Cut a little ash over the weekend

[92utownxh]

I had planned to cut most of the day Saturday but other chores got I the way. I was able to get out for a bit Sunday afternoon after a good lunch at my wife's grandma's house.

There's a group or dead or dying ash trees in the back corner of the property I've been wanting to get. There is big creek about 10 feet behind me from where I took the picture. Beavers have killed several trees back along the creek. Most I can cut but some lean out over the creek so it's not worth it. This ash was killed by beavers with a bit of help from the eab. About 20 inches dbh. I took the 4 wheeler back near it and was there maybe 30 or 40 minutes. Got it down and bucked and got my fix.

Quick question for you all. Split where it is or bring the rounds up to split? I just got a splitter. In the past I always bucked it and split with the fiskars where it was. Then I hauled up the splits in a trailer behind the 4 wheeler, grizzly 660. What's the most efficient way to do it now that I have the splitter? No way to get my truck back here. Just the 4 wheeler and trailer and splitter

 

[midwest_170]

I don't split anything in the timber unless I'm chunking it up to load it. This is mainly because I wait a full year before splitting any rounds, I hate bark on my firewood.

 

[bigbadbob]

If you can bring the splitter in with the grizz you can split on site, no mess at home.
Might not be efficent but there is no clean up.
BBB

 

[blacklocst]

I do it at home because my trails are too tight to tow the splitter, also I won't load the rounds on to my pickup unless I have time to split it as I off load it.

 

[Slacker4]

With ash I split it at the woods with an axe. Splits so easy and makes it easy to load. I did the same thing this weekend. Cut 4 loads on Saturday.

 

[zogger]

Ash hand splits nice. I'd just bring the rounds back and split at your leisure. To me, with saws and gear and suited up in PPE in woods, I don't like dorking around, I want the wood back to near where it is going to get stacked. What time in the woods I take I want that saw running! I'll get to splitting it later because splitting is something you can go out and do as little as ten or fifteen minutes at a time and doesn't require getting all geared up, etc. Nice for those odd free times in between bigger chores. Plus weather and access. Around here, you really only have small windows to go in and get wood out, so I only split or noodle on site just enough to be able to pick up a round and load it.

And yes, definitely something to staging up your rounds and leaving them for long enough so when you split them the stupid bark falls off. The wood dries better, is cleaner, lasts years longer in the stacks, and less bugs, etc. I have some stacks with pure hickory and oak heartwood, I mean, dang! It just gets better and stays clean. I am slowly accumulating big quantities of that, it's my retirement wood! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[Woody912]

Ash hand splits nice. I'd just bring the rounds back and split at your leisure. To me, with saws and gear and suited up in PPE in woods, I don't like dorking around, I want the wood back to near where it is going to get stacked. What time in the woods I take I want that saw running! I'll get to splitting it later because splitting is something you can go out and do as little as ten or fifteen minutes at a time and doesn't require getting all geared up, etc. Nice for those odd free times in between bigger chores. Plus weather and access. Around here, you really only have small windows to go in and get wood out, so I only split or noodle on site just enough to be able to pick up a round and load it.

And yes, definitely something to staging up your rounds and leaving them for long enough so when you split them the stupid bark falls off. The wood dries better, is cleaner, lasts years longer in the stacks, and less bugs, etc. I have some stacks with pure hickory and oak heartwood, I mean, dang! It just gets better and stays clean. I am slowly accumulating big quantities of that, it's my retirement wood! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I have seen stacks of hickory reduced to sawdust by the larval hickory borer or whatever they are

 

[VW Splitter]

I bring it home in rounds on a trailer and split in front of the wood shed. Trailer sets alot lower than a truck. With a ramp you can roll some really biggens onto a trailer as long as they are good and round. They will roll off the trailer and onto the splitter. I split and toss into the shed, no stacking. It does bring the mess to the house. I shovel the mess into a wheelbarrow and dump it in the woods. I try to handel it as little as possable. It's what works for me.

 

[tnwood]

I have seen stacks of hickory reduced to sawdust by the larval hickory borer or whatever they are

I also have some hickory stacked from last year mixed with white oak and there is a lot of sawdust throughout it. I was wondering what did that.

 

[VW Splitter]

Bugs love Hickory. They are always making powder dust in the wood pile.

 

[tnwood]

Bugs love Hickory. They are always making powder dust in the wood pile.

I know youre right about that. mine has more dust than when was cut originally.

 

[zogger]

I have seen stacks of hickory reduced to sawdust by the larval hickory borer or whatever they are

This is true, and it is much better and they last longer the faster you get the bark off and get the heartwood split and stacked real loose and airy for fast drying. That seems to slow the bugs down quite a bit. Most of my long term stacks are oak, I just have a ton of hickory left that is now I think a tad too dry for cooking wood. The stuff that still seems to be a bit juicy, yep, bugs, especially any splits or small rounds with bark still attached. The oak though, nuthin, not a hint of bugs.

 

[92utownxh]

In the past I've always hand split with a Fiskars right where I cut up the tree. Then I loaded up the trailer behind the 4 wheeler with the splits and stack it as I unload at the house. A month ago I finally got a DHT 22 ton splitter that I love. It makes quick work of everything I throw at it.

It would be nice to just load the rounds and get it all to the house. Then I can split it as I have time. Our 6 year old loves stacking wood when I'm splitting. Or I could tow the splitter out to woods and split and toss the splits in the trailer behind the 4 wheeler. That would take 2 trips though, one to get the splitter out there, another to get the trailer. I may trying bringing up rounds and see how that. In several parts of our woods I have limited access depending on the weather. Very wet and swampy in spots. I have to get everything out when it's either dry or frozen solid.

 

[Woody912]

In the past I've always hand split with a Fiskars right where I cut up the tree. Then I loaded up the trailer behind the 4 wheeler with the splits and stack it as I unload at the house. A month ago I finally got a DHT 22 ton splitter that I love. It makes quick work of everything I throw at it.

It would be nice to just load the rounds and get it all to the house. Then I can split it as I have time. Our 6 year old loves stacking wood when I'm splitting. Or I could tow the splitter out to woods and split and toss the splits in the trailer behind the 4 wheeler. That would take 2 trips though, one to get the splitter out there, another to get the trailer. I may trying bringing up rounds and see how that. In several parts of our woods I have limited access depending on the weather. Very wet and swampy in spots. I have to get everything out when it's either dry or frozen solid.

I have beaucoup logs laying infields right now and warm weekend is coming up. Frozen ground is hauling time, splitting is when I get to it

 

[svk]

If it's not too far skid logs right next to your woodpile and buck/split/stack in one spot. Saves a little work.

 

[fred bergman]

my favorite wood

 

[timbercare366]

After felling a big ash behind my parents house i ended up just using the back yard as a operation and just split on site, splits so easy

 

[Swamp Yankee]

If it's not too far skid logs right next to your woodpile and buck/split/stack in one spot. Saves a little work.

This gets my vote.

Depending on the length of the skid, you can save a huge amount of time. One or two trips vs. multiple with a trailer. Far less handling, skid it, cut it, split it, and stack in the pile. I also find it's much easier to deal with one large piece rather than stumbling around trying to carry pieces through the pucker brush and tops to the truck / trailer

Added benefit, if Mr. Murphy comes along and decides to cast his spell on a saw, the splitter, or something else if you're near your wood storage area, you're typically near whatever tools you need to get up and running.

Obviously this process will not work in a lot of situations but if you can get the piece dressed out and skidded in treelength, the faster you can get wood out. You can take advantage of frozen ground moving the log and process it later during mud season.

Take Care

 

[cantoo]

I work around the crops and weather. Only have 2 accesses to the bush, one is a small trail between the fields and one neighbour plans right to the next property line, no fences. The other is a drainage ditch grassed runway and last year the custom operator that ploughed the fields ploughed over most of it before he noticed. That means I can only get there when the crops are off or the ground is frozen. Most of the bush is real wet so that cuts access down also. So I go back with the 4 wheeler, cut a bunch of trees down, trim the branches and wait for weather and crop conditions to haul them out with my tractor and log wagons. Stack logs at home and process when I can't get to the bush.