Buck or Split?

[Woodcutteranon]

Hello Everyone...

I am wishing to maximize my time and maximize my ability to have seasoned wood sooner. I am a one-man show. So hiring help is not an option. Here is my situation...

I have a pile of 16" rounds I just cut up before the big freeze. Here is a pic





I just received a logging truck load of hardwood poles... Here is a pic.



My question is. Should I proceed with the splitting of the rounds or should I buck up the poles? If this was your situation what would you do?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

WCA

 

[sirbuildalot]

I would split and stack the rounds first, then work on the log length pile

 

[NSMaple1]

+1.

 

[svk]

Agree with the other guys. Get those rounds split so they can start to dry.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Agreed. Also, if you do it the other way, you'll end up with everything all needing to be split and stacked. Personally, I enjoy the bucking the most, so once I get one batch split and stacked it's nice to switch it up with some sawing.

 

[c5rulz]

It's not firewood till it's split.

Everybody likes to saw up rounds but few finish the job by splitting.

Don't believe me, drive through the country side and see piles of rounds diligently piled/stacked between trees, at the edge of fields or wherever. They will rot into the ground unused. You don't see split wood rotting.

 

[cantoo]

Not sure what equipment and time frame you can process in but I know what I have and this would be my plan. I would buck the logs into rounds 1st. This will get them a lot more end grain showing and the freezing will speed up the drying out process. Then I would get to work on splitting the other stuff only I would sort my splits as I split them but I have a splitter with a 4 way adjustable wedge and 2 conveyors so I can do that. Those small logs I would just split in half and send up one conveyor the other big pieces I would split into at least 4 pieces and send the splits with bark on them up the conveyor with the split in half ones then anything with no bark on them would go on the other conveyor. The no bark pieces will be ready to burn much sooner especially if you can get them stacked and top covered in a windy spot.
Then again I have an owb and 2 years ahead. Logs will dry very slowly whereas rounds will dry faster due to moisture loss out the ends. I cut 16" stuff to sell and 32" stuff for my OWB. The 16" rounds will dry much faster than the 32" rounds if left sitting as rounds. I have 32" ash limbs that I don't split and even after 3 months they seem like they haven't dried at all. The 32" splits are very dry.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Buck logs to firewood length rounds, split, and then stack the gold. If the rounds are too heavy to lift, noodle cut them into halves or quarters.

p.s. I occasionally noodle cut huge rounds down to sixths. Sometimes they get that big:

This one did. That's a 32" bar working on big elm.

 

[Zale]

split then cut the poles.

 

[Husky Man]

It's not firewood till it's split.

Everybody likes to saw up rounds but few finish the job by splitting.

Don't believe me, drive through the country side and see piles of rounds diligently piled/stacked between trees, at the edge of fields or wherever. They will rot into the ground unused. You don't see split wood rotting.

My Wife and I have noticed the same thing, just drives us Nuts seeing what we are sure was once Great Firewood rotting away on the ground

Doug

 

[Ted Jenkins]

ASAP it all needs to be cut and split. The poles need to be cut first for sure. You do not have that much so get going. As soon as the poles are cut they will start to dry. Freezing weather will dry anything fast. I always try to take advantage of cold weather because you never know when the rain is coming. Thanks

 

[NSMaple1]

Also, since you mentioned maximizing time & ability to have seasoned wood sooner - I think you would have been further ahead right now if you'd started splitting the rounds right away, instead of stacking them like in pic 1. IMO stacking rounds is time better spent just splitting.

 

[GVS]

Agree with the other guys. Get those rounds split so they can start to dry.

I normally buck logs and then split.In your situation I would split the rounds you have on the ground and get them stacked and drying.Then get started on bucking up the log length,get that split and stacked away from your seasoned wood.The fresh splits will season fairly quickly in cold weather.

 

[rancher2]

If I were you I would split what you have bucked and piled before I would buck the poles up. We always are splitting while we are bucking and never buck any wood ahead I don't like moving it any more than I have too.

 

[muddstopper]

I would buck and split the poles first. Buck a log, split and stack, repeat. The bucked wood is covered in snow, the logs aint.

 

[lefturnfreek]

I’d split the rounds as they are ready to be processed, then tie into the log length stuff.

IMO, it’s not fire wood till it’s seasoned, and I’m no 10 Years, indoors, touch by the moisture meter every month kinda guy as I have a boiler.

So get it split, stacked and seasoned, then, ya got your fire wood.

 

[Wood Doctor]

One thing we may have forgot to consider is the dryness of the wood OP is processing. The dry wood should be processed first. When you have a pile of wood like that, there will always be some poles or rounds that are drier than others. These need priority attention unless its so punky that you are going to throw it away as bonfire material. And, some green wood is really hard to split until it dries in the round -- elm., cottonwood, etc. These species are stringy as all get out and you have to wait until the ends of the rounds check up before splitting.

 

[Cody]

Just my preference, but buck a little, then split it. Splitting gets old so I try not to have a ton of it lined up. Sawing is relief for me, and probably most of us, so it's nice to do that every so often. With a joe schmo splitter, it seems like 10-15 minutes of cutting leads to an hour or so of splitting/stacking.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Just my preference, but buck a little, then split it. Splitting gets old so I try not to have a ton of it lined up. Sawing is relief for me, and probably most of us, so it's nice to do that every so often. With a joe schmo splitter, it seems like 10-15 minutes of cutting leads to an hour or so of splitting/stacking.

Agreed. That's a pretty good time ratio. I can buck cut a truckload of rounds up in an hour. It takes three to four hours to split and stack the same truckload. And, the bigger the rounds, the longer it takes. I have thus far accumulated enough rounds ready to split that will likely handle all of next year's demand and then some.