 clams pretty quick.

I have the advantage of space. Over 3 acres for storage.

-Pat

 

[gslam88]

Pat,

Not sure about $50.. but as it takes $20 to fill 2 small gas cans now a days ( 6.5 galls).. never thought it would be that much. so hope I am not showing my age.. as I remember in the last 15 years only paying .68 cents a gallon.but I know it was lower before that... . . and the truck being Diesel.. helps...

I go all day pretty much on the splitter filled... and the saw.. does eat it up...

 

[ADAMH]

my wife and I do the wood...

we bring in 53' loads of wood from loggers....then we process it, let it dry, then load it with a loader into a dump trailer..then deliver it..

this was our first year doing it...we processed and delivered 30 cords no problem...

next year we will be doing 90 cords

Adam

 

[ADAMH]

ohh the loggers bring me spec size wood...

my spec is 9-14 inches diameter and unlimited length..

they unload it with the grappler on thier transport, and i move it in log form with the winch on my chomper...

I dont deal with anywood bigger than 14" diamter since the chomper cant feed it...

for loading I am currently building a custom firewood shaker grate machine....so that I can just use my front end loader and pick up the wood off the gravel..and the separtor will remove all the chips and excess gravel that the rock bucket picks up....should speed things up greatly

Adam

 

[gslam88]

Adam,

It would be very helpful for me to have a 2nd person like you have, but I am SOLO.. and 14" wow.. I do stuff bigger than that by hand ... as some customers like a larger piece of wood .. so they are not constantly putting more wood on the fire.