How do you gather your firewood?

[zogger]

Hi StihlRookie:

I'll be 66 this December. I buy the $20 permit to take 4 cords of standing dead and downed trees from the Nicolet National Forest in Northern Wisconsin. Been doing this for 6 years. I can get 3 permits a year for a total of 12 cords. I to used a Toyota Tacoma pickup with 200,000 miles, but the catalytic converter pooped out in September. So I just recently bought a brand spank'n new 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 Tradesman with an 8 foot bed, and a Hemi 5.7 liter V8. Lest you think I got the big bucks, I don't. I'm making payments on the truck, so I really gotta watch my pennies. Got the truck for just under 19 grand. Put in a good heavy duty, full bed liner as I knew this was gonna be my woods runner. I can easily get 1 face cords in this puppy. And the with 390 HP, and 407 ft pounds of torque, the Hemi don't even know it's there.

Permit has some special restrictions. I can't take anything over 18 inches in diameter, or more than 150 feet from a fire road. So I really gotta work for my firewood. But I luv making firewood and spending time in the forest. I can't tell you how many hundreds, if not thousands, of 80 pound rounds I've hiked 50 yards over un-even terrain and thru brush to my truck. Kept me in decent shape. Always take extra T-shirts, and plenty of Gator Aid/coffee as I always work up a pretty good sweat. All I ever used was a little Stihl MS 170 with a 14 inch bar. Light as a feather and a pure pleasure to use. One summer, I bought a full load of 8 foot logs (12 full cords). Bucked that whole load with that little 170. It's been as reliable as dirt. I burn 5 cords (15 face cords) a year. But I've got over 25 cords on hand. I wanna build up a real healthy supply of firewood cause I might not wanna (or maybe can't) make it when I'm 80. I'm alone, so I always let somebody know when and where I'll be collecting firewood. And I always email them when I get back. I try to be real careful and never had any close calls. But things always get a little dicey when a tree gets hung up against another tree, which happens a lot. I live right next to the national forest, so I go 7 to 10 miles out and 7 to 10 miles back for 1 face cord. On a good day, I can make 2 trips for 2 face cords, but most times I make just 1 trip. Split everything with a little $299 Ryobi electric log splitter. Works like a charm, even on 18 inch rounds. Aside from a few really gnarly pieces, it's split everything I've thrown at it. I built a table for the splitter and another table to hold the rounds. I can split 1 face cord per hour. I should post some movies here. Just bought a Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss to compliment my little 170. What a difference ! Thought about getting a gas powered capstan winch (PCW5000) to pull felled trees to the road for bucking. That would save a ton of work ! ! !

Enjoy your time in the woods Stihlrookie, and be safe.

Don <><

Bwa, you got me beat, Pops! 80 lb rounds I can pick up, but I ain't humpin em 50 yards, and would roll them at 50 feet! Or use a wheelbarrow. That's way more than half my bodyweight! HAHAHAHAHA

40 years ago, sure, today, nope, I use "age gearing" more HAHAHAHAHA

Dudes came and logged across the street last year, first time I ever saw a feller buncher working..man..shazzam.......

lot of equipment rolls in, drives up into the woods..big loud noises for ..ohh...15 minutes or so..out comes a big road trailer full of logs....

I hear ya on getting older and scrounging stacking while you can. That's it for me, too. Do it now while I can, gradually add more than I burn. And it is practical and useful exercise.

 

[Jules083]

You guys are making me realise how lucky I am. I hook the trailer up to the tractor and head over the hill. I prepare ahead of time cutting trails on the 4 wheeler to make turning the tractor around easier. The trailer is about 4' x 6', I can normally be loaded and back at the house within 45 minutes to an hour. I haul the saws, gas, oil, and thermos down and leave it all in the woods until the day is over. The dog rides on every trip though. He has a great time. :smile2:

*edit* - I was just thinking about something my cousin told me a few months ago. He heats with oil first and wood second, normally just uses wood on his days off. There's a lot of dead wood laying on the side of the road, with different landowners, and noone will let him cut it. I don't know if he's asking the wrong questions, or looking like a thug, or what the situation is. He has enough woods to cut on his own place for a few years, but is always looking for more.

 

[genesis5521]

Bwa, you got me beat, Pops! 80 lb rounds I can pick up, but I ain't humpin em 50 yards, and would roll them at 50 feet! Or use a wheelbarrow. That's way more than half my bodyweight! HAHAHAHAHA

40 years ago, sure, today, nope, I use "age gearing" more HAHAHAHAHA

Dudes came and logged across the street last year, first time I ever saw a feller buncher working..man..shazzam.......

lot of equipment rolls in, drives up into the woods..big loud noises for ..ohh...15 minutes or so..out comes a big road trailer full of logs....

I hear ya on getting older and scrounging stacking while you can. That's it for me, too. Do it now while I can, gradually add more than I burn. And it is practical and useful exercise.

Hi Zogger:

Ya. Them 80 pounders are murder. Even with the 10 and 20 pounders, I can only carry 2 or 3 at a time. So I make lots of trips back and forth to my truck. I always say this firewood making will either kill me or cure me (cept I ain't got nuthin wrong with me). The "good wood" always seems to be the farthest from the road. In a few years, I might go back to buying truckloads of hardwood logs. Last time I paid $85 a cord, delivered. That was for 12 full cords, and was about 5 years ago. I don't know what the price is now. But I really do like making firewood. The 1st year I heated with wood, I split 5 cords by hand with a splitting maul. If I go back to buying logs, I'm gonna rig something to pull the logs on to a saw table for bucking. Then the bucked rounds will fall right in to my splitter for splitting, and right in to my trailer for stacking.

Well take it easy Zogger. And remember, us old farts gotta stick together.

Don <><

 

[wpusey]

Tri Axle Method...

I pay $550 for a guy to deliver a whole Tri-Axle load for me right in my yard. He sorts and gets me all dead wood... Red, White, & Rock Oak, locust, and Hard Maple. I cut to length, 16-18 inches, and then borrow a couple splitters, invite some friends over and have a splittin party! Servin up my homeade Chili! All you can eat! I know what some of you may be thinkin but we save the brews till after we're done.

I can usually get about 12-16 full chords per Tri-Axle load. Enough to heat my house for about 2 years. Total invested about $7-800... not bad to heat for 2 years.

 

[Craz z]

Stihlrookie- Same boat as you over here in montana however im too far to the larch areas.

Too many hacks around and even hear and seen companies nearly 2+ hours away moving dumptruck loads out so the wood even tho you can see it can't get near it.

Really would like to hear about why the FS allows loggers to do whatever they want and we can't move one car length off the road. I'm sure the loggers have more red tape then us but still they can just make a road to the wood. The beetle kill is so bad here and its all cutout on service roads getting impossible to find it anymore. They smile and take your 20-50$ and say about where a good spot to get it is at but it really isn't there.

we have some restrictions here but not too bad at least for the deerlodge national forest. basically anything goes but it needs to be dead winching or cabling is limited to 100' however the lady i got my permit from came up with a nice idea that in any national forest you can basically camp anywhere you want so say you setup a fake tent you are now allowed 300' off the road.

I've been very concerned about how i got most of my wood so far and found a guy doing the same as me basically rolling the dice. When it was nice i had a huge horse trailer with a 4 wheeler in it and a choker cable. fell trees buck to sticks choke em to the trailer. I can almost guarentee its not correct but I did always stay on the 4 wheeler trails so i think its quasy legal.

I got about 6-8 cords with this method but now im using a truck and trailer to get it. I have a winch but not hooked up yet then im going for all the impossible stuff thats everywhere. I typically spend one day felling and hiding the trees and the next getting it out. haven't had a problem yet with wood theives but i know they are out there some how we all magnet to the same areas

Round trip for me is around 40-45 miles but scouting for wood i've done over 80-90 should just go get it in the easy spots i know are out there but are at least 90 miles away.

Its real tough and im sure your in the same boat. i can cut all the cotton wood in the world in my back yard but it stinks dont heat and don't split worth a darn after the first year of using it exclusively im done with it. pine, larch, and fir is it.

ive done the 50 yard dash with 4 people and it still takes 4-9 hours to get a cord or more. if it aint close i dont want it. im working on getting on some private access with a neighbor that has a forest lease for his cows that only they can travel on. May be the best option.

Wonder if the residents around you that might have beetle kill allow you to take some out for them i wouldnt want it near my house.

Good luck.

By far the easiest way to get wood is the semi-load option but i have to see the trees that go in my fireplace hit the ground hehe getting expensive once the thrill of it goes out for me im doing that for sure.

 

[fields_mj]

I'm pretty fortunate in that this past summer they finished harvesting the mature hardwoods (24"+) out of the woods that I hunt and cut in, so now I have all kinds of easy access to more wood that I'll ever get cut and it's only 5 miles from the house, and on my way to work. Prior to that, most of the woods is in very steep raviens so I would cut downed trees into 4' lenghts and drag them out with my ATV. Even then, if was in the bottom of the ravine (as opposed to laying on the side of the ravine) I usually had very little chance of getting it out. I was planning on building a small trailer to pull behind the ATV that I could use to haul the wood out with. Just when I started getting serious about drawing one up, the farmer told me they would be logging the property, so I just sat back and waited

When the tops of these trees start to rot, I'll probably go back to the old way. By then I hope to have a tandem trailer that I can haul at least a cord of wood in. At that point, I can justify driving 48 miles up to see my folks and cutting with dad and my BIL 2 or 3 times a year. I have access to a 250 acre farm up there that is mostely shagbark hickory. It's a long way to haul a load of wood, but with at least a cord on a trailer, and over half a cord in the truck bed, 4 trips would take care of me for a year, and I make more trips than that just deer hunting with him. I'd probably cut with him a few times during the year and stack/pile it out at the farm in a spot that's out of the way, then hook the trailer up and start bringing loads back when I go up to hunt. It wouldn't season much, but it would season some and lighten the load a little bit. Other than that it will be scrounging blowdowns where ever I can find them.

Just my 2 bits,
Mark

 

[tjbier]

Lately I have been having friends and family drop off loads and loads of pieces cut in 16" lengths for me:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

The a few weeks ago my grandpa borrowed my splitter and then next thing I know is he brings me two trailer loads of split wooduttahere2:

Then this past week, he was so thankful I have been letting him use my splitter as a thank you he brings me 3 trailer loads of split and dry wood ready to burn:biggrin::biggrin: (1 1/2 cords)

When I go out cutting I just go in my woods with my gator, cut till I get a box full then drive it up to my splitting area and drop it off. Although, this year I just got a new splitter so I might see how it works to pull it in the woods with me and split before it goes on the gator.

Give me a call in a month or so, I'll come check that splitter out with ya.

 

[tjbier]

I haven't done enough last year and none this year :msp_thumbdn: but when I go out this is the best way for me to do it!
I know I've posted these before but here they are. Then I either leave them in the woods to air out (on a hill where always windy) or bring em up to get at them easier.
I can get a 1/2 cord in each one, and less time stacking and moving ect.

 

[Diesel nut]

Hey Tj what kinda wood is that? Looks like it splits real easy. Here's how I gather it, kinda like Tj does. We like to cheat a little.

 

[tjbier]

Hey Tj what kinda wood is that? Looks like it splits real easy. Here's how I gather it, kinda like Tj does. We like to cheat a little.

Yup ! heavy equipment helps the back ! lol
Nice Jred and grapple, I would love to have the fab skills to make one for my dads loader.
The wood is Ash, it's all dead in our woods:msp_mad: wait that means I get to cut it:biggrin: there is a bit in there and some in the 30" across range, I've changed my ways a bit and want to keep some of the logs for lumber and the tops for firewood.
Ya, that stuff split like butter with the Fiskars, I believe from the time I dragged it out to both crates being full (full cord) was like 4 hrs. I was tired though lol.


Oh ya, I want that dozer too!

 

[Genius.]

Give me a call in a month or so, I'll come check that splitter out with ya.

I haven't done enough last year and none this year :msp_thumbdn: but when I go out this is the best way for me to do it!
I know I've posted these before but here they are. Then I either leave them in the woods to air out (on a hill where always windy) or bring em up to get at them easier.
I can get a 1/2 cord in each one, and less time stacking and moving ect.

That does not look like a fun way to split:hmm3grin2orange:

When you are all moved in and have wood that needs to be split come on over and pull my splitter to your place.

 

[Diesel nut]

Oh ya, I want that dozer too!

Oh yea well I want the payloader then!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[tjbier]

That does not look like a fun way to split:hmm3grin2orange:

When you are all moved in and have wood that needs to be split come on over and pull my splitter to your place.

lol, bet I can get stuff like that split faster by hand than a splitter, I'll save the knotty #### for your fancy hydraulics:msp_thumbup:

 

[Genius.]

lol, bet I can get stuff like that split faster by hand than a splitter, I'll save the knotty #### for your fancy hydraulics:msp_thumbup:

But I can keep splitting all day with my fancy splitter And I can go to bed at night without popping a industrial size bottle of Advil:msp_biggrin:

 

[REJ2]

I haven't done enough last year and none this year :msp_thumbdn: but when I go out this is the best way for me to do it!
I know I've posted these before but here they are. Then I either leave them in the woods to air out (on a hill where always windy) or bring em up to get at them easier.
I can get a 1/2 cord in each one, and less time stacking and moving ect.

Nice ash you got there TJ:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
There's probably 30 American League bats in that tree

 

[xraydaniel]

Now that's some straight grain Tj!

 

[tjbier]

Nice ash you got there TJ:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
There's probably 30 American League bats in that tree

Great, now I need a lathe. lol

Now that's some straight grain Tj!

Yup! Split very nice, wish I would have milled it though.

 

[Dale]

The wood is Ash, it's all dead in our woods

Emerald Ash borer ???

 

[Dale]

by the way... jeepers do I love your avatar. :msp_rolleyes:

 

[fields_mj]

But I can keep splitting all day with my fancy splitter And I can go to bed at night without popping a industrial size bottle of Advil:msp_biggrin:

With wood like that, I'll bet he can split 2x as much in a day with that Fiskars and still not need any advil The emphasis here on "wood like that".